For six innings the teams that couldn't shed each other throughout the season went at it again. Identical 88-74 records (53-28 at home and 35-46 on the road), identical finishes to the season (losses Friday and Saturday, win Sunday) and identical goose eggs on the scoreboard.
The Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox were inseparable.
Sox slugger Jim Thome finally changed that with a no doubter to straightaway center leading off the seventh. That run was enough for John Danks, who kept Minnesota at bay with a combination of two and four seam fastballs in the 1-0 victory at U.S. Cellular Field Tuesday.
Minnesota managed just two hits, a leadoff double in the fifth by Michael Cuddyer and a one out single by Brendan Harris in the eighth. And both runners were erased by double plays.
Unable to figure out Danks, Twins hitters resorted to swinging at the first offering. This allowed the young left-hander to keep his pitch count down and complete eight innings in a start made on three days' rest.
Third base coach Scott Ullger tried to get Minnesota on the board first. He sent Cuddyer home on a shallow fly to center in the fifth. Ken Griffey Jr., far removed from his magnificent Gold Glove days of the 1990s, rediscovered his youth in the form of a perfect throw home to end the inning.
Nick Blackburn did all he could to lift the Twins into the postseason. His lone mistake, a hanging changeup to Thome with no outs in the seventh, proved Minnesota's undoing.
Little can be said about the loss other than Minnesota couldn't get it done when given the chance. Another 0-for-3 night from Justin Morneau left the AL MVP candidate in a 1-for-20 slump to end the season. Nine double plays, including three Tuesday, contributed to a 1-3 record and, sans four runs late Sunday, five runs after the emotionally empowering sweep of the Sox last week.
A coin flip that gave Chicago home field for Tuesday's game. Maybe next year the Twins will come out ahead.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Twins Lose One-Game Playoff
Season on the line
Swinging bats but only outs
Nothing left but home
(A Haggy Haiku)
Swinging bats but only outs
Nothing left but home
(A Haggy Haiku)
Game Decided by Flip of a Coin
One game. One winner. One playoff berth. One coin toss?
The Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox are about to compete in just the eighth one-game playoff to determine who gets to meet Tampa Bay Thursday.
Chicago gets to draw on its home crowd, before which, like the Twins at the Dome, it went 53-28.
Who cares that Minnesota swept Chicago last week to take a half game lead in the division and the season series 10 games to eight. Chicago won the coin toss.
A coin flip determines the home team in these situations even when the head-to-head series doesn't result in a tie.
Nick Blackburn takes the hill for the Twins. Double advantage to the Sox. He's 2-2 with a 5.67 ERA in five starts against them. Worse, he's 0-2 with a 7.20 ERA in three starts at U.S. Cellular Field.
OK, Sox starter John Danks has been suspect against Twins this season, posting a 7.91 ERA. Still, there's the home field advantage. The Twins won eight of nine against the Sox in Minnesota and lost seven of nine in Chicago.
Neither team wanted anything to do with the postseason, it seemed, as each patterned the other the final weekend of the season (two losses, then a win), plus Chicago defeated Detroit in a make-up game Monday, to set up this do-or-die.
If either team deserves a slight advantage it's the Twins.
The Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox are about to compete in just the eighth one-game playoff to determine who gets to meet Tampa Bay Thursday.
Chicago gets to draw on its home crowd, before which, like the Twins at the Dome, it went 53-28.
Who cares that Minnesota swept Chicago last week to take a half game lead in the division and the season series 10 games to eight. Chicago won the coin toss.
A coin flip determines the home team in these situations even when the head-to-head series doesn't result in a tie.
Nick Blackburn takes the hill for the Twins. Double advantage to the Sox. He's 2-2 with a 5.67 ERA in five starts against them. Worse, he's 0-2 with a 7.20 ERA in three starts at U.S. Cellular Field.
OK, Sox starter John Danks has been suspect against Twins this season, posting a 7.91 ERA. Still, there's the home field advantage. The Twins won eight of nine against the Sox in Minnesota and lost seven of nine in Chicago.
Neither team wanted anything to do with the postseason, it seemed, as each patterned the other the final weekend of the season (two losses, then a win), plus Chicago defeated Detroit in a make-up game Monday, to set up this do-or-die.
If either team deserves a slight advantage it's the Twins.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Michigan Meltdown
Victory in sight
Badger collapse begins
History repeats
(A Haggy Haiku)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ann Arbor rejected Wisconsin once again. She stood proud, coming away with a 27-25 gift after the Badgers blew a 19-point lead and botched a last-second two-point conversion. Ms. Arbor has had her way with the Badgers and the Big Ten in conference openers, winning the last four and 23 respectively.
Leave it to UW to have meltdowns such as these. Once unappreciated, the football world fawned Wisconsin with Top 10 rankings in each of the past two seasons.
Enough already. The Badgers aren't the Postal Service, they don't deliver.
Lack of discipline, particularly in the basic fundamentals like pursuit, tackling and coverage, are severely lacking. Tyler Donovan was no John Stocco. Badger fans are quickly finding out Allan Evridge isn't either.
Badger collapse begins
History repeats
(A Haggy Haiku)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ann Arbor rejected Wisconsin once again. She stood proud, coming away with a 27-25 gift after the Badgers blew a 19-point lead and botched a last-second two-point conversion. Ms. Arbor has had her way with the Badgers and the Big Ten in conference openers, winning the last four and 23 respectively.
Leave it to UW to have meltdowns such as these. Once unappreciated, the football world fawned Wisconsin with Top 10 rankings in each of the past two seasons.
Enough already. The Badgers aren't the Postal Service, they don't deliver.
Lack of discipline, particularly in the basic fundamentals like pursuit, tackling and coverage, are severely lacking. Tyler Donovan was no John Stocco. Badger fans are quickly finding out Allan Evridge isn't either.
One For the Ages
Destiny snapped at their heels. Defeat and woe swallowed the New York Mets' air.
Like a trench soldier in World War I, the end crept ever near.
Just not today. Not yet.
Those thousand lucky chances to which Paul Bäumer alluded on that Western Front weren't necessary, for today unmatched talent and resolve echoed across the barren land.
Today, there was a bud of hope in the ashes of anguish.
He is Johan Santana.
In jeopardy of missing the hallowed postseason after another September collapse, New York needed to make a stand. It needed a victory.
Without hesitation Santana shouldered the dire circumstances. He grabbed the ammunition from his commander Jerry Manuel's hand and took the hill.
It didn't matter that this was the first time hurling on short rest in what has been a star-studded career. The situation demanded it. No one else could step up.
From the outset, Santana was locked in. Firing strikes with a mixture of his fastball and devastating change-up that out of nowhere drops like the shells from a Paris Gun, Santana fought.
Opposite him, Ricky Nolasco was doing everything he could to disable and defeat the Mets, giving up two runs on five hits while striking out 10 over seven innings.
On Santana worked.
In the end, he disarmed and rendered the Marlins useless, this coming after an outing where the sniper sucked it up and gave it his all for a career-high 126 pitches to save Manuel the discomfort of relying on his apish relief.
His final line read: 9 IP, 3 Hits, 0 Runs, 3 BB, 9 K. More importantly, the battle read: Mets 2, Marlins 0.
New York can take a breath of fresh air. But without its iron man to save the infantry again tomorrow, the reality can change in the blink of an eye.
Bang.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
What Happened?
It was unnerving that Glen Perkins got the start Saturday in one of the biggest games of the season. More so when Ron Gardenhire took him out.
His ERA in four September starts sat at 9.42, certainly not helped by his last outing where he failed to escape the first inning. Extra rest changed that.
Perkins, pitching for the first time in nine days, breezed through four innings and made it through the fifth having allowed just one run on four hits and thrown 85 pitches.
Gardy turned to his bullpen. Boof mistake.
Bonser gave up four consecutive hits to start the sixth and good ol' Matt Guerrier gave up two more to start the seventh. In all, three runs scored and the Twins missed an opportunity to take command of the AL Central, losing 4-2. Now, they must hope Chicago loses its game against Cleveland.
Gardenhire is one of the best managers when it comes to getting the most out of his players. He's one of the best at building a cohesive, fundamentally sound team. He's one of the best season to season managers. But when it comes to in-game and day-to-day situations, he sometimes just doesn't make any sense.
His ERA in four September starts sat at 9.42, certainly not helped by his last outing where he failed to escape the first inning. Extra rest changed that.
Perkins, pitching for the first time in nine days, breezed through four innings and made it through the fifth having allowed just one run on four hits and thrown 85 pitches.
Gardy turned to his bullpen. Boof mistake.
Bonser gave up four consecutive hits to start the sixth and good ol' Matt Guerrier gave up two more to start the seventh. In all, three runs scored and the Twins missed an opportunity to take command of the AL Central, losing 4-2. Now, they must hope Chicago loses its game against Cleveland.
Gardenhire is one of the best managers when it comes to getting the most out of his players. He's one of the best at building a cohesive, fundamentally sound team. He's one of the best season to season managers. But when it comes to in-game and day-to-day situations, he sometimes just doesn't make any sense.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
MLB Capsules
Normally, capsules won't appear on this blog. However, when several teams face must-wins and do just that, the games become talking points. Let's take a look:
Mets 6, Cubs 2
In jeopardy of another late-season collapse and early off-season, the Mets got a big hand from ace Johan Santana. The left-hander limited Chicago to two runs over 8 innings while striking out 10. David Wright hit a two-run single in the fifth and Jose Reyes cleared the bases in the sixth with a triple to provide the offense in a 6-2 win.
Unwilling to rely on his hapless bullpen, manager Charlie Manuel chose to send Santana out for the eighth despite having already thrown 101 pitches. It worked.
New York moves within 1 1/2 games of Philadelphia and remains a game ahead of Milwaukee, a 7-5 winner over Pittsburgh, in the Wild Card race.
Twins 9, White Sox 3
The long ball proved to be the difference in this one. Only the White Sox weren't the ones hitting them. Jason Kubel smashed two and Delmon Young added another as the Twins routed Chicago 9-3 to move within 1 1/2 games of first place. Scott Baker rebounded from a rough outing, scattering five hits and allowing just a run-scoring double play over seven innings.
Brewers 7, Pirates 5
The Fielder will be heralded for his bat tonight. Prince Fielder hit a walk-off two-run homer with two outs to keep the Brewers in the Wild Card hunt. Milwaukee overcame two deficits to win consecutively for the first time in 17 days.
Yankees 3, Blue Jays 1
Behind the arm of veteran Mike Mussina and bat of Jason Giambi the Bronx Bombers won for the sixth consecutive time.
It's too little too late because:
Red Sox 5, Indians 4
Boston smelled the postseason. Nothing could stand in its way, not even Cliff Lee, AL CY Young favorite and loser of just two games this season.
Kevin Youkilis homered with a man on in the fourth and Dustin Pedroia doubled in two more during a three-run fifth to overcome the Indians' four spot in the top-half and earn a trip to the playoffs for the fifth time in six years.
Dodgers 10, Padres 1
With Arizona in the rear-view mirror, Los Angeles pounced on a chance to move closer to a division title. After one, the Dodgers held a 6-0 advantage. They added four more for good measure the rest of the way in a 10-1 drubbing of San Diego.
And now ... the losers
Cardinals 7, D'Backs 4
The fast start again proved fatal to the visitors. Ryan Ludwick blasted his 35th of the season in part of a four run first to send Arizona one step closer to elimination.
Braves 3, Phillies 2
Mike Hampton pitched 6 effective innings and Casey Kotchman hit the eventual game-winning home run to tighten the NL East race.
Mets 6, Cubs 2
In jeopardy of another late-season collapse and early off-season, the Mets got a big hand from ace Johan Santana. The left-hander limited Chicago to two runs over 8 innings while striking out 10. David Wright hit a two-run single in the fifth and Jose Reyes cleared the bases in the sixth with a triple to provide the offense in a 6-2 win.
Unwilling to rely on his hapless bullpen, manager Charlie Manuel chose to send Santana out for the eighth despite having already thrown 101 pitches. It worked.
New York moves within 1 1/2 games of Philadelphia and remains a game ahead of Milwaukee, a 7-5 winner over Pittsburgh, in the Wild Card race.
Twins 9, White Sox 3
The long ball proved to be the difference in this one. Only the White Sox weren't the ones hitting them. Jason Kubel smashed two and Delmon Young added another as the Twins routed Chicago 9-3 to move within 1 1/2 games of first place. Scott Baker rebounded from a rough outing, scattering five hits and allowing just a run-scoring double play over seven innings.
Brewers 7, Pirates 5
The Fielder will be heralded for his bat tonight. Prince Fielder hit a walk-off two-run homer with two outs to keep the Brewers in the Wild Card hunt. Milwaukee overcame two deficits to win consecutively for the first time in 17 days.
Yankees 3, Blue Jays 1
Behind the arm of veteran Mike Mussina and bat of Jason Giambi the Bronx Bombers won for the sixth consecutive time.
It's too little too late because:
Red Sox 5, Indians 4
Boston smelled the postseason. Nothing could stand in its way, not even Cliff Lee, AL CY Young favorite and loser of just two games this season.
Kevin Youkilis homered with a man on in the fourth and Dustin Pedroia doubled in two more during a three-run fifth to overcome the Indians' four spot in the top-half and earn a trip to the playoffs for the fifth time in six years.
Dodgers 10, Padres 1
With Arizona in the rear-view mirror, Los Angeles pounced on a chance to move closer to a division title. After one, the Dodgers held a 6-0 advantage. They added four more for good measure the rest of the way in a 10-1 drubbing of San Diego.
And now ... the losers
Cardinals 7, D'Backs 4
The fast start again proved fatal to the visitors. Ryan Ludwick blasted his 35th of the season in part of a four run first to send Arizona one step closer to elimination.
Braves 3, Phillies 2
Mike Hampton pitched 6 effective innings and Casey Kotchman hit the eventual game-winning home run to tighten the NL East race.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Vikings Thoughts
Maybe Gus Frerotte should have been the starter all along.
Just a thought.
The Vikings offense looked much more synced with the 15-year journeyman running the offense than at any point the two previous weeks with Tarvaris Jackson in there.
It took a while for Frerotte to settle in, completing four of 10 passes for 49 yards in the first half Sunday against the Panthers. Still, the trust, the communication between receivers and quarterback never wavered.
Everything clicked in the second half.
Frerotte moved around in the pocket, and occasionally outside, buying time for his receivers to get open and successfully mixed in short throws with deep ones.
While futile in the here and now, think about what might have been.
The offense perhaps wouldn't have stalled in the fourth quarter with Frerotte, opening the door for Indianapolis to rattle off 18 unanswered points in Week 2. The Vikings previously held a 109-0 record in home games where they held a 15 point second-half advantage. There's no telling what would have changed in Week 1 against the Pack, but 2-1 is literally a polar opposite mentality from 1-2.
One, you're in control, feeling good. The other, you're beginning to think about salvaging the season.
Obviously, the past can't be changed. With Frerotte in, Vikings fans are beginning to believe this year's team has a future.
Just a thought.
The Vikings offense looked much more synced with the 15-year journeyman running the offense than at any point the two previous weeks with Tarvaris Jackson in there.
It took a while for Frerotte to settle in, completing four of 10 passes for 49 yards in the first half Sunday against the Panthers. Still, the trust, the communication between receivers and quarterback never wavered.
Everything clicked in the second half.
Frerotte moved around in the pocket, and occasionally outside, buying time for his receivers to get open and successfully mixed in short throws with deep ones.
While futile in the here and now, think about what might have been.
The offense perhaps wouldn't have stalled in the fourth quarter with Frerotte, opening the door for Indianapolis to rattle off 18 unanswered points in Week 2. The Vikings previously held a 109-0 record in home games where they held a 15 point second-half advantage. There's no telling what would have changed in Week 1 against the Pack, but 2-1 is literally a polar opposite mentality from 1-2.
One, you're in control, feeling good. The other, you're beginning to think about salvaging the season.
Obviously, the past can't be changed. With Frerotte in, Vikings fans are beginning to believe this year's team has a future.
Follow Up
I guess Ron Gardenhire did listen. Thanks.
Jose Mijares, the rookie reliever from Venezuela, came on in the eighth inning Sunday, a bridge between Francisco Liriano's start and Joe Nathan's save chance.
As Gardy learned, late in the season the hot hand trumps experience, especially when those with tenure post 10-plus ERA's (Matt Guerrier) in September.
Mijares has faced 20 big-league hitters. Eighteen have failed to reach base (.100 BAA). He'd still be chasing the A's Brad Ziegler's record of 39 consecutive scoreless innings to start a career if not for Guerrier. The former man for the job inherited a Grady Sizemore single and proceeded to give up consecutive doubles to Jhonny Peralta and Victor Martinez. Mjiares got hooked with the loss that night in Cleveland.
With the division in the balance and the first-place White Sox coming to town Tuesday, the decision to go with Mijares comes at an appropriate time.
Gardy may let the water rage for a while, but he always finds a way to dam it, control it.
Jose Mijares, the rookie reliever from Venezuela, came on in the eighth inning Sunday, a bridge between Francisco Liriano's start and Joe Nathan's save chance.
As Gardy learned, late in the season the hot hand trumps experience, especially when those with tenure post 10-plus ERA's (Matt Guerrier) in September.
Mijares has faced 20 big-league hitters. Eighteen have failed to reach base (.100 BAA). He'd still be chasing the A's Brad Ziegler's record of 39 consecutive scoreless innings to start a career if not for Guerrier. The former man for the job inherited a Grady Sizemore single and proceeded to give up consecutive doubles to Jhonny Peralta and Victor Martinez. Mjiares got hooked with the loss that night in Cleveland.
With the division in the balance and the first-place White Sox coming to town Tuesday, the decision to go with Mijares comes at an appropriate time.
Gardy may let the water rage for a while, but he always finds a way to dam it, control it.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Letter to the Twins
Dear Mr. Ron Gardenhire:
The season is winding down as you know and there's still hope, a slice of optimism missing to begin the season, that a division title is within reach. Congratulations.
Just because the Twins weren't expected to be in this position at the outset with a revamped and always dangerous Detroit and Cleveland in the division, doesn't mean it's OK to play for next year in September.
C'mon Gardy.
Chicago is without front-runner MVP candidate Carlos Quentin, 30 homer threat Joe Crede and starter Jose Contreras. The Sox's young pitching, much like that of your team, is breaking down; tiring. Yet your on the surface healthy ball club continues to slip up more.
Your conservation, bordering stubbornness is harder to understand than an infinite series problem. What is it about being reluctant to make changes, make adjustments?
First, it was Carlos Gomez.
The rookie batted leadoff for 3 1/2 months with an OBP lower than Nick Punto's 2007 effort (.281 vs. .291) before you came to your senses. He failed to reach .330 after the first 10 games. Remember how fans disliked the piranha for such a lousy effort?
Second came Livan Hernandez.
Clubhouse leader and mentor aside, the guy deals a mixture of slothful, hanging curveballs and juicy fastballs. He gets batted around like a pinata on Cinco de Mayo.
It's understandable you held off on Francisco Liriano until he commanded his pitches. But to say you didn't have anyone in your rotation to bump when he did? Interesting.
Most recently, it has been the bullpen, mostly Matt Guerrier.
OK, he pitched well last year (2.35 ERA, 1.05 WHIP). He even pitched well in the first half, posting a modest 3.35 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. Doesn't mean that when his numbers blimp up to 10.2 and 2.53 over the past two months he remains a viable option. Every time out, it seems, he either gives up the game-tying or -winning run, or he allows it to score. Once reliable, the man has lost his confidence and ability to throw strikes with anything offspeed. You should stop casting him in a supporting role, relegating him to clean-up duty.
You say the entire staff is wearing down. Guerrier is tenured. There's little to work with.
You're right. Except that no one else is posting a double-digit ERA when it matters most, in September.
Eventually, you made the right decision about Gomez and Hernandez. Will the obvious finally be revealed to you about Guerrier?
Hopefully, before it's too late.
Looking out for your interests.
Warm regards,
Haggy
The season is winding down as you know and there's still hope, a slice of optimism missing to begin the season, that a division title is within reach. Congratulations.
Just because the Twins weren't expected to be in this position at the outset with a revamped and always dangerous Detroit and Cleveland in the division, doesn't mean it's OK to play for next year in September.
C'mon Gardy.
Chicago is without front-runner MVP candidate Carlos Quentin, 30 homer threat Joe Crede and starter Jose Contreras. The Sox's young pitching, much like that of your team, is breaking down; tiring. Yet your on the surface healthy ball club continues to slip up more.
Your conservation, bordering stubbornness is harder to understand than an infinite series problem. What is it about being reluctant to make changes, make adjustments?
First, it was Carlos Gomez.
The rookie batted leadoff for 3 1/2 months with an OBP lower than Nick Punto's 2007 effort (.281 vs. .291) before you came to your senses. He failed to reach .330 after the first 10 games. Remember how fans disliked the piranha for such a lousy effort?
Second came Livan Hernandez.
Clubhouse leader and mentor aside, the guy deals a mixture of slothful, hanging curveballs and juicy fastballs. He gets batted around like a pinata on Cinco de Mayo.
It's understandable you held off on Francisco Liriano until he commanded his pitches. But to say you didn't have anyone in your rotation to bump when he did? Interesting.
Most recently, it has been the bullpen, mostly Matt Guerrier.
OK, he pitched well last year (2.35 ERA, 1.05 WHIP). He even pitched well in the first half, posting a modest 3.35 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. Doesn't mean that when his numbers blimp up to 10.2 and 2.53 over the past two months he remains a viable option. Every time out, it seems, he either gives up the game-tying or -winning run, or he allows it to score. Once reliable, the man has lost his confidence and ability to throw strikes with anything offspeed. You should stop casting him in a supporting role, relegating him to clean-up duty.
You say the entire staff is wearing down. Guerrier is tenured. There's little to work with.
You're right. Except that no one else is posting a double-digit ERA when it matters most, in September.
Eventually, you made the right decision about Gomez and Hernandez. Will the obvious finally be revealed to you about Guerrier?
Hopefully, before it's too late.
Looking out for your interests.
Warm regards,
Haggy
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Getting Started
Welcome to Hangin' With Haggy. It's not the first time I've blogged, but it is the first time I'll get to write unaffiliated. That means more content about more things.
One of my friends thought it'd be a good idea to occasionally have a Haggy Haiku. So look out for those. It's my way of Waldo-ing myself from the rest of the blogging world.
Enjoy.
Haggy
One of my friends thought it'd be a good idea to occasionally have a Haggy Haiku. So look out for those. It's my way of Waldo-ing myself from the rest of the blogging world.
Enjoy.
Haggy
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