So here we are people, live-blogging this one-game playoff to set the mood for the eventual playoffs. To quickly recap the steps we had to take to get here:

* White Sox were up 2 1/2 games last Wednesday, before the start of the Twins-Sox series.

* Twins sweep, winning three games straight, to pull ahead half a game.

* Last weekend of the season, both Sox and Twins lose two outta three against the Indians and Royals, respectively, maintaining the status quo.

* As a result, the White Sox played a make-up game against the Tigers yesterday. Because the Pale Hose won, they evened up with the Twins at 88-74, hence tonight.

Live blog after the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, I wrote about what I had seen and felt at Shea last Thursday when the Mets came from behind against the Cubs and won it in the bottom of the ninth. This post is going to cover my second-to-last time at Shea, which also was the second-to-last game ever at the Stadium. September 27th against the Marlins. The Johan Santana game.

I was in my usual seat – Mezzanine level, Section 19, Row L, Seat 2. Thanks to my brother, I’ve had this seat every Saturday home game for the past two seasons, and he usually occupied Seat 1 right beside me. But like I mentioned in my previous post, he was unfortunately unable to come so I brought a friend to join me. I really enjoyed sitting there, as I was surrounded by the same faces week-in week-out. There was the father-son duo just a few seats down. The three seats to my right were always occupied by guys who appeared to have grown up together, and their snide comments always made the game that much more fun. Right in front was a young dad who had just had his first child prior to last season, so over these two years, I’ve seen the kid get bigger and bigger. And there are others who I used to see on Saturdays but with whom I never interacted. Yet, I think I’m going to miss them too just because I knew that they loved this team just as much as, if not more than, I did. And baseball is just better when you feel you’re part of a group.

The night before, the Mets had put themselves down one game in the Wild Card standings. Having lost 6-1 to the Marlins, the Brewers were now ahead. However, the crowd was surprisingly upbeat. Perhaps it was because we all knew that playing the blame game at this stage was a useless exercise. Maybe Mets fans actually enjoy being underdogs. Or it could have just been because we knew that Johan Santana was taking the mound.

It wasn’t his turn in the rotation as he was scheduled to pitch in the final game. But according to manager Jerry Manuel, Santana asked for the ball one day early since tomorrow may not even matter. I hadn’t realized how rare this was for Johan. This would only be the second time in his career that he’s starting on three days’ rest (the first was back in 2004). However, he was Johan Santana, the best bet to guarantee that the Mets would be alive for at least one more day.

While I don’t think that he’s the most deserving candidate for Cy Young this year, I still wholeheartedly believe that the Mets have the #1 pitcher in all of baseball. And best of all, he pitched like one.

Lefty, righty, patient, hack, power, scrap, lowball, fastball. It didn’t matter what type of hitter you were on September 27th, 2008. Johan was going to beat you, and that’s exactly what he did. 117 pitches. Nine innings pitched. Zero runs. Six base runners. Nine strikeouts. And all of us there were loving every second of it. Was it the most dominant pitching performance in Mets history? Not remotely. That probably belongs to David Cone for his outing against the Phillies on October 6, 1991. But it felt like we were witnessing something special.

To his credit, Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco was nearly as good, racking up 10Ks over seven. But the Mets were able to score two runs – in the first via sac fly from Delgado and in the fourth off a Ramon Martinez double – which was one more than we needed.

And as the game progressed, we all took glances at the scoreboard in right field to check on the score of the Brewers-Cubs game. And every time those numbers changed, a loud roar would arise from the crowd. 2-0 Cubs. Then 4-0. It was going to happen. The Mets would get one more chance tomorrow to at least force a tie in the Wild Card standings for that one game playoff at Shea. And although we knew that Santana would be unavailable after this gem, our confidence was riding high.

The Mets had won 2-0, and as I gathered my belongings to leave, I said goodbye to those with whom I sat in the same section the last two years. One of the three guys to my right handed me his business card asking me to contact him when I’m buying Citi Field tickets next year. I think I’m going to take him up on it and hope he did the same for others too.

Walking down the ramp towards the subway after the game, I got a phone call from my brother who asked the simple question: “Could we have asked for any more out of Johan today?” Well no, we couldn’t.

Hi, kids. I’m Paul Moro from UmpBump.com.

Did you know that every year, millions of baseball fans put themselves in harm’s way around this time of the year? It’s true. Because now’s the time when we’re all discussing amongst friends, co-workers and families who should win the MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of the Year Awards. And we end up sounding like jackasses because we have no idea what we’re talking about.

Take Jim Duquette for example. Now Jim was the general manager of the New York Mets in 2004 and will forever be remembered for his brilliant acquisition of Victor Zambrano at the trade deadline that year in a deal that sent top prospect Scott Kazmir to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays - despite the fact that the Mets were already out of contention by then. So we know that Jim reached the top of his profession by becoming GM. We just don’t know how the hell that happened.

Now Jim does commentary online for MLB.com. And about a month ago, he laid out his top-five National League rookies (you can see video here). And Jim sounded like a jackass. Why? Because he put Edinson Volquez at #1.

Jim, Edinson Volquez IS NOT A ROOKIE. Here’s what the rule book says:

Determining rookie status:
A player shall be considered a rookie unless, during a previous season or seasons, he has (a) exceeded 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues; or (b) accumulated more than 45 days on the active roster of a Major League club or clubs during the period of 25-player limit (excluding time in the military service and time on the disabled list).

Volquez had already thrown 80 innings in his Major League career from 2005-2007. Which means he’s not a rookie. And I know what you’re all thinking. You’re saying, “But Paul, shouldn’t former general managers know these things?” Yes. Yes, they should.

So before you open your mouth or type up some words on blogs regarding the NL Rookie of the Year this year, just remember, kids. Edinson Volquez is not a rookie. Don’t be a jackass. Don’t be like Jim.

UPDATE: It just got worse. UmpBump’s Sarah just sent this along. It appears that a player’s poll back in August asked “Which rookie has impressed you the most?” And who was on the list? You betcha. Tied for second with 16% of the votes, Edinson Volquez. Congratulations, MLB players.

Nick and Coley have already given you their MVP picks. Here are mine:

First, the American League. The runners-up:

Grady Sizemore. Smart stats love this guy, despite his crappy average this year: he was second in the AL in VORP and first in Runs Created. He also tied for fifth in homers. But it was all wasted because the Indians were so bad. Oh well.

Carlos Quentin. Let this be a lesson to him next time he wants to break his wrist to spite his bat (or whatever).

Aubrey Huff. If David Ortiz can’t win it as a DH, then Huff won’t. But you know, he finished 4th in the league in VORP, 5th in OPS and RC, and 3rd in SLG. I just thought I’d mention it, because unless you live in the 21201area code, you might have missed it.

Kevin Youkilis. Tell me if I’m wrong, but I think he was the only guy to finish in the top ten in VORP, RC, AVG, OBP, SLG, and OPS. That’s pretty badass. Plus, he plays gold-glove worthy first base and can easily slide across the diamond to play third. Heck, you can even stick him in the outfield. Terrible facial hair, though.

But there can be only one winner, and that person is…..

Dustin Pedroia. No, he’s not the trendy pick–at least, not among the baseball eggheads who are sick of hearing about the Red Sox and their annoyingly good players and just plain annoying (but devoted!) fans. (Screw you too, jerkface!) But Pedroia had 73 extra-base hits this year (including 17 HR) this year to Joe Mauer’s* 44 (including 9 HR). Mauer, the catcher, has 1 stolen base and 1 caught-stealing. Pedroia, no real speedster, has 20 stolen bases and was also caught once. (How did he do that if he doesn’t have real wheels? The old-fashioned way: using his brain.) Pedroia led the league in runs, tied for first in hits (213), came in second by just .004 .002 [edit: after game 163] in batting average, finished third in runs created (while Mauer finished 18th there), and was fourth in total bases (with Mauer tied for 33rd). Pedroia also finished third in the AL in VORP (to Mauer’s 7th-place finish) behind Alex Rodriguez and Grady Sizemore, whose teams failed to make the playoffs this year. He played in 157 games and quietly drove in 140** runs while playing an acrobatic second base and energizing a team that suffered demoralizing injuries to their ace pitcher, cleanup hitter, and 2007 World Series MVP—while also coping with the tantrum and subsequent ouster of their most productive hitter. Without Dustin Pedroia, does anyone seriously think the Red Sox would have even made the playoffs? He’s been just as important to their playoff drive as Mauer*** was to the Twins’–and what’s more, he had a better year than Mauer. Case closed.

* I feel obligated to bring up Mauer here because so many people seems to be picking him over Pedroia, not least my colleagues at UmpBump. And look, I’m not one to undervalue a catcher’s contribution to the team, ever. But I honestly don’t know why we’re seriously talking about Mauer for MVP this year at all. (Yes, nice OBP. Very pretty. Well done. Now run along, and try to reach double digits in homers next time.)

**Now, anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that I tend to pooh-pooh RBI as a stat, but keep in mind the context here: Mauer ranked 21st in MLB in RBI opportunities. Pedroia ranked 40th. But Mauer somehow finished with just 85 RBI to Pedroia’s 140. And those who would tout Mauer’s admittedly admirable ability to take a walk, I’d like to point out that despite this ability, Mauer grounded into 21 double plays–four more than the contact-prone Pedroia. And it’s not like Pedroia just swings at anything; he’s even a bit tougher to strike out than Mauer.

***To me, it’s a wash whether it’s more “valuable” to keep your team from failing when everyone expects them to succeed or to help your team succeed when everyone expects them to fail.

On to the NL. First, the doomed-to-fail runners-up:

Ryan Howard. As Coley pointed out, he led the NL in both homers and RBI, and his team did make the playoffs. But I include him only out of a feeling of obligation.

Hanley Ramirez. As Nick pointed out, he’s the young player every GM and fantasy owner would love to have. He carried the Marlins through a surprisingly good year. His time will come.

Lance Berkman. He had a great year–114 runs scored, second in RC, third in OPS and OBP, fourth in VORP. He also had 29 homers and, somewhat surprisingly, 18 steals. But the funny thing is, there are so many guys ahead of him on the home run list–Howard, Adam Dunn, Carlos Delgado, etc and etc–that his great year just isn’t good enough.

Chipper Jones. Now here‘s an AVG and OBP worth writing home about: .364 and .470, respectively, plus he was one of only two players in the NL to OPS over 1.000.

And yet there is only one clear winner here. And that is the other guy to OPS over 1.000. Who is…

Albert Pujols, despite his crappy team (hey, they would’ve won the NL West!), he clearly deserves the NL MVP and it’s not even close. He’s first in VORP, first in RC, first in OPS, second in OBP, and [yawn] first in SLG. Really, the guy is sick. There’s just nothing more to say.

Alright, blatant homerism aside, tonight’s one-game playoff between the Twins and White Sox is by far the cure for the common AL Central Boring Pennant Race. Don’t tell me that as a baseball fan you wouldn’t want the outcome of this thing to be decided this way (poll!!) because I wouldn’t believe you. Not only did we get extra baseball yesterday, we get over-time season baseball. So, in the spirit of the 163d game for both Twinkies and Palehose (which I will live-blog tonight), a little game I like to call: he said, he said (or she said, in this case – thanks melissa):

–

This is it.  This is for October.  One final contest with the world of baseball watching to see who comes out the victor.  Oh, and if you were asking yourself:  “Why are the Twins in Chicago for this game instead of the other way around?”, you’re not the only one.  The Twins are in Chicago because of a coin flip.  Apparently head-to-head results matter nothing–huzzah.

Jesse at Twinkietown

Now the Piranhas must leave the Dome of Doom and attempt to win at Cellblock field. Game 163, the tie-breaker will go to the pale hose.

Frequent UmpBump commenter (and occasional contributor) melissa.

The game was sold out within a hour. It will be the most hostile environment many Twins players will have experienced to this point in their careers. I have NOT forgotten the 2003 All-Star Game in Chicago, when fans booed Eddie Guardado mercilessly during introductions.

La Velle E. Neal III at the Star Tribune’s Twins’ Insider blog.

”The work we do in November to get in shape during the offseason until now is all for this,” veteran reliever Scott Linebrink said. ”Everybody works all year to get to where we are right now. We need to take advantage of it.”

Veteran reliever Scott Linebrink.

“I’ll take my chance against him if he pitches the way he pitched last time,” Guillen said Monday.

“He didn’t pitch well. When you’ve got the bullpen warming up in the second inning … we just didn’t approach him the right way.”

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen on Twins pitcher Nick Blackburn, the scheduled starter for tonight’s game.

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Poll? Poll!!

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Yes, Virginia, there will be a one-game playoff tomorrow between the Twins and the White Sox. Forgive me for the exuberance, but last week was a long bloody $#*&% week.

And yes, I know its hard to measure the intangibles in baseball, but if ever there was a text-book definition of clutch it was this moment and this moment alone.

I can’t speak for Mets fans everywhere and I’m not going to even try. There are far too many opinions and emotions, each to numerous degrees, for me to oversimplify it all. I can only speak for myself and that’s what I’m going to do. Because I need to get over it. The playoffs are starting and I’m a fan of the game first and foremost. My love for the New York Mets is secondary in comparison although I do forget that sometimes. So if I am going to be able to enjoy October - with or without Dane Cook (but hopefully without) - I need to get over most of the negatives that are going through my mind.

I went to three of the last four games at Shea. I was there on Thursday, Saturday, and yes, I was there yesterday. So let me explain everything in chronological order. I’ll write posts for each of the last three games for entertainment, therapy, and reminiscence.

I’ll begin with Thursday night’s game against the Cubs, which turned into my favorite Met game that I ever attended. And I warn you - this is a long one.

My seats were down at the field level. Section 103, box J, seats 3 and 4. It was the first time all year that I sat so close to the field. Before the first pitch, I was sitting alone in my seat (my brother would be coming later), trying to take it all in. The Mets were making their way to the outfield grass on the first base side, just beyond where the green met the infield dirt. First, it was rookie Daniel Murphy. Then journeyman Ramon Martinez, followed by Ryan Church, Jose Reyes, David Wright, and Carlos Delgado. I forgot how old I was and giddily watched them conduct their pre-game warm-ups right in front of me.

Then a group came and sat down in the box to my right. Cubs fans. A couple in the box to my left. More Cubs fans. And as I would soon find out, I was seated amidst what was possibly the most apathetic group of “Mets fans” the city had to offer. And those few that did express any emotion whatsoever simply berated the players for underachieving. Then I looked around the stadium as sprinkles of rain became visible in the lights above the upper deck. It wasn’t near full. The Mets were in a tight race for the playoffs. Four games left in the season. Four games left at Shea. And we couldn’t fill the stadium. I was, in all honesty, embarrassed, but for what I couldn’t explain. Were there so few Mets fans in New York? Were they unwilling to sit through some rain to cheer on their guys? Had the team pushed ticket prices so high that devotees couldn’t afford them? For whatever reason, we were at around 70% capacity.

But as these thoughts were passing through, Pedro Martinez took the mound. And while I cheered on as he threw his warm-ups, I knew we were in for a rough night. A lot of Met fans consider the Pedro Martinez signing to be an overall success. They say that Pedro brought a sense of “respectability” to the organization, and that thanks to him, other free agents were more willing to come play for the Mets. I’m not one of those people. Carlos Beltran did not become a Met because of Pedro Martinez. He came to Queens because that’s where the money was. And none of the other key players on the team signed as free agents. They were either drafted or acquired in a trade. What we got instead was one good year of Pedro out of the four-year contract. And it has been painful to watch his total decline. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s time for each member of the umpbump staff to make his or her MVP picks. Nick went first. Now it’s my turn. Buckle up — it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

American League

Rob Neyer says 30 win shares is a good baseline for an MVP caliber season and if he’s right than we’ve got a problem, because not one single player had 30 win shares in the AL this season. Still, I’ve got to pick someone, so I guess I’ll go with…

3. Alex Rodriguez, 3B, Yankees. In 100 fewer at bats, he hit only two fewer home runs than league leader Miguel Cabrera. His .573 slugging percentage led the league, and his .964 OPS was fourth. Defensively, he had the highest fielding percentage among AL third basemen, and he got to more balls outside his zone than any AL 3B other than Adrian Beltre. Oh, and he stole 18 bases.

2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Red Sox. He was third in runs created in the AL this season, behind Grady Sizemore and Josh Hamilton. His .325 batting average was second in the league. He stole 20 bases and only got caught once. He was arguably the best defensive second baseman in the league, and he gets extra credit for being adorable.

1. Joe Mauer, C, Twins. I don’t have much to add beyond what Nick said. This guy is the best all around player in the game. He’s not only one of the best defensive catchers in baseball, but he is one of the best defensive player overall. This season, Kurt Suzuki led the majors with 9.3 defensive win shares. Mauer came in second with 8.2. That’s not second among only catchers. That’s all positions. To do what he does defensively and also lead the league in hitting makes for an obvious MVP selection, as far as I’m concerned.

National League

This year’s NL MVP selection is complicated a bit by the enigmatic Ryan Howard, who managed to lead the league in home runs and RBI — by a lot — while maintaining an anemic .250 batting average. How do you not vote for a guy who led the league in homers and RBI? This is how…

3. Chase Utley, 2B, Phillies. He’s tied for fourth in the league with 27 win shares and eighth in defensive win shares. He’s fifth in the league in runs created. Utley’s season stalled after a torrid April. The media speculated that he was playing hurt. Utley denied it, saying he wasn’t injured beyond the usual bumps and bruises that a player accrues over the course of a season. But what a lot of fans don’t know is that Utley’s bruises are more plentiful than most. He was hit by a pitch 27 times this season — almost twice as many HBPs as anybody else. He does whatever it takes to win. And he’s an above average defensive second baseman.

2. Lance Berkman, 1B, Astros. I’m having a hard time not voting for Berkman for MVP, just because he clearly had an MVP calliber year. He had four more win shares than anyone in the NL, including Albert Pujols. But that’s about the only metric I can find that favors Berkman.

1. Albert Pujols, 1B, Cardinals. He was the man. He led the league in OPS and runs created. He was second in batting average and OBP, behind Chipper Jones. He walked nearly twice as often as he struck out. Moreover, as Jayson Stark point out, Pujols “racked up almost twice as many intentional walks (33) as anybody else in the league and only 46 percent of the pitches thrown to him have been in the strike zone.” That’s an MVP.

Just when you thought the baseball gods couldn’t do a whole lot more to keep us in this purgatory hell-hole.

C’MON! LET’S GET IT OVER WITH ALREADY!

This year? You mean we're still alive?!?!

So there you have it folks, the season is over, and still no AL Central champion. The weekend transpired in perfect-storm fashion for the White Sox, with the Royals winning two outta three in the Dome of Doom, but were not able to capitalize, letting the first two games of the Indians series slip through their pitcher’s hands.

I don’t know if Minnesota deserves it more than the Sox do; I don’t think either team should consider itself a “Cinderella” once they’re in. For all the frustration and humiliation the Sox put their fans through this past week, I wouldn’t want to be a Twins fan watching the Sox do barely enough to drag this thing into season-ending purgatory.

UmpBump readers agree, the Twins should end up winning this thing, but Mark Buehrle did what the Sox couldn’t do this past five days: he was clutch. He pitched on three-days rest after throwing 121 pitches in Minnesota and allowed a lonley run (a home run). Well, not true, Jermaine Dye did a little bit of team-carrying himself, dumping a bloop single that scored two runs. Had Jamey Carroll not booted a double-play grounder in the second, those two runs would’ve been the most agonizing runs scored this year at the Cell. And now, the Sox play Detroit in a make-up game tomorrow, which ironically features two starting pitchers that were traded for each other.

Let’s not sing praises for the White Sox yet. Even though they’re in control of their own destiny, it almost seems like they chose to walk through fire in order to get to the playoffs. Hell, as far as I’m concerned, I’d feel a little bit vindicated if they do; seeing as they chose the longest, and hardest, road (bringing their fandom to the brink of collective colllapse).

As for the Twins, well, they get to watch and wait; they didn’t do much to win this thing either. No, sweeping the Sox wasn’t enough, otherwise they would’ve been crowned champs by now; and no matter how many weak, veiled threats to take it out on Cliff Lee only-because-he-didn’t-pitch are made, they still lost to the Royals twice, so its fitting they do some scoreboard gawking of their own.

Then again, last week they did take the Sox to task, Carlos Gomez found a raîson d’être and if the Sox win tomorrow against the Tigers, then they’ll get another chance to do what they had seemingly accomplished earlier: put the Sox out of their misery.