Archive for October, 2009
Minnesota Twins Out-Matched By New York Yankees In »
You have to hand it to the Yankees—they are exactly who we thought they were. Brian Duensing didn't pitch poorly by any stretch of the imagination, but it is not difficult to surrender runs to this potent New York offense. Early on, Duensing was locked in, sprinkling his fastball in among his great breaking balls. He was getting ahead in the [...]
Commentary on the Yankees-Twins 2009 ALDS Game One »
The Twins won their division in dramatic fashion last night, as I had hoped they would, since the Yankees have owned the Minnesota Twins for the last several years. As I wrote after the Yanks swept the Twins in May: Amazingly, the Yankees have dominated the Twins in this millennium, winning 40 out of 58 contests in the regular season, plus six of [...]
Root for New York Yankees: No Chance in Hell »
Today I was at physical therapy as I continue to recover from an injured right shoulder, and I got there at about 4:30. The Phillies and Rockies were on, and I got sick watching how well Cliff Lee was doing. He was mowing them down, and I overheard a conversation talking about how people need to “root for New York.” Give me a break. I asked [...]
MLB American League Division Preview: Minnesota Twins »
By Ryan of The Sportmeisters About The Minnesota Twins: A day after clinching the AL Central in a one-game playoff, the Twins travel to the Big Apple to take on the Yankees. At 87-76, the Twins closed a seven-game deficit, going 17-4 over the final month to tie the Detroit Tigers and force the playoff before clinching the AL Central. Their [...]
This Just In: Angels beat Boston, Twins beat Yanks. »
That’s right. A prediction. The Angels and Twins will meet in the ALCS. It all came clear to me watching the Twins run into each other’s arms after the Detroit win. Why will the Angels beat Boston? Well, I have certainly expressed in earlier articles why they wouldn’t, and why they haven’t. But now I am saying they WILL. for one simple [...]
ALDS Preview: The Stage Is All Yours, Mr. Rodriguez »
Alex Rodriguez began his final regular-season game of 2009 with 28 homers and 93 RBI, very respectable numbers for a 34-year-old guy who had missed a month of action following hip surgery. But for Rodriguez, there was undoubtedly disappointment. He had fallen short of the 30-homer, 100-RBI plateau for the first time since 1997. Behind all those [...]
MLB Playoffs: All About The Yankees »
The 2009 World Series is clearly the Yankees’ to lose. Their offense features seven hitters who have at least 22 home runs as of Oct. 1. Don't forget an ace and a legendary closer no one wants to go up against. The Yankees have also finished the season stronger than any other team who made the playoffs (they went 19-9 in September). They [...]
Yankees-Twins ALDS Preview: Big Mo and Big Moments »
Somewhere around 10 minutes after six tomorrow afternoon, the man already anointed the American League's Most Valuable Player will step into the box against a contender for the American League Cy Young and decide what kind of playoff series we're in for. Here's what we know so far, going into that at-bat: CC Sabathia saw the Twins once this [...]
The Road to World Series, No. 27: Yankees vs. Twins »
This is what we have waited for all year long. The 162 games. The day games, the night games, the winning streaks, the losing streaks, the walk-off wins, the pitching duels, the pies in the face, the grind, the blood, sweat, and tears. This is what eight teams have worked for since April. After a dramatic finish in the 163rd game of the MLB season [...]
ALDS Game 1 Preview: Yankees Should Trounce Tired »
Well, it wasn't the 19-inning game I had hoped for, but it was close. The Twins outlasted the Tigers, 6-5, in 12 innings on Tuesday night to win the American League Central tiebreaker and clinch a spot opposite the Yankees in the AL Division Series, which will start in the Bronx at 6:07 pm Wednesday, just 20 hours after Carlos Gomez slid home with [...]