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.

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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):

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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.

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.

"Carlos Gomez is a stud."

I didn’t watch the entire game. After the Sox went up 6-1 I thought we had it. Floyd on the mound, a significant lead, the game was in the bag.

But as the Twins do best, they chipped, and chipped, and tied, and there, the guy hitting two something with RISP singles-in the winning run.

Sure there was another blown call by the umpiring crew (third in the game, if I believe the threads in the sox blogosphere).

This time around, however, the biggest of the Sox flaws was front and center. No bullpen. Technically, the Sox are still in it but now they have to regain the lead they once had. And that’s only if the Twins are willing to relinquish it.

As I noted in my first post previewing this series, the Twinkies have been a better hitting team than the Sox; and in all honesty, it surprises me that this didn’t happen earlier in the latter half of the season.

As much as I hate to admit that the Sox don’t deserve it, we’re still tied in the loss column. Let’s go!!

Well here we are, two games down, one to go in the “decisive” Twins-White Sox series and the Twinkies have done the impossible, they’ve made this an interesting race!

I guess the Sox see urgency of a (shrinking) half-game lead becoming larger in the rear view mirror with a mere three (or four) games to play after tonight’s final game between Pale Hose and Mellizos. Who knew such a slim lead in late September would be interesting?

Last night’s game exposed the White Sox as a team that lacks punch, clutch hitting, and swagger. They stranded eight runners, and the only offensive production came off Ken Griffey, Jr.’s bat. Two double plays, one by Jermaine Dye and another by Orlando Cabrera; Alexei Ramirez caught in a run-down between third and home; and a very overwhelmed Dewayne Wise going 0fer, and leaving four runners in scoring position all on his own.

For what it’s worth (and at this point, it’s a lot), the Twins did what they do best, bloop singles, running out infield squiblers, slapping the ball the other way, hitting up the middle when it counts; pitching and defense (Carlos Gomez, I hate your freakin’ guts).

But keep in mind, the final score was 3-2. A one-run game. I’m sorry, the Twins deserved to win because the White Sox simply do not (and have not had) the will to win this thing.

So, let’s gather some more he said, he said from the webs:

“I think it does a little bit.”

– Mark Buehrle speaking on the notion that the Twins and their Metrodome are gnawing at the Sox’ collective psyche.

“If we lose this thing, it’s not because we’re scared or we’re tired or we panicked,” Guillen said beforehand. “We’re going to go out there and fight. Some people fight better than others in some situations.”

– Ozzie, on hoping his team catches a spark in these last few games.

I love Hawk Harrelson, but blaming the White Sox’s latest embarrassment in the Metrodome on Wednesday on a bad call at second base is just silly.

Sure, Mark Buehrle had Carlos Gomez picked off. Orlando Cabrera did a great job of blocking the base. Umpire Andy Fletcher blew it.

But guess what? Buhrle could’ve gotten a couple outs after that. I’m not bashing my favorite Sox pitcher here. He was just about everything the Sox needed. It just wasn’t enough, and the reason is the offense.

– Steve Rosenbloom, on the apparent insitence (it’s a habit) by the Sox broadcaster to blame losses on blown calls by the umpires.

I agree with Rosenbloom 100%. I was watching the game with my friend Joeff, and yes, that was a blown call. But I keep going back to the goose eggs our Big Boppers kept putting up. No excuses Hawk.

”We’re where we want to play,” first baseman Justin Morneau said, ”and we’ve got them where we want them.”

– Morneau on having the Sox against the ropes.

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With all that said, here’s a little poll action:

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White Sox and Twins begin a "decisive" series tonigth. That is, unless, Twins win two outta three, and then we're pretty much back where we started.

As I’m sure all of you were eagerly anticipating the showdown of showdowns, tonight is game número uno of the final, and decisive, series between the Twins and the White Sox. A minuscule two-and-a-half games separate them in the standings and with this three-game series, it could all be said and done come Friday morning. Or the Twins could win two of three and this thing would literally come down to the wire (but don’t blame me for the apathy, that’s exactly where we were two months ago).

And so, to preview tonight’s match in the Dome of Doom (as melissa would say), a fun game of he said, he said:

”He hasn’t been,” Guillen said Sunday of Vazquez as a big-game pitcher, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “That’s the bottom line.”

– Ozzie calling out Tonight’s starter, Javier Vazquez

“One thing Ozzie said, and it has been in my head the whole year, and I think in one of the meetings I mentioned it, we don’t act like we are in first place,” Cabrera said. “We don’t look like the team to beat. It seems like we are hoping for a win every day, and I don’t think that that’s the right attitude. Once the other team scores before us, that’s what it seems like.

“There are a couple of things that we are missing, but at the end of the day, we have done a pretty good job so far. I think we have enough to go to the postseason. We will see what happens after that.”

– Orlando Cabrera on the Sox lack of hunger for the pennant.

“That’s our goal,” Guillen, the Chicago White Sox manager, said during a weekend series against Kansas City. “I hope that happens. I’ve seen Minnesota clinch in my ballpark once. I hope we can clinch in theirs.”

– Ozzie on the want to clinch in the Metrodome.

”I’m never going up there,” Williams said. ”Bad things happen whenever I go up there. Twelve more games [until the Twins get a new ballpark in 2010]. Twelve more games.”

– Kenny Williams, back in August, speaking of his disdain of said Metrodome.

“This is what it’s all about — big games in September,” Twins catcher Mike Redmond said. “Who’d have thought we’d be playing big games in September when we were in spring training after losing all those guys [Torii Hunter, Johan Santana, etc.]?”

– Twins catcher Mike Redmond on the improbability of either team being in the pennant race this year.

And of course, from the same Star-Tribune article:

“I think we’re ready,” Guillen told reporters Sunday in Kansas City. “Mentally, these guys should be prepared to go out and play hard and play well. That’s all you can do.

“And make sure you grab a big net and get those piranhas and put some poison in the water to make their teeth fall out.”

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And for the record: The White Sox are 1-5 at the Metrodome in 2008. They’ve been outscored 33-23, they’re hitting .264 and their starting pitchers have a combined 5.40 ERA.

Goooo Sox!