The Game of Baseball

What could have been a defeat that derailed the chances of making the wild card or the division crown in the NL West, the San Diego Padres did not let it happen as they came back with a huge win on Tuesday night. The Padres, back up a half game on the Dodgers in the division, seem like the little team that simply won’t go away. It didn’t seem like that 24 hours earlier, as the team sat stunned in their locker room after allowing 4 homers in the 9th and one in extra innings to allow the Dodgers escape with a wild 11-10 home win.

A 5-2 win at home over the D’Backs was just what the doctor ordered for the Padres, and add to that the emotional damage that was done on Monday seemed gone on Tuesday. Trevor Hoffman, who gave up a few of the homers on Monday, came right back Tuesday and earned his 476trh save, and the team got some solid offense from Mike Cameron, who hit a three-run homer.

The biggest credit goes to Hoffman, who did not allow the disaster of Monday to roll over into Tuesday. “You're human. Stuff's going to sit and fester,” the closer said. “Really, you've got two options -- you can go home or you can come back the next day. We came back as a group. That's the important thing.” And that they did. With just about two weeks left in the season, as big as a turnaround as it was for the Dodgers to comeback on Monday, it may have been bigger for the Padres to rebound on Tuesday.

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:41 AM | Permalink | Comments

The Minnesota Twins took a big gamble on Wednesday, and instead of it paying off, it blew up in their face. Because of it - they may have just lost the edge in the race for the American League Central Division, as well as the edge in the Wild Card race. The gamble was to throw rookie pitcher Francisco Liriano back out on the mound coming back after a month to allow a strained ligament in his throwing arm to rest. Instead of a big outing against the west leading A's, Liriano lasted just 28 pitches before having to leave with more pain in the arm, and it now looks like not only will he miss the remainder of the season - the word for Liriano being tossed around is the dreaded "Tommy John" surgery may be on the way.

If that is the case, then the Twins have no one to blame then themselves. By putting Liriano in harms way, they put the player they have dubbed "Franchise" in a position to where the slightest problem could have caused disaster, and that is exactly what happened. "It's disappointing for our team because of how big he can be for you down the stretch," Gardenhire said. "But it's one of these situations where everybody is concerned about him. That's our biggest concern." Maybe the skipper should have thought about that before putting him on the mound. The Twins were rolling without him, and while they thought that the return of their All-Star pitcher would give them even more momentum, instead it backfired, and now they must prepare for life without him - this season and possibly beyond.

"The last two pitches I threw, I felt a pop and it really hurts," Liriano said after the game. That comment could not have made anyone in the Twins organization feel good as they get set for a key four-game set at Cleveland this weekend. "I was surprised because I was feeling good," he said. "I didn't feel anything before the game. I just threw one pitch, popped something, and it feels bad." Not only does it feel bad now - it could feel bad for the Twins if they fail to make the playoffs because of the push to get him back too soon.

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:20 AM | Permalink | Comments

With just a few weeks left in the regular season, its time for those out there to start throwing out their thoughts on the post season, and today yours truly is going to make some predictions on who we are going to see continue playing baseball into October.

First the American League:

AL East: Yankees - This one is not that tough to predict with the recent collapse of the Red Sox. The Yankees have done a nice job in the second half with avoiding those type of on or off field distractions that usually go along with a playoff run in a high profile town. We'll see if they have what it takes to make it back to the World Series.

AL Central: Tigers - Don't ask me why, but I think for some reason that the Tigers will find a way to pull this thing out. The Twins are red hot, and the White Sox are not going away, but Detroit has led it pretty much from the get go, and I think that they are somehow going to find a way. I wouldn't be shocked in the least though if the Twins or White Sox sneak in and steal this thing the last week of the season.

AL West: A's - Oakland is another team that seems to get it done despite not having a ton of high profile players. I think the way the team is built they are going to have a tough time making it out of the first round of the playoffs, but I think with a 5.5 game lead over the Angels they will be tough to overcome down the stretch.

AL Wild Card: Twins - Minnesota is a team that looked like a sub-par .500 team early in the season, but since then has been playing about the best ball in the Majors. They are 26 games over .500 at the dome, and have gone on streaks that just seem to give them the advantage going down the stretch. I can easily see them and the Tigers flip-flopping for the division title and wild card.

With all that said above, here is the first round of the playoffs:

Minnesota vs NY Yankees
Oakland at Detroit

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:50 AM | Permalink | Comments

Every once in awhile, a player will just arise out of nowhere to do something special. On Wednesday night in Florida, Anibal Sanchez joined that list of special players. Sanchez fired the first no-hitter that Major League Baseball has seen in over two seasons. For Sanchez, it was a game played in front of just over an announced crowd of over 12,000, but that didn't matter. Playing for a team that has been streaking to the tune of winning 13 of their last 16 entering the game Wednesday, the Marlins are suddenly not only a contender, they are on the map as far as the National headlines.

Sanchez found himself entering the ninth inning against the D'Backs still looking strong, throwing hard a low. The final pitch to Eric Brynes was a low slider, and most of the night the 22-year old was throwing about 93-95 miles per hour. "This is the best moment of my life," said Sanchez. "You never think that's going to happen." For the youngster, he was not only in control, he was unhittable.

Maybe now with a contender, the Marlins fans will start to get behind their team. They are last in the National League in attendence, but with showings and highlights like Wednesday night, that could all be changing as the fish try and swim their way to the National League wild card.

Posted by Matt Loede at 1:40 PM | Permalink | Comments

A couple of late trades on Thursday didn't exactly make big headlines, but it did cement a few facts about two of the teams involved. First the trade that Boston made with the Padres to send hometown boy David Wells home. The Red Sox have fallen on hard times, and its almost 100 percent guarenteed that with this move (plus the fact thay have tanked it recently) that they will be missing the playoffs. Wells is by no means Pedro Martinez or Curt Schilling, but he was a pitcher that could have helped if the Sox wouldn't have fallen out of the race. The Padres simply had to move a prospect or caseh to make the deal happen. "It was an opportunity for the organization to turn what was starting to look like a one-month-only asset into a player who we feel can help us for a long time," Red Sox GM Theo Epstein said. Wells "has been in that top echelon of pitchers of this generation." Wells has spent most of the year watchig ball instead of playing it. He has battled knee problems most of the season, and is 2-3 with a 4.98 ERA

Boston ended the month of August 9-21, and are 6.5 back in the wild card race and 8 back of the front running Yankees. About the only thing worse about the deal to move Wells is it reminds me of days when the Red Sox would be moving guys to get proven pitchers on the last day of August, not the other way around. The Red Sox will attempt to make a run in September, but it is simply too little, too late. They might as well turn out the lights, cuse in Beantown, the party's over.

For the Padres, give them props for making a move for a guy they think can help, and for contuning to be in the Wild card race the last month of the season. "I think it's great to get a guy with his presence down the stretch," said manager Bruce Bochy. Wells will start Sunday against the Reds, a team that San Diego is trying to hold back in the wild card race. A good move for the Padres, and a move that just continues the ache that has become the Red Sox season.

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments