¡VIVA RIVAS!

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