Last Licks

Today is the final day of the regular season in baseball. The Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins are hoping Sunday is not their last ballgame of 2009. The Tigers began the last month with a sizable lead in the AL central. The Twins made it their main goal to present a challenge for the title. They succeeded in quickly uncoiling Detroit’s post-season aspirations by pushing the division race to the last day. Victimized by none other than their own quarrels, the Tigers are now in a must-win situation. Should they lose to the Chicago Whitesox today and Minnesota foil the Kansas City Royals, it will be the Twins’ playoff dreams that materialize. The Twins missed out on the playoffs in 2008 after losing a one-game playoff to Chicago to decide which team would advance. They sure don’t want a repeat performance in 2009.
Joe Mauer delivered the biggest hit in MVP-like manner Saturday, as the Twins rallied to beat Zack Greinke and the Royals. The Twins had a speedy Nick Punto on third with two outs when Mauer stepped to the plate. His two-out single off the ace broke a sixth inning scoreless affair. Minnesota increased their lead to 4-0 on Delmon Young’s three-run double later in the frame. Fill-in first baseman, Michael Cuddyer, cracked the go-ahead solo homerun in the eighth to cement what would be the eventual 5-4 win in Minneapolis. The former right-fielder was converted into an infielder after Justin Moreneau was shelved early in September. Since then, the 30 year old responded more than reasonably in his ninth year with the club. Cuddyer clubbed seven longballs and is hitting 3.52 since the switch. Michael was hit by a Greinke pitch in the four-run sixth inning, as the CY Young candidate came unglued in the Metrodome.
In Detroit, winning pitcher, Freddy Garcia rocked the Tigers 5-1. The righty struck out seven and allowed six hits in seven plus innings for Chicago. Alfredo Figaro took the loss for the Tigers, who managed just seven hits while stranding seven on the bases. The middle and bottom of the Detroit lineup was unproductive. Combined, the four through nine Tigers scratched out one hit, finishing 1-for-22. Tony Pena and Matt Thornton completed a first-rate relief effort to close it out for the Whitesox. The lack of runs Saturday means Detroit is in a dead heat with the Twins for the division. They Tigers have their chance to clinch at Comerica Park, but will need a little help from their foes in Kansas City. Suddenly the Twins can’t lose. They overcame Greinke yesterday and looked every bit as confident a post-season club. Detroit is authoring one of the bigger collapses in baseball history and the energy showcased on the field justifies their quick fall. The Tigers are barely getting production at the plate, and they are definitely having trouble coming up with runs. Their inability to score (four runs in the past three games) has been as detrimental as the Twins’ aptitude to comeback. The drama is only heightened by the fact Detroit has more to lose than Minnesota. Nobody expected the Twins to be this competitive all season. The Tigers had the talent, the coaching and the flair to carry the suffering city into the baseball post-season. It’s on their shoulders if Detroit falls short. The players’ mental toughness will be tested today. The urgency to get on the board more often than the visiting team is evident, but Detroit must also be patient. A little discipline goes a long way when you are trying to win a pennant race. It doesn’t matter that the Twins sliced the division lead again yesterday. Today is what matters. It all comes down to one win, for both teams. The Twins have the upper-hand because they have been playing must-win games for weeks now. It’s the sluggers and hurlers in Detroit who are entering unfamiliar territory. How they play with their backs against the wall will determine whether or not they live another day.

Parting Points: I am really happy for the Twins. As a Yankees fan, I think I would rather face Minnesota. I think the Bombers can beat both teams, but I like their chances against the Twins.
Congratulations to the Dodgers ,who finally clinched the NL West. For a while there, Joe Torre’s club had me scared they would blow the division.
Sticking to the subject matter, the song for today is “Mouth” by Merill Bainbridge