Lets Talk Baseball

White Sox vs. Twins
It got pretty ugly out at The Cell tonight. After the Sox took the lead 3-2 in the 6th, they gave the lead right back in the 7th and the Twins didn't look back. Their D and their bullpen really let them down tonight. The nail-in-the-coffin play tonight was a 3-run double that usually reliable CF Alex Rios dropped a ball with the bases loaded after he initially broke in on the ball that went over his head. But you can't simply point at that play as the reason the Sox lost tonight...there were several reasons. First Sox MVP candidate Paul Konerko struck out in the bottom of the 7th with the bases loaded and only 1 out. The Sox were down just 4-3 so all they needed was a fly ball there to tie it up. That shouldn't have hurt all that much either as RBI-machine Manny Ramirez was up next. Unfortunately Manny wasn't being Manny, at least not the Manny they were hoping to be getting for their near $4 million as he also struck out to end the inning. Manny has now played in 11 games for the Sox and has the same number of RBIs as I do - ZERO. He has matched his RBI total with his extra base hits - ZERO. Getting those two guys in that situation seemed to energize the Twins while deflating the Sox. The bullpen Kenny Williams should have been looking to improve, gave up 5 runs in that fateful 8th inning. So in a must sweep series against their bitter rival Twins, they didn't exactly get off to a very good start. The Sox are now 7 games back with just 18 games to play and appear to be just about done now.

Cubs @ Cardinals
How about those Mike Quady led Cubbies?  They are now 13-7 under Quade and are playing the part of spoiler which is all they have left at this point after being officially eliminated yesterday as they have taken two straight from the rival Cardinals who are now in the same position as the Sox - 7 games behind the division leading Reds.

Aramis Ramirez decided today that there's NO WAY in the world he would get a contract that would come close to the $16.6 million he'll get from the Cubs by implementing his player option.

Bob Melvin is the latest managerial candidate to be interviewed by Jim Hendry. Really? Chris Wedge and Bob Melvin...these are the guys we're looking to make the new manager of a team dying to end their 102-year World Series drought? I know Ricketts came out and said we don't need a big name to help fill the seats at Wrigley, but that doesn't mean they should scrape the bottom of the barrel, does it?

Of course, I still just don't get why Jim Hendry gets to make this hire. He's hired the last two managers...what makes Tom Ricketts think the third time will be the charm? Is anyone ever going to ask Ricketts why this guy still has a job or what it might take for him to finally lose it? I mean if finishing in 5th place with the top payroll in the entire NL doesn't finish him off, what finally will? Is he now going to sign someone to a 3- or 4-year deal? And what if it doesn't work out again next year and it certainly doesn't seem like the new manager is going to have a roster able to compete so odds are it won't work? Will Hendry get fired then only to leave behind another bad contract?

Speaking of the Cardinals and GMs not making the right move...they traded a well-liked Ryan Ludwick on July 31st of this year. The Cards were 1/2 game up on the Reds at the time and 12 games above .500. They are now 7 games back and only 6 games over .500...OOOOPS!

As I discussed in an earlier post, the Cardinals got rid of their long-time GM Walt Jocketty just one year after guiding the Cards to a World Series win. Jocketty is now with the Reds guiding them to their first division title and first playoff appearance since the strike-shortened 1995 season. Coincidence that another playoff appearance follows so soon after the Reds brought in Jocketty? Don't think so...

Yankees @ Rays
Two straight extra inning games in an ultra-important late season series. The Rays took game 1 when Carl Crawford's replacement Reid Brignac who was only in there because Crawford had been ejected in the bottom of the 9th hit a walk-off HR to break a 0-0 tie in the bottom of the 11th. That win put the Rays 1/2 game up on the Yankees for the AL East division lead. Well, tonight was a totally different story...not just with the result but also the overall "style" of the game as the Yankees won this time 8-7 but also in extras.

AL
The red-hot Twins are very quietly creeping up behind the Yankees and Rays for best record in the AL. Right now, they stand only 1 1/2 games behind the league-leading Yankees. The Yanks have 17 games left while the Twins have 18 games left...we'll see how it goes.

Rockies vs. Padres
How is it that every single September the Colorado Rockies will themselves back into the pennant race? Well, they're at it again although they've now lost two straight to the NL West leading Padres. The Rockies are 10-4 in September and are now only 3 1/2 games out of first place. As late as August 25th, the Rockies were only 2 games over .500 and 11 games out. They are now 13 games over .500 and it wouldn't surprise anyone if they snuck into the playoffs yet again.

The Padres are another great story. Here's a team the nobody gave a chance with the second lowest payroll in all of baseball. Well, all they've done is led their division pretty much from mid-April to now where they currently hold a 1 1/2 game lead on the Giants.

I'm now officially a Twins fan and after watching the Bears barely squeak by one of the worst teams in the NFL at home, I can't wait for the Hawks and Bulls to start back up.