Agreed! Should be fun to watch!

I'll watch every single game. I don't really care who wins. They both are good teams.

Hey all, visiting A's fan... just wanted to say that the Twins were a fun team to watch this year. I'm secretly a big Liriano fan, too. I watched one of his first starts at the Coliseum last year, and knew that he was going to be something big in the future.

So basically, thanks, and keep up the stellar writing, BG!

JLaff, I am secretly a Harden fan.
one of the best fastballs in the league.

Hi JLaff... I was totally bitter and angry at the A's yesterday but I've calmed down now. Thank you for your kind words. Good luck to your team. And to the Tigers (sorry, but they did beat the Yankees and I am a Mets fan...) as well. :-)

Go AL Central comrades! I'm very much pumped the Tigers laid the smack down on the Yanks. The Twins battled the Tigers for so long this season, that I feel like I know that team almost as well as my own. Should promise to be an exciting series that I will be eagerly watching.

Well, I like the Twins. You guys are in this "small market" boat with us. Hopefully, because of this postseason, more attention will be paid next year to teams outside of the Boston-New York axis of evil. And with a 1-2 punch of Johan and Francisco, we'll probably see Minnesota in October next year as well.

Definitely OK with the match-up btwn the A's and Tigers. The Tigers deserve to be where they are, despite their slump towards the end of the regular season. I should watch ESPN tonight... I could get drunk faster than usual!

Please don't include the Mets in that axis. :-( We've been totally victimized by the Yankees and their fans too. Always the poor relation, and not just during baseball season, either! Remember this is only our 7th postseason appearance in our entire existence... so we're not exactly flashing a bunch of fancy rings. Hate the Yankees if you want, but not "New York." Half of us hate them too.

And last season was a NY/Boston-free Series. ;-) This year I was hoping for a Mets-Twins Series so I couldn't lose either way!!! :-)

Ah, sorry about that! I kinda figured the Yankees were implied. Until the announcers go on gushing about David Wright's intangibles, the Mets are cool and not in aforementioned axis of evil.

PUMA!!!!!!!!!!!!

A thousand thanks!!! :-)

PS: And I'll try not to hold 1973 against you if we happen to meet again in the Series... even though it was the first sporting event I ever cried over. ;-)

So glad that the damn yankees are gone. While I too was dissapointed and bitter that the A's destroyed the Twins, I also know that they beat us fair and square and I will be rooting for both teams to do well and make it an ALCS for the ages. Good luck to both teams.

Laurie, the mets will never be a part of the axis of mlb evil. they dont have steinbrenner as their owner or the legions of bandwagon fans who assume that any good player will end up in their uniforms (though the yankees actually doing this hasnt helped them recently, hehehe).

That Tigers/Yanks game could not have been any sweeter than it was. I was really surprised to see Bonderman's poise on the mound as I of course remember him from that famous come from behind Twins win.

Anyway, I'm going for the Tigers for this series. No disrespect to the A's, who I think are the Twins...twin and who I really admire, but I really want the AL Central to get the prize this year and if the Tigers do it, it would be a testament to the crazy good season they put together especially in the amazingly competitive AL Central.

But in the end, I'll be happy with either outcome because it doesn't include the Yankees, who according to ESPN, everyone picked to win the WS.

News to me, but hey! Good times.

Batgirl, this Yankees team was like the greatest line up in the history of baseball, and probably the future! That's right. Better than any of the teams with Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth. It's just too bad the spoilsport Tigers didn't come in with the baseball history perspective of mlb.com and ESPN, because Rogers and Bonderman behaved like total ignorami, shutting down that lineup as if it all that were merely contrived hype, denying American Baseball Fans the pleasure of watching this vaunted Yankee team the world championship and month-long tongue bath from sports media they clearly deserved.

That being said, hell, Go Tigers!

One perk to Oakland possibly winning a World Series is that Joe Morgan would probably completely lose his mind. Two stat-geek organizations winning in a three year span (Epstein's Red Sox, Beane's A's)? I don't think his hard-wired, old-school, imagined-intangible-loving brain could handle that.

YANKEES SUCK! YANKEES SUCK! YANKEES SUCK! YANKEES SUCK!

I tried to get a chant going at the Wild game tonight, but to no avail. hehehe. it would have been fun after they showed Justin and Joe on the jumbotron. hell, I wish I could have gotten everyone to chant MVP! MVP! MVP! MVP! ah, well. we gave them a standing ovation for almost a full minute.

between Oakland and Detroit, I don't really hate either one, so I'm not sure who I'll be rooting for. maybe Oakland, because I'm not fond of Kenny Rogers. his chin makes me angry. ;-) but he beat down Randy Johnson, so... tough decision!

in the end, however, LET'S GO METS!!!

Congrats to the Twins and all the Twins fans on an amazing season that was so much fun to watch!!! We all wanted them to go further. Great team in so many ways.

That Tiger's win today was for baseball fans everywhere.

As a lifelong member of Red Sox Nation (and a new not-so-secret Twins fan), one of the many reasons I love checking in to read BG's beautifully written, thoughtful, insightful, and often hysterically funny baseball musings (often causing people I worked with to wonder why I was laughing/crying at my computer) is also to read the comments of the fans who usually remind me that baseball is full of heart, fun, comradely, and scrappy plays. Please remember not all fans of East Coast teams are annoying bandwagoners- or part of the evil axis spoken of earlier.

Dear BG,
Much love and best wishes from a total stranger on your future bundle of boofness!!! If I find myself (hopefully not too much longer) in your situation, my second purchase will be a "you can't handle the boof" onsie.

Count down to pitchers and catchers reporting...

"future bundle of boofness." heh

Another fun game to play...
How many newborns in Minnesota will be named "Boof"?

go Mets!

No disrespect to Mr. Bonser, but I sincerely hope -- for the sake of the poor children -- that the answer is zero!

Boof or bundle of boofness. You have to admit, it is pretty cute. You wouldn't be able to use it as a nickname without laughing- and that's just fun- and fun to say out loud.

What if Bonser turns out to be the best pitcher in the history of baseball and leave behind a legacy in MN. Then I think many crazy people would name their kids BOOF.

Hey, kids have been named stranger things.

yeah... frighteningly enough - I seriously doubt that he will be the ONLY player with youngsters named after him in the coming months/years, but.. yes, I think people WILL use that name.

You just can't tell with some folk. *GIGGLE*

I am so glad that there is still a post season to be excited about even though the Twins aren't in it!!!! I remember last year being stiflingly depressing because I couldn't even seem to connect to any post season teams.

This year, I have an embarrassment of teams that I think played fantastic baseball and I will be chewing my fingernails away while they play. YAY!!

I'd name my kid Boof even if he doesn't leave a legacy.

As a Tigers fan, it's been so much fun watching the Tigers prove ESPN and all the doubters wrong the past few days.

Congrats to the Twins for their run, and I hope next year is just as fun as this year is, with the Twins and Tigers battling it out for the AL Central title, which means I'll be coming back to this site every day next season!

i was sooooo happy today when the yankees were eliminated. that was a beautiful, beautiful thing.

i am very much looking forward to the ALCS. the great thing is, the twins have not been the only good story in baseball this year. look at the tigers: coming out of nowhere to almost take the division. look at the a's: quietly winning almost as many games as the twins with almost no hype, and then showing us up hardcore in the ALDS with fantastic pitching depth and rock solid defense. they're both teams you want to pull for, and i would be happy with either of them going to the world series.

but i just can't get over how glad i am that the yankees failed again. they NEEDED to fail. that was beautiful.

i love baseball.

Not only did the Yankees lose, but it sounds like George is just about ready to seal the deal to assure that they don't win in the near future either by firing Torre and bringing in Lou Pinella. Anyone know what George's will says about who inherits his ownership in the Yankees? 'Cuz I'm pretty sure this year is gonna kill him.

I don't understand, the Yankees lost, but they have Jeter the ultimate clutch postseason play er who never fails to get a big hit and win the games that count (not like that nasty A-Rod). Surely with his great 'leadership' the yankees could never get blown away in an elimination game, it's all wrong, ESPN have been lying to me,

oh yeah he's just a very good player on a very expensive team who ran up against the oldest adage in the book; pitching wins!!!!

I think there's going to be some good baseball played down the final couple of weeks, and then we have the fun of watching the Yankees off season :-)

And will any team go into next year with as much well deserved optimism as the Twins?

D

Go Tigers go!!

Though I like the A's too, I wouldn't mind if they won it either.

Did they show any shots of Brian Cashman during the last Yanks/Tigers game? I always love when they do that--his face goes from pale to white to ash-grey to green, it's fascinating. I'll bet he threw up a lot between innings.

After weeping copiously at the Twins lackluster perfomance, I prepared myself to be almost as disappointed with the Tiger's loss to the insuperable[insufferable?}Yankees. Well, that did not happen, again. That did not happen last year, or the year before. The Tigers taking out the A's will mean 2 a.l. central world series reps in as many years. Is this the strongest division in mlb?How could that be? What about the payroll of the Yankees, or even the Red Sox? I just don't get it. It must be Joe Torres' fault. I would fire him, and hire Pinella, or has that already happened? So buying a division champ every year does not guarantee a world series winner, or even a w.s. participant? It must be one of those recurring anomolies that belie the very meaning of the word. Maybe it is just a recurring aberration; no, that doesn't work either. It must be A-Rod's fault. I am at a loss to explain it. I guess you just can't rent happiness.

I hope Arod goes to another team next year and returns to his amzing form, and come back in the playoffs to play the yankees, and single handedly eliminate them from the playoffs. I'm sorry, I find it so hard to hate a guy that so many Yankees hate themselves. I feel bad for a guy with so much more talent than Jeter.

of course it would be even better if the yankees don't make the playoffs period.

Here's to a Tigers-Cardinals World Series, two cities that deserve something good.

One other thought: RD is wondering why ESPN can't find former players with the insights of guys like Vernon Wells and Eric Byrnes to sit in the Baseball Tonight jock chairs. They showed you don't have to be ignorant blowhards like Kruk 'n' Brantley to be interesting.

And FOX appears to be looking to match those guys in the blowhard department by hiring a certain White Sox catcher to work the rest of the playoffs. Name of Pierzynski, or sumthin'.

For example, RD is sure that a certain Bradke may be looking for some part-time work come 2007. Team him up with Matty Lecroy and RD wouldn't even watch the games. He'd just wait for the highlights.

Go Tigers!!!

But I like the A's too, I wouldn't realy mind if they won.
I agree with STEVE HOLT! A-rod deserved better. Reading their (The Yankees') website it sounds like they are about to fire half the team. FUN!!!

Very exciting match-up!
In Japan, a lot of mass-media hoped Yankees went up to ALCS because Yankees has Matsui, however, I am very happy to enjoy this series with Detroit and Oakland!
I hope Big Hurt hammer big HRs.

I'm proud of the Tigers for sticking it to the Yankees! I had a bet going with a guy in my dorm and he was pretty sure the Yankees were going to kill the Tigers. Sucker!

Along with the mentioning of Jeter, you can take a drink whenever they show Jeter on screen-- even when he's not doing anything important like batting. Just sitting in the dugout or something.

Though you can't really do that now since the Yanks are out... oh well.

I'm certainly no fan of A-Rod, but come on. How any reasonable person or knowledgable baseball fan could possibly dump the whole mess in the lap of one guy is beyond me. They all sucked. To quote our very own Al (above), you just can't rent happiness.

As for AJ, thanks for the warning. I'd rather listen to my 6-year-old niece wax lyrical about the playoffs than AJ. At least she's a Met fan. ;-)

I don't think Detroit is a small market.

nope... detroit isn't exactly what you'd call small market, but they still have my total respect. Even big market teams like the Mets and the Cubs have my respect too. I just think what the yankees are doing is absolutely ridiculous. They're talking about firing Joe Torre??? What could he have possibly done for a different outcome? The reason I dislike the yankees has nothing to do with them being a big market team, or arod, or jeter, or steroids. It's two words
George Steinbrenner.
I think he is the devil and as long as he has ownership of the yankees, they will be the Evil Empire.

AJ on baseball tonight??? are you kidding me? That's AWESOME! I love AJ and his AJisms. I would have loved to hear his thoughts on the yankees and the "best lineup in the history of baseball". Can't wait.

oops I mean FOX

yahoo! a yankee-free zone again this year. maybe a-rod will take up that guy's offer in the pepsi commercial about the beverage distribution business.

the rest of this postseason is going to be great fun to watch.

on the subject of babyboofs, i'm guessing that more pets will actually be named boof than babies. just like the herbie-kirby years. you never know tho.

Take it from one who knows, New York becomes a much smaller market when you're sharing it with the Yankees. Especially when they're winning and you're not. You might as well play in Timbuktu.

yes, the Mets are such a good story for NY this year. To be the underdogs in that city, to endure years of misfortune, they've turned losing into an artform at times. But this year they can shut up all of the cocky yankee fans who have said all season long that they can't wait for another subway series so they can beat the mets twice in 7 years. HA! that's why as much as I love what the tigers and the A's have done this year, I'm rooting for the Mets all the way. Plus I just really love professor reyes classes. Those from NY know what I'm talking about. How can you not love that guy?

Professor Reyes, heh. "You speak Spanish... that's cheating!"

I was so dreaming of a Mets-Twins Series. As hard as it would have been with the conflicting loyalties (imagine how hard last night was for me, with the Mets pummeling my idol Greg Maddux! I couldn't watch!), I would have been happy no matter what the outcome.

BG,

I love your idea for a new drinking game. If only I had ESPN's phone number so that I could place multiple prank calls once I'm nice and toasty.

I'm going to start playing the Jeter game during the game tonight!! Cheers to Batgirl!

Go A's!!

I'm a huge Tigers fan right now. I'd love to see them make the World Series. Still trying to decide on my favorite Tigers player (I like both Brandon Inge and Pudge, so it's kinda hard for me to pick one).

Having said that, there is no way in heck that the Tigers will ever replace my beautiful boys, the Minnesota Twins (2006 American League Central Division Champions). I love the way that sounds.

"WHO'S YOUR TIGER?" as their commercial goes. I have FOUR Tigers... two who have been my BFs for many years before their Tigerdom--Placido Polanco and Todd Jones--Kenny Rogers, and the stupendously amazing Joel Zumaya.

My "A" was ex-Met BF Marco Scutaro, but I'm still kinda mad at him. I even pronounced him DEAD TO ME on Friday. I calmed down a little and moved him back up to ON NOTICE... so we'll see how that works out.

I have too many Cardinals and Padres to count, so I'll just leave that one to the baseball gods to sort out.

placido polanco looks like a big bald teddy bear that you just want to hug. Yea I'm still a little mad at marco scutaro myself, but that chant that the A's fan had going for him was pretty incredible, even if it does make me cringe. marco scutaro is our nicky punto.

Except that Scutaro his extra base hits.

I'm going with Granderson as my Tigers BF. He wears his socks the right way and is super fine, also his batting stance rocks the house. Also, classy. And looks good with and without a hat/helmet, which is a very important quality.

I have no A's boyfriend, although I really like Zito who is a lovely individual. But for now, Granderson is my man.

I'm going to go with Inge, I've decided, because he's awesome (and plays third base/infield) and because he's got a slightly Southern accent, like my REAL boyfriend, Jason Bartlett. Did it seem like he dropped the F-bomb to anyone else when he botched that ground ball that rolled into left field on Friday? (I still love him) So, in short, welcome to my select group of boyfriends, Brandon.

For those who care, my boyfriends are as follows:
JASON BARTLETT (my only TRUE boyfriend)
Justin Morneau
Jason Tyner
Brandon Inge
Nate Robertson (I love the glasses he wears)

So...yeah.

Steve: Are you talking about when the fans were chanting, "Let's go!" (clap clap) "Scutaro!" (clap clap)?

When asked about being fired, Torre said, "Well, maybe I can finally get a good nights sleep and get these bags under my eyes taken care of."

"I'd rather listen to my 6-year-old niece wax lyrical about the playoffs than AJ. At least she's a Met fan."

Laurie, I would PAY to listen to your 6-year-old niece wax lyrical about the playoffs. that kid is hilarious!

Speaking of Twins namesakes, I could swear I once saw a news report about a guy who had twin sons and named them "Torii" and "Hunter." Does anyone else remember that?

And I would totally name a dog Boof. Especially a big, lolloping Labrador. "Here Boof! Fetch, Boof! Good boy!" Heh heh.

When they were chanting "MAR CO" clap clap "SCUT A RO"" Clap Clap

I also love nate robertson. I met him once and he's one of the nicest guys.

that sucks about torre... I honestly like the guy.

Nobody deserves to put up with the shit people who work for Steinbrenner put up with. I hope George dies a bitter old man without winning another championship while every one he dumps goes on to prove they're winners.

haha, 'fumbly. She refers to the playoffs as "the second level." "The Mets got to the second level!" (and of course the Yankees did not)

Laurie,

That is SO funny! You should tell her that everybody on Batgirl thinks she's the best.

Watching my Tigers not only beat, but completely humiliate the "Greatest Lineup Ever" , was a truly wonderful thing. The way those guys played, hit, ran, caught, threw and most especially ohmygod PITCHED literally made my hair stand up and take notice. Advancing to the ALCS is great, obviously, but doing so by kicking the Yankees' collective asses and sending them home for the season makes it even sweeter. It's been a raucous and intense few days around the homestead, as all my family went apey together. (Wife is as big a fan as I am, and even the kids came home to visit this weekend and enjoy the victory with us; we also got continuous phone calls from my siblings around the country, just to share the moments [there were so many!] and the electricity during the games.)

Thanks to everyone who is now wishing the Tigers well. As I've said before, I have a lot of respect for the Twins, particularly the magical and special season they put together this year. In all honesty, I'm not sorry that the Tigers won't have to face them in the ALCS; the Dome is a painful place to have to play in a "must win" situation, and it doesn't break my heart that my team won't have to go through that. But I feel for the disappointment of Twins fans, and appreciate the good sportsmanship and mutual respect so many of you have expressed for my Tigers. Like the Twins, they're a special team too.

And hey, at least having an AL central team to root for means being able to watch some more great baseball, before the winter winds settle in and leave us all with nothing to do but look forward to spring training.

Best wishes and warmest regards to all you Batlings for next year. And meantime:

Go Tigers!

Click my name for something cute, TwinsPrincess!

This is going to be a tough decision for me. Usually in the postseason I just cheer for whoever is playing the Yankees. Well that's already taken care of (Thanks Detroit!) Now I've got my 2nd favorite team (Oakland) playing my fourth favorite team (Detroit).

Normally I'd just cheer for Oakland, but I've got to love a team that knocked the Yankees out of it in convincing fashion and also is from the central (and isn't the White Sox).

Hmm. Well, I think it's got to be Go Detroit! (but I won't be too upset if it's Oakland too - as long as the Twins advance next year. . .)

hey are those special seats at shea that my friend tells me only important people can sit? I want those seats for next year's mets/twins interleague game. I'm also trying to get tickets for next years twins home opener.

yup, Mel, you remember it correctly---twins were born in St Cloud in Feb, 2004 and named "Torii" and "Hunter". Their namesake came and met them, and wondered if the parents were sure they were making the right decision! All reports were that Sweetcheeks was a delight to all he met in the hospital on his swing through town. Gotta love the TWINS---they are top-notch.

The seats you see are actually in right field. The real fancy ones are behind home plate and next to the dugouts. Nice padding, waitress service, cupholders, legroom...

By the way, feel free to leave a comment on that page for my niece!! She will think she's famous! She already thinks she's "on the Mets now" because she got her Fan Club package the other day. :-)

Give my niece some love (within limits, heh)! Click my name! :-)

That's cute Laurie!

Thank you, Linda. She's the light of my life. My own little bundle of boofness. :-)

Leave her a comment! She'll think she's a star!

The buzz is A-Rod coming to Minnesota to play third base.

The logic fits:

A-Rod is sick of New York. New York is sick of A-Rod. Yanks are in desperate need of prospects since rather than build a farm system they have signed free agent after free agent. Yanks need prospects, even low level ones, Twins need a third baseman.

A-Rod will make $25 million next season. Texas already pays $9 million of that. Yankees would no doubt pick up at least $5 million, if not more, just to get rid of him.

Luis Castillo makes $5.75 million next season. Twins can trade him for pitching or other help and move Punto to second base.

Deduct Castillo's $5.75 from A-Rod's $11 or so due and you've got A-Rod for a bargain at $5 million. 40 homeruns and well over 100 RBI guaranteed since he'll only have to worry about playing ball and not dealing with the freaks and geeks in the New York media and the stands.

Batting order:

Punto
Mauer
A-Rod
Morneau
Cuddyer
Hunter
TBD
TBD
Bartlett

Yup, it works. Let's get the buzz flowing and put the pressure on Terry Ryan to finally make a meaningful off season acquisition. Tony Batista don't count.

Laurie,

She's adorable! She reminds me of MY six-year-old cousin.

I prefer Punto at third to A-Rod at third. I don't even want him in our organization. He'd reek of Yankee for the entire season (if we decided to keep him for the entire season, that is).

Mel,
Torii and Hunter are my boys and Torii Hunter is still "the man" at our house. Just had another baby boy today named Levi. My wife just didn't think Johan would sound right for a kid with absolutely no latin blood in him, but I wouldn't have minded it. Thank you Detroit Tigers for shutting the dumb asses at ESPN up. I am so sick of hearing them kiss Jeter's ass. My company makes bats for Polanco and Guillen, so that makes it sweet too.

I'm with TwinsPrincess on ALL points. ;-)

Wow, how nice to hear from the proud dad of the famous Twins twins!! Congratulations on the new arrival! Did you at least SUGGEST "Boof"? heh

Isn't it nice that it's tough to choose a team for which to root in the ALCS, and to know that most of us can be satisfied, whatever the outcome? No need to spend any energy rooting against.

That leaves us free to just enjoy some good baseball games.

Why don't we try to think a bit more realistically and try to get a productive DH? I like all of our position players.

I think it's VERY possible there might be some babies named 'Boof' !
After all, it was just a few days ago I saw the headline where some couple named their baby ESPN....
Dear lord, Boof is milqtoast comparatively!

I don't mean to knock the thought of anyone who wants AROD in our lineup, because he is one of the best players in baseball, and I think another city might greatly benefit from him...
#1. if he leaves the yankees, I feel he might return to his gold glove position at short,
#2. If he does leave, he won't have to deal with the pressures of NY

but that won't ever be in a Twins uniform. AROD is too snooty for that. "small market??? AS IF!"

oh and we don't need another rod. Lil rod might get jealous

Gotta love baseball drinking games! I think I'm gonna have to say good luck to the Tiggers...should be tons of fun.

i second (or third?) TwinsPrincess - A-Rod will be as much a pariah here as in the Yankee clubhouse - we don;t want his big head or big contract here - makes no sense. Twins fans wouldn;t accept him, either. do you know how many other talented players, with humility & work ethic we could get for his price tag? ESPN had an article earlier in the season comparing the Yanks with the Marlins - A-Rod's contract alone could buy over 54 Miguel Cabreras! hell, i'll take 27 Cabreras! or just 9!

that all aid, let me share with you why, i think, we all sdespise the Yankees. here is the article from today's NY Times - George Vescey is the writer - this just made me sick:

"At the moment the city of Detroit is thrilled, but the Bronx Bombers do not exist for the humanitarian purpose of providing a lift to a downtrodden city. As their fans know, the Yankees were invented to stomp on the inert bodies of the rest of baseball, but the Yankees have not won a World Series since 2000... this is a very long time."

this supreme arrogance i find nauseating, sickening - this sense of entitlement is everything that i stand against in my life. this is why i hate the Yankees. thank you, George Vescey, for making it so clear to me. and, while the point may escape what i gather passes for "true Yankees fans", including one Mr Vescey, this is exactly why the Yankees lost, and lost so miserably, like a cur slinking back with its tail between its hindlegs. good riddance, Yankees! here is why the rest of the baseball world reviles you.

Is it really that hot in St. Louis? Carpenter's cap was dripping by the 2nd pitch. Get him a new hat! Or is that considered bad luck or something?

1. I'm hoping for a Tigers v. Mets World Series. That said, I won't mind an A's v. Mets WS.

2. Laurie: Jordan is super cute and I left her a comment!

3. If I ever have children, I don't think I'll name my son Boof, but the idea is funny as hell.

4. Baseball drinking games are the best. We need a Twins drinking game.. hmmm everytime LNP or Bartlett makes a great play we drink? Or if you wanna get really drunk, every time El Presidente throws a strike you drink... hmm these have merit..

Yeah! What Lynnie said! :-)

personally, if any yankee comes to MN, i will have a tough decision to make. i loath the yanks and everything about them. i don't know if my little heart could withstand a yank in a twin uniform. ugh. please don't wish for a-rod or any yank to join the twinks. i may begin to suffer from uncontrolable vomitting.

on another note, i'm cheering for the tigers. go pudge! plus, they beat the yanks! how can a person NOT cheer for the tigers!

I think Vescey needs someone to put peanut butter down his underwear. :p

What happens to Armadillo in the A-Fraud trade?

Twins "Piranhta, NOT Pariahs, please" Territory.

bepher, we've had a Yankee in a Twins uniform... this year! Ruben Sierra was a Yankee. Rondell White was a Yankee.

but while Ruben Sierra oozed Yankee from every pore, Rondell White is actually a good guy.

I love you, Detroit. Thank you so very much for taking the Yankees out of the game. That was too awesome to believe. AL Central represent!

I will definitely be glued to this series. I would dearly love to see Detroit go all the way, but then again, I wouldn't particularly mind seeing the A's go a bit further, either. However, with Detroit's magical turnaround, they deserve to take this one. Go Tiggers!

"My wife just didn't think Johan would sound right for a kid with absolutely no latin blood in him"

Nice. I *love* that El Presidente has turned "Johan" into a Latin name. I know I used to think of it as a German name, now it's totally about smokin' hot Venezuelans.

Pudge is SO my secret (only moderately-)evil boyfriend. GO TIGERS!!!

Thanks for the updated name origin. I guess Johan Sebastian Bach wasn't from Venezuela even though I saw a picture of him in a low rider carriage with dice hanging from the ceiling.

"At the moment the city of Detroit is thrilled, but the Bronx Bombers do not exist for the humanitarian purpose of providing a lift to a downtrodden city."

Yeah, well, ahem . . . . Mr. Vescey, with your arrogant nose stuck permanently in Metropolis, baseball does matter west of New Jersey, and the city of Detroit, and its baseball team, and their fans in Detroit and elsewhere, have their own ideas about the Bronx Bombers. We see them as a symbol of all that should be downtrodden and humiliated by real baseball teams: the kind that are made up of teammates, who work hard, spend time together, share a team spirit and respect for the game and their fans. "Teammates" is a concept the Yankees don't seem to get; they are really just a group of self-involved individuals with self-involved goals, corporate entities with their own agendas who spend their time with their celebrity pals and their business managers, buffing their images rather than focusing on the upcoming games. They lost to the better team, because the better team was a real TEAM, and was better prepared and more committed to winning.

In another NY paper another NY baseball beat writer stated flatly that the reason the Yankees lost was simply because they played badly. The concept that they could have lost because they faced a better team is one New Yorkers just can't seem to fathom. That the pitching just overmatched their fierce hitters isn't even a remote possibility; it must just be that the hitters had bad days. All of them. For three consecutive games.

Bosh, folderol and twaddle, says I. And Mr. Vescey and the other NYY sports writers can go on living in their own little Yankeecentric spin world bemoaning the "collapse" of their team, never getting a glimmering of a clue that the Yankees didn't collapse, they were roundly and soundly beaten by their betters.

I'm definitely pulling for a Detroit/Mets World Series. Those were some impressive turnarounds this year.

Can we have co-MotYs? Both Gardy and Leyland are so very deserving.

Thanks for the confirmation of my memory, RallyMonkey and Batman! I always thought Torii and Hunter were great individual names anyway. Johan, now, was never one of my favorite names until recently. :) I read in SI that El Presidente's brother is named Franklin, which sounds unusual for a latino, but I suppose no more unusual than Johan. Any sibling of El Prez's is all right with me.

And congrats on the new arrival, Batman! :)

KenK, we know that the Yankees and Tigers are just about equals, in general terms -- the regular season showed that. But baseball writers, whether in NY or Motown, feel like they have to have some explanation of everything -- even blog commentators come up with fun but ultimately fatuous stories, like the stuff about corporate image, and who's 'more committed to winning'.

Likewise, the A's and Twins are very, very close in talent. Sometimes you lose three anyway. That's baseball.

actually, Slider, i disagree, and concur with KenK - the Tigers are better than the Yankees, and the results of the ALDS prove that. now, my reason for believing this is in part AL Central pride, but allow me to elucidate. Central Div teams are just built better - they have to be. why? because of the Twins. see, because of the unbalanced schedule, all teams play the majority of their games within their division. the early 00's success of the Twins has meant that in order to compete the other teams in the division have had to play up to that level. the style of Twins ball really isn't "small ball" pre se - its just good fundementals. the style of East Coast ball, that played by the Yanks & Bosox, and attempted to be emulated by the Orioles & Jays, relies upon big, unrelenting offense and power pitching for defense. now, this kind of thing creates superstars & packs in the mindless masses, who at the drop of a hat would rather watch football, but it actually is a very poor way of playing baseball. i cite as evidence the fact that each time the most powerfule offensive team (as measured by runs scored) has met the stingiest defensive team (as measured by ERA) in a division series, the winner has been the defensive team - the team with better fundementals. you could look it up - & it just happened this year, with - you guessed it - the Tigers beating the Yanks.

so, while i agree that any team any given day can beat another (look at the Royals in their last series with the Tigers), some teams are better than others - some have more raw talent, some are better prepared, some are better coached, some are just plain smarter - & all this comes in to play. but, some teams are better, & this is why we play the post season, to find that out: who is the best? otherwise, the season would end, & we would just say "hey, you're all great! thanks for playing, really!" then the Royals could get an award for 5th place.

dfb,I agree with several of the things you've said. But I'm confused about a couple of things.
First, how is it that team with "a very poor way of playing baseball" had the best record in all of MLB, and beat the Tigers 5 out of 7 in the regular season (and came *very* close to sweeping them), won their regular season series with the World Champion White Sox, and split with the Twins?
I certainly don't disagree with you, though, that the AL Central is the best division. The East has only one very good team now. And I can't disagree about the post-season top era vs top run generation match-ups. I would rather have the best pitchers than the best hitters, for sure. On the other hand, I don't know why the better pitching team is necessarily the team with 'better fundamentals' -- though I'm not really disagreeing with you about that so much as wondering what it means!

By the way, Barry Zito announced that he'd like to play in NY or Southern Calif. next year. Hm, that's good news for the Central, frankly. Zito is bound to be seriously overpaid.

Sorry, I originally had a 'second...', but it got mashed up with the 'First...' and I left them jumbled together.

My head still hurts. I cannot possibly go through the emails that made me smile and those that outraged me and comment on them all.

Essentially, those that argue that the Yankees were the inferior team ("and the ALDS results prove that") are out of their minds. Would those same people argue that if the ALDS started 3 games earlier, and the Royals won 3 straight from Detriot, that the Royals were a better team? A more accurate statement is "the Tigers played better." They did, they deserved the victory, and they sure had a hell of a nice celebration.

Then there are those that argue that Detriot had better pitching or better fundamentals, and that's why they won. Frankly, I think that the two things the Minnesota Twins brought to the table this year were pitching and fundamentals. They displayed both in the ALDS and lost... does that mean Oakland had the better pitching and fundamentals? I think not. What we had in both cases was a team that failed to score runs at appropriate times.

There are those that argue that YankeeFans should be acknowledging that another team is just a better team, rather than bemoaning their team "collapsing" or "playing badly." So when a team that averages almost 6 runs per game over the course of a 162 game season fails to score a run over 20 innings of play, I can't bemoan bad play or a collapse?

I don't begrudge the Yankees' place in baseball -- they spend the most, have historically and recently won championships, are fairly regular playoff performers, and are rightfully hated by fans of other teams. That being said, from a baseball perspective, the Tigers outplayed a team that was in almost all respects better. That's why we play the games, and I can appreciate the Tiger effort...even though the games were personally painful to watch.

Congrats to the Tigers and A's, both won 3 of 5 by playing better than the teams they faced. I prefer to believe that both beat better teams, and you are free to believe otherwise.

Thanks to those who sent well-wishes. The Yanks and Twins will rise again to play in the ALCS next year... if the Rangers don't weasel their way in. Is Bernie Williams the Twins' next DH?

So much baseball to talk about...

Warmest regards,
YankeeFan