The Final Week of the Regular Season

With the Dodgers locked in a dramatic chase for the playoffs, let's talk about a REAL baseball story! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you your National Lunatic!

DEEE-TROIT BAAASE-BAAALLL!

It's like I'm 10 all over again...

Memo

To: All 90 Percent Mental contributors
From: somebodytogobackintimewith
Re: Organizational meeting(s)

Dear Contributors:
Another regular season has come and (nearly) passed; where does the time go?

I'm flying into LA next week and I would like to schedule some time to meet with you all, either individually or as a group, to go over some things. Nothing terribly specific; I just want to get everybody's thoughts about how the year went, and what our goals for the future should be.

My plane lands at 10:40 p.m. Tuesday. Hud and I will be making straight for Ye Olde Rustic, so if you want to discuss things in a relaxed, informal setting that would be an ideal time. Otherwise I'll be contacting you individually.

It's been a great season, folks. I look forward to seeing you all soon.

Best,
Somebody

Vital Post-Dodger Win Hangover Wisdom from Earl Weaver

"Momentum is tomorrow's starting pitcher."

For real, peoples, for real.

Why I Love This Town, This Game, Life In General

And just like that...a team, a hero and some freakin' history are made. Do yourself a favor and check out the video highlights of the Sept. 18 Padres v. Dodgers game on MLB.com.

Commonwealth Avenue was blowin' up. The lights of the stadium are still lit at this hour, visible from the balcony of this very room.

Confusing Times: Dodgers & Tigers

This should be an exciting time for folks like me, with both my teams knee deep in the hunt. But frankly, I enjoyed the mid-season of both these teams better...like around May.

At that time, the Dodgers had scores of young talent shining and an exciting game every other day. Meanwhile, the Tigers were firing on all cylinders and stunning the Majors with the best record in baseball.

Now, the Dodgers are a confusing mishmash of talent...I can't get a read on these guys to this day. I don't get the feeling they like each other. And no one is really very consistent. Incredibly, LA isn't all that interested in this team, either. It's just another thing happening around here, but casual fans are likely to not even know the Dodgers are close to a playoff berth. My guess would be because they don't know/care about any of the players. The run in 2004, by a much less talented team, seemed to be more compelling.

The Tigers are developing major holes in their game. With a stiff base formed by championship calibre starting pitching, the deterioration begins with a severe lack of hitting. And now you can add a lack of middle relief. It's looking like a Wild Card is the best we can hope for in Motown because the Twins are easily the most complete team in the Central at this point. Fortunately, we don't play them again this year. Maybe the Tigs will snap out of it...they still seem loose and fun-loving...not the sort of behavior from a bunch of chokers. It's hard to be lucky for two-thirds of a season, but it's looking more and more like this team was exactly that.

WHAT THE HELL ARE THE TWINS DOING?

This real time rundown from baseballmusings.com is like watching a car wreck - horrifying, but you can't look away:

Liriano Returns
Francisco Liriano shows no sign of injury in the first inning, retiring the Athletics in order on nine pitches, striking out one.
Update: Two innings, 22 pitches, 17 strikesouts, six up and six down for Liriano. Haren also retired the side in order in the first. He threw 17 pitches, 12 for strikes.
Update: Liriano injures himself on a pitch to Bobby Kielty. According to the radio broadcast, it looks like his arm. He bounced a pitch, and the announcers thought he caught a spike. He's out of the game. A big blow for the Twins.
Update: Liriano threw the pitch, fell off the mound, then came up with his arm hanging. With luck my Tivo caught it and I'll watch it when I get home.
Update: The radio reports that Liriano is suffering from left elbow pain.
Update: I just watched it via Tivo. He didn't fall off the mound. When he completed the delivery, it's obvious that he hurt his arm as he jerks it up like he felt pain. That left the end of his motion unbalanced, but he didn't fall. It was immediately obvious to Redmond and Castillo that he was hurt, as they made their way out to the mound to check him. What was clear is that whatever happened to his arm, it hurt enough to throw off his delivery and send him out of balance.

I'm not a Twins fan of course. But this is very scary, and very sad.

Not to mention extremely irresponsible.

I understand the division is there for the taking, but what the Twins are doing to this kid is downright criminal. Hopefully this will prove to be some sort of psychological blow to the Minnies, though I doubt it.

Tigers: Dmitri Scandal

So Dmitri Young is gone...for good.

He was released unconditionally after the third game of the Seattle series, where he was -- I believe -- 0 for 3.

I knew something was up when he was pulled for a guy with no MLB at-bats...something Hooper...to lay down a sac-bunt. But I had no idea.

Everyone is officially saying it was for baseball reasons, which is obvious bullcrap because he was slotted #3 in his last game, was batting .290 with 18 RBIs in 30 games since returning from detox. DetNews sources say he was released because he was a problem in the clubhouse.

Hmmm.

Whither Jeff Kent?

So then there's the issue of Jeff Kent. As a fan, I've had troubles with the guy over the years. He's never been lovable. He's prickly and seems to be self-satisfied, arrogant and way too convinced that his redneck wisdom is infallible (remember, he was kicked off his high-school baseball team for thinking he knew more than the manager and he publicly feuded with coaches at Cal--his "veteran attitude" has apprently been in place at least since puberty). Where's the joy in the game? Who told him baseball needed a new Ty Cobb? A new Ty Cobb is the last thing baseball ever needs. Plus he's not my kind of middle infielder (range? sweet hands? quickness? anything?!).

That said, I believe he plays the game the right way. He's in to win, he's passionate about team first and there are some values, between the lines and in the clubhouse, that I think he's a good exemplar of, not least hard work and hard-nosed play every single day. I never actually believed he was a racist (though I think flaunting your motocross magazines in Milton Bradley's face is asking for disharmony). And his power numbers, particularly for a second baseman, will hold up for a long time (provided Alfonso Soriano and Robinson Cano suffer career-ending injuries in the next couple years).

I'll always be ambivalent about the fact that far and away the greatest major leaguer ever produced by my beloved Cal Bears baseball program is a self-styled law-and-order cowboy poseur (he's from Bellflower, after all--it's the suburbs, not the old west) who drives trucks and motorcycles and doesn't seem to embody any of the values I admire (excepting, again, his rather famed work ethic). But there you are.

Wait, why was I writing this . . . ? Oh yeah, this link. There was a really interesting interview on the L.A. Times baseball blog with Kent. A bunch of honest, insightful stuff in here, but especially the moment when he gets flummoxed by the question of who's the best baseball player he's ever seen. Check out how tangled up he gets: obviously his answer is Bonds, but he clearly knows (not thinks, knows) Bonds is guilty on the steroids thing so he can't commit in any direction. Anyway, it's a good read.

Our 100th Post: The Tigers Stink!

Poor plate discipline is quickly sinking the S.S. Leyland, just as it was about to pull into port.

If Vin were broadcasting the Tigs for the past 25 games, he might say:

"Now you kids watching at home, don't swing at the first pitch after the two guys in front of you drew walks. Make that pitcher prove he can hit the plate."

Get Scared!

The L.A. Times' estimable baseball writer Tim Brown used his Sunday column today to float a couple scenarios in which A-Rod, MLB's most self-absorbed dandy, would come to either the Dodgers or the Angels. Get scared!!! (free subscription req'd.)

Just a Perfect Day

--Dodgies win their sixth straight
--Tigs win in impressive fashion 9-nil over the Angels
--Sox lose to KC
--Twins lose to NYY

Gentlemen...it just doesn't get any better than this.