The Texas Rangers squeaked by the Tampa Rays tonight to win the American League Divisional Series three games to two. It’s been a fun series to watch with great pitching, timely hitting and momentum swings beyond belief.

I thought the series was over after Tampa manager Joe Maddon was ejected following Michael Young’s three-run homer, a shot that should never have happened because Young’s check swing on the previous pitch should have been strike three.

But the Rays collected themselves and continued battling, eventually earning the right to come back home for gave five after winning both games in Texas.

Watching the seesaw battle between these two clubs was a pretty dramatic contrast to the other AL series, which was won in dominating fashion by the New York Yankees over the Minnesota Twins, who despite a narrowed talent gap in 2010 could not come close to getting past their playoff nemesis of recent times.

I thought heading into this year’s series that things might be different. Early on it looked like there was a chance I could be right. The Twins led 3-0 in game one heading into the sixth inning.

But then things fell apart.

As has happened so many times in the last 20 years, the Yankees rose up when it mattered and seized control of the game, stealing a win and then carrying their momentum over to the final two games as well.

As I look back over this series, I think these teams are more closely matched in terms of physical talent than they have been in quite awhile.

But there still are a couple holes I think the Twins need to fill before they can beat the Yankees – and that’s important because as the old saying goes, the Yankees are the best and to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.

The Twins have narrowed the talent gap between themselves and the Yankees. No longer do the Twins go into a playoff series with a Matt Tolbert, who is a solid utility player but not a starting corner infielder, playing third base and batting ninth in the order.

No longer is Nick Punto, another solid role player, also in the starting lineup alongside Tolbert, providing teams with at least two spots in the order where pitchers can say with relative confidence “I can challenge this guy, he’s unlikely to damage me greatly.”

In fact, while I still think New York has a talent advantage, I also think if the Twins had gotten the monkey of a long postseason losing streak off their collective backs by winning that first game, they might have had a chance to take the series by the throat considering the relative mediocrity of the Yankees’ starting rotation the last half of the regular season.

I think the biggest hurdles the Twins have to overcome now are the mental ones. Minnesota still lacks that Jack Morris-type starting pitcher who will come into the game, throw a pitch underneath a star player’s chin, and then grin at him as if to say “Yeah, motherf%$^&%, it’s on.” Morris pitched one of the all-time greatest World Series games in 1991, not just beating the Braves in game seven but absolutely willing the team to victory.

Francisco Liriano has that kind of stuff but he hasn’t been around the block enough yet. He was solid for five innings in game one this week but the Yankees got to him thereafter. He might develop into a Morris type player. But he isn’t yet.

Look no further than that Rays-Rangers game tonight to see how important such a pitcher can be. Cliff Lee was closing in on 100 pitches nearing the seventh inning. That seems to be a magic number for today’s Twins rotation. But Lee got stronger as the night went on and he managed to gut out a complete game to take the Rangers to the AL Championship Series.

Likewise, the Twins lack that Dan Gladden-like leader who would provide that Morris-like fire in the everyday lineup. Gladden was far from a great player. But he was a solid player who, if he had to, would chase down a deep fly ball, chop off his leg and use it as a club to knock the ball back into play, disinfect the wound and kill the pain with a shot of Jack Daniel’s and then use the empty bottle as a crutch to help him back to the dugout where he would have the injury sewn up.

The current Minnesota lineup is made up of some very good players. Joe Mauer is one of the best catchers in the game, and he might go down as possibly one of the best in the history of baseball.

Justin Morneau, when healthy, is a fantastic weapon. Jim Thome is a classy veteran who still packs punch. Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, Denard Span – right on down the line this is as good a group of players as has been seen in Minnesota and as decent a group as you will find on and off the field. They represent Minnesota well.

But they are not fiery. And that’s fine. They don’t need to be. They should not be forced to lead in ways that don’t mesh with their personalities.

That said, the Yankees are a smug group. They’re the best lineup money can buy and they’ve been there before.

From top to bottom they are professionals. They aren’t going to be intimidated and they know that when push comes to shove, more often than not they are going to be the better team in the end.

In fact, they almost seem bored and disinterested as games unfold. They know they can turn it on when they need to and, in most cases, they do (see game one). That attitude showed through this entire series. The Yankees waited and waited and waited and when the opportunity arose, they pounced.

The Twins have been the Yankees’ punching bags for much of the last decade when it comes to the American League playoffs. I think the talent gap is as small as it has ever been.

But until the Twins show they are willing to punch them in the mouth – until the Twins grab the Yankees by the figurative throat and show they won’t be intimidated by the $200 million juggernaut from the east coast – I don’t think they’re going to get past New York and take it to the next level.