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SPEAKER 1: Well, gentlemen, we've brought you together to ask the question that every fan wants to know the answer to. Is it time to jump on the Twins bandwagon? Is this team for real?

HOWARD: Well, if you were going to jump on the bandwagon, you'd better be on it by now because this team has given fans more of a thrill than anyone could have asked for. And here they are today. Today's the all-Star game. They're in first place by two games.

What more would you-- what more do you want? You couldn't expect them to run away with the division. And you'd be real upset if there were 15 games out and already looking ahead to 1988.

DICK: The Twins, I think, if they were going to fold, had the opportunity to do it a couple of weeks ago when they came off that tough road trip, when they picked up just one win against Texas and Kansas City. But they came back and swept Baltimore. And I think they're going to be in it, I really do.

SPEAKER 1: Well, looking over the stats here, I don't see that many of the Twins having seasons that are much different than last year. Why is this team doing so much better than last year, Howard?

HOWARD: Everyone's playing reasonably steady baseball. Puckett doesn't have the impressive numbers that he has last year. He had more home runs last year. He had more extra base hits last year.

But we're just getting used to him. And you see everybody's expecting him to hit 340 now and maybe finish the season with 25 or 30 home runs. The other guys are just solid, [? Guy, ?] [? Eddie, ?] Hrbek.

The one who is really extraordinary so far this year is Roy Smalley. He's hitting 320. He's getting key hits, which was the rap on him in the past that you put him on base, you'd put him up at bat with runners on second and third base and two outs in the inning was over.

SPEAKER 1: Kelly likes to use him in that situation.

HOWARD: Oh, yeah. I mean, he's been hitting 500 with runners in scoring position the last six weeks.

DICK: I think the Twins are unique in that last year. And over the last couple of years, a lot of people have been saying in order to make the team a contender, you've got to break up the nucleus. You've got to trade a Brunansky or somebody like that to get some quality players in return.

I think what the Twins have done this year is they've built up the supporting cast so much higher. And I think that's one of the big reasons that they're in first place is you've got someone like a Gladden, a Berenguer, people like that who weren't with the team last year. And you did not have to give up one of the guys in the nucleus of your club in order to make them a contender.

SPEAKER 1: Well, what do you think is the key to the second half? What do the Twins have to do, Howard?

HOWARD: They have to keep on doing what they've been doing, which sounds a little bit too cliched, but so far it's been good enough.

SPEAKER 1: The middle relief lately has not looked very good. It doesn't mean--

HOWARD: Oh, the Middle relief has been terrible the last couple of weeks. And come September 15, I wouldn't want to have to rely on those guys to win a division. But I think that the starters will be fresh enough, and Reardon will be fresh enough that they'll become less of a factor.

Reardon's problem in the past in Montreal, especially the last two years, is that he was up and throwing whenever they had a lead. He'd pitch a game in the bullpen for every game that he pitched on the mound. And that's why in July and August of the past few seasons, his statistics have been terrible. His arm just died, and now he's fresh. And they can't overuse him because they haven't used him an awful lot now.

SPEAKER 1: Well, Dick, what do you see as the key to the second half?

DICK: Obviously pitching is going to win it, whether it's Jeff Reardon out of the bullpen in the late innings or whether it's three starters who are going to give them consistent outings over the final two months-- Blyleven, Viola, Niekro perhaps. It's got to be pitching. And the Twins, I think, have to be a little bit concerned about their bullpen. And I would not be at all surprised to see them make a move or two to try to bolster the bullpen, particularly from the left side.

SPEAKER 1: Are they the favorites, would you say, in the West right now?

HOWARD: I'd say California is a real slight favorite right now. They're getting Kirk McCaskill back from his arm problems. He's been out since about May 1. They may get-- if they get John Candelaria back from the stuff he's going through, they'll have the strongest pitching staff in the division. And that goes a long way come September and October.

DICK: Well, I don't think you can count out Kansas City. In fact, I would pick Kansas City as the other team, along with the Twins and bump the Angels down just a little bit. I do think the Twins are going to be in there.

I think that it may come down to the last series of the year, which is the Twins playing at Kansas City the last three games. And I think it's going to be great to watch. I think it's going to be a great final couple of weeks of the season. I hope so anyway.