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Twins beat Tigers 8-3 and avoid elimination
By Larry Lage
October 1, 2009
DETROIT — The AL Central is still up for grabs.
Scott Baker got plenty of run support and pitched the Minnesota Twins to a testy 8-3 victory over Detroit on Thursday, preventing the Tigers from clinching their first division title in 22 years.
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Series at a Glance
Minnesota 0
Detroit 0
Mon, Sep 28 - Ppd.
Minnesota 3
Detroit 2
Tue, Sep 29 - Final 10th
Minnesota 5
Detroit 6
Tue, Sep 29 - Final
Minnesota 2
Detroit 7
Wed, Sep 30 - Final
Minnesota 8
Detroit 3
Thu, Oct 1 - Final
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Minnesota avoided elimination from the playoff race and moved within two games of the first-place Tigers with three to play.
“We just didn’t want to see them celebrating,” Twins outfielder Denard Span(notes) said.
The teams split a four-game series—The Showdown in Motown. The Tigers had a chance to wrap up their first division crown since 1987 in the finale, but their bats were quieted and their pitchers got roughed up in a three-run third inning and a four-run eighth.
Detroit started the series with a two-game lead and ended it with the same tenuous cushion.
“We controlled our own destiny today and we had a chance to clinch it out, but you have to give them credit,” catcher Gerald Laird(notes) said. “We’re still two games up with three to play, and we’re in the driver’s seat. We just have to play good baseball like we have at home, take it to the White Sox and we’ll be celebrating.”
The tightest race in baseball won’t be decided until this weekend—or early next week if a tiebreaker is necessary.
Minnesota has clinched the season series and would host an extra game if needed, likely on Tuesday because the Vikings play an NFL game Monday night at the Metrodome against the Green Bay Packers.
If Detroit beats the Ozzie Guillen-led Chicago White Sox twice at home, it would win the division. If not, the Tigers would need some help from the Kansas City Royals, who end the season at Minnesota.
Royals ace Zack Greinke(notes) is lined up to start on Saturday.
“We’re going to the dome for the last weekend, and we’ve still got a shot,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “We’ve got to beat the Royals and, `Come on, Ozzie!’ I’m going to leave him a note.”
Tempers flared in the eighth.
Detroit manager Jim Leyland was ejected during a face-to-face argument with umpire Angel Hernandez in the top of the inning, following an inside pitch. Then, Tigers pitcher Jeremy Bonderman and Laird were tossed in the home half.
Both benches and bullpens emptied after Twins outfielder Delmon Young was plunked in the leg by Bonderman, but the players contained their emotions enough to avoid any pushing or punching.
“It absolutely turned into a bit of a strange game toward the end,” Leyland said.
Minnesota had plenty of punch at the plate in a game it needed to win to keep hopes alive for rallying in the AL Central as it did in 2006, when the Twins surged and the Tigers slumped at the end of the season. Detroit earned a spot three years ago as the AL wild card and lost to St. Louis in the World Series.
The Twins went ahead 3-1 in the third on Joe Mauer’s RBI single, Michael Cuddyer’s run-scoring single and Jason Kubel’s sacrifice fly. They broke the game open in the eighth when Orlando Cabrera hit a three-run double and Mauer followed with an RBI single to make it 8-1.
Baker (15-9) gave up an unearned run and five hits over five innings.
Jon Rauch, Ron Mahay and Matt Guerrier combined to pitch 2 2-3 scoreless innings until Minnesota matched its season high with a fourth error, allowing Detroit to score a pair of two-out runs that made it 8-3.
Nate Robertson (2-3) gave up four runs—three earned—and nine hits in six-plus innings. Rookie Ryan Perry and Fu-Te Ni each struck out a Twin in the seventh to get out of a bases-loaded jam, but Casey Fien and Bobby Seay each gave up two runs, putting the game out of reach.
NOTES: The Tigers, who rank fourth in the AL in attendance despite the Motor City’s poor economy, drew 40,533 for their first sellout since July 25. … Cabrera extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a single in the first.
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Baseball Capsules: AP-KN Poll: Cards-Yanks in World Series, fans say
By BEN WALKER,
September 25, 2009
Ask around for a World Series prediction, and many baseball fans forecast a November classic: Albert Pujols and his St. Louis Cardinals vs. Derek Jeter and the New York Yankees.
Until then, a good chunk of that crowd wants to see something else. Like "Monday Night Football."
An Associated Press-Knowledge Networks poll released Friday found that two out of five baseball fans say they would rather watch a regular-season NFL game than a major league playoff matchup.
"That’s kind of a bitter pill to swallow for a ballplayer," Seattle infielder Josh Wilson said. "The NFL is booming right now. I’m sure that question 15 or maybe even 10 years ago, an overwhelming majority would have rather watched baseball playoffs."
While the poll didn’t delve into why a baseball fan might prefer the NFL — say Cardinals-Seahawks instead of Cardinals-Dodgers — it could be that baseball has expanded its playoffs too far. More than half the fans in the survey said they wanted a shorter postseason.
Or it could simply be the calendar. The NFL is just heating up, meaning more of its fans can still dream of the playoffs. But at this point in the baseball season, most teams are out of the running, as Toronto fan Adam Groome pointed out.
"If the Jays aren’t in the playoffs, I’d rather watch an NFL regular-season game," he said. "It’s more exciting."
Texas infielder Omar Vizquel suggested that if the poll were conducted in the middle of the grinding football season, the results might be different. "I really believe baseball is the No. 1 sport in America," he said.
The survey also showed:
» When fans were asked to pick the World Series winner from all the likely playoff contenders, both National League and American League, the Yankees were the choice by a nearly 3-to-1 margin over the Cardinals and Boston Red Sox.
» More than 80 percent said there’s no need to add extra teams to the playoff mix.
» About three in five expect Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez will avoid another postseason slump.
"I hope so, so everybody can get off his back," said pitcher Ian Snell of the Seattle Mariners, recently eliminated from playoff contention.
While NBA and NHL fans live for round after round in postseasons that go on for two months, 55 percent of baseball fans said they would prefer a longer regular season and a shorter postseason.
Baseball’s playoffs start Oct. 7, and Game 7 of the World Series would be played Nov. 5. This will be only the second time the World Series has been played in November — the first being 2001, when the 9/11 attacks caused a one-week delay.
"I’m not a big fan of the playoffs going into November," said San Diego infielder David Eckstein, the MVP of the 2006 World Series with St. Louis. "They need to be done in October. If they want to cut the season a couple of days short, not play as many games, maybe cut it down to 156 to be able to accomplish that, I’m all for that."
As for TV habits, the survey posed: If you could watch only one sporting event on a particular night this fall, an NFL regular-season game or a baseball playoff game, which would you choose?
More than two in five — 41 percent — chose football.
"There’s only one NFL game a week. Even in the playoffs, unless it’s a pivotal game, they probably think they can watch tomorrow," Oakland manager Bob Geren said.
Asked to pick who would have the greatest impact in the postseason, Jeter and Pujols nearly tied at the top, doubling up the Dodgers’ Manny Ramirez and far ahead of David Ortiz of the Red Sox.
The Yankees were a runaway choice to win the championship, at 37 percent.
Rodriguez, a three-time MVP, enters this October in an 8-for-59 playoff slump dating to 2004. He is hitless in his last 18 postseason at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Wilson, who has played for Arizona, San Diego and Seattle this season, predicted the Yankees would beat St. Louis in the World Series. He’s rooting for A-Rod, too.
"It’s tough to watch some of the great players in the game kind of struggle in the playoffs," Wilson said. "I grew up in Pittsburgh and watched Barry Bonds get crucified for his playoff woes."
The AP-Knowledge Networks poll was conducted Sept. 14-21 and involved online interviews with 559 adults who said they were interested in Major League Baseball. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
The poll was conducted by Knowledge Networks, which initially contacted people using traditional telephone and mail polling methods and followed with online interviews. People chosen for the study who had no Internet access were given it for free.
How the poll on baseball was conducted:
The AP-Knowledge Networks poll on baseball was conducted Sept. 14-21, 2009, and is based on interviews of 559 adults who said they are fairly or very interested in Major League Baseball.
The national survey was conducted online by Knowledge Networks of Menlo Park, Calif., under the direction and supervision of AP’s polling unit.
Knowledge Networks initially contacted people using traditional telephone and mail polling methods and followed with online interviews. People chosen for the study who had no Internet access were given it for free. With a probability basis and coverage of people who otherwise couldn’t access the Internet, the Knowledge Networks online surveys are nationally representative.
Results were weighted, or adjusted, to reflect the adult population by demographic factors such as age, sex, region, race, and education.
No more than one time in 20 should chance variations in the sample cause results to vary more than plus or minus 4.1 percentage points from the answers that would have been obtained if all adults in the U.S. who are interested in Major League Baseball were surveyed.
There are other, potentially greater, sources of variability in surveys, including the wording and order of the questions.
The questions and results for this poll are available at http://surveys.ap.org.
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Just when Pirates thought it couldn’t get worse
By Alan Robinson
Septermber 25, 2009
PITTSBURGH — Nearly three weeks ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates guaranteed themselves of becoming the first major North American pro sports team to endure 17 consecutive losing seasons. Then it got worse.
The Pirates dragged themselves into the final 10 days of the season Friday with 23 losses in 26 games before beating the first-place Dodgers 3-1, a remarkably bad streak even for a team that is redefining the term perennial loser.
No Pirates team had gone through a late-season stretch of losing like this since 1890, when the Pittsburg Alleghenies went 3-35 to conclude a 23-113 season. That team was so bad, it changed not only its nickname but was able to alter its first name, too, when Pittsburgh added its ‘h.’
Even by the Pirates’ standards of underachievement this has been a dismal, disheartening and gloomy way to end what is likely to be only their third 100-loss season in 55 years. They must win six of their final 10 to avoid it.
"We’re just not winning. There’s nothing much to say," outfielder Lastings Milledge said. "We come to the park and, I think, we prepare ourselves better than anybody in the big leagues. It’s just not there right now."
There’s no break the rest of the way, either.
The Dodgers still own the NL’s best record and an opportunity to clinch a playoff spot and the NL West while in Pittsburgh. After that, the Pirates play three each against the Cubs, who have won nine of 11 from them, and the Reds, who are 11-4 against them with eight consecutive victories.
Perhaps the only upside for a team renowned for its stinginess with the dollar — its current roster is making about $20 million — is that nobody is making a late-season salary drive.
Team president Frank Coonelly and general manager Neal Huntington are using words such as aggravating, frustrating and disappointing to describe what’s happening. Manager John Russell says, simply, "It’s no fun. Nobody likes to lose. Nobody here, the staff or the players, enjoys this one bit."
At least there haven’t been many eyewitnesses. A just-concluded three-game series against the Reds drew only about 12,000 fans, although the official attendance that includes season-ticket holders was much higher.
All this losing, and apathy, stands out in a town where the Steelers won the Super Bowl and the Penguins won the Stanley Cup earlier this year. Those teams are likely to keep playing before sold-out houses for years to come.
The Pirates insist all the prospects they’ve acquired by dealing Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, Damaso Marte, Freddy Sanchez, Nate McLouth, Jack Wilson, Adam LaRoche, Nyjer Morgan, John Grabow, Ian Snell, Tom Gorzelanny and Sean Burnett since July 2008 will yield teams that will contend for years. So far, there’s nothing to suggest that’s ready to happen.
After dealing Bay, Nady and Marte last year, the Pirates lost 41 of their final 60. This season, they are 13-37 since the July 31 deadline for trading without waivers.
"It’s not acceptable, we don’t want to accept losing," Russell said. "We’ve made it very clear all year: Guys are getting opportunities and we’ve got some good talent coming and we’ll search the free-agent market. The guys who were given opportunities, some have taken advantage of it and some of them aren’t quite ready for it."
The Pirates have had only two breakthrough position players, neither of whom was added in a trade. Rookie center fielder Andrew McCutchen (.278, 12 homers, 52 RBIs) was drafted by their previous regime, and rookie outfielder-first baseman Garrett Jones (.302, 20 HRs, 42 RBIs) signed as a minor league free agent.
Many of the players added in the trades have disappointed, not coming close to matching the numbers of the players for whom they were dealt. No Bays in this bunch.
Third baseman Andy LaRoche (.249, nine HRs, 52 RBIs) and outfielder Brandon Moss (.242, seven HRs, 39 RBIs) have shown little power. Reliever Craig Hansen pitched in only five games before it was discovered he has a nerve problem that threatens his career. Jeff Karstens (3-5, 5.45 ERA) couldn’t keep his spot in the rotation. Charlie Morton is 4-9 since moving into the rotation, Kevin Hart is 1-7 after going 3-1 with the Cubs.
Their best pickup has been right-hander Ross Ohlendorf (11-10, 3.92 ERA), a good pitcher on a remarkably bad team, but he won’t pitch again this season because he’s thrown 176 2-3 innings.
Milledge hasn’t disappointed since being acquired from the Nationals and despite management’s unhappiness with what’s happening on the field, he sees hope for the future. The Pirates might be young and undermanned, but he is certain they haven’t quit.
"I think for one thing, we don’t want to go through this (again)," he said. "Losing is never good. At the same time, knowing how to deal with failure is a big thing, just knowing how to back yourself off the wall. I think a lot of guys in here know how to come off the wall, and I don’t think a lot of people can say that. I think we’re taking it head on."
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Holliday back at Coors Field with Cardinals
By Arnie Stapleton
September 25, 2009
DENVER — St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday was the enemy at Coors Field for the first time on Friday night, and the former Colorado Rockies slugger didn’t get to celebrate another clincher at the Blake Street ballpark.
Colorado beat St. Louis 2-1, preventing the Cardinals from wrapping up the NL Central title on the field where Holliday provided so many good memories for Rockies fans.
The Cardinals are trying to get back to the playoffs for the first time since winning the 2006 World Series. They still could clinch if the Cubs lose at San Francisco later Friday night.
Holliday spent a decade in the Rockies’ organization and led Colorado to its only NL pennant in 2007. He was traded to Oakland last winter and was dealt to St. Louis this summer.
"I had a lot of good memories here," Holliday said. "We had a remarkable season and went to a World Series. You never forget the organization you came up with and the people you come up with."
Holliday was at the center of one of the enduring images from the Rockies’
remarkable 21-1 run-up to their World Series appearance. He scored the winning run in Colorado’s 13-inning victory over San Diego in the NL wild-card play-in game that year, dribbling his chin though the batter’s box on his headfirst slide to the plate.
A photo of a dazed Holliday at the bottom of a celebratory scrum still hangs in the hallway outside Colorado’s clubhouse, right across from manager Jim Tracy’s office.
Holliday is leading St. Louis in hits, RBIs, batting average and slugging percentage since he was acquired from the Athletics on July 24. The Cardinals have been alone atop the Central since Aug. 7.
Holliday lunched with some of his former teammates, but he didn’t get caught up in his homecoming.
"You have to deal with all of the emotions that come with coming back. But I’m here to play ball and enjoy it," he said. "I’ll see some people, see some friends and at the same time hope we play well and wrap up the division."
Holliday got off to a slow start with the A’s but has been great with the Cardinals.
"I was just starting to swing the bat pretty good with Oakland. It just worked out that I got traded just when I was swinging good," Holliday said. "I found my swing again."
Not only is he seeing better pitches hitting behind Albert Pujols, but he’s back in his comfort zone in the National League.
Holliday is eligible for free agency after this season and is expected to get a big-money deal, but he doesn’t want to ponder his future address just yet. He’s got more pressing matters.
"Winning a World Series is something we didn’t accomplish here," Holliday said. "I’d like to win a World Series in my career. I think we have a chance."
Pujols, for one, hopes Holliday isn’t just a half-season rental.
"He’s a great hitter who plays the game hard and the right way," Pujols said. "We made that move right at the right time, when we needed it. The success he’s had has helped us."
The Rockies, with a 31⁄2-game lead in the NL wild-card race, were too busy trying to reach the playoffs to get sentimental about Holliday’s return.
"The fact that he’s here is fun for the fans and might be fun for him," third baseman Garrett Atkins said. "But here in the clubhouse, we’re trying to win so many games and trying to get him out."
"We run into guys all the time that we used to play with. It’s part of the game. It’s something we do," outfielder Brad Hawpe said. "He’s not a Rockie right now. That’s it."
Although Holliday’s big bat is certainly missed, the trade has worked out in Denver, where closer Huston Street and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez have played major roles in the Rockies’ resurgence.
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Phillies will look at closer options beyond Lidge
By Chris Jenkins
September 25, 2009
MILWAUKEE — The Philadelphia Phillies suddenly are auditioning potential replacements for struggling closer Brad Lidge and juggling their rotation with Pedro Martinez still bothered by a stiff neck.
General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said Friday that the World Series champions will consider other options for closing games, adding that manager Charlie Manuel could keep Lidge in the mix.
"I don’t think any decision’s been made officially," Amaro said. "I think Charlie’s going to put people in to pitch in the seventh, eighth, ninth inning that he feels are going to be most effective. It doesn’t necessarily mean Lidge isn’t one of those guys. He still could be one of those guys."
FoxSports.com first reported that the Phillies would try other pitchers as their closer.
Philadelphia also decided to scratch Martinez from his start Saturday against the Brewers and replace him with right-hander Kyle Kendrick. Martinez injured his neck during an at-bat in Atlanta last Saturday and it’s not clear when he will pitch again.
Martinez, 5-1 with a 3.32 ERA since signing with the Phillies on July 15, said he is feeling better but didn’t want to push himself.
"I’m not going to put anything in jeopardy," Martinez said. "I’m going to be smart."
Lidge has blown 11 of 42 save chances this season for the NL East leaders. He is 0-8 with a 7.48 ERA. Last year, Lidge was perfect in 48 save tries in the regular season and playoffs.
Lidge pitched the seventh inning of Friday’s 8-4 loss to Milwaukee. The Brewers were leading 7-2 when Lidge came in and gave up a run, but he still considered the outing valuable.
For now, he’s more concerned about straightening himself out than he is about his role.
"Keep giving me the ball," Lidge said. "It doesn’t matter, the situation. I need to get myself ready to pitch this postseason. It doesn’t matter to me if it’s a one-run game or we’re down by seven. Work like that tonight is very productive for me."
Lidge said 20 of the 24 pitches he threw in a blown save at Florida on Wednesday were sliders. He used Friday’s outing to work almost exclusively on his fastball.
"The command hasn’t been there, and I think that sometimes you kind of fall into patterns that become super-predictable," Lidge said. "After Florida, when I thought about that outing in my mind, throwing that many sliders, that’s never smart."
And with the end of the regular season approaching, the team is running out of time for Lidge to regain the form he showed last year.
"It may take some guys to step up and pitch in different roles that they are not typically accustomed to," Amaro said. "And Brad may be asked to do something different than he’s been doing for us. Again, at the end of the day, it’s about how we can get the last six or nine outs."
Left-hander J.C. Romero and right-hander Brett Myers, both on the DL, might be able to help out. The Phillies are hoping each will be able to return next week.
Romero has been on the disabled list since July 23 with a strained left forearm and Myers, who missed most of the season because of a strained right hip, has a muscle strain in his back.
"If (Manuel) feels they can get them out, he’ll put them out there," Amaro said. "And again, maybe Brad Lidge is one of those (players) out there."
Other potential ninth-inning options include right-hander Tyler Walker, who earned 23 saves for San Francisco in 2005, and rookie left-handed starter J.A. Happ.
"Our best (plan) is to have Lidge pitch the ninth," Amaro said. "Right now, he hasn’t been doing that effectively. And we might have to make an adjustment off of that."
Amaro said he hasn’t talked to Lidge about his confidence.
"He has not performed the way he knows he can perform and the way we know he can perform," Amaro said. "He’ll show us how confident we are."
Is this an unsettling situation with the playoffs approaching?
"Well, we’d rather have the seventh, eighth and ninth locked up like we have in the past," Amaro said. "This isn’t a perfect world, unfortunately."
Manuel said the return of Romero and Myers would provide a boost, but acknowledged it wasn’t an ideal situation.
"There’s always challenges," Manuel said. "That’s what makes it good."
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