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Saturday, September 08, 2012

AL playoff race: September 8, 2012

NYY 78-61 [3-5 in SEPT]
BAL 78-61 [5-3 in SEPT]
TBR 76-63 [5-2 in SEPT] (2 GB)

AL Central

CWS 75-63 [3-4 in SEPT]
DET 73-65 [3-4 in SEPT] (2 GB)

AL West

TEX 83-56 [5-3 in SEPT]
OAK 78-60 [4-3 in SEPT] (4.5 GB)

AL Wildcard

OAK 78-60 [4-3 in SEPT]
NYY 78-61 [3-5 in SEPT]
BAL 78-61 [5-3 in SEPT]
LAA 76-63 [5-2 in SEPT] (2 GB)
TBR 76-63 [5-2 in SEPT] (2 GB)
DET 73-65 [3-4 in SEPT] (4.5 GB)

MLB.com: Sale notches 16th as Sox ride homers to win
MLB.com: Hardy, Ford pace O’s as they regain share of first
MLB.com: Rays fall to Rangers in 10-inning duel
MLB.com: Angels 6, Tigers 1
MLB.com: A’s 6, Mariners 1

NTNgod Posted: September 08, 2012 at 10:25 PM | 45 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: angels, athletics, orioles, pennant race, rangers, rays, tigers, white sox, yankees

Reader Comments and Retorts

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1. RB in NYC (Now Semi-Retired from BBTF) Posted: September 08, 2012 at 10:30 PM (#4230579)

This is nothing--nothing--I like about this Yankee team. Blown calls, terrible hitting, lousy pitching by their supposed ace. I can barely express the contempt I feel towards them. I'm done with this foolishness. I'll see everyone on the 19th, when the Yankees will probably be down there in the Detroit zone for the Wild Card. What an awful, awful, awful team.

2. salajander Posted: September 08, 2012 at 10:31 PM (#4230581)

Orioles game MVP, 1B umpire Jerry Meals.

3. Esoteric throws a 'hard slider' Posted: September 08, 2012 at 10:34 PM (#4230584)

Loved Mark Teixeira's petulant whining on the last out of the game. Tossing his helmet and shrieking and pounding the dirt with his fists. HEY IDIOT: IF YOU WANT TO BEAT THE THROW, DON'T SLIDE HEADFIRST INTO THE BAG LIKE A STUPID LITTLE LEAGUE PLAYER.

4. Gamingboy Posted: September 08, 2012 at 10:34 PM (#4230585)

He shouldn't have slid. Umps listen for the "thump-thump" on close plays. Sliding=No Thump, just the thump of the ball.

5. Chokeland Bill Posted: September 08, 2012 at 10:36 PM (#4230586)

Key homers in back-to-back games for Kottaras.

6. rconn23 Posted: September 08, 2012 at 10:49 PM (#4230597)

What a shock, a horse bleep performance by C.C in a big game.

7. Bruce Markusen Posted: September 08, 2012 at 10:51 PM (#4230598)

Uh, he did beat the throw. Clearly. Not even close.

8. salajander Posted: September 08, 2012 at 10:51 PM (#4230599)

Sliding was a dumb move, but he was safe by a mile. "Thump-thump" helps if you can't see the play clearly, but he was so obviously safe that .. argh. I mean, as the ball was hit to the 2B I thought "sweet, too softly hit for a DP, tie game."

Anyway.

9. JJ1986 Posted: September 08, 2012 at 10:52 PM (#4230602)

He was safe, but I thought Swisher might have been out on the previous play.

10. JJ1986 Posted: September 08, 2012 at 10:54 PM (#4230603)

Markakis is done for the year, so the Orioles get a Pyrrhic victory.

11. Tom Cervo, backup catcher Posted: September 08, 2012 at 10:56 PM (#4230605)

Teixeira slid because his calf is still tight. And even if he had been stupid to slide, it doesn't excuse how awful the call was.

12. Jose Can Still Seabiscuit Posted: September 08, 2012 at 10:57 PM (#4230606)

Unfortunately the official highlights at MLB only show it live and it's not much of an angle on the play at first. Tex looked safe to me but I wonder if as part of the dive his hand was over the bag rather than on it.

What a great race, this is proving to be a terrific September. The Rangers are in awfully good shape in the West but besides that everything is wide open.

13. escabeche Posted: September 08, 2012 at 11:01 PM (#4230609)

Markakis isn't necessarily out for the year, looks like he's scheduled to be available for the World Series.

14. Gamingboy Posted: September 08, 2012 at 11:03 PM (#4230610)

Oh, I have no doubt he was clearly safe, but these are UMPIRES we are talking about.

Of course, now that the Yankees have been foiled by the Human Element, we can expect more IR shortly.

15. Tom Cervo, backup catcher Posted: September 08, 2012 at 11:03 PM (#4230612)

Pretty sure Yankees are going to embarrass themselves though:

@AndrewMarchand: We are waiting on Randy Levine conference call. We think about umpires. Impromptu.

16. shoelesjoe Posted: September 08, 2012 at 11:04 PM (#4230614)

The Yankees lost an important game due to a bad call from blue? What, did somebody in the front office forget to send out the envelopes this week?

17. Ray (RDP)

Posted: September 08, 2012 at 11:10 PM (#4230617)

He shouldn't have slid. Umps listen for the "thump-thump" on close plays. Sliding=No Thump, just the thump of the ball.

Exactly. The ump blew the call, and in a blazingly loud fashion. But Teixeira's slide made the call harder.

18. TVerik Posted: September 08, 2012 at 11:17 PM (#4230620)

CC came up small and this team entered the ninth with a grand total of three runs (and entered the eighth with two). Given the pitching matchup, they should have put seven on the board and won the game easily. Meals didn't do his job, but if the Yankees play like this, it'll be a short - or nonexistent - October for them.

19. Gamingboy Posted: September 08, 2012 at 11:27 PM (#4230627)

Mark Teixeira was on MLB Network just now basically accusing the Umps of calling against the Yankees because they didn't want them to come back and make the game longer.

Seriously.

20. Jolly Old St. Nick Done Jumped The Ship

Posted: September 08, 2012 at 11:32 PM (#4230633)

but he was so obviously safe that .. argh. I mean, as the ball was hit to the 2B I thought "sweet, too softly hit for a DP, tie game."

Yeah, the ump clearly blew the call, but those things happen to all teams. This just happened to be at the worst possible moment, but you can say the same thing about at least a few similarly botched calls almost every night.

What kind of got me, though, was that the MASN crew didn't show the replay at all before switching to the commercials and signing off, and then when they got to the postgame show they began by showing it once in real time, with the only comment that Teixeira's slide cost the Yanks the call. But while it's certainly possible that the slide did cost them the call, the O's flagship station sure didn't seem very interested in whether or not that call was actually correct.

21. Gamingboy Posted: September 08, 2012 at 11:32 PM (#4230634)

Oh, and apparently Girardi and Joel Sherman had to have security get between them. That's from Marchand- went there after Cervo mentioned it. Apparently the conference call was cancelled.

22. Jolly Old St. Nick Done Jumped The Ship

Posted: September 08, 2012 at 11:34 PM (#4230636)

Mark Teixeira was on MLB Network just now basically accusing the Umps of calling against the Yankees because they didn't want them to come back and make the game longer.

Seriously.

That's one of those heat of the moment comments that he'll regret after he gets out of the shower, but it's still a bush thing to say.

23. robinred

Posted: September 08, 2012 at 11:36 PM (#4230637)

Angels up 6-1 and about to beat Verlander.

24. Dale Sams Posted: September 08, 2012 at 11:38 PM (#4230640)

There's a Jeffrey Maier on the line asking if anyone would like to interview him.

25. Matt Waters Posted: September 08, 2012 at 11:39 PM (#4230642)

What a shock, a horse bleep performance by C.C in a big game.

Clearly pitching injured. His velocity is down, his command is nowhere to be found. When Sabathia is right, he pounds righties inside with a power cutter and occasionally clips the outside corner to keep them honest. Finishes with slider/change-up. He can't seem to throw an inside strike, and is often only hitting 90 MPH on the gun. Sabathia hasn't seemed right all season, and the two trips to the disabled list are a sure sign that he's battling physical issues. Also, not to be a jerk, but the big game thing? Did you miss the '09 ALCS?

26. President of the David Eckstein Fan Club Posted: September 08, 2012 at 11:46 PM (#4230647)

Great catch by Trout to rob Prince of a home run, Angels win.

27. Dr. Vaux Posted: September 08, 2012 at 11:51 PM (#4230652)

Now Verlander, on the other hand, has been coming up small. The whole team has, to be sure.

28. Shredder Posted: September 08, 2012 at 11:54 PM (#4230656)

Trout opens the game with a homer, ends it by robbing a homer. He may not win the MVP because writers are idiots, but there's little question he's the best player in baseball.

29. Athletic Supporter gangnam style Posted: September 08, 2012 at 11:55 PM (#4230658)

I love Brett Anderson.

30. Cowboy Popup Posted: September 08, 2012 at 11:57 PM (#4230660)

I knew Saunders was going to stick it to the Yanks once the O's picked him up. Great waiver wire move there and a shitty, shitty loss tonight.

31. Austin Posted: September 09, 2012 at 01:10 AM (#4230731)

That was some catch by Trout. I guess his hitting has cooled off a bit in the past couple of weeks, but he evidently retains the ability to make the eye-popping over-the-wall catches.

32. Best Regards, L.M. Posted: September 09, 2012 at 01:18 AM (#4230737)

HEY IDIOT: IF YOU WANT TO BEAT THE THROW, DON'T SLIDE HEADFIRST INTO THE BAG LIKE A STUPID LITTLE LEAGUE PLAYER.

He pulled his calf running down the line.

33. robinred

Posted: September 09, 2012 at 01:18 AM (#4230738)

Detroit is probably out of the WC race, but they are still only two behind Chicago.

Credit to the Angels for five straight over DET and OAK, but I think it will wind up in the too little/too late category.

34. tshipman

Posted: September 09, 2012 at 01:20 AM (#4230742)

You know, isn't RB in NYC the poster formerly known as Runningbird? Wasn't that guy a Braves' fan? Am I crazy? Is it the wrong guy? This has been bugging me for a week now.

35. Best Regards, L.M. Posted: September 09, 2012 at 01:25 AM (#4230747)

You know, isn't RB in NYC the poster formerly known as Runningbird? Wasn't that guy a Braves' fan? Am I crazy? Is it the wrong guy? This has been bugging me for a week now.

No, they are different people. RB in NYC is a writer for The Hardball Times.

36. charityslave is thinking about baseball Posted: September 09, 2012 at 01:33 AM (#4230756)

I'm not a Yankee lover (or hater) but, jeez, the time has come for replays at first. IMHO, that's where the most blown calls are made.

37. Los Angeles El Hombre of Anaheim

Posted: September 09, 2012 at 02:35 AM (#4230791)

He pulled his calf running down the line.

Good. Other teams have to fall out of the top there for the Angels to get in. Yanks might as well be one of them. I hope they all pull something, because my guys need the help.

Credit to the Angels for five straight over DET and OAK, but I think it will wind up in the too little/too late category.

Mike Trout is more awesome than awesome, but how about C.J. Wilson? Tremendous outing for him, and the Angels now seem to own some starting pitching again. After this weekend, the Angels get 4 against Oakland. IF they take 3 against Oakland and IF one of the Rays, O's, or Yanks fall out, the Angels are right there again.

38. Walt Davis Posted: September 09, 2012 at 04:34 AM (#4230805)

IF they take 3 against Oakland and IF one of the Rays, O's, or Yanks fall out, the Angels are right there again

Sure, and if wishes were fishes ...

they'd be named Mike Trout.

39. Walt Davis Posted: September 09, 2012 at 04:43 AM (#4230807)

On a slightly more serious note, they've got to start giving Trumbo less playing time. He's long past that super hot streak to start the season -- 218/273/373 since July 1. Some of that is probably just bad BABIP luck (272) but that's not enough to push him over a 700 OPS. More Bourjos, less Trumbo.

40. David Nieporent (now, with children) Posted: September 09, 2012 at 12:07 PM (#4230931)

He was safe, but I thought Swisher might have been out on the previous play.

Thank you. That's what I said.

41. Los Angeles El Hombre of Anaheim

Posted: September 09, 2012 at 12:37 PM (#4230959)

Trumbo's been sat two of the last four games, including last night, and he was pinch-hit in the at-bat the night before when Callaspo hit the walk-off single. The Angels definitely recognize that he's reverted back to ol' Mr. Swing At Everything. Unfortunately, Bourjos hasn't been used as anything other than a pinch-runner/hitter and defensive replacement, and hasn't had more than on PA in a game in over a month. (He'd also been on the DL for two weeks.) They're playing Vernon Wells, and he's hit a whole .190/.268/.429 since coming off the DL July 28. At least Wells plays some defense, but LF is pretty grim.

42. McCoy Wilfong for Money Posted: September 09, 2012 at 12:49 PM (#4230973)

Oakland has the second best record in the AL and they going to have to plan extra game just to get into the playoffs.

43. bunyon Posted: September 09, 2012 at 01:08 PM (#4230994)

I guess we'll find out if their #### works in one game play-ins.

44. Ivan Grushenko of Hong Kong Posted: September 09, 2012 at 02:58 PM (#4231035)

Credit to the Angels for five straight over DET and OAK, but I think it will wind up in the too little/too late category

They're only 2 out of the WC and have 4 games left against Oakland. They're probably the best team of the Wild Card contenders. I think they're more likely to get a Wild Card than not.

Oakland has the second best record in the AL and they going to have to plan extra game just to get into the playoffs.

If the A's get a Wild Card I'd be thrilled. The schedule is not in their favor.

45. salajander Posted: September 09, 2012 at 08:31 PM (#4231186)

Swisher may have been out by -><- much, but Teixeira was safe by a ####### mile.

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AL playoff race: September 8, 2012

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