Game 163: Find Out

It's not a Yankees game, but I thought I'd put together a preview for the match up between the Twins and Tigers taking place at 5:00. Yes, folks, 5:00. A lot of you will probably be stuck at work for the first few innings and it's not going to carry the night like a typical 7:00 game would, but it should be entertaining nonetheless.

The Tigers have completely backed themselves into this position after taking 2 out of 4 head to head games against the Twins which most everyone assumed would be enough to secure the AL Central. It was not, however, as the lost two out of their last three to the White Sox and the Twins swept from the Royals. Denard Span doesn't want to say the Tigers choked, but well, he kind of did.

The Tigers take the field under the dark cloud of Miguel Cabrera's domestic incident that some are saying should lead to his suspension for the rest of the season. Other, more rational people are saying that the Tigers already knew about this incident on Saturday and let him play anyway, and if they bench him now, it will only be for PR purposes. As a Yankee fan, I hope they let him play in tonight's game, have him contribute to a Tigers' win, and then suspend him for the postseason. Am I right?

Tonight may also be the last game at the Metrodome unless the Twins, their homer hankies and the baggy have anything to say about that. Joe Posnanski compares the building roundly-despised disgrace to baseball to a movie villain who just won't die. Curtis Granderson had already bid it adieu last month. I had hoped the Yankees would never have to play there again but now there a relative coin flip will determine if that is the case. Rob Neyer thinks it might be better than that. David Pinto seconds that motion, as does the betting line, Baseball Prospectus and Cool Standings so what do I know?

The bottom line for our purposes, which FanGraphs reaffirmed and we Yankee bloggers have been saying for a while now is that either way, game #163 is good news for the Bombers. Whoever wins is going to have a plane sitting on the runway, ready to sweep them off to New York where the Yanks will be waiting, after working through a leisurely day of meetings and workouts.

The second ever inductee of the Fack Youk Hall of Fame, Rick Porcello starts for the Tigers tonight. While Neyer points out that he has only struck out 10 batters over his last 33 innings (and 3 over his last 17 1/3), Porcello has a 3.00 ERA over his last 7 starts. He held the Twins to one run over 6 1/3 innings exactly one week ago, but that could work against him since the hitters have seen him recently.

Scott Baker will take the Twins playoff lives into his hands this evening. Baker faced the Tigers last Thursday and held them to 1 unearned run over 5 innings but needed 106 pitches to make it through those 15 outs. He'd been unimpressive in his 4 starts before that though, giving up 14 runs in 23 innings (5.48 ERA).

Tonight should be fun to watch. The Yankees get the chance to play emperor and spectate while these two teams fight 'til the death, awaiting the winner. Whichever way it goes, it will be good to finally find out who the Yanks' first round opponent will be.

[Minnesota is basically Canada, so it's time for everyone's (well, my) favorite Canadian rapper, Classified...]

(You gonna find out)
Sooner or later,
(You gonna find out)
Are you ready for this?
(You gonna find out)
Tell 'em who it is...

Game 150: I Need To Know

This afternoon in Seattle, after a last second loss on Friday and a dominant win yesterday, the Yankees square off in a rubber match against the Mariners. Aside from the full slate of NFL games, two interesting match ups are taking place earlier in the day with implications to the playoff picture.

The Twins could pull to within one game of the Tigers with a win against them today which is important because the winner of the AL Central most likely facing the Yanks in the ALDS. Also, if the Rangers lose to the Angels, the Bombers will be in position to officially clinch a playoff berth by beating the Mariners. The Yanks would probably rather gain some cushion for home field advantage over the Angels because the Rangers are going to disappear from the picture soon enough, but those are some things to watch for.

Going for the Mariners this afternoon will be Ian Snell. After starting off the season poorly for the Pirates, Snell actually asked to be demoted to AAA back in June, citing "too much negativity" concerning his performances from the fans, media and even some bloggers. It was widely considered that he would be traded from the Pirates after the demotion and was, shortly before the non-waiver deadline. He, along with shortstop Jack Wilson, were exchanged for 5 minor leaguers, including catching prospect Jeff Clement.

Snell took Jarrod Washburn's spot on the roster after the lefty was shipped to Detroit, but hasn't performed well in his place. He has a 4.86 ERA in 9 starts but has averaged just over 5.0 IP an outing and has walked 30 while striking out 25. He's 4-2 over that stretch, but the team is only 4-5.

Joba Chamberlain toes the rubber for the Yankees this afternoon, making his 5th artificially shortened start in a row. His last time out was the most encouraging of the bunch, lasting 4 innings against the Angels, with the only run coming on a solo homer to Vlad Guerrero. He still wasn't especially efficient, needing 67 pitches to get those 12 outs, but it was an improvement over his previous efforts.

With only two starts remaining after this one in the regular season, Joba should be cleared for 5 innings this time out in order to work up to being fully stretched out for the postseason. It would be nice to know Joba is on the right track for October and good performance today would be a big step in that direction.

I need to know (I need to know),
Because I don't know how long,
I can hold on,
And if you're makin' me wait,
If you're leadin' me on,
I need to know (I need to know),
I need to know (I need to know).