¡VIVA RIVAS!

What a game. Just as the Royals pulled ahead of the Tigers in extra innings, Cuddyer cracked his 9th inning double to pull the Twins within one. Once again the Twins weren't able to take advantage of a Tigers loss, and the Central title may come down to the last game of the season. A few observations from today's game:

In a perfect world, Glen Perkins would be heading with the Twins into October in place of the struggling Carlos Silva. But we live in a world where the Code of Baseball is recognized and respected. You know, it's the one that dictates older veteran players take favor over rookies, even when on-field performances dictate otherwise. So in all likelihood (Gardy said there would be 'no surprises' in the playoff roster), Silva will make the 25-man playoff roster and Perkins will be on call in case of injury. Too bad: Perkins would not only give the Twins another long-relief man -- a valuable commodity with both Radke (shoulder) and Garza (high pitch count) in the rotation.

Dick and Bert tried talking up Bobby Jenks as an elite closer going into the 9th inning, but his performance since he took over as closer last year indicate he is a middle-tier closer, not an elite one. That would be Joe Nathan territory. Jenks has converted 40 of 44 save opportunities this year, but his ERA is in the high 3s, his control is shaky and his fastball his hard and straight. While he possesses more poise than LaTroy displayed in that capacity when he was with the Twins, I still expect Jenks to eventually flameout as a closer. I'm just not convinced that he's Chicago's long-term answer there.

In the 9th inning, A.J. displayed why his abrasasive personality is ultimately an asset to his team. On Mauer's two-strike check-swing, the home plate umpire stretched his arms out, giving the 'safe signal,' meaning Mauer did not go around. But A.J. stood up and yelled at the ump, pointing at third, forcing an appeal to the third-base ump, who called Mauer out. Just another chapter in the career of A.J. The Agitator.

I was out of town traveling for a long weekend vacation last night, but Thank Rivas I was able to listen to the entire game in the car last night! Talk about picking a bad night to be away from home --WOWZERS. While I'm now at a computer, the posts this weekend may be spotty.

Allow me to introduce the latest presidential ticket: Redman-Nelson. (That would be Redman, Mark, SP-KC; and Nelson, Josh, CL-KC) While the Santana-Nathan juggernaut is already advancing to October, Redman-Nelson weren't about to deliver a concession speech tonight.

Oh no. Instead they played dirty, to the consternation of Twins fans everywhere. No one likes to watch slop thrown up to the plate, but that's just what Redman-Nelson threw -- juicy, messy, sloppety slop. Against the Twins, it's the equivalent to a nasty attack ad: Messy, often effective, and exceedingly painful to watch, especially if you're on the receiving end. You know what's coming and you know you should hit mute, or better yet, the power button; but you sit there and watch in morbid curiousity nonetheless, and before you know it, you've been Redman'd...again.

Really, is there anything more painful than watching Twins hitters flail away against soft-tossing lefties? Mark Redman shut down the Twins for the second time in a month, and V. Rivas is grumpy. The good (and also frustrating) news is that the Tigers lost. Nothing lost, nothing gained, and one less game left in the regular season. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

In reality, the game was over when this sequence of events occurred to the hottest hitter on the team:

(replay of Torii's strikeout playing)
Bert: Torii, just trying to make good contact
(Torii swings..)
Bert: And with the follow-through, he falls down.
(Torii crumples to the ground in the most embarassing manner possible -- on a 75 MPH Mark Redman fastball)

Uff-da

Rivas of the Day: It's so hard to pick just one, so I'll call out the entire Twins offense tonight for their failure to tap into Redman's 5+ ERA yet again. (Silva? It's time to give the poor guy a break. It's safe to say he knows he sucks right now)

LINKS

Check out this blasphemous (and bizarre) article from the Contra-Costa Times: It's time to cut off boozy celebrations. Apparently, he's not joking. Talk about scratching the bottom of the idea barrel.

OK, I won't ever complain about East Coast media bias after the New York Times' royal treatment of the Twins this year. Yet another article from the paper that runs All the (Twins) News That's Fit to Print.

What's this? Torii's willing to consider a paycut in exchange for a four-year contract? Apparently a few bottles of bubbly is all it took to turn him into a big, cuddly softy.

The Twins season turned around in June when the Twins ditched Batista and Castro in favor of Punto and Bartlett. It turned around when Morneau started tearing the cover off the ball, proving his worth and MVP-ness. It became a new season when Liriano entered the rotation and Cuddyer took over the cleanup spot. All oft-repeated reasons for the Twinkies' miraculous comeback to the point of becoming conventional wisdom. And to think it's all wrong.

You heard the real reason -- the inside scoop -- for the Twins' rally tonight on the post-game show, and it's a surprisingly simple one: "I CRIED UNCLE" -- Twins GM Terry Ryan, borrowing a phrase my great-grandpa often used in his childhood.

Terry's recipe for success: Crying 'UNCLE!!!'

That's right folks, the impetus for the Twins turnaround this year was the day Terry Ryan saw Tony Batista swing and whiff and Castro ground out to SS one too many times, forcing a consternated yelp of "UNCLE!!" from the master scout/GM. Shortly thereafter, he got on the phone to Rochester, called Bartlett up, released Batista and moved Punto over to 3B. The rest, as Luis Rivas would say, is historia. So it's not sexy (that's Billy Beane's territory), but who ever accused Terry of being sexy?

Is there a more perfect way to clinch a playoff spot? The Twins finally celebrate at home with a win in a game that featured:

--Hunter hitting his 30th HR, and making a leaping catch at the wall.
--Joe Mauer going 2-3 to maintain his lead in the batting race
--Morneau slamming HR #34 in the 8th
--Boof pitching into the 7th and throwing a no-hitter through four, solidifying his spot in the playoff rotation.
--Joe Nathan pitching the 9th to close it out. Not quite a Brian Sabean Special since there was no save, but close enough.

Rivas of the Day:
It was a joyous night, but I still need to hand out a Rivas of the Day for Bert's repeated use of the phrase "BOOF! There it is." I'd rather have my children learn to "Pull a Blyleven" from watching Twins games. Where's the FCC when you actually need an intervention?? (If you want to watch the original "Whoomp! There it is" music video by Tag Team, go here.)

As if Twins fans needed more reason to smile, enjoy this belly laugh: The Reds signed Juan Castro to a 2-year extension.

One more link, this time Tim Kurkjian analyzes the Achilles' heel of each playoff team. Not surprisingly, he picks a lack of rotation depth for the Twins. I laugh in his general direction and spit out but one word: JOHAN.

Congratulation to the Detroit Tigers, who clinched their first playoff birth since 1987. 1987, you say? Isn't that also the year the Twins had a few 30-HR hitters and shallow rotation? I'll let you draw any further parallels, Twins fans.

With that astounding display of good sportsmanship out of the way...Tigers, POR FAVOR, GET ON WITH THE LOSING ALREADY! El Presidente, Torii and Co. smell blood, and their thirsty desires must be satiated. Even so, the folks at V. Rivas would like to offer an olive branch -- and it's safe to say we speak for Twins fans everywhere -- when we say to the Tigers, "Thank Rivas you're not the White Sox."

It's shaping up to be a tense week for the AL Central title, as the Tigers play Toronto and KC and the Twins play KC and the White Sox. Watching the Tigers pound KC had to be a relief to the Twins, who have struggled -- along with other playoff-caliber teams -- against the Royals as of late. Sadly, KC's play may be a result their being distracted by more important things.

The remaining question for the regular season was whether or not Gardy would pitch Johan on Sunday if the division title was up for grabs? Thankfully, he said 'no.' Instead, he'll be setting up the rotation for the playoffs so that Johan can pitch twice in the 5 game series.

Glen Perkins seems to be getting a lot of work lately, and it's interesting that Gardenhire used him in a close game today. (Perkins faced one batter and gave up a hit.) When they called him up last week I'd have thought this question crazy, but aside from his one-batter outing today he has pitched well, so V. Rivas asks, "Is Gardenhire thinking about a second lefty in the playoff bullpen?"

It seems a silly thought, especially with such a strong bullpen, but as we've seen this year, Gardy has really taken to managing his bullpen according to the best matchups. With all the lefty hitters in the Yankees lineup, it's entirely possible that Gardy wants to see how Perkins responds in more pressure-packed situations with an eye towards the playoffs next week.

Phil Nevin spanked his first HR as a Twin Sunday. ¡Bienvenido a los Jemelos de Minnesota!

Just to give Twins fans an idea of the sad state of affairs in Minnesota, here's a note from today's AP game recap: "The Orioles drew 2,153,139 fans this season, the lowest total in the 15-year history of Camden Yards." That's right, Orioles fans are so pissed off about their team that 1,000 of them marched to protest owner Peter Angelos AND refused to show up more than 2.2 million times.

Twins officials are thrilled to be on pace to draw that many fans. It means they'll make enough money to add payroll! And to think, all it took was a once-in-a-generation season by the Twins. Is the Metrodome really that bad, or do Minnesotans really love the Vikings that much more than their baseball team?

LINKS, LINKS, LINKS!

Justin Morneau is generating M.V.P. talk from a couple of newspapers, including none other than the The New York Times, which just can't get enough of the Twins this year. St. Petersburg Times is the other.

The Seattle Times also found it appropriate to write about the super awesome Twins in their Sunday edition.

The folks here at V. Rivas couldn't help grinning at the thought of fans' reactions to this suggestion from Pioneer Press sportswriters: Ron Gardenhire for AL Manager of the year.

The Twins are ranked #2 in ESPN's Power Rankings. Pretty sure that's the highest they've been this year.

I can't make sense of it all, everything's so...backwards. This is the second straight series in which the only game the Twins have lost is the one Santana has started. Down is up, up is down. Santana is Silva, Silva is Santana.

Johan is still the best pitcher in Twins history, but I liked it better when he was pitching like the Presidente he is. (Seriously, I think he should make a run to unseat Hugo Chavez in Venezuela's next elections. I bet he'd win -- but then Hugo would have to assassinate him. And if he didn't, Pat Robertson would. Silva could be the Vice President, and Juan Rincon the Secretary of State. They could even bring in ex-Twins and Venezolanos Carlos Pulido and Henry Blanco for some cushy ambassador to the U.N. jobs. Finally, a real Twins Nation!)

Santana has a ridiculous career ERA in September (under 2) so it's safe to say no one saw this coming. But in the last two turns through the rotation, he has been the Twins' worst pitcher.

In all sincerity, he needs to reverse course soon, because I have plans to name my first born and my first dog after him -- not that I have any immediate plans to acquire either, mom. The kid will be named 'Johan'; the dog, 'Santana.' What if it's a girl, you say? Still Johan. It's androgynous, like Pat or Kelsey (It's a boys name...Kelsey Grammer).

V. Rivas family (artist's rendering):

         
            Johan                                    Santana

Allow me to explain the genius behind my plan with a few sample scenarios: "Hey Johan, take Santana for a walk!"... "Johan! Stop teasing Santana, just give him the friggin' bone already." And the best will be when I mix the names up by accident: "Johan...err, Santana! Stop humping your mother's leg!" PLUS, it will save me from having to buy a Twins Santana replica jersey. Who needs one when you have both Johan and Santana at home?

Speaking of babies...

Twins notes

Looks like the fans are catching up to the whole Justin Morneau for MVP idea. He only trails Jeter by 10 percent in the extremely unscientific and unrepresentative ESPN Sports Nation poll.

As if I needed another reason to hate the Vikings (not that it will stop me from jumping on their bandwagon come December), they're now implying that they'll try to justify forcing MLB to move a possible Twins playoff game in favor of their regular season NFL game. The Vikings won't even beat the Bears this weekend, so why should we care about them in October? Friendly reminder, Ziggy, Twins have a publicly financed stadium and you don't!

Gardy wants Punto back at 3B next year. Of course, what else is he going to say in the middle of a pennant race -- I can't wait to put Punto back in the utility role in 2007? Is it wise to count on Punto at 3B again next year? I'm not so sure.

Stillwater native and U of M alum Glen Perkins made his MLB debut. 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 K. Welcome to the bigs, enjoy your sip of coffee, etc etc.

Rivas of the Day: It really pains me to do this, but I have to give it to Johan. That throwing error on the bunt was the single biggest play that hurt the Twins. You'll get 'em next time, Prez.

Here are some links I've compiled from the last few days. A lot of these were posted over at Batgirl this morning, but I know some people (Hi, dad!) only read my blog, so here it goes:

First off, Si.com details Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau's crib. So, guys, do you think I can move in? I promise I won't stare at you all creepy-like and make awkward conversation when we sit down for Jimmy John's sandwiches. Lo prometo.

City Pages
puts together a whole pacakage about our beloved Twinkies.

Finally, ESPN gives some long overdue MVP love to Justin Morneau. Thank you, Jayson Stark.

Dan Shaugnessy of the Boston Globe writes about how great the Twins organization is.

The New York Times continues it's unprecedented coverage of the AL Central.

And finally, this one isn't Twins related, but it involved fans protesting their team. That's right, today Orioles fans were to march to the O's front office and demand some changes after nine years of losing. Can you imagine that happening in Minneapolis? Crazy.

Dear Fenway “Green Monster” Park,

It’s obvious after today’s game that Torii Hunter needs you about as much as Bill Buckner does – they’re both liable to come away hobbled simply by stepping foot on your hallowed belly.

Of course, you would strike Hunter down with some strange bounce of the ball, or by sticking out your wall as Torii leaps up against you. Buckner? He’d just get pounded by the fans. (Thankfully, the Sox finally won in 2004, so might survive with only a flesh wound.)

Seriously, what do you have against Torii, Green Monster? I know he hit that home run over you today, but was that worth the punishment of a foul ball off his ravaged ankle?

How can you not love the effervescent smile, the sunny personality...his motivational tactics? You know, he took a swing at Justin Morneau late last year, and now the big Canadian is an MVP candidate. Torii is a team-first kind of player. Can’t you respect that?

Here's my beef with you, Green Monster: You want to witness the demise of Torii first-hand and you’re not even bothering to hide it. That makes me miffed. First, you break his ankle last year -- how can anyone forget the tears in Torii’s eyes as he was carted of the field? Heartbreaking. And now in his first game in Fenway since the "accident," you move the ball just a fraction of an inch at the very moment Torii swings, and and he fouls it off his creaky foot.

As Torii collapsed in a heap, I’m pretty sure I read his lips as he said, “A million curses to you and your family, Green Monster!” OK, that's not true. I think he pulled a Blyleven. But he was probably silently cursing your family -- except that you have none. Ebbets Field long ago left for ballpark heaven, and even old Tiger Stadium's swimming with the fishes. Fact is, Green Monster, you're nothing but an old, cranky, bitter curmudgeonly bastard with nothing better to do than pick on brave Spidermen.

Mr. Monster, I'll give it to you straight: This just isn't right. Torii busted his butt to come back to help his team reach the playoffs. Don’t think he forgot what happened last year when he went down after your hack job. The team fell into complete chaos. He wasn’t about to let the team collapse again in his absence. No sir, if the team is to sink, it will do so with Capt. Hunter at the helm.

So after playing on a stress fracture for several months, Torii took a few weeks off and came back too early, even though he knew some rabid Twins fans would yell, “Torii sucks at the plate, and now he can’t even play defense! Sit Torii down; he’s done, washed up, kaput! And, oh yeah, you suck Gardy!”

Ah, but only Torii knows the full courage in his heart. He knew that even with a bum ankle, he’d come up clutch at the plate time and time again, beginning with shutting up Hawk Harrelson once and for all with that 3-run shot last month with his team down 4-0 in the sixth.

Here, let me speak your language, Mean Green: Torii Hunter = Jason Varitek. Do. Not. Touch. Got it? Better yet, when the irresistible urge to injure our centerfielder tomorrow builds up, ask yourself, “What Would Metrodome Do?”

W.W.M.D., Green Monster, W.W.M.D.

Sincerely,
V. Rivas

P.S. Stay away from Matt Garza. The team already lost Liriano, and Radke looks iffy. Seriously, no more kidney shots. (W.W.M.D.?)

Cartoonist Saul Steinberg's most famous composition, "A View of the World from Ninth Avenue,"was The New Yorker cover of March 29, 1976.

It's a shame, really, because Justin Morneau deserves the award. I know I shouldn't be, but I'm shocked how little attention Morneau's getting from ESPN. Sadly, ESPN's failure to even speak his name all but guarantees he won't receive many votes. Case in point, this ironically titled article from the Arizona Republic, "The Real MVPs." Like ESPN, the writer mentions Johan, but not Morneau.

The rest of the candidates:

The White Sox, at this point, are a long shot, so Jermaine Dye is out. Frank Thomas? He'll get a few 3rd place votes, but he's a DH. Buster Olney's pet candidate, Johan Santana? He's a pitcher, and he won't get enough votes. Brace yourselves to be inundated by Jeter man-love this postseason.

The Twins have a day off, which means I'll be taking it easy too. Here are some tasty Twins morsels for you to munch over lunch (or while you're pretending to work). We'll start off with some links I've compiled the past few days, and end with some videos for those who don't watch ESPN.

Here's some depressing news from SI.com about how the Yankees have positioned themselves for another long stretch of dominance thanks to some young farmhands. Another from SI.com ranks the value of each stadiums. The Metrodome comes in at #10, mainly because it's so cheap.

Liriano fallout

Cleveland pitcher Paul Byrd makes a compelling case for Liriano to get a second opinion and get possibly get Tommy John surgery. Also, St. Pete Times mentions that Liriano's setback affected teams with injured young arms.

ESPN Page 2's Eric Neel offers his take on the three AL Central team's strengths and weaknesses and tells us why Mojo trumps all.

A funny Gardy quote in yesterday's PioPresswhen asked about the Twins most recent callups:

Twins general manager Terry Ryan left the team Saturday to drive 90 miles to Toledo for the final game of the playoff series.

"It's kind of like Christmas,'' Gardenhire said before the game. "The GM goes to Toledo and comes back with presents.''

And now here are a couple of Twins videos. The first is Baseball Tonight's top 3 Twins webgems of all time, and the second is an ESPN News interview from last week with Mauer and Morneau.

Torii Hunter reads Twins blogs. How else to explain his singular focus at the plate? Ever since he was named one of the Twins worst players last month according to a baseball geek formula, he's been coming up with clutch hit after clutch hit. This weekend was no different. He drove in 7 RBIs and hit 2 HR, and is on his way to 30 HR. Hunter has an outside shot at 100 RBIs (currently 84) if his run production hits the stratosphere. Sure he still flails occasionally at the slider in the dirt, but more often than not he's scorching the ball as only Torii can. (His Sept. so far, .290, 5 HR, 16 RBI) I guess it sometimes pays off to swing as hard as you can at every pitch. Fun fact: Hunter's career highs are 29 HR (2002) and 102 RBI (2003).

Twins bizzaro world

With 5 double plays, the Twins must have slipped a little bit of their patented double play juice into the Indians' Gatorade today. As a Twins fan, there's nothing more cathartic than seeing other teams hit into rally-kalling double plays. But it's also disorienting. Today I rubbed my eyes and blinked repeatedly after each Cleveland DP to make sure I hadn't switched the uniforms in my mind after a heavy night of Tang-drinking. Get this: The Indians hit into more DPs this series than the Twins (7-6).

Series recap

The Twins dominated the series offensively, outscoring the Indians 23-11 and outhitting them 46-28. Unfortunately, the Twins also produced prodigious numbers of runners left on base, out LOBing the opposition a whopping 46-23. Minnesota was fortunate to only be stung once by this, when they lost on Friday in 10 inn. That's right, the only game the Twins lost was the one in which Johan Santana started. Bizarro.

Near record

In leaving 16 men on base Thursday, the Twins was dangerously close to some all-time records. The all-time high for an AL 9-inning game is 20 runners LOB by the 1956 Yankees. Several NL times are tied with 18 LOB, the last being the 1986 Braves. View the entire list here.

Notes:

"This is a must-win game." -- Hawk Harrelson, pre-game show of 9-17 telecast.
"We don't deserve to be playing winning baseball" -- Harrelson 1 hour later after ex-White Sox player Frank Thomas hits a 3-run HR. The Sox lost. Shoulda tuned in for the post game.

Is there are a worse catcher than the Indians' Victor Martinez? He hurt his team several times this weekend, especially in the first two games, by allowing runners to advance when he failed to block simple balls in the dirt. The Indians have played him at 1B a few times this season, and I'd be shocked if he's not there full time next season.

Carlos Silva, estas en fuego! Yo quiero un 'Chacarron!' After Silva shut down the Indians tonight for his third straight quality start (Last three: 20 IP and 2 ER) I wouldn't be surprised if Silva broke out his favorite song, 'Chacarron', in the clubhouse. For those who don't remember, here's a refresher, courtesy of the Boston Globe (8-06-05):

The Twins had fallen upon hard times lately. They'd lost six in a row, including three straight in Boston last weekend, and hadn't been hitting a lick until Wednesday, when Ford's ninth-inning triple beat the red-hot A's and triggered the unveiling of ''Chacarron-Chacarron," the debut effort of those Spanish rappers with a techno beat, Twins players Johan Santana, Carlos Silva, and Juan Castro, who recorded the song while the team was in Detroit. The beat is catchy, but the lyrics may need some work.

''Too much, too much," Gardenhire said, shaking his head. ''We got Silva singing, and he definitely likes it, too. It would sell, too. My kids would buy it."

The song shook the clubhouse walls after that win, and it played again over and over last night, when the Twins scored the most runs they've scored in a game all season, and Ford contributed with the bat as well, touching off the Twins' four-run first with a triple over Damon's head, and beating out two infield hits.

Chacarron-Gate

However, the goofy song was not without controversy. After a congressional inquiry, it was discovered Mr. Santana, Mr. Silva and Mr. Castro didn't write the ditty, as detailed last year in Bat Girl (The online Twins blog won several awards for its investigative work on the issue); and the whole thing spiraled into one big Chacarron-Gate.

It was baseball's Lewinsky. People called it the new Vietnam; a quagmire. Americans forgot about Iraq, the high gas prices and global warming. Heads rolled. Kenneth Starr was brought in. Needless to say, it was big. Some say, in fact, that the distractions of Chacarron-gate was the catalyst for the Twins woes in 2005. Seems reasonable enough -- Kenneth Starr patrolling the clubhouse would be enough to freak anyone out.

So to celebrate Silva's new found near-ace status (did I mention 2 ER in 20 IP???), I present to you, "Chacarron: The Music Video." ENJOY

Just kidding. But yesterday was an embarassing night to forget, even though Luis Castillo started what would have been the double play of the millenium. But don't blame Bartlett for sailing his throw to first, blame an offense that has left about 2893742839 men on base this series. (actually, it's only 27 LOB in two games)

But thank Rivas for the Indians relievers, or we'd have lost both games. What makes yesterday's game infuriating was that even though Johan had a poor start by his standards, the Twins were able to stay in the game despite:

1. Scoring only 2 runs against some guy named Fausto.
2. Reaching the Indians bullpen after only 5 innings and managing no runs going into the 9th.

Seriously, we should never lose a battle of the bullpens to the Indians. That's just embarrassing. It’d be like the Vikings losing a battle of the sex cruises. It should never, ever happen. But hey, this isn't college football, where the better team always wins. No doubt the Twins will dust themselves off and take the last game tonight. The only consolation is that the Sox lost again, so the Twins maintained a two game lead in the wild card. If the Twins can go into the final weekend of the season with a two game lead, the playoffs are virtually guaranteed. (I like our chances with only a one game lead, too.)

NOTES

Check out this great article about Justin Morneau in the Vancouver Sun. It contains a bunch of jokes about stupid Americans and their impressions of Canadia. They have a serious chip on their shoulder and it's hilarious. Here's an excerpt:

Now that Morneau, a 25-year-old slugger, has pounded his way into American League MVP contention with a summer in which he himself has sizzled, maybe McCarver and his ilk should be forced to hopscotch a bush plane across the frozen tundra. Maybe then they would realize the country is more than a land of hunters, hewers of wood and wielders of hockey sticks.

Ferguson Jenkins of Chatham, Ont., won a Cy Young in 1971, but the last decade has seen Canadians who play ball in America -- baseball and basketball, in particular -- take a quantum leap forward in elite level recognition.

Larry Walker won a NL MVP in 1997, Eric Gagne an NL Cy Young in 2003, Jason Bay an NL Rookie of the Year in 2004. And Steve Nash, of course, won back-to-back NBA MVP's in 2004-05 and 2005-06.

Morneau is no lock to join that eh! crowd, not in a candidate-heavy MVP race that includes Boston's David Ortiz, New York's Derek Jeter, Anaheim's Vladimir Guerrero, Oakland's Frank Thomas, Jermaine Dye of the Chicago White Sox and even Morneau's Minnesota teammates Joe Mauer and Johan Santana.

Former Twins pitcher and television announcer Jim Kaat is retiring from baseball after a long run as a Yankees commentator.

Here's a video from KARE 11 of the Twins rookie hazing. I posted a link to the picture Thursday night, too.

Detroit is getting desperate. They just signed Matt Stairs. Yes, the same one just released by the Royals.

I don't know about you, but my heart sank, my pulse quickened and my stomach knotted (It was a difficult time) when I saw Nick Punto (right) apparently injured on this play. It's not like we have a viable replacement at 3B (Mauer at 3B anyone?) Luckily , it was just a stinger:

UPDATE:
The Cleveland Plain Dealer caught the Twins rookies watching Wednesday night's game at Jacob's field. Garza is in the lime green bikini, Chris Heintz is Elvis and Neshek's the witch, according to LaVelle. Here's a link to the pic: http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/photos/gallery.ssf?cgi-bin/view_gallery.cgi/cleve/view_gallery.ata?g_id=5040
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First off, here's a little something to tide you over 'til Liriano returns...whenever that might be. Savor every second and dream of the future, especially if the Twins tank.

Congratulation to Michael "Dimples" Cuddyer, who joined Justin Morneau in the 100 RBI club tonight with -- of all things -- a WALK. Sure it's anti-climactic, but an RBI is an RBI, and it's not everyday one Twins player hits 100 RBI in a season, much less two. The last time the Twins accomplished the feat was 1996, when Marty Cordova (.309, 16 HR, 111 RBI and Paul Molitor (.341, 9 HR, 113 RBI) reached the plateau. Not exactly classic power hitters.

I promise I tried to find a picture of Cordova after he fell asleep in the tanning booth. No such luck. Here's what the Washington Post reported back in 2002 on the incident:

Left fielder Marty Cordova was out of today's lineup after burning his face when he fell asleep in a tanning booth Tuesday. Doctors advised him not to remain in the sunlight for too long, and Hargrove said he might use Cordova as the designated hitter on Thursday.

Back to the present. First, this game was over the moment Cleveland starter Cliff Lee was pulled after the Twins Pierzynski'd him to death and forced 100+ pitches in 4 innings. No way were the Indians going to survive 5 innings from their awful bullpen.

Along with Boof's continued competence, Rondell and Torii's offensive explosions, which included back-to-back slams, may be the most important developments in this game. In addition to Mauer, Cuddyer and Morneau, the Twins need a couple more hitters to compliment the pirahnas -- especially since they've been trotting Jason Tyner out at DH lately.

With Torii and Rondell hitting well the last few weeks, the Twins offense may be strong enough for the team to not only make the playoffs, but to also make a run. But let's not give the Twins a free pass. Even though they scored 9 runs, the Twins left 16 runners on base and wasted several golden scoring chances in the early innings.

LIRIANO

Well, as any real Twins fan knows by now, Liriano may not be going under the knife for Tommy John surgery after all. The news reports are all calling it 'good news,' so my initial reaction -- concern and dismay -- surprised even me for a second. My resignation to the worst-case scenario and the uncertainty that comes with not having surgery -- knowing that his arm could blow at any time -- is really the driving force behind my reasoning, though the thought of not seeing Liriano until 2008 is enough to drive Twins fans over the edge.

With his history of arm problems, I was hoping surgery would fix it once and for all. It helps that reading White Sox pitcher Matt Thornton's comments at pioneerpress.com reminded me that the injury could be a blessing in disguise:

''Once the muscle starts wearing down, the stress goes on the ligament, and that can only hold it for so long,'' Thornton said. ''I hope it's not the case, but if it is, we'll next see him in 2008 and he'll be throwing 105 because I came back with an extra 5 miles per hour on my fastball.''

While it may feel to fans like someone just dropped a bomb on the Twins' playoff chances, the reality is far less grim. There will be no radiation poisoning from the exploded F-Bomb, no lingering effects dragging the team down. Simply put, the half-life of this disaster is zero. Why? Because the Twins' rotation and roster looks no different today than it did yesterday.

Here's what won't happen because of the injury:

1. The pitching staff won't suddenly wilt with the fall leaves.
2. The hitters won't stop hitting (at least not b/c of an injury to a pitcher)
3. Consequently, the Twins won't fade out of the race by the end of the month.

Here's why the Twins won't fade:

1. When Liriano left his start on Aug. 7, the Twins were 10.5 games back in the division. Since then, the Twins have gone 20-15 and are now within 1.5 games of the Tigers.
2. The Tigers can't win games to save their lives, or their season. Since that same date, the Tigers are 12-24, with no signs of breaking out of their extended slump.
3. The Twins play the White Sox at home, where the Twins are a Major League-best 50-24, the final weekend of the season.
4. The Twins have been beating the odds since June, surviving injury after injury to key players. There's no doubting their mental fortitude.
5. Two words: Johan Santana. (and Justin Morneau, and Joe Mauer, and Michael Cuddyer, and the Pirahnas, and the bullpen...well, you get the point)

Now here's the scary part: The Twins chances of making the playoffs may hinge on Carlos Silva's continued success. Behind Johan, Boof has proven invaluable by not giving up more than 3 ER in his last six starts dating back to August 12. But he's still a rookie. After that, it's Silva, Garza and Guerrier/Baker. Now Garza is capable of stepping up and helping save the Twins' season, but you can bet it's the Twins staff's preference to see Silva rediscover his inner Chief. They know he can be effective -- he did it for two years. Remember, even Liriano struggled in his call up last year, so putting that kind of pressure on Garza seems cruel and unfair. That's not to say we can't dream. You never know how he'll respond -- today he stepped up to the challenge (5+ IP, 1 dubious ER).

Here's something else that won't happen -- the Twins won't call up Kevin Slowey, something that Dick Bremer suggested in the telecast. Terry Ryan loves to take his time bringing up pitchers -- which tells you something about the throes of desperation the team was in when it called up Garza. Having done the unthinkable already once this year, you can bet Ryan will do everything in his power to prevent another premature call-up. Plus, Slowey doesn't have the high ceiling and overpowering stuff of Garza. To bring him up for 2 or 3 starts makes no sense when Matt Guerrier is on the staff, perfectly capable of delivering 5 solid innings.

Rivas of the Day: Justin Morneau's attempt at legging out a double with one out and a runner on third in the 8th inning. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING??? That may have cost us the game.

Just for old-time's sake, here's what could have been, according to SI.com. There's no doubt most people would have crowned the Twins playoff favorites had Liriano come back strong. I certainly had. But let's not go there...

I ask you: Is there anything sweeter (Sorry, Joe)than the sound of Dick Bremer's ecstatic voice after a big Twins hit? I for one got chills just from the pure emotion in his voice during the eighth -- it was the next-best thing to actually being at the Dome. After hearing him, you get the feeling he's thinking we may be in for a magical October, that maybe, just maybe, this team is destined for great things. How else do you explain this year, the unlikeliest of seasons?

This was the type of game that the 2005 White Sox won, and that the 2006 Sox are losing. You catch my drift? I refuse to say it -- it might jinx the team -- but admit it, we're all thinking it and desperately trying to push it out of our minds, lest the Twins suffer a collapse. The craziest part of all this is that just last Friday, before the Twins started their current five-game winning streak, I was giving this team a 50-50 chance of even making it to the playoffs thanks to the offense's week-long slump. Now with the 'O' in gear, Liriano coming back, Silva turning it around and Radke on the mend, you can't help but dream big.

Alright, alright! Enough gushing, already. Here are some scrumptious Twins links for you to chew on:

SI's John Donovan ranks the playoff pitching staffs.

Phil Rogers gushes about Johan's greatness in the Chicago Tribune. Rogers, this time for ESPN, says the MVP race will come down to Jermaine Dye and Justin Morneau.

Dave Campbell, AP Twins beat writer, talks about Mauer and his pursuit of the batting title.

And finally, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, writes about our "pirantas."

Welcome back, Silva. It really wasn't nice of fellow Venezuelan Les Straker to infiltrate your body for the first five months of the season. (kinda like how Mark Redman invaded Johan's being the other day) What kind of spiritual warfare did you wage on Straker to exorcise him? Did you barrage him with stanky foods, like the Taco Bell chimichangas and burritos you downed before your last start? Whatever you did, keep it up and tell Joe Nathan to do the same. It seems Straker has moved on to a new victim. If you looked really closely, Nathan's signature mound twitching was conspicuously absent tonight. Not surprisingly, he started out the 9th with three walks. Coincidence? I think not. Be gone, Straker!

PLUS

EQUALS

In the name of Johan and Francisco and by Their power, we cast thee out, Les Straker. Begone and stay far from our Twins pitchers, from all who are made in the image of Johan and redeemed by the precious blood of him and Francisco. Never again dare, you cunning serpent, to deceive the Twins pitching staff, to persecute Carlos Silva, nor to strike the Twins. Be gone!

Mauer is awesome

Mauer went 1-3, keeping his average at .350. Meanwhile, Mr. Avon hit 2-5 to raise his average to .346. Fun Feminine Fact: Jeter's cologne, "Driven," is being sold by Avon, whose tagline is "the company for women."

Cuddyer

Michael had another monster game. He went 2-5 with 4 RBI, including a double and HR. In the last month he's hitting .320, with 6 HR and 27 RBI.

First, the obvious: The Twins' bats looked great on Sunday as they demoralized the Tigers with base hit after base hit. While the offense was inconsistent again this series, it at least showed signs of life on Friday and Sunday. Some other enouraging developments where Pat Neshek's recovery from a couple of rough outings and Torii Hunter's aggressiveness on the base baths (stole 2 bases)and on defense. On Saturday he chased after a fly ball in the gap full tilt and timed his jump perfectly at the wall. Perhaps he needs to get his eyes checked, though, because the ball hit about 15 feet up the baggie. For all the begging from fans in recent weeks to replace him with Tyner in CF, there's no doubt he's a dynamic force when healthy, and he regained classic form just in time for this weekend's showdown.

With only a few weeks left in the season, here's a quick rundown of the three AL Central contenders' schedules, courtesy of VivaRivas contributor, Wakky:

Twins: Oakland (3), @Cleveland (4), @Boston (3), @Baltimore (3), KC (4), CWS (3)

Detroit: Texas (2), Baltimore (3), @CWS (3), @Baltimore (1), @KC (3), Toronto (3), KC (3)

Chicago: @LAA (3), @Oakland (3), Detroit (3), Seattle (4), Cleveland (3), @Minn. (3)

Detroit

Texas, Baltimore, and Toronto have good hitters with potentially scary pitching. If a pitcher gets hot or if they face Halladay, it could tough for Detroit to get wins. KC has been playing the spoiler role quite well recently. They lost promising third-baseman Mark Teahan, but Sweeney is back and hitting well. The White Sox series could determine which of these two teams is the odd man out.

Chicago

The Angels are hot team with a strong pitching staff. Oakland’s pitching is overrated but respectable, and Frank Thomas has been tearing the cover off the ball. Both of these series should be close. The Seattle series should result in a split or a sweep for the Sox. If Cleveland can stay away from their bullpen, or survive in spite of it, they will be tough even without Hafner, who is out with a fractured hand. Then there's the Twins-Sox to end the season, and we all know the potential significance of that series.

Twins

If they can control the Big Hurt, the Oakland series should be a winnable one. The road trip is full of potholes and could be trouble. Cleveland, Boston and Baltimore all hit well. If the Twins draw Sabathia, Westbrook, Schilling, and Bedard, it could spell trouble for the Twins' offense and the team's post-season hopes. The good news is that Indians hot-shot rookie pitcher Jeremy Sowers will be shut down for the season befor Minnesota plays them.

This season Detroit is 11-1 against KC while the Twins are 9-6 after dropping 2 of 3 last week to the Royals. The Tigers have the most home games and play 6 more against KC, so unless the Royals keep slaying giants in their spoiler role, Detroit must be given the advantage in scheduling. The Twins and the White Sox face similar roads the rest of the way, and neither team holds a distinct advantage over the other.

Notes:

After Sunday's outing, Santana had pulled into a clear lead in the Cy Young race, but his chances received another boost when Roy Halladay was forced to leave his game early after being struck in the elbow with a line drive.

Though he was never a serious contender due to the Indians poor record, Travis Hafner officially dropped out of the MVP race when he was knocked out for the season with a fractured hand. The injury occured Sept. 1, but he wasn't diagnosed until Friday.

Good vs. Evil watch

Super Joe hit 2-3 Sunday, raising his average to .350. Mauer is 5-7 in his last two games and shows no signs of slowing after a prolonged slump (for him). Jeter hit 2-4, raising his average to .345. However, he's no match for Super Joe's Super Powers. Advantage: Good.

Watched the game 15 rows behind the left field pole tonight. My usual spot in the Dome is about 5 miles from the field in the 'cheap seats.' Despite the squinty-eyed view, the location does have one thing going for it -- conventional cupholder spacing. It's not something you appreciate until you find yourself in the Home Run Porch spreading your knees just so your buddy can reach for his drink. I am not kidding. If everyone in the row puts their drink in their assigned cup holder, you will have to reach between the legs of the person sitting to your right when you need to wash down your beer with a sip of more beer.

Admittedly, this makes for a romantic date when I'm at the park with my girlfriend. However, when I'm out with the guys, this is simply unacceptable. Allow me to explain by recreating the scenario:

As my buddy swallows the last bite of a succulent Dome dog, he reaches towards the general direction of my...knees? ankles? crotch???? I just don't know. A creeping discomfort sweeps over me as his hand slowly, steadily stretches in my general direction, his fingers wriggling. My buddy mumbles a barely audible grunt. "Sorry," he says...I think. At about the climax of the suspense I realize he's only thirsty for his $4 Coke that's conveniently placed between my legs.

Luckily, the Twins won, so it was all worth it.

After I had some time to recover from the incident, I couldn't help but wonder, "What if I was sitting next to a stranger?" Would I forgo liquid refreshment, opting instead for a parched, cotton mouth? It probably would depend on the percent of the man's body that's covered in body hair, or whether or not she is sitting next to a very large man that appears to be her boyfriend.

Random observations

If Rondell White hits a home run and a Twins fan catches it, does said fan keep the ball or throw it back? Tough question. Should the rest of the crowd chant, "Throw it back! Throw it back!"? Not really sure what I'd do until I found myself in that situation.

For being such a strong guy, Rondell has one of the weakest throwing arms I have ever seen. I've witnessed his noodle arm on TV, but never in person. Half the time he bounced the ball to the relief pitcher that was warming him up from the left field line between innings. I never thought I'd say this, but his arm is worse than Shannon Stewart's.

While chatting with my buddy, Wakky (the $4 Coke guy), I told him that after Garza's performance tonight, I only feel comfortable about the Twins' chances when Johan or Boof takes the mound. Considering Boof's short track record of success, it's not an overstatement that the Twins chances for the post season and beyond hinge on Liriano's successful return.

Mauer 1, Jeter 0

Mauer went 3-4, raising his average to .348. Captain Intangible hit a measly 1-4. His average stands at .343. On this night, good triumphs.

Update 8/9

Like Nick and Nick's Blog argued earlier this week, Buster Olney is arguing for Johan Santana as league MVP in his ESPN insider blog (subscription required). His reasoning? When Santana starts, the Twins are 20 games over .500. They are 56-54 the rest of the time. He writes:

"When Santana starts, the Twins are as unbeatable as the '27 Yankees. When anybody else starts, they are a non-playoff team."

You know it’s a bad night when Omar Infante takes you deep. I'm desperately trying to put a positive spin on tonight's game, so I choose to lead off with Cleveland's thumping of the White Sox. After a torrid 2 month stretch by all three contending AL Central teams, it seems like no one is taking the bull by the horns and running away with it. If that's the case, look for a photo finish between the Sox and Twins. With the Tigers' victory tonight, the Twins' slim hopes of overtaking Detroit were dashed. Yes, there's always a chance, but realistically speaking, the Twins should be able to take two of the next three games. Now if the Twins' offense decides to wake up, that's another story.

The Twins rotation is in tatters, yes, but the team -- more than ANYTHING -- needs to stop channeling the spirit of the 2005 Twins offense. Tonight they hit into three rally-killing double plays. I'm too lazy to look up how many times they've done that in the last week, but it hasn't been pretty. It's not hard to notice the exasperated tone creeping into Dick Bremer's voice with each mounting DP.

Guerrier in rotation?

I mentioned this two weeks ago, but it's worth mentioning again. Get Guerrier into the starting rotation now! Back then I was advocating moving Silva out, but after today it appears Baker has overtaken him as the Twins' Kyle Lohse clone. Of course, with Liriano coming back Wednesday this may be a moot point. However if Silva falters or Liriano can't go, Guerrier should be next in line. Baker left his pitches up in New York but lucked out. Today he left them up again and got what he deserved. That's not to say Silva isn't in Gardy's doghouse. The staff, previously in love with Silva, was not pleased with Silva's apparent wussiness. I have to admit, I would have loved to see the Chief blow chunks on the mound. He took the first step in regaining the team's respect tonight by apologizing to his 'mates.

Mauer, Jeter watch

Mauer went 1-4, lowering his average to .344. He is now tied with Jeter for the American League lead.

Rivas of the Day: Close call between Scott Baker and the Twins O. But I'm giving a lifetime achievement of sorts to Twins Offense for long-term futility.

Is there an odder path to success than that which Tigers closer Todd Jones has taken this year? He doesn't throw hard and doesn't strike anyone out. And that was back in 2001 when the Twins acquired him from the Tigers. It's not as if he's similar to Eddie in posting a miraculously low ERA either. He owns a more-than-healthy 4.56 ERA on the year, and the league hits .282 against him. Yet, he's posted 35 saves and only blown a handful this year. I'm shocked the Tigers haven't been forced to turn to Joel Zumaya and his 100+ mph fastball this year in the 9th inning. The Twins radar gun was obviously juiced tonight. It had both Scott Baker and Todd Jones throwing at 94-95 MPH. Neither throws much harder than 91-92.

Since the last time the two teams met in early August, the Tigers are 10-20. The Twins? 15-13. Not outstanding, but significantly better than Detroit.

Here's the pitching matchups for the series:

Game 1: Baker vs. Verlander

Game 2: Garza vs. Ledezma

Game 3: Boof vs. Robertson

Game 4: Santana vs. Bonderman

While we're throwing Santana and a bunch of promising but unproven young pitchers, the Tigers' best young starters (Verlander and Bonderman) haven't exactly been ferocious in the last month. Here's how the Tigers pitchers have fared:

Verlander is 1-3 with a 5.46 ERA and 1.75 WHIP. Ledezma, on the other hand, is 0-1 with a tidy 1.74 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. However, he has only 3 starts under his belt. Robertson has posted a 2-4 record with a respectable 4.32 ERA and 1.30 WHIP. Bonderman has good strike out numbers -- 35 in 35 IP -- but has an inflated 4.89 ERA and ugly 1.69 WHIP. He hasn't made it out of the fifth in 2 of his last 4 starts.

Thankfully, we miss out on the gambler, Kenny Rogers. Not only do soft-tossing lefties give the Twins trouble, but Rogers has been on fire in the last month: 4-1 with a .82 ERA and .94 WHIP.

With Boof and Santana having recently pitched consistently well and Santanalicious, respectively, I'd call the pitching matchups a draw.

Here's a funny take on Silva's performance last night from Twins Without Spin.

Where to begin? Oh, I know. I'll start with, "ARGH!" And not just any 'argh,' but the kind of gutteral response heard at the end of Joss Whedon shows (Buffy, Firefly anyone?). Then maybe a good old-fashioned Bert @#$*(*!!! There. That should get the toxic 2005 Twins Juice out of my system.

Not only did the Twins fail to play pirahna-style ball yet again, the Twins lost a game in which Silva -- 7.43 ERA, 1.88 WHIP in the last month -- one-hit the opposition for 6 innings. You can't let an opportunity like that slip away. To add insult to injury, the Twins bullpen blew a lead after we learned the Tigers had lost. Normally, I would have been thrilled to see Silva leave after 6 with no ER. But after watching Neshek implode, it appears Silva should've just thrown up between innings, gotten the sick feeling out of his stomach, and trudged back out there. Here's to Rick Anderson slipping some raw meat into Silva's pre-game meal next start.

Speaking of pain, here are a couple of Radke love-fest links. One from the always hilarious Jim Caple (Warning: Includes Monty Python and the Holy Grail reference) and another from a St. Petersburgh Times columnist(don't miss out on the great Jose Canseco sex joke in the first paragraph). Nice to see ol' Rad getting his due. But it shouldn't be that surprising. After all, what's more romantic to a baseball writer than the grizzled vet who's spent his entire career with one team gutting it out with a shredded shoulder in a pennant race? I mean, the guy can't even brush his teeth with his right hand, for crying out loud. It's great stuff.

Gardy said a few weeks ago that he'd be confident throwing Reyes, Neshek, Crain or Rincon in the 8th inning. You have to wonder if that's starting to change after Neshek went Silva on the Twins today. Ever since that AJ homer in Chicago a few weeks ago, he's looked hittable more often than not. Now he's given up 4 ER in his last two outings, spanning 1.1 innings pitched. His ERA is still at an outstanding 2.33, which tells you how well he's thrown up to this point.

This Blyleven thing is getting ridiculous. Like I said before, he's a freaking baseball player. Have you heard the man speak English, or whatever it is that comes from his mouth? Who honestly is surprised the man swears. Like Caple said, I've heard worse language from kindergartners.

This just in from VivaRivas contriubtor, Wakky. Not baseball related, but still funny. Detroit Lions coach arrested for driving nude.

Looks like Dimitri Young is back on the sauce. He was released Wednesday by the Tigers. Let's hope the Twins learned their lesson this year with Batista and don't sign another washed up, out-of-shape veteran with pop.

What about White, you say? Wasn't he a mistake? Well, the way he's playing (another HR today), he may still redeem himself by helping the Twins make the playoffs. I'm standing by my call yesterday that he'll have a big series this weekend. I don't see a Tyner HR in the Twins' future, though.

Rivas of the Day has to go to our favorite side-arming Minnesotan, Pat Neshek: .1 IP, 3 ER.

A great day for the Twins. Not only do they win big (with an assist from the Rays' 3 errors), but the White Sox and Tigers lose. That puts the Twins up 1.5 games in the wild card and 4 games behind the Tigers.

If the Twins don't lose any ground to Detroit tomorrow, they could go into this weekend's series with a chance to sweep and pull into a tie in the division. Best case scenario: Twins pick up another game tomorrow, sweep the Tigers and, come Sunday, pull into sole position of first place.

Hey, we're dreamers and eternal optimists here at VivaRivas, so don't rain on our parade. Now if the Twins do all this with Silva on the mound Wednesday, we'll know a World Series can't be far behind.

It's interesting to see how Gardenhire is managing his players now that he's in the midst of his first tight three-way divisional race. So far I like his line of thinking: Play your best players.

Gardenhire, who batted Mauer as the DH Sunday, said that now that he has a third catcher on the bench with the expanded September roster, he plans to use Mauer as a DH in back-to-back games — and maybe even for three games in a row — at times over this final month of the season.

"I've read (Torre's) comments in the past and talked to T.K. (former Twins manager Tom Kelly) about it,'' Gardenhire said. "When you're in a pennant race, you've got to play your best players. I know you're talking about a batting title and everything, but on this ballclub it's about the team first." Pioneer Press

Dick and Coomer also mentioned today that Gardenhire said Santana is lined up to pitch on the last game of the season vs. the White Sox, if necessary. Playing your best players is a no-brainer, yes, but sometimes managers overthink things and rely too much on matchups. Nice to see we'll be winning or losing with Mauer, Santana, et al on the field.

Chicago Sun-Times writes its take on Morneau's "Anybody but Chicago" quote.

Joe Christiensen notes that D-Rays manager has proper appreciation for Boof's name: "I have to find out about him. I know nothing about him other than he has the coolest name in baseball."

YouTube has Bert's gaffe online. Caution: Language may be offensive to your mother.

Could White be taking the 'DL' out of Rondell? All I know is that the Rays intentionally walked White...I'm just sayin'. Granted, it's the Devil Rays, but White's had two straight solid games. It would be poetic justice if he comes through with a big hit or two this weekend against his former team after such a tough year.

The Royals beat the Yankees tonight. This after pulling ahead yesterday only to blow the lead in a big way. Like I've mentioned before, the Royals are tough and it looks like last week's doom and gloom about the Twins was premature.

Rivas of the Day: Must I pick only one? Not when the Devil Rays are involved. Rivas #1, Carl Crawford, for gift wrapping Morneau's triple and overthrowing home Jacque Jones-style. Rivas #2, Delmon Young for badly misplaying a line drive and allowing a run to score. Rivas #3, BJ Upton, who let Cuddyer lower the boom and knock the baseball loose at 3B.

Thanks to Bat Girl for this link about the top 25 breakout players. Six are Twins.

I thought the stadium looked empty today. Paid attendance: 8,256. Of course, that means even fewer fans were in attendance. Take a look at this article published in July in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette on the subject.

In actuality, the attendance numbers that teams announce – figures that become a matter of historical record in newspaper box scores and statistical reports – are a loosely based gauge of how many tickets are distributed, not how many people pass through the gates and not necessarily how many tickets were purchased. Whether those tickets were used is inconsequential in teams’ calculations. In some cases, executives guess at how many tickets were distributed. In all cases, the number of people at games, known as turnstile counts, isn’t volunteered.

...and they did so in dramatic fashion. Detroit cast-off Carlos Pena yanked a walk-off HR in the bottom of the 10th to give the Red Sox the win over the White Sox. With the Twins back in front, albeit by only 1/2 game, it's time to celebrate with some of my favorite excerpts culled from White Sox blog southsidesox.com. Raw, uncut and, oh, the humanity. Enjoy!

Ah, fook...
by winningugly on Mon Sep 04, 2006 at 09:14:30 PM EST

That didn't take long
McCarthy sure takes a dump on any late-inning situation he sees.
by The Cheat on Mon Sep 04, 2006 at 09:16:01 PM EST

Lost to a guy released by 2 teams this year. McCarthy is no savior. The Twins need to send us a thank you letter.
by Bull Pain on Mon Sep 04, 2006 at 09:16:19 PM EST

line the entire pitching staff up against a wall. they all just suck. can we get over the mccarthy talk now?
by wiretap on Mon Sep 04, 2006 at 09:16:36 PM EST

this game
was like a dagger in our heart. a contender cannot lose games like this. we can point to the bullpen but where are the runs? 2 runs against what the sox ran out against us tonight is pitiful.
by larry on Mon Sep 04, 2006 at 09:36:08 PM EST

Looks like Morneau's "Anybody but the Sox" comment caught the notice of the Chicago media. Why won't Ozzie say anything mean about the Twins? Just a little hate to stoke the flames. Even poor AJ is getting tired of his act. Get The Agitator some reinforcements.

Ozzie last week after a game vs. Tampa (from SI Power Rankings): "My offense scores 12 runs," the skipper said after a 12-9 win over the Devil Rays last week, "and I have to bring in my closer? That's horse[bleep]."

Also from the power rankings, this KC gem: Shortstop Angel Berroa missed a game early last week when his foot swelled up after he walked around a mall in Minneapolis on a day off.

In case you missed it the White Sox brought up a knuckleballer on Friday. Pretty cool.

NY Daily news reports Joe Torre isn't fooled by the Twins team he saw this weekend. He knows he'll see Santana in Liriano in the playoffs. Of course, we shouldn't be fooled either. The Twins surely won't be flailing away against Leiber, Karstens and Rasner come October.

Special thanks to VivaRivas contributor "Wakky" for the SI Power Rankings and the heads up on the Sox knuckleballer

Also, thanks to Twins Geek and TwinkeTown for linking this site and getting VivaRivas out to more readers!

Criticism of the so-called "mainstream media" is common on political blogs, but I've noticed Twins blog aarongleeman.com hurls such barbs on a regular basis. It's time to get on my VivaRivas soapbox and tell you why MSM not only remains relevant in today's society, but also plays an important role in it.

First, let's get this out of the way: While blogs have unquestioningly added to the depth of information that we read, bloggers could not exist without the MSM. Conversely, while the MSM doesn't need the blogosphere at such a basic level, it does need bloggers in a different sense.

I view blogs and the inreasingly common reader comments at the end of newspaper stories as a sort of "quality check." Instead of only editors monitoring quality, now reporters can be held accountable by the readers more easily and more publicly --- and that's a good thing. Not only that, but reporters can gather valuable ideas to write about from readers more easily. How do you think reporters write their articles? They're not all-knowing omnipresent journalism gods -- they simply talk to people. The good reporters know their readers, and because of that, know what questions to ask. Good reporters ask, "What would the readers want know?" and ask those questions.

Just today at aarongleeman.com:

It's sad that a newspaper has to treat readers like infants just because there were some "bad words" involved in the story being reported on. Instead of describing what happened like reporters do with every other story in the newspaper, that piece actually makes what took place involving Blyleven more confusing.

Thankfully, plenty of you sent in adult-friendly versions of the incident. Here's a report from reader Nick Scribner:

While he was talking about Joe Mauer in a pre-recorded video clip, he all of a sudden said, "We gotta do this f***ing thing over again, I just f***ed it up." He then said, "Oh, we're live?" He continued to apologize for his "use of language" during the pre-game and at the beginning of the first inning.

See what I mean? You learn more about what actually took place in 50 words from some random person who watched the game on TV than you do in 150 words from a reporter in the state's largest newspaper.

This is something of a unique scenerio because it involves decency standards in the newspaper. First off, sadly, there are a lot of prudes who call papers in a hissy fit for lesser offenses. Imagine if the Strib actually published the f-bomb. Readers would cancel, businesses would pull their ads, a lynch-mob would form outside of the Strib offices -- it would be complete disaster. The point is, newspapers, unlike blogs, aim to serve all of a region's population -- young men obsessed w/ the Twins and doting mothers alike -- and must act accordingly in the content they publish. That's why you won't see curse words in a paper unless it's newsworthy (i.e., news that affects the entire world, not just Twins Nation).

Rather than criticizing MSM for not printing Blyleven's f*** up, I would argue that this a case where blogs were able to add to public knowledge in a way that newspapers couldn't do. Intelligent readers will know where to look for more information. Though I'll agree that it would be nice if the paper could link to a site (with a warning) for readers to learn more about an incident that paper couldn't publish. Go blogs!

To prove the importance of MSM to everyone, even the most high-minded blogger, let's count the number of time aarongleeman.com links to a MSM linnk in today's blog: A whopping 12 times.

Usually this blog will focus on Twins analysis, so this is something of a departure from my usual content, but I needed to get this off my chest. Thanks for bearing with me.

After dropping the f-bomb twice on air, you'd think Bert Blyleven would have known better than to say Mike Meyers -- the Yankees submarining lefty -- delivers the ball like a "midget." Hilarious? Yes. Strong employment move? No. So he's not PC, but his bluntness is part of what makes him an engaging color commentator. And for you over protective parents out there, if you really care so much about your children, you wouldn't expose their impressionable young minds (which absorb information like a sponge) to Blyelven English (not to mention his California math). That said, I hope the network execs decide to renew his contract (up at the end of the year), or for that matter, decide against firing him immediately just to cover their pansy a$$es in hopes of saving a few bucks in FCC fines. C'mon guys, has anyone ever seen Bull Durham? Baseball players drink, swear and sleep around. Live with it.

Here's a summary of Blyleven's on-air gaffe's through the years.

No worries

While the Twins' performance against the Yankees #5,6 and 7 starters didn't inspire confidence for a strong September and post-season, I remain cautiously optimistic. The Tigers and the White Sox also struggled this week, which means the Twins miraculously didn't lose any ground in the division or Wild Card race.

The Twins will remain a force to reckoned with as long as Johan Santana can take the mound at least twice in a playoff series. If Liriano comes back in mid-season form, Minnesota may not need more than 2 to 3 runs a game.

Most importantly, we know our offense can do better. They've been hitting since June, so chances are they'll turn it around. It's not like the 2005 Twins, where they did this all year. So while it was discouraging to see the team flail away this weekend, there's no reason to panic...yet.

Morneau's HR in the books

Several people expressed surprise that Morneau's HR on Saturday counted because the game was called before the Yanks could complete the bottom of the inning. Whether this used to be true, I don't know, but I looked through the MLB rule book and found why it counted:

Rule 4.11 The score of a regulation game is the total number of runs scored by each team at the moment the game ends...4.11(d) A called game ends at the moment the umpire terminates play, unless it becomes a suspended game pursuant to Rule 4.12(a).

4.12
SUSPENDED GAMES.(5) Weather, if a regulation game is called while an inning is in progress and before the inning is completed, and the visiting team has scored one or more runs to take the lead, and the home team has not retaken the lead

The score and stats are tallied as soon as the game ends. The only reason a game may be suspended and made up later is if the visiting team had taken the lead the inning the game was called. Hope that clears things up.

Hunter Hot

Torii Hunter continues his torrid hitting. His HR on Sunday makes it 8 round-trippers in his last 15 games.

Good vs. Evil

Jeter is now only six percentage points behind Mauer in the batting race -- this is not good. Jeter markets a perfume called "Driven." (I refuse to call it a cologne. Implies masculinity.) Jeter is a metrosexual. Jeter is a Yankee. He's their captain. Jeter must not win a batting title.

I can't put it much more clearly than that. Maybe it's time to trim those sideburns, Joe

Don't believe everything you read, even if it is well-written. Despite tonight's ugly loss, it's not all doom and gloom for the Twins. Though the news is bad on Rad, he could be back yet; we traded for hitting; and Liriano looks to be inching back to a return to the mound. Most importantly, the WHITE SOX LOST! That means the Twins are still only a half-game out of a playoff spot.

Silva move imminent? It should be

September and October is the time of year when managers begin thinking like an NFL coach. Not producing? You ride the bench. Because come September it's all about winning now --- which brings me to Silva. I have no idea if a move is in the works, but I feel a shift in the rotation coming on. That Silva has made it this far in the season without losing his spot in the rotation (6.56 ERA) is a testament to 1.) Gardenhire's love for the big lug and 2.) The Twins' lack of veteran pitchers. Veteran or not, how much longer can the Twins afford to spot the opposing team 5 runs on the days Silva starts? That's not even accounting the strain his 3-4 inning outings place on the bullpen. Silva's psyche looks battered on the mound, and the man can't have much confidence in himself right now. Pull him now, even if it means the beginning of the Santana-Liriano-Garza era a year earlier than planned.

While the latest news on Radke's shoulder sounds ominous, the team doctor said it's possible he could be ready in time for the playoffs, but not before. With Boof and Garza pitching well, and the news on Liriano promising, the Twins rotation by mid-September could look like this:

Johan, Liriano, Boof, Garza and Scott Baker.

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