The Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins will duke it out for the American League Central division title tonight at U.S. Cellular Field. The White Sox forced Game 163 with a dramatic win over the Detroit Tigers yesterday afternoon behind an electrifying grand slam by the "Cuban Missile" Alexei Ramirez. Ramirez finished the season as the major league leader in grand slams with four and would be a slam dunk AL Rookie of the Year winner if not for Evan Longoria of Tampa Bay. The White Sox, despite losing the season series 10-8 to the Twins, won the coin flip between the teams that enabled the club to host the tie-breaker. Good thing for the Sox, too, because the Twins are just 2-7 at The Cell this season. John Danks will take the mound for the Sox against the Twins' Nick Blackburn. The winner will open a divisional series with Tampa Bay on Thursday afternoon.
Message to Terrell Owens: If anyone should be upset about ball distribution in the offense, it should be Marion Barber, who carried the ball just eight times in Sunday's loss to the Redskins. Eight! And by the way T.O., Romo threw at you 18 times in that game.
Showing posts with label Minnesota Twins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Minnesota Twins. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Breaking News: Sheets Hurt Again
I know it comes as a shocker, but Milwaukee starting pitcher Ben Sheets left last night's game against the Cubs after two innings with tightness in his right forearm. The young veteran right-hander consistently teases Brewers fans with his nasty repertoire, but the guy just can't stay healthy. Without Sheets and Sabathia atop the rotation, the team just doesn't seem to have enough to snag the NL Wild Card. But then again they are trailing the Mets.
Cubs pitcher Rich Harden will take the mound this afternoon in his second start since coming back from shoulder discomfort. Harden looked good last week in St. Louis against the Cardinals, but another successful healthy outing will help squash concerns about the righty's durability for the playoffs.
The White Sox bullpen blew another game last night, as rookie Clayton Richard's stellar outing at Yankee Stadium went down the tubes after veteran Scott Linebrink served up two home runs to turn a one-run defecit into a 5-1 loss. Linebrink does not look completely recovered from the shoulder injury that sidelined him for more than a month, and it looks like the White Sox will have to play the rest of the way short-handed in the 'pen. And still without AL MVP candidate Carlos Quentin. The Sox, however, maintained a 2 1/2 game lead on Minnesota after the Twins were swept by the Indians.
The Phillies, meanwhile, continued to stay hot, winning their season-high sixth straight to maintain their half-game lead over the Mets.
Joey Porter is great. A guarantee of victory in Foxborough on Sunday? Love it Joey. Keep on talking baby.
Cubs pitcher Rich Harden will take the mound this afternoon in his second start since coming back from shoulder discomfort. Harden looked good last week in St. Louis against the Cardinals, but another successful healthy outing will help squash concerns about the righty's durability for the playoffs.
The White Sox bullpen blew another game last night, as rookie Clayton Richard's stellar outing at Yankee Stadium went down the tubes after veteran Scott Linebrink served up two home runs to turn a one-run defecit into a 5-1 loss. Linebrink does not look completely recovered from the shoulder injury that sidelined him for more than a month, and it looks like the White Sox will have to play the rest of the way short-handed in the 'pen. And still without AL MVP candidate Carlos Quentin. The Sox, however, maintained a 2 1/2 game lead on Minnesota after the Twins were swept by the Indians.
The Phillies, meanwhile, continued to stay hot, winning their season-high sixth straight to maintain their half-game lead over the Mets.
Joey Porter is great. A guarantee of victory in Foxborough on Sunday? Love it Joey. Keep on talking baby.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Notre Dame on the Offensive
I am convinced the Notre Dame offense that was in sync in the fourth quarter of its win over San Diego State is the offense we are going to see throughout the season. The little jet Golden Tate, freshman Michael Floyd and Duval Kamara comprise an underlooked wide receiver corps. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen, for the first time in his Notre Dame career, looked like a leader in the huddle.
I don't think there is any question that Tom Brady is out for the year. Matt Cassell will now step in and try to prove that you truly can plug anyone into the New England football machine and produce a consistently dominant team.
Michael Turner's Falcons record of 220 yards rushing was phenomenal, and Turner will be a definite upgrade in the Atlanta backfield and a nice protection policy for rookie QB Matt Ryan. But they did play the Lions. Yes, the same old Lions, who are proving once again that they still cannot stop the run. The Lions are now 31-82 since the start of the 2001 season.
Is it really true that the Dallas Cowboys have not won a playoff game in 12 years?
The Minnesota Twins went 5-9 on their 14-game ill-timed road trip, including losing nine of their last 12 games, and only lost a half-game to the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central standings. That does not bode well for the ChiSox, who must go into the Metrodome during the last week of the season for what most likely will be for the division title. The Twins play nine of their next 19 at home, where they are 20-plus games over .500.
Serena Williams won her ninth major title on Sunday, defeating Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 7-5 in the U.S. Open final. It was Williams' third U.S. Open title and first at Flushing Meadows since 2002. Williams will reclaim the number one ranking in women's tennis for the first time since August 2003, making it the longest gap between stints at No.1 for a woman. It's amazing that both Serena and Venus can seemingly turn off their games for years and come back as strong and dominant as ever. They are quite a story.
Meanwhile, Andy Murray eliminated Rafael Nadal on the men's side, preventing another potential epic clash between Nadal and Federer in a Grand Slam final and stopping Nadal's 19-match winning streak at majors. Murray hadn't previously made it past the quarters at a major and was 0-5 lifetime against Nadal, who was 54-2 in his last 56 matches. Sick.
I don't think there is any question that Tom Brady is out for the year. Matt Cassell will now step in and try to prove that you truly can plug anyone into the New England football machine and produce a consistently dominant team.
Michael Turner's Falcons record of 220 yards rushing was phenomenal, and Turner will be a definite upgrade in the Atlanta backfield and a nice protection policy for rookie QB Matt Ryan. But they did play the Lions. Yes, the same old Lions, who are proving once again that they still cannot stop the run. The Lions are now 31-82 since the start of the 2001 season.
Is it really true that the Dallas Cowboys have not won a playoff game in 12 years?
The Minnesota Twins went 5-9 on their 14-game ill-timed road trip, including losing nine of their last 12 games, and only lost a half-game to the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central standings. That does not bode well for the ChiSox, who must go into the Metrodome during the last week of the season for what most likely will be for the division title. The Twins play nine of their next 19 at home, where they are 20-plus games over .500.
Serena Williams won her ninth major title on Sunday, defeating Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 7-5 in the U.S. Open final. It was Williams' third U.S. Open title and first at Flushing Meadows since 2002. Williams will reclaim the number one ranking in women's tennis for the first time since August 2003, making it the longest gap between stints at No.1 for a woman. It's amazing that both Serena and Venus can seemingly turn off their games for years and come back as strong and dominant as ever. They are quite a story.
Meanwhile, Andy Murray eliminated Rafael Nadal on the men's side, preventing another potential epic clash between Nadal and Federer in a Grand Slam final and stopping Nadal's 19-match winning streak at majors. Murray hadn't previously made it past the quarters at a major and was 0-5 lifetime against Nadal, who was 54-2 in his last 56 matches. Sick.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Twins Bullpen's Road Woes Continue
For the second day in a row, the Twins' bullpen failed on the road as Minnesota lost ground on the White Sox in the AL Central race. The Twins sit only a game back but failed to take advantage of playing the Mariners with Francisco Liriano on the mound. Liriano and Kevin Slowey, in particular, have been spectacular in outpitching their opponents to keep the Twins in the thick of the division race. The bullpen, however, is one of the worst in baseball on the road. Conversely, the unit has been spectacular at home. The Twins do, however, play the White Sox at the Metrodome in the final week of the season, and the Dome has been a house of horrors for the ChiSox. This race has been too tight for the division title not to come down to the season's final week.
Huge win for the Phillies on Monday, as the team completed its sweep of the Dodgers behind another gem from Brett Myers. Reigning MVP Jimmy Rollins' bat finally seems to be heating up, helping set the table for a dominant offense. Meanwhile, Mike Pelfrey continued to live up to his potential with a complete game win over the Astros to keep the Mets a half-game ahead of the Fighting Phils in the AL East. John Maine, however, has been placed on the DL, making it even more crucial for Pedro Martinez and Pelfrey to continue their strong pitching. And that bullpen continues to be painfully bad on most nights. The Mets and Phillies play in one of three huge series that kick off tonight, along with the Brewers/Cardinals and Red Sox/Yankees. The Brewers, by the way, are 15-6 since getting swept by the Cubs at home. Ned Yost did a very nice recovery job.
Huge win for the Phillies on Monday, as the team completed its sweep of the Dodgers behind another gem from Brett Myers. Reigning MVP Jimmy Rollins' bat finally seems to be heating up, helping set the table for a dominant offense. Meanwhile, Mike Pelfrey continued to live up to his potential with a complete game win over the Astros to keep the Mets a half-game ahead of the Fighting Phils in the AL East. John Maine, however, has been placed on the DL, making it even more crucial for Pedro Martinez and Pelfrey to continue their strong pitching. And that bullpen continues to be painfully bad on most nights. The Mets and Phillies play in one of three huge series that kick off tonight, along with the Brewers/Cardinals and Red Sox/Yankees. The Brewers, by the way, are 15-6 since getting swept by the Cubs at home. Ned Yost did a very nice recovery job.
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