Thanks to everyone who came out to the Smile Politely party at Mike ‘N Molly’s last night. It was a lot of fun, despite the baseball game, which was won by the White Sox, 1–0. Chicago wins the AL Central and advances to the playoffs to face Tampa Bay, starting tomorrow night.
Surprisingly, there were a couple of groups of Twins fans that filed in right around 6:30 p.m., and we outnumbered the Sox fans (at least those in caps or jerseys, anyway) in the place for the majority of the evening. Too bad it wasn’t a better show for the displaced faithful.
Last night was the biggest game up to this point of the season for both the Chicago White Sox and the Minnesota Twins. I excitedly set my DVR to record the game on Extra Innings channel 740 and left to attend the Smile Politely editors meeting; I planned to write a running diary about the game for this column when I returned home. I was a little nervous when none of the Esquire TV's were tuned to the game, and then my wife called to say that the game was not being broadcast on that channel. The game was only on WCIU in Chicagoland, and the Twins broadcast was blacked out because we're in the Sox local viewing area. Thanks, Major League Baseball! I'm sure that no one in Illinois outside of the Chicago metro area was interested in watching the game, anyway. It's good to know I could watch the Nats-Marlins game with whichever broadcast team I choose, though.
So, instead of a running diary of the complete TV broadcast full of snarky comments about Hawk and DJ, you, dear reader, instead get to enjoy a diary of the last 3-1/2 innings of the game based on listening to Ed Farmer and Steve Stone's radio broadcast.
Before we get to the gripping coverage of the Minnesota Twins' utter collapse, a plug: Smile Politely is calling all baseball fans to join your favorite SP baseball columnists Sunday, September 
Since the AL Central has been a two-team race for the majority of the season, most of the space in this column has been occupied by coverage of the White Sox and Twins. However, despite their teams' lack of success, there is at least one player each for Cleveland, Detroit and Kansas City who has had an unexpected breakout season. In this election season, it's important to respect the concept of equal time, so this week's Centrally Located will be devoted to the overlooked breakthroughs of 2008.
What would be a better end to this most unpredictable of seasons than to look around when the dust settles and find no Yankees or Red Sox in the vicinity? It could happen, as we enter September with the Yankees all but out of the race and the Red Sox clinging to the wild card by a slim margin. As of last night, the White Sox and Twins are deadlocked at the top of the AL Central, and they both trail the Red Sox by four games in the wild card race.
The American League Central continues to be a tight two-team race heading into the last month of the season, as the Chicago White Sox lead the Minnesota Twins by two games heading into tonight's play. That got me thinking, how many times over the years have the Twins and White Sox finished first and second at season's end? Surprisingly (or maybe not if you consider each franchise's spotty record of success over the years), it's only happened five times, and only one of those times was before 1991. As you'll see, if history is any indication, Minnesota has the advantage when they square off against Chicago in a pennant race. Let's jump on the Baseball-Reference Express and see where it takes us...
August is a month that can make or break a baseball team's season. It's officially too late for a team that's hanging around .500 to legitimately have a shot at the postseason, unless said team plays in the NL West. There's also the possibility for even more distance to be put between the haves and have-nots, as teams who shipped out their veterans at the trading deadline tank, and the contenders who benefited from those fire sales beat up on their weaker sisters. In that way, it's telling to look at which players in the AL Central are putting it together this month, and which are falling apart. For your reading pleasure, we've divided them into two distinct groups, "HOT" and "NOT."
Don't look now, but the baseball season is almost three-fourths over, and the AL Central is a two-team race. According to the Baseball Prospectus Postseason Odds Report (the folks that said there was a 99.89 percent chance the Mets would win the NL East in mid-September last year), there's less than a three percent chance that the Detroit Tigers will come back and win the division, so we'll ignore them for the sake of this analysis. Either the Minnesota Twins or the Chicago White Sox will win the Central, so let's break this sucker down by position and see who's got the upper hand.
I'm taking a break from in-depth analysis this week and checking out the parallels between the canine and Central worlds to reveal some shocking similarities. Some of these aren't so much physical resemblances as compatible personalities, so bear with me, and I hope you enjoy.
Chinese Crested Dog and A.J. Pierzynski (Catcher, Chicago White Sox)
Since his ill-advised dye job a couple of weeks ago, A.J. has looked even more obnoxious. According to Wikipedia, Chinese Crested males "can become slightly aggressive as they age." A.J. has been slightly aggressive since he passed age seven, as Miguel Olivo of the Royals can attest. I'd love to link to video of the "fight," but MLB has shut down all of the YouTube links for copyright claims.
Last night, the Twins pulled within a half-game of first place in the AL Central with a 6–5 victory over the White Sox. The Twins came back from a 4–0 deficit with a five-run fifth inning. It was a big game for both sides coming in, and it was one of the few games in the season series that was in doubt until late in the game. The Sox now lead 7–6 for the year, but it was only the second game decided by one run. Here are some notes from the game:
When the Minnesota Twins traded Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett, two of their best young players whose last names didn't begin with "M," to the Tampa Bay Rays for Delmon Young this past offseason, it was bittersweet. Garza and Bartlett had shown a lot of potential for the Twins; Garza was a rare (for the Twins, anyway) right-handed power pitcher, and Bartlett was keeping stiffs like Juan Castro and Nick Punto from getting starts at shortstop. And then when Young got off to a slow start both in the field and at the plate this spring, things looked bleak. But Delmon has heated up over the past couple of months, and Twins fans are hoping that he can affect the American League Central race in a positive way the rest of the season.
For the last seven-plus years, Bill Simmons has been writing for ESPN.com on many sporting topics. Since the Sports Guy is taking a full-summer leave of absence, many of you may be going through a bit of withdrawal at this point. So, what could be a better tribute than to rip off one of his best shticks, the one where he tenuously matches quotes from a particular movie to their sports equivalent? Here's my favorite example. I'd like to link up this year's events in the American League Central with a bunch of quotes from one of my favorite movies, O Brother Where Art Thou. It's eminently quotable, and, as I hope you will see, surprisingly relevant to the task at hand.
Before two gut-wrenching losses to the Boston Red Sox the past couple of evenings (thanks, bullpen!), the Minnesota Twins were the hottest team in baseball, having won 18 of their last 21 games dating back to June 13. The Twins' offense has been surprisingly good this season despite having only a couple of players (Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau) whose names would be recognized by more than a few people outside the Land of 10,000 Lakes. One of the keys to their offensive resurgence has been the play of two rookies, Carlos Gomez and Alexi Casilla. They have added speed on the basepaths and on defense, giving the team a dimension they lacked last year.
We've reached the midpoint of the baseball season, and it's time for mid-season awards and a State of the AL Central Report. It's also a good time to revisit my predictions from the beginning of the season. Without going into too much detail, let's just say that if I had laid down any money on my preseason prognostications, I wouldn't be shopping for ways to spend all of that extra cash. Lots to do, so let's get started with the awards:
When he struck out Los Angeles Dodgers pinch hitter Mark Sweeney with a changeup in the eighth inning last night, Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle joined the not-so-exclusive 1,000 strikeout club. It's a bit of a dubious achievement for someone like Buehrle, who has never depended on overpowering stuff, but an honor nonetheless. After striking out six against the Detroit Tigers on June 12 to leave him with 995 career strikeouts, he stretched out the suspense through two starts and almost 16 full innings before he broke through the barrier. He ranks 60th among active pitchers in strikeouts, behind several short relievers (like Arthur Rhodes and Billy Wagner) and some starters significantly younger than himself (Josh Beckett, C.C. Sabathia). If he is able to maintain his current pace, he could break Nolan Ryan's career record of 5,714 punchouts before his 65th birthday in 2043.
The Detroit Tigers finally are showing signs in the past week of emerging from their first-half malaise, and outfielder/DH Marcus Thames has been a big part of their resurgence. Thames has eight hits in the Tigers' last seven games, which wouldn't normally be that unusual, except for the fact that all of those hits have been home runs.
(Ed. Note: Marcus Thames actually hit his eighth home run in this streak as this article was being posted.)
At the beginning of this season, the Chicago White Sox thought they knew what to expect from the heart of their order. Jim Thome, Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye have powered the lineup since Thome arrived in 2006. Joe Crede was expected to return from a back injury, which ruined his 2007 campaign. Two high-profile trades brought in center fielder Nick Swisher and shortstop Orlando Cabrera, who had built successful careers on the West Coast. But the player who has had the biggest impact on Chicago's offense — and cemented himself in the third spot in the batting order — in the first third of the season, was an afterthought as spring training began: left fielder Carlos Quentin.
During this past off-season, AL Central teams were involved in as many significant trades as any division in baseball. There are many new faces in the division, some of whom have performed better than those they replaced, and some who haven't. In honor of the one-third mark of the season, we're going to make the newcomers to the neighborhood welcome by providing them with between one and five tasty, home-baked casseroles, depending on their impact and performance thus far.
(Ed. Note: These casseroles are meant to be for your imagination. Author Joel Gillespie wanted to put clipart photos of digital casseroles into the post. No, he is not on drugs.)
It’s been almost two months since I kept a running diary of the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox’ opening day tilt, so it’s about time to check back in with the clubs and see where they’re at. On Memorial Day, Paul Byrd squared off against Javier Vazquez, and Smile Politely was there (in front of the TV, with finger poised over the mute button as CSN‘s coverage began).
Coming into the 2008 season, Curtis Granderson’s Detroit Tigers were the odds-on pick to win the American League Central. With their addition of Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis, Edgar Renteria and Jacque Jones, the Tigers were expected to pummel opponents into submission with an offense that some commentators predicted would score over 1,000 runs. Granderson was poised to propel that offense from his leadoff spot.
Now that we’re nearly at the quarter pole of the regular season, the flukes of April should be fading away to reveal something more concrete in the American League Central. Instead, it’s a muddled race to the middle, with only 4.5 games separating first place from fifth, and no team with a winning percentage over .530 or under .400. Any analysis based on a given team’s spot in this crapshoot could be completely irrelevant by this time next week. But hey, that’s why I’m here.
Since I completely jinxed last week’s feature subject, Brian Bannister (3 IP, 7 ER, 3 HR allowed in his start last Wednesday, ERA jumped from 2.48 to 4.04), this week we’ll test the extent of my jinxing powers with Cliff Lee, who will be starting tonight for the Cleveland Indians versus the New York Yankees. The game’s on ESPN at 6 p.m., so if you have cable and some free time, check it out.
Continuing with the acclaimed series, Caucasian Darlings of the Blogosphere, this week we’ll take a closer look at Brian Bannister of the Kansas City Royals. Many of you White Sox fans probably remember Bannister’s father, Floyd, who went 50–49 for the South Siders from 1983 to 1986. Both father and son are starting pitchers who are a shade over six feet tall and around 200 lbs, but that’s where their similarities on the diamond end. The elder Bannister was a left-handed power pitcher who led the league in strikeouts with the Seattle Mariners in 1982, while the younger is a righty induces outs with a fairly pedestrian high-80’s fastball. In fact, Brian had one of the lowest strikeout rates in the league last year, his rookie season, when he struck out just a hair over 4 batters per 9 innings pitched.
Most middle relievers are faceless automatons, marching in from the bullpen to a generic nu-metal dirge to face a few hitters and disappear into the dugout. Take Mike Stanton, for example. He’s been in the major leagues since 1989, but if you asked me to pick him out of a police lineup, I’m pretty sure I’d guess Curt Leskanic by mistake. That’s what makes Pat Neshek so special: he’s turned a thankless role in the Minnesota Twins’ bullpen into a sort of cult celebrity status in less than two full years in the big leagues.
Two weeks into the season, and everything remains convoluted in the AL Central. Up is down, white is black, and the Royals are decent. Let’s make a run-through of the standings from top to bottom:
Chicago White Sox (8–5): The Sox are using the same combination so far this season that led to their World Series title in 2005: pitching and the long ball. Gavin Floyd was effectively wild on a frigid Saturday afternoon, taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Tigers before combining with a couple of relievers on a two-hit shutout. A.J. Pierzynski is still tearing things up to the tune of a .412 batting average and .737 slugging percentage, both of which lead the AL. Joe Crede has also come back from back surgery to get off to a great start, hitting two grand slams already this season.
It’s a topsy-turvy AL Central after one week of play. Here are the standings as of this morning:
Chicago White Sox 5–2
Kansas City Royals 5–2
Cleveland Indians 4–4
Minnesota Twins 3–5
Detroit Tigers 0–7
The biggest surprise in the standings above is, of course, the Tigers. Detroit went into the season as the prohibitive favorite in the division, after upgrading at third base (Miguel Cabrera > Brandon Inge), shortstop (Edgar Renteria > Carlos Guillen), first base (Carlos Guillen > Sean Casey), and fourth starter (Dontrelle Willis > cracked bat > Mike Maroth). It’s much too early to give up on the Tigers, but frustration is clearly mounting in Detroit.
There’s only going to be one Opening Day this year, so that calls for a running diary of the White Sox vs. Indians clash, straight from Jacobs... er... Progressive Field. Here we go…
Pregame: Comcast brings the Nickelback the opening and Illinois couldn’t be more thrilled. Something about “The Show,” so it’s major league-ready.
Top 1st: Indians are rocking the throwback uniforms, or perhaps just a new look this season. They even have a new cap design with 100% less racist caricature. It’s good to see that C.C. Sabathia didn’t let a little thing like a Cy Young award change his conditioning program this offseason. He may have even put on a few pounds. Orlando Cabrera walked and stole second, and then Jim Thome followed with an absolute bullet into the right-center seats. No further damage for the Sox, and we’re 2-0 after a half-inning.
By the time this column runs next week, the regular season will be in session, so it’s time to make your predictions for the 2008 American League Central. Take your best shot in the comments below. Here is my blind guess:
1. Detroit Tigers (99-63)
2. Cleveland Indians (98-64)
3. Kansas City Royals (82-80)
4. Minnesota Twins (75-87)
5. Chicago White Sox (70-92)
The Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers, two teams headed in opposite directions, each locked up a player to a long-term contract this past week. The Twins, on the decline after a run of four AL Central titles from 2002 to 2006, signed closer Joe Nathan to a 4 year, $47 million deal. The Tigers, who have had two straight winning seasons (including a World Series trip in 2006) after twelve straight losing seasons (including a 119-loss disaster in 2003), locked up third baseman Miguel Cabrera for $152.3 million over 8 years.
Will Kansas City Royals third baseman Alex Gordon become a star? This is, to me, one of the defining questions for the near to medium future of the American League Central. While the Kansas City Royals are not ready to contend with the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians for Central supremacy in 2008, they have a chance to emerge from the Central cellar for the first time since 2003.
After last week's column went up, I realized that I had done White Sox fans a huge disservice. Even though Chicago is definitely one of the blandest teams around, I totally disregarded the fact that they traded for outfielder Nick Swisher, one of the most colorful players in the game, over the winter. So, to let you Sox fans know just what you're getting, here's some fast facts on Swish:
1. He seems to be totally unable to appear in a photograph where he does not look completely goofy. His official photo on MLB.com last year is a classic, and he had the misfortune to get this picture taken during what I hope was a rookie hazing stunt.
I'm going to level with you. I'm a Twins fan, so if you're looking for fair and balanced AL Central reports, you may want to move along, dear reader.
If you have room, however, for just one more baseball column in your weekly surf, I hope that I can earn your trust and loyalty. I have no idea what sort of sports coverage you are looking for — after all, this is a primarily local arts and entertainment website — but please, use the comments section to subtly nudge my attention in the right direction.
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