Detroit can clinch with a win tonight. So what are they doing? Laying down against the Royals. It's 7-0 in the first inning.
Holy Christ, the Twins are going to have a chance to win the division on the last day.
What'll you have?

Well, last night was a tough loss. Let's see how the boys do this morning.

Well, it was a good time last night and a bad time.
I met up with SBGer Geoff at Hubert's before the game and had dinner and visited. We had a good time and one of my old law school friends joined up. But, when it was time to go get a [...]

Your best buddy SBG will be at the game. Prior to the game, I'll be meeting up with SBGer Geoff, who's in town from Utah for the game.
I wonder that the odds are that I'll see an A.J. bat flip. Heh.

• No, it's not your imagination. This has been a helluva season. According to Elias, this is the latest point in a season that a team reached first place for the first time (159th game). The previous record was held by the 1964 Cardinals, who gained a share of [...]

Twins win a thriller! It's the first time the Twins have been in first place all season! Jason Bartlett with the game winner and the cap does its job.

I'm still recovering from the all night workathon the other night. Time for me to go to bed. You all have the floor. [...]

Give it up for BRadke!
Um. Let's win this one, fellas.

Your first place Minnesota Twins win!

With four games left to play, it seems less and less likely that the Twins will win the division. They have to make up two games, meaning that they really need the Royals to beat up on the Tigers. Heh.
Don't think about that too much, just have a cup of coffee and [...]

Twins lose. I'm still recovering from the all night workathon the other night. Time for me to go to bed. You all have the floor.
What'll you have?

The KCRs are sitting on 99 losses. Let's make that an even 100.

Aw Crap. Twins lose.

SI.COM is reporting that Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens, who was reportedly hospitalized because of "an allergic reaction" to pain killers actually attempted suicide.
I happened to hear on the radio this morning that Owens will play this Sunday, despite his hospitalization.

I'm ready to go for the day. I had my Cheerios and a couple of pieces of fruit. But, something's missing. Ah yes, the morning cup of coffee.
Freshly ground, piping hot. I'm feeling good. For the first time in a long time, I don't know how the White [...]

After 15 minutes of sleep last night, I'm one tired SBG.
A nice win for the team, I hope they keep it up.
Bar's Open. What'll you have?

It's the hangover bowl. I still like our guys.

Twins Win!

It was a long night for me, and I'm sure most of the Twins players will be bleary this morning. A little worse for the wear and tear, so to speak.
• Wow, what an effort by the Twins this year. They have been relentless in a way that I have never seen from any [...]

Cue the Barry Manilow... Looks like we made it!!!!!
The Twins have clinched a spot in the post season tournament and sit one game behind the idle Detroit Tigers with six games to play. This is not over, folks!
What'll you have?

Tonight could be the night that the Twins clinch a playoff berth. If so, they'll do it on the field. That would be fun.
At the very worst, Chicago is going to have to come to Minnesota and sweep the Twins. More likely is that the Twins will be the only team with [...]

Maybe you need decaf in the middle of the day. I go high test all the day through.
• The Wild Card will land in the Central Division of the American League for the first time, ever. What a fantastic season this has been for the heartland, with the Tigs, Chisox, [...]

The magic number to clinch the Wild Card is two.
• No offensive touchdowns for the Vikings in a home loss to the Bears.
• Chris Simms has emergency surgery to remove his spleen after he ruptured it in Sunday's game. Simms likely ruptured it in the second quarter and played the rest of the game. [...]

It's the last road game of the season. Our boys have clinched a winning record on the road, something that seemed absolutely impossible a couple of months ago.
I wonder if the Orioles are having any "fan appreciation" events this weekend. I wrote about it in the "Cup of Coffee" but some Oriole fans [...]

Can the Vikings outsmart their old nemesis Mike Ditka today?

On Sunday morning a good pot of coffee makes the day start easier.
• The University of Minnesota might have gone to Indiana and lost on Saturday, but North Dakota State University (SBG's alma mater) left Indiana with a win. It was the first win by the Bison over a Division I-A [...]

• Not good start by Scott Baker on Saturday, but the Twins bats bailed him out. Torii Hunter, who has been absolutely fantastic in September, tied his career high in HRs with 29. He now looks like a shoo-in for 30 HRs.
• Reusse suggests that the Twins consider starting Groundskeeper Willie in the playoffs against [...]

Ol' Patrick actually wrote the following in his Saturday column:
Shucks, gentlemen, if your club keeps messing around as it did in the 7-3 loss to Baltimore of Friday night, you might need Johan Santana to pitch the season finale against the White Sox a week from Sunday.
The Chisox have lost 8 of 10 and are [...]

I turned on the radio this morning and the weekly fantasy football show was on KFAN. If you've never listened to such a show, the hosts field calls from listeners who are having trouble with their fantasy team. Here is a representative call.
I've got Walter Payton, OJ Simpson, and Jim Brown and I [...]

I have been doing some work this morning, trying to find out why this site looks so bad in Internet Explorer. Through my research, I have found a way, I think, to fix some problems. I started laying some ground work and I saw that the big problem in IE, that the comments [...]

It's early Saturday morning. I've got a fresh pot of coffee brewed. Mmmm. It's good and strong.
• Barry Bonds hit home run #733 in the Giants loss last night. What's so big about that? Well, it ties Hank Aaron for the National League Record. Hammerin' Hank hit the last 22 [...]

What'll you have?
Another loss tonight. I didn't see much of the game, but I sure didn't like the way the bullpen let down. Oh well, can't win 'em all.
The Tigs are leading KC 4-3 in the sixth. The Mariners are leading the White Sox 7-4 in the fifth.
The bar is open.

Carlos Silva returns to the sight of his most humiliating defeat of the season. What we needed in that game was the old slowpitch softball rule limiting the number of home runs a team can hit, making the rest of the balls hit over the fence an out.
Of course, the night was not a [...]

Friday morning. Weekend is coming. Have a good cup of coffee.
Reusse tells us about Glen Perkins' debut. His mom and dad were at the game and left early -- they missed it! Oops! I've said it before -- sometimes Reusse just ticks me off, but I believe he's the best [...]

What'll you have?
Here's an interesting story about Paul Byrd and his elbow. His ulnar collateral ligament was split lengthwise as opposed to being torn. He had the Tommy John surgery and he recommends that the F-Bomb get down to Dr. Jobe and get checked out.
It seems to me that a lot of the [...]

Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
My mother heard that sound this morning.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
The sound that will change everything for SBG. He’s been thinking a lot about the Twins this summer, but not as much as you might think. Because one thing has been on his mind more [...]

Last night was (ho hum) another come back win against the worthless Red Stockings. Our friend Will Young expresses his contempt for those on the Boston bandwagon. I agree Will. In a way, the Boston fans (at least some of them) are more contempible than the Yankee "faithful".
We got our best guy [...]

Nate Silver from BP writes an article on what teams are best equipped for the post season. Borrowing from his book Between the Numbers, he lays out the main factors required for success in the post season:
[T]here are three particular characteristics of teams that win more than their share of post-season games. These characteristics [...]

Update: As luck would have it, Mr. Stark has published a new piece that does include the face that Vida Blue did win an AL MVP as a starter. This article was published after I wrote my little entry here. The original article remains uncorrected.
More fun from Jayson Stark, my main competition:
Bet a [...]

Jayson Stark, who wrote that b.s. piece on the "it doesn't happen every year" HR/K ratio for Albert Pujols says that the Johan Santana is not the MVP. He says it is Justin Morneau.
I'm still jazzed by Wednesday's game. Now, the Twins can sweep their first series in the last 16 (they've won [...]

What'll you have?
Another terrific win tonight!
Let's see. Bonser is effective again, the Twins offense awakens after Schilling leaves and Torii Hunter explodes. Two hits for Joe Mauer with two hits, Cuddyer with three.
The Twins can mathematically eliminate the Red Sox tomorrow night.
What about the bullpen? What are your thoughts? Crain and [...]

There is no player that I despise more than Curt Schilling. Great pitcher, tough competitor, proven winner, two-time world champion. I hate this guy. Can. Not. Stand. Him.
Maybe I need therapy. If so, nothing would be more therapeutic than a win over this guy.
By the way, thanks to [...]

I grabbed myself a cup of Super America coffee for the road. Believe it or not, there's not a convenient coffee house on my way to work, so SA it is.
What's on your mind? I've been thinking about my comments about ScruFi over at Seth Speaks. I said that ol' [...]

Jayson Stark writes in his blog about Poo-Holes and his HR/K rate:
You can't get one [HRs] anymore without the other [Ks].
Unless you're Albert Pujols.
Stare at Pujols' line on the old stat sheet. Here's what you'll see -- and it's no typographical error:
46 home runs, 44 strikeouts.
Well, as loyal reader Craig Edwards points out, you don't [...]

What'll you have?
So, as of tonight, who is the Twins MVP?
Joe Mauer?
Justin Morneau?
Johan Santana?
I'm going with Mr. Santana myself.
One more thing to chew on: The Twins are 76-0 when leading after eight innings. They are 27-1 in the last 28 games in which they have scored four runs or more.

Got no love for the bloody soxers. And right now, I really got no love for them. Hopefully, they are demoralized and sleepwalking from this point forward.

Twins Win!

THE INSANITY has been stopped. With 13 games to play, Rondell White needs to get 82 more plate appearances to have his 2007 option vest. That would be 6.31 plate appearances per game. Short of some very high scoring games or a lot of extra innings, he can't get there from here.
Now, [...]

Good morning, SBG fans and welcome to a special posting with Seth from Seth Speaks. Seth has been one of the biggest supporters of SBG, the WGOM from way back when the only people who read this site had the same last name as me. He and I have collaborated on a pair [...]

What'll you have?
Detroit leads the Chisox in the fourth. Toronto leads the Yanquis, but A-Rod cuts the lead to 3-2 with his 34th home run. Did you know that A-Rod's OPS is higher than Jeter's?

BP's Joe Sheehan on Derek Jeter swinging at ball 4 (the count was 3-0) last night to try and extend his hitting streak. He has good things to say not only about Jeter, Mr.-I-Don't-Think-About-Individual-Records, as well as some other moments when the quest of personal glory superceded the game itself and one instance where [...]

It seems to me that the 2005 Vikings might have tried a play like having the field goal kicker throw a pass, too. However, the difference between this year and last year is that last year the head coach probably would have told the media that he was going to do it at his [...]

Phil Nevin:
You want to know why this club wins? Watch the infield play defense. The pitchers don't walk people, and the infield makes plays for them. Today, we won by five runs [6-1], and the difference was infield defense.
When you think how atrocious that defense was at the beginning of the season, it is simply [...]

Read some half-baked crap elsewhere? Here's your place to let SBG Nation know about it. Remember, I need to know the competition in order to compete!

I Would Loves Me Some Series Win.
The Twins have decided to give everyone a day off in the rotation because of the day off. As a result, the Twins are looking at Garza, Bonser, and Santana lined up for the final series of the season. Honestly, I'd like to see that lineup be [...]

At least the Vikings are named after a state. I've been to North Carolina, I've been to South Carolina, but I've never been to "Carolina".

Movado watches has the following copy:
Derek Jeter: Humanitarian, Leader, Athlete.
Humanitarian? What's next? Messiah?

Post any newsworthy articles that you found outside of the Twin Cities media in the letters to the editor. This can be anything from any source other than Twins Blogs, the Star Tribune, Pioneer Press or any other Twin Cities news outlet. You can post on the Twins, baseball, the weather. Whatever.

• The Strib is reporting that ScruFi thinks Torii Hunter will win his sixth consecutive Gold Glove as one of the top three defensive outfielders in the AL.
Well, maybe he will. But, only if the voters haven’t been watching him play.
• Brad Radke reported that he felt pain in his right shoulder as he threw in [...]

Aw Crap. Santana pitches and the Twins lose. And now it's Sabbathia v. Silva. It don't get any easier.

Twins Win!

Hey, I haven't provided you a VORP report lately, so I thought I'd take some time to go through things.

6’2 208 LBS. Batted Right and Threw Left. Born 1942.
Member of the Twins from 1979-1981
VORP as a Twin: 102.2 Rank: 35th

Twins Record

Year
Ag
W
L
G
GS
CG
SHO
GF
SV
IP
H
R
ER
HR
BB
SO
HBP
WP
BFP
IBB
BK
ERA
lgERA
ERA+
WHIP
VORP

1979
36
20
13
37
36
10
2
0
0
263.7
268
108
99
19
83
157
3
2
1101
4
1
3.38
4.4
130
1.331
64.6

1980
37
16
13
38
34
8
0
2
2
243.3
252
119
109
24
69
149
5
2
1022
5
1
4.03
4.37
108
1.319
33.8

1981
38
3
9
19
13
2
1
5
5
94.3
98
49
44
8
34
55
0
1
404
7
1
4.20
3.96
94
1.399
3.8

Twins
39
35
94
83
20
3
7
7
601.3
618
276
252
51
186
361
8
5
2527
16
3
3.77

1.337
102.2

Career
222
209
612
527
140
33
43
17
3839.3
3635
1608
1433
290
1198
2556
71
89
15996
121
29
3.36
3.71
110
1.259

Jerry Koosman was traded from the New York Mets for Greg Field and a player to be named later after 14 seasons in the Met organization. Koosman paid immediate dividends in 1979, winning [...]

Let's see. Cliff Lee started last night and Eric Wedge went through 9 pitchers. The over/under on tonight's game -- to be started by Fausto Carmona -- is being set by your best buddy SBG at 8.
The current line is at -230.
Meanwhile, the Chisox are at Oakland. Jon Garland is starting against [...]

I was reading an article by Will Carroll at BP and I'm a little confused. If I was a smarter individual, I'd be able to make some sense out of it, but, alas, I'm not. Will someone please explain the following to me?
Francisco Liriano is without question one of the best young pitchers [...]

Steph Marbury, in town to promote a line of sneakers, talks about the only guy in the league who could actually play with him and make him a better player:
I would love to play with Kevin. We would love for him to come to New York. If he wants to play with me in New [...]

From Elias:
The Indians used nine pitchers in their loss to Minnesota, one shy of the major-league record for a nine-inning game (10 by the Orioles on Sept. 12, 2004, against the Yankees). Cleveland's hurlers threw 218 pitches, the third-most in any nine-inning American League game this season.
Thursday's game had a good outcome, but it was [...]

6’2 208 LBS. Batted Right and Threw Right. Born 1967.
Member of the Twins from 1992-1999, 2002
VORP as a Twin: 101.3 Rank: 36th

Twins Record

Year
Age
W
L
G
GS
CG
GF
SV
IP
H
R
ER
HR
BB
SO
HBP
WP
BFP
IBB
BK
ERA
lgERA
ERA+
WHIP
VORP

1992
25
3
2
10
7
0
0
0
46.3
43
20
17
5
17
38
1
0
194
0
0
3.3
4.07
123
1.295
7.4

1993
26
6
6
44
10
0
8
2
114.3
131
72
62
15
41
85
3
5
506
4
0
4.88
4.42
91
1.504
2

1994
27
2
0
24
0
0
8
0
48.3
56
36
34
10
18
32
3
3
219
2
0
6.33
4.85
77
1.531
0.2

1995
28
4
8
20
18
0
0
0
97.7
107
68
61
18
42
68
3
4
442
1
0
5.62
4.72
84
1.526
1.2

1996
29
5
1
43
0
0
19
6
68.7
61
24
23
2
25
57
5
4
292
8
0
3.01
5.15
171
1.252
29.3

1997
30
2
3
67
0
0
21
1
82.3
77
43
40
7
31
74
2
5
349
4
0
4.37
4.66
107
1.312
14.1

1998
31
6
5
77
1
0
17
1
96.7
90
41
39
16
41
89
5
6
413
3
1
3.63
4.7
129
1.355
26.3

1999
32
2
8
75
0
0
56
24
87.3
93
42
42
15
28
82
2
6
377
2
0
4.33
5.07
117
1.385
24.6

2002
35
0
1
5
0
0
3
0
4
10
7
7
2
1
3
0
0
23
0
0
15.75
4.42
28
2.75
-3.8

Twins Totals
30
34
365
36
0
132
34
645.7
668
353
325
90
244
528
24
33
2815
24
1
4.53

1.412
101.3

Career
37
47
509
36
0
195
44
795.7
800
427
396
114
319
672
30
42
3471
37
1
4.48
4.66
104
1.406

Mike Trombley was drafted in the 14th round of the 1989 draft out of Duke University. He started at low A Kenosha in 1989 and moved up after just twelve appearance [...]

Energy level down some from where it was prior to game 145. Nevertheless, this team is still in the running. Booferdoodle is going today and one has to be hopeful that the big guy can keep it going on. We might even have a Nevin sighting with lefty Cliff Lee going for [...]

The Strib reports that an MRI apparently revealed no new structural damage:
Early indications from two sources were that Liriano's magnetic resonance imaging exam, taken Wednesday, showed no new structural damage to his left elbow.
...
[S]ources said Liriano's MRI results were very similar to the results from early August, which showed a mild tear of his ulnar [...]

Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown to split.
Yes, this is the WGOM and not People Magazine. I don't know why I bring this to you. I guess it's because Whitney had this squeaky clean image, which I was not buying at the time, and she ended up with a thug. And they both [...]

The Twins got shutout for the 13th time today, the second most in the majors. This lead some people to discuss as to why the Twins have been shutout a large number of times. The graph below shows the distribution of runs scored by Major League Baseball over the last two years. [...]

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away...
Joe Sheehan of BP wrote an article about the terrific night that was major league baseball on September 12, 2006. Here's his take on the Twins:
The Twins’ comeback victory wasn’t a walkoff win, but it was swift, dramatic and decisive. On back-to-back pitches in the eighth inning, [...]

After being historically bad for the first 50 games or so this season, the Twins now rank 8th in the 14 team AL in Defensive Efficiency.