Look at that! An NL Central team won a playoff game!

When the Cardinals won the 2006 World Series, it was the last post season highlight for an NL Central Champion for a while.

The 2007 Cubs were swept by the Diamondbacks.
The 2008 Cubs were swept by the Dodgers.
The 2009 Cardinals were swept by the Dodgers.
The 2010 Reds were swept by the Phillies.

But the 2011 Brewers have put a big fat W on the board! (No offense Prince Fielder.)

Actually the Brewers are the only NL Central team to win a playoff game since 2006... they did so in 2008 as the Wild Card team against the eventual World Champion Phillies.

The AL Central hasn't fared well either.
Since the Indians took a 3-1 lead on the Red Sox in the 2007 ALCS, the AL Central has lost 13 out of 14 games.

The 2007 Indians lost its last 3 against the Red Sox.
The 2008 White Sox lost to the Rays in 4.
The 2009 and 2010 Twins were swept by the Yankees.
And the 2011 Tigers are down 0-1 to the Yankees.

You want to build up baseball interest in middle America?
Here's a tip.
Win a few games when they matter.

Tigers won... Tigers will continue to win

The Tigers are in.
The Tigers are celebrating a Division Champion.

And let me say it right here and now. This will NOT their only mob.
The Tigers are going to the ALCS.

If it is the Red Sox or Yankees, it's not going to matter. Verlander is going to win Games 1 and if needed 5 in the Division Series.

Then their bats could slap the Red Sox and Yankees #3 and #4 starters.

Savor this Tiger fans.
But in case you missed tonight, don't worry. There will be more piles.

Has anyone else noticed the White Sox?

I picked the White Sox at the beginning of the season, yet here they are as a sub .500 team after the All Star Break.

They have fallen to third place and there are some rumblings that they might be trading some of their expensive pieces (possibly Edwin Jackson whose shutout yesterday made his value go up.)

So all is lost in the South Side, right?

Not so fast.

They are trailing the Tigers and the first place Indians.
They beat the Tigers at home each of the last 2 games and are off to a quick 3-0 lead today.

And the Indians are up and down and can fall into a slump at any time.
The White Sox can hit...
They have a bunch of arms in their bullpen.

And there is talent in their rotation. Philip Humber, Mark Buehrle, Gavin Floyd, Jake Peavy and John Danks all have talent. They just haven't as a group pitched to their ability. (The depth of their starting staff is what made me pick them back in March.)

Let's say the starting staff has a solid August and September.
Let's say the Indians come back to Earth (they can't play the Orioles EVERY weekend) and the Tigers return to the pack.

None of those scenarios are outlandish.

Guess what?
Even sub .500... even with the disappointing pitching staff...
The White Sox are only 4 back in the standings and 5 back of the Indians in the loss column.

In 2 and a half months, they can make up some ground.

Don't be fooled with the .489 winning percentage.
They are contending.

Good start for the Tribe

Everyone and their cow is expecting the Indians to fade from the race.
Everyone thinks that they will be overwhelmed by injuries and inexperience.
It is fashionable to point out that they had a great April but have been mediocre ever since.

So how do you stay in contention?
You beat teams you are SUPPOSED to beat.

The Indians are better than the Orioles.

BOOM!
8-4 win.

Pile up the wins against Baltimore and Kansas City and Oakland and Seattle.
These divisions are NOT lost in the head to head match ups with the best in the league but in the frustrating losses to lousy teams.

Stay focused Indians.
There is no superpower in the division.

Every Cleveland fan born since 1964 is counting on you.

Well THAT was decisive for Cleveland

Well the Royals wanted to send a message to Cleveland and say "You aren't the ONLY surprise team in contention for the AL Central."

The Royals hadn't played since Friday but with Cleveland coming in for 2 games, they could have shaved a few games off of the Tribe's lead and pulled within 3 games.

Or not.

After the two games, the Royals fell below .500, 7 games out and were outscored 26-4.

THAT is called an ass whippin'.
Cleveland is taking their act to Chicago (the team I picked to win the Central.)
The Royals have the Defending AL Champion Rangers coming in.

If the Royals don't right this ship soon, they can look up and be 10-12 games back.
If you want a surprising winning season Kansas City and not have another year like 2009 that started off well but ended with 97 losses, then it is time to get off the mat.

Meanwhile, um this Cleveland team. They aren't bad.

A few facts about the Indians

No matter what happens the next two days, the Indians will finish April in first place in the American League Central.

Today, the Indians were the only AL Central team to win. The stumbling Twins got blown out TWICE today and the Tigers couldn't beat the Mariners at home. The White Sox lost to the Yankees and the Royals lost to the Tribe.

The Indians are currently the best team in the American League and the worst they can finish the month is tied for second best in the American League.

They have the biggest lead of any current division leader. (4 1/2 games. 5 in the loss column.)

They are an exciting brand of baseball with good pitching, clutch homers and deep bench.

They are having trouble selling tickets.

Turn this around, Indians fans. The Tribe is 1/6 of the way there. Yeah there still is a lot of season to be played, but you can't ask for a better START than this!

Who knows? If the gap continues to widen and the rest of the division can't get out of their own way, there might me something to cheer for.

The facts are undeniable.

Yes. An April Twins/Indians Series is BIG!

It seems counter intuitive to call any series in April big. The Indians will have 144 games left after today and the Twins have lots of time to recover from their injuries.

But I will argue this is a big series for both teams.

Cleveland is off to a hot start. Is this an April fluke, like the Royals in 2009? Remember how the Royals were in first place in Mid May? You probably don't. They finished the season with 97 losses.

Or is this a team like the 2008 Rays, whom EVERYONE thought was a fluke until they won the American League pennant!

If the Indians keep winning, they might lean more towards the Rays than the Royals. And winning games against the Twins, the team many people picked to win the Division, goes a long way. These are the head to head games that actually DO matter more in the standings.

They improve the Indians and keep the Twins down.

And if the teams are tied and need a one game playoff, the head to head match up would determine home field advantage.

The Twins need to dust themselves off and take out the upstart Tribe and right their ship.

If these teams are going neck and neck throughout the year, the team that lost this series will look back and think "Man, why didn't we win in April?"

Big series.

Watch it, Twins and Indians fans.

Anticlimax at the clincher

The Minnesota Twins clinched the American League Central Division tonight. The moment it happened the crowd was... indifferent.



And the players on the field... shook hands and quietly walked off the field.



Because the Twins weren't playing when they clinched the Division. They had already come from behind against Cleveland to win their came and cut the magic number to 1.



And the A's were beating up the White Sox. So when the White Sox lost and the Twins clinched, it was in Oakland... in a stadium so empty it looked like one of those high school championship games that are played in a big league stadium and about 300 friends and families.



The A's won and the fans said "Yay" and got stuck in traffic on the 880.



I was hoping the White Sox would win. Not that I felt they had a shot... but the Twins are playing a day game tomorrow. Wouldn't that have been a sight! The Twins, now in an open air stadium, celebrating a Division Title in the sun.



Instead we had them watching the TV and cheering there.

Such an anti climax. There should be that euphoric moment on the field of "Yes! This season will be remembered!" instead of 8 guys in Oakland walking back to their car.



I remember in 1988 when the Red Sox clinched the Division, they backed into it because of a Tigers loss. Evidently they ordered pizzas. That's how we celebrated little league wins, not a Division Title.



Let's hope the other clinchers are a little more exciting.

The Last Stand for an A.L. Division Race is in Chicago

There are plenty of legit playoff races happening in the National League right now. The Phillies currently have the National League's best record and would have home field advantage through the World Series... and yet are only 2 games in the loss column away from missing the playoffs all together. The Braves, Phillies, Padres, Giants and Rockies are all within 4 games of each other and 2 will be playing golf in October.

That's suspense.

In the American League? Not so much.

The Yankees/Rays series looks like a potential great one... but they are both making the playoffs. Not a lot of suspense other than posturing.

The Rangers have opened an 8 game lead with their recent 5 game winning streak. They could cut their magic number to single digits by the weekend.

The only hope for any suspense in the American League playoff picture is happening tonight in Chicago... and the White Sox need to sweep the Twins to make it interesting.

Taking 2 of 3 isn't going to cut it. That would give the Twins a 5 game lead with 16 to play...

But a White Sox sweep could make things interesting.

A sweep would mean the White Sox would be only 3 games back of the Twins and the rest of their schedule would be against no legit contenders. The Tigers, the A's, the Angels my Red Sox and the Indians will all (barring a miracle) be playing out the string.

Then again, the Twins would also be playing teams without much to play for (including Toronto and Kansas City.)

But 3 games can be made up in a weekend... and there are three weekends left.

A White Sox sweep could mean they would need to make up a game a week and have a shot.

Now the Twins are only 2 games behind the Rays for the best record in baseball and could take home field advantage through the ALCS if they make up those two games.

But I don't want playoff posturing. I want a pennant race.
So let's go White Sox. Redeem the American League regular season!!!

You can put it on the boooooard... YES!

Good people of Minnesota, I swear I have nothing against you.
But I gave a fist pump when I watched Gordon Beckham's homer give the White Sox the lead in the 7th inning tonight.

I want one of those vintage "163 games to decide the AL Central" races this year and that wasn't going to happen if the White Sox couldn't beat Baltimore.

Now the White Sox are only 3 games back in the loss column.
Make it interesting... that's all I am asking.

Hey White Sox! How about a little urgency?

On July 20th, the White Sox took a 3 1/2 game lead in the A.L. Central. They had the arms, the bullpen and the lunatic manager to keep them steady.



They also could have used another bat, but that's nit picking.



They had a 5 game winning streak not long after that but it looked like they were going to be locking horns with the Twins all year for the Central (especially with the collapse of the Tigers.)



Well in less than a month, they have dropped 7 1/2 games in the standings as they sit 4 games back of the Twins, including an extra inning loss on a Jim Thome homer... the same Jim Thome who sunk the Twins in a 2008 one game playoff as a member of the White Sox.



Let's get going White Sox!

I made it clear that I am rooting for you and I would like to see more October games in the South Side.



But for general baseball fans, a tight pennant race is good for the game. Two teams going back and forth right until the last day makes the last weekend super cool and frankly it will be only time that baseball attention will turn to the AL Central this year.



Win today and it will be a 3 game deficit.

Lose? And you are looking at 5 games back and a chance for 6 back if the Twins complete the sweep.



And let's face it... the Twins will get WALLOPED by the Rangers, Rays or Yankees in the playoffs. So basically if the Twins run away with it, there will be no reason to pay attention to the AL Central until 2011.



So let's go White Sox.

Floyd vs. Liriano tonight. Put it on the boaaaaaaaaard. YES!