O's sweep the hottest team in baseball. Twins sweep the best team in baseball. I've drunk 2 bottles of wine.

I feel tingly all over.

Dearest BG,
This series will not soon be forgotten. There is much rejoicing in my corner of Twins Territory this evening.

Happily,
ndtf

Happiness ....... doing the special Snoopy dance - Smiles all around.

SWEEP - oh and you can put it on the board =p

much love
Wonder Woman

Congrats to you guys on a great series. We stunk, and there's just no way to say it any clearer than that without using words not fit for a family-oriented website. Santana was amazing tonight, and your boys played Smartball against Jon Adkins in last night's 16 innings of drudgery.

Crestfallenly But Still Full Of Bitch Sox Pride,

Ilk

yes, yes, yes this sweep is one to tuck deeply away and be able to pull it out and savor it again and again. But! It COULD happen. Hotness reigns currently in the Twins B-team. And the pitchers ARE bitchin'!
I love post season frenzy and until the numbers are impossible to add up, well, I for one will wait a bit longer to see if the Wild Card express will make it to our town.
Hope Springs Eternal

Oh, and today was the anniversary of the day Jlubby and I met! Obviously it's fate. :) Wine, women, and song. Huzzah!

Who knew a broom could be such a thing of beauty?

It was beautiful. Well put BG!

Dear Mr. Ilk,

This is a family-oriented website?

Confused,
Batgirl

Oh, what a game it was to watch with the Batlings at Billy's. From HG bringing us all "No Rabbit Ears" buttons to Johan sitting down many, many Bitches to Buerhle's BLOCK to bring home a run, it was damn near perfect. Way to go, Twins!!

If it's a family oriented website, i can't say that this game made me feel tingly in a not entirely clean way.

Happily,
Carrie

Nick, don't forget Little Nicky Ninja! he was SO COOL!

Batgirl, this series has brought me such joy... words simply cannot express my true feelings after Joe Nathan sat down the last Bitch. we swept the Bitch Sox. in their own home. *sigh* if I were a smoker, I'd need a cigarette.

Dearest Batgirl,

Forgive me for being frank, but it is a little frustrating when fans decide their team has little shot at the playoff when they are just a mere FOUR GAMES out of a spot.

Yours,
-Ice

I will cherish this all the way to April.

The Twins have picked up as many games the last four days as they are behind now. Four. With 42 games left.

The teams involved-A's, Yankees, Indians, Blue Jays, and O's have all been very streaky this year. For the better part of the past 2 months the Twins have played lousy. With Johan getting hot and a couple of gutty extra-inning performances by the pen and a few clutch knocks, who says this can't be the start of some good baseball the final 6 weeks.

I'm not ready to be smothered in Vikings coverage and I'm certainly not ready for April 2006.

Mr. Mays, the ball is yours. Let's keep it rolling.

Yay Twins! I will admit that I still have hope my friends, I still have hope.

On my name there is a link for a website for "gay sports fans." Look at "nice positioning of the bat Joe." I thought it was kind of funny.

~Hannah~

Mr. Stiff,

As much as I LOVE football, I agree wholeheartedly. It's good to see someone who shares my views.

-Ice

Good post BG. this has been a hard year to be a twins fan. a sweep by our roch team goes a long way. tonight seemed like old times.

To everyone, it has not been hard to be Twins fan, always have been, always will (plus 40 years now). BG I kinda like the Polka Patrol in the outfield. On ward!

So all year long, i've been thinking to myself, "this is it, the BitchSox lost today, this is the start of their downward spiral." Now, after i quit paying attention somewhat (but still, deep down, kept telling myself it was coming), its happening. We're making that late season run, while they fold up thier wings and crash and burn. I still have faith in our boys. There's alot of baseball games to be lost in chicago this year. And they're JUST THE TEAM TO DO IT! Just sayin.

Sweeping the bitchsox nearly brought tears to my eyes this morning when i saw the results of the game. Johan is just beautiful. Even when he's whooping my ass in fantasy ball, i can look beyond that, because, well, we swept the BitchSox. Happiness.

"alot"

Tinger, what have we talked about hmm?

A very fun game to watch, (but really anytime I get to watch it, it is fun), I'm a bit miffed that Santana didn't get a shutout, but hey, we won, and there was a polka patrol. What more can a girl ask for?

Delightful. Simply delightful. What a thing it is to see Santana get 10 strikeouts in a game again!

Well, I just realized one good thing about mlb.TV always using the bitchsox feed. It was amazingly funny to listen to them on the verge of tears as Johan sat down the bitches one after another. Their grasping to the faintest glimmer of spark in a night when they were thoroughly dominated was just great.

Bravo Johan, and bravo Polka Patrol! Lets carry this into a little bit of revenge against the Mariners.

I hate to even think of it, but is anyone else considering rooting for the yankees this weekend for the first time ever? I know it is horribly wrong, but I want the downward spiral of the bitchsox to continue.

I love you Johan K Santana!
And you are looking more appealing then ever Crawdaddy!
And the polka patrol, well that was just *hot* tonight!

I believe in the Polka Patrol. And I don't know what the future holds...but I hope that they give us something to cheer about.

C'mon Twins! Make it interesting :)

God Bless Venezuela.

I, for one, appreciated the beauty of our line-up last night. What other team would take the guys who played second and third bases, and did well, two nights in a row, and throw them in the corner outfield the third night? It's always good when we can laugh AND win!

Is it just me, or have they all un-clenched ever since Gardy made his "just relax and have fun" speech, sick and wrong though it was? Whatever it takes to make the talking heads on ESPN admit we're not out of it yet!

Look out, Cleveland, we're coming for you next!

When I heard Black Jack announce Lil Abner, Cuddles and Fordwalker were in the outfield I fell out of my chair. What was once our stability was now our X factor. However as the game progressed, my fears subsided and Johan was, well very Johanish and I knew that the Bitch Sox were on their way to being swept. After the final out, I fell out of my chair, again, this time on purpose, to get on my knees and pray to Tony Gwynn to thank him for the sweep and repent my sins of doubtfulness. Tony told me to sing 3 "Take me out to the Ball Games" and my sins would be lifted from my soul.

Thank you Tony, I feel much better now, and thank you Twins, you have indeed made my heart sing with happiness once again.

This is all so exciting!!! I will definitely place this into my heart and in times of need, will pull it out and remember it. I will reflect fondly and happily on this.

The Twins definitely plan on making this interesting now!

And, as healthy as Shannon or JJ are...Gardy should stick with the lineup that works! If that means putting the Polka Patrol out there, do it!

Dear Big Daddy LeCroy,

I apologize for my disappointment last night when you failed to hit a 3rd consecutive homerun off Buerhle.

I was just being greedy.

Appreciatively,
~SMZ

---

Dearest Little Nicky Ninja,

I loved your appearance at second last night. I also enjoyed your debut earlier in the game (or was that the previous game?) where the ball dropped in front of you in shallow left field, and instead of picking it up, you crouched over it and glared at the first-base runner, daring him to make a try for second. I just about peed myself, and I wasn't even the one being stared down!

Keep up the swift, deadly work!

Adoringly,
~SMZ

As much as I hate bitch sox. Why on the World would you want them to beat the Yankees? Yankees are 21/2 games ahead of us in the WC. I am hoping for Sox for one series only to put the opposing team away!

This sweep will sustain me for weeks.

And Nora, it is forbidden to root for the Bitch Sox. Do what I do--when Bitch Sox and Bankees meet, pray for the field to be swallowed up by a giant sinkhole which (miraculously) leaves the stands and therefore the fans intact and unharmed.

http://slate.msn.com/id/2124605/?nav=tap3

...Saw that while browsing today. More humerous bitching, at least I think so.

Nora:
yes the yankees are in front of us by 2.5 right now. But they also have 6 games left against the D-rays, at least 6 against the Red Sox, and at least 6 left against Toronto. The Drays own the yankees this year for some reason, yankee pitching is no match for the red sox offensive juggernaut, and toronto is one of the hottest teams in the mlb right now. I have no question that we will catch the yankees, but I would love it even more if we could pull off the unthinkable and catch the bitchsox in the last 2 months of the season. If we can do that it will mean two major things. One, we will have ungodly amounts of momentum going into the playoffs, and two, the other teams will fear the Twins just because we did it. This would be a catch on the magnitude of, if not greater than, the yankees catching the red sox in 1978, then winning the one game playoff with Bucky 'bleepin' Dent (red sox 14 game lead july 19).

That is why i want the yankees to beat up on the bitchsox this weekend, which is saying alot for someone living in Boston right now who's second team is the Red Sox.

Check that, 10 left against toronto including 4 after this series with the bitchsox. The yankees are going nowhere. Our biggest concern if we just want the wildcard is the A's.

OK OK I have not looked into it in depth. Since you have I will go with what you say.

infield, I agree. However, if the game is played at Yankee stadium, my prayer would include that hole swallowing the entire stadium, fans and all. Anyone in attendance at a Yankee/BitchSox game at Yankee stadium is going to spend eternity burning anyway, so they might as well all go together with their overpaid heros. Plus, taking the stadium would be the only way to get the teams' respective broadcasters, too. (Not to mentiong taking George with them.)

Jim,

You have an excellent point, there. Although I'd rather take out the BSox announcers (put THIS on the board, you $@#!) if it came to that. ;)

Infield:
I agree with you on taking out the bitchsox announcers. One of their worst calls was last night when the bitchsox got their first hit "You can cancel the postgame show!" Either that or the "song" they made up for brian anderson during the 16 inning marathon. It was just annoying as hell. Glad to be rid of them for 4 days, but odds are mlb.tv will have em again for the 3 games in the dome. It's just so annoying since Bert and Dick are known around the league as one of the better groups of announcers.

I love how that article calls Ozzie Guillen a "legendary shortstop".

This series sweep made me dance with joy into the wee hours.

Dear Batlings,

Now, now. What if YankeeFan were there? Or mike? Or Ilk or kojak? Or Batgirl's 60's pitching boyfriend, Jim Kaat? We must remember that there is some good, even in a Yankee/Bitch Sox series.

Lovingly,
Batigrl

infield and TiB, well, I presume Hawk and AJ would be in attendance, we would be rid of them in addition to the others.

BG, far be it for me to wish ill on any fellow Batling or, heaven forbid, Saint Jim. Perhaps a bit of advance warning (a la Noah) so they can stay home that day. If they fail to head the warning, well, I hate to toss in a Star Trek quote, but sometimes the good of the many outweighs the good of the few. Their sacrifices would be worthy of statues in their honor. I mean, imagine a world without Yankees, BitchSox, and 60,000 yankee fans, announcers and owners.

I can picture it now. The YES annoucer shouting: "SEEYA!" as the Yankees outfielders were pulled into oblivion...along with Hawk and that incessant "He-gone!" as his boys fell to their doom.

Naturally, YankeeFan and the other loyal Batlings/ex-Twins would be sparred the rapture...as Tony Gwynn would swoop in on a cloud and whisk them away to the Metrodome, where they'd watch the 2nd Place MN Twins battle Cleveland for the all important Division crown.

And naturally, Joe Buck...ESPN, and all the other talking heads would hold their candlelight vigils around the gaping maw of the former Yankee dynasty...remembering the days when Jeter would sorta field good and Randy Johnson was still considered to be the Yankees saving throw.

Torhu:
Please tell me Tim McCarver was in the stadium at the time. That would make the entire destruction perfect.

And BG what are the positives of a bitchsox/yankees series? That one of them has to lose? Maybe there will be another 16 inning game on sunday to decimate the bitchsox bullpen just in time to play in the dome.

Another intersting fact-toid.

Soxes 18-11 32-12 12-15
Twins 18-12 26-20 11-15

That's the AL East, Central, West splits.

What does that mean? Our weakness this year is that we haven't beat up on our own division as much as Chi has. Otherwise we're playing the other teams equally.

Hopefully that'll turn around. Considering 10 or so of the remaining Divsional games are the Sox themselves :)

It's going to be an interesting finish.

TiB...I would think so.

YES would be there for the Yankees angle.
WGN would be there for the Sox angle.
FOX would be there for the Yankees game.

Yes, you heard me. The game would be on three networks at once.

Think of all the people you'd spare having to listen to those three sets of annoucers ever again.

Wow..three in a row. Oh well.

ESPN mirrors my disgust at the new All-Star format:

"The Cards have MLB's best record, passing the White Sox. And thanks to "This Time It Counts," that's a completely meaningless feat."

I'm going to have to take a page out of the book written by all the Giants fans that surround me, It doesn't matter where we are in the standings, as long as we beat the Dodgers!

But for me as a Twins fan its even better b/c the sweep does matter to the WC standings. 4 back feels alot better. The boys played great! and beating Chicago ALWAYS feels good.

GO TWINS.

p.s. there should be a name for last nights outfield ala Soul Patrol.

Best wishes from the land of Arnold

To calu:

Last night's outfield has been dubbed the "Polka Patrol" by our friends Dick and Bert.

It appears to have stuck. :)

Apologies, I didn't read before I wrote, Polka Patrol is a great name.

One last thing, I obviously have to watch the Twins on MLB TV and its great that I get at least one Twins broadcast per series but the Chicago announcers are maybe the worst ever.

Calling their team the Good Guys when giving the score while going into commercial, Calling the Twins the Twinkies, and pretty much just being two fans who some how made into the booth.

It was and always is almost too much to listen too, expect when the Twins win and then its almost too sweet.

I'm not a big fan of This Time It Counts but I feel compelled to point out that the World Series home advantage was NEVER tied to having the best record. Before it just depended on whether it was an odd or even year.

My dad told me one time that one of the two Chicago teams fired their annoucers because they questioned a few of the calls made by their management/ownership (you know, criticizing a decision or disgareeing with an in-game move)

I'm beginning to think it was the WGN annoucers. Because yeah, they seriously wear on ya.

I still shudder when I watch the replay of Cuddy's clutch 9th inning save-blowing homer. And how the two annoucers just fell silent for the whole at bat. Adding only: "Well, he's a big man."

Or Morneau's homerun that same night: "Well, he can do that to ya."

At least Dick and Bert seem to give a bit of credit to the other team when they do something great, good plays...clubbed homeruns. They sure as heck don't fall silent.

I'll agree with that slate article on the topic of b-sox fans vs cubs or r-sox fans. Having lived in Boston for 2.5 years now, the self-importance and self-loathing of the r-sox fans is one of the most displeasurable things I've run into in my daily experience, made worse by the fact that they're consciously proud of the whole spectacle.

BG,

Thanks for sparing my hide from the would-be pit of Yankee Stadium.

To those imagining a world without the Yankees -- what about the joy you will have when the Yanks miss the playoffs? If there were no Yanks, you would not be able to feel such joy. Also, if there were no Yankees, the Red Sox would just occupy that spot in your minds -- highest payroll, advance to the playoffs every year, fans insufferable (hrm, almost sounds like them already)...

As a fan who has been in similar predicaments (see, e.g., Devils/Islanders games) I say root for the Yankees (as tough as it may be) because it would be sweet to see the Twins win the division. Even if the Twins are the Wild Card team, it would be nice to see the Bitch Sox enter the playoffs having gone 12-30 over their last 42...

In any event, we have some races to watch this year, and baseball is bound to continue to be exciting...even if offenses haven't scored as much as they should, or bullpen pitchers insist on walking, balking and wild-pitching in the winning runs...

Best of luck to those who still believe and for those who don't believe - may the impending pit have mercy on your souls.

Affectionately,
YankeeFan

I'm sorry, but I gotta root *barely* for the Sox. And it's as a Wild Card contender.

The Sox still play enough divisional games (including 10 with us) That they can be dragged down a bit.

We need the Yanks to lose far more than the Sox. I'm sorry, but that's just how it is right now.

Besides, we still have 10 or 11 games to beat the Sox ourselves.

Torhu:
Sa many games as we have left with the bitchsox, I hope we can win them all but I know that there is no realistic way we can sweep four consecutive serieses against the same team (except the royals right now, but that's a different topic). As a wild card contender, yes we want the yankees and A's to lose, but we are still mathematically alive in the division. It's a longshot but not outside the realm of possibility. I say we shoot for the division championship and that should get us enough wins to settle for the wildcard if need be. The yankees sweeping the bitchsox, or even taking 2 of 3, would do a lot of good. The Drays will fix the fact that the yankees are ahead of us when the time comes (sorry yankeefan, but it is sadly true). Let's go for broke and see where is all sorts out. There's still a good month and a half left.

oops, that should say "As many games as we have left with the bitchsox,"

I'm just happy that we gain ground on *somebody* regardless of which team wins.

TiB,

'tis both sad and true indeed.

As a YankeeFan, I can only hope that a team that has a 4-12 record against Tampa Bay and that was been swept by the Royals might make the postseason. As a baseball fan, it pains me to think that it is possible.

As long as we're still dreaming here, how does Twins (Central Division Champs), Yankees (East Champs), Angels (West Champs) and A's (Wild Card) sound? Anyone? :)

Tongue planted firmly in cheek,
YankeeFan

We need not worry who beats who and who plays who. Bottom line, the Twins need to keep winning, and the rest will take care of itself.

Haven't you heard? The Twins are not in the AL Wild Card race. ESPN says so.

I do wonder just how many games it will take before they begin to acknowledge that someone other than the As, Yankees and Indians warrants being included on the list on Baseball Tonight.

As a note of interest. FOXSports.com the last few days has some interesting rumors.

Yesterday the Pinoeer Press (via Gorden Whitmayer or whoever) said that Jones doesn't expect to be picked up next year.

Today the same guy wrote an article about how JC wouldn't be agaisnt being trading.

Also, there are rumors surfacing that the Sox might try to aquire...DUN DUN DUN...Eddie Guardado.

*babies cry*

Dear Batgirl,

Thanks as always for looking out for me.

I will in fact be at all 3 games at Comiskular this weekend. While it hardly has the allure and history of Yankee Stadium, we do have much better hot dogs.

Fondly,
Ilk

Torhu-

Cubs annoucer Steve Stone was fired last year for being perfectly honest about what was wrong with the team, and mistakes they were making that needed to be fixed. This upset some of the players, and Dusty Baker who passed their disgruntlement on. And it made me mad. I love Steve Stone. He's smart, and really knows the game well, and he wasn't saying anything that all the fans out here were already thinking anyhow. The new announcers are fine, but they're not as good.

Hawk and DJ though are quite insufferable. But when I get to see my Twins I make sacrifices. It was particularly hard during that 16-inning game that went on all night, and my suffering was worth it.