Speaking of infield troubles, the Minnesota Twins’ consecutive division title streak is in serious jeopardy, and the principal reason is the inconsistency of an entirely transformed foursome over the past year since Doug Mientkiewicz was sent to Boston to make room for Justin Morneau. Say what you want about Cristian Guzman’s miserable first half in Washington, but his years as a Twin were an upgrade over the current shortstop situation.

Michael Cuddyer isn’t the replacement for Corey Koskie that the Twins thought he would be, but the bigger problem has been at second base, where manager Ron Gardenhire has tried four different players before getting GM Terry Ryan’s help in the form of a high-reward, low-risk chance on Bret Boone.

Despite the infield problems, the Twins still have a narrow lead in the wild-card race at the break, and their bullpen is filled with high-velocity, low-ERA setup men in front of All-Star closer Joe Nathan. But we’re seeing now just how brilliant Johan Santana’s 2004 season was — “he spoiled us,” Twins assistant general manager Wayne Krivsky said — and Brad Radke has to snap out of a 6-8-4.15 slide.

It’s hardly a surprise that the Angels are leading the West comfortably. But if you would have told Mike Scioscia in March that he would have to do without No. 2 starter Kelvim Escobar (gone for the year after elbow surgery), and play long stretches without superstar Vladimir Guerrero and key regulars Adam Kennedy, Bengie Molina, Orlando Cabrera and Steve Finley, plus reserves Maicer Izturis and Lou Merloni, he would have been thrilled to have a five-game lead at this point.

Bad Vlad’s return has corresponded with a huge boost (about half a run per game) in offense, the bullpen is one of the league’s best, the Angels are the only team in the AL that ranks in the top half of the league in runs scored and runs allowed, and there will be strong defenders everywhere once Cabrera and Finley return. That should be enough to push the Angels back to the Series for the second time in four years.

Who wins an Angels-Cardinals matchup? It’s a coin flip, but the series would have some built-in story lines in David Eckstein, the displaced former Angel-turned-All-Star in St. Louis; Jim Edmonds, who also left the Angels on less-than-perfect terms in a long-ago deal involving Adam Kennedy, and the catching Molina brothers — all three of them.

The Cardinals get the edge in starting pitching, although the Angels certainly are familiar with Mark Mulder. Both bullpens are dynamite, both defenses are excellent, and the Angels have more firepower, especially if the Cardinals are going to pull a repeat of their 2004 Fall Classic performance. How about a lean to the Cardinals, but there is a long way until late-October.

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