While yesterday had it's perks- I'm always a fan of a full day of baseball- man, there was just some ugly plays on display there. We saw the Phillies get a clean sweep of the Reds, and saw the Giants get an ugly win from the Braves. At least the Rays pushed the Rangers to game five of their series- who doesn't love win-or-go-home baseball? Though that may well just end up helping out the Yankees more than anyone else...
DBacks News:
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[diarydiehard.com] Former Diamondbacks Interview For Jobs - A look at what former DBacks names are being mentioned for jobs around baseball- some have been mentioned before, but others- Bo Porter being interviewed for the Pirates manager spot- haven't.
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[azcentral.com] One last minor league notebook: Borchering, Miley, Mateo, et al - A few notes from Nick Piecoro about our prospects.
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[hardballtimes.com] Kevin Towers and the Diamondbacks - Hmm. This article pretty much loses me in the second to last paragraph, where while discussing starting pitching, they A) don't mention Daniel Hudson, and B) talk about the return of Brandon Webb.
After the jump, some more playoff discussions.
Yankees/-
[nydailynews.com] Fans go wild as beloved New York Yankees sweep Twins in ALDS - Have you ever wondered why people don't like the Yankees? Read this piece, and you'll see- at least a large chunk of the reason is the Yankees fans and the New York media. Ugh.
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[startribune.com] Here are 6 things the Twins need to do to retool - Meanwhile in Minnesota, they're already turning to the off-season.
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[twinkietown.com] Letters From An Idiot: Dear Ron Gardenhire... - "If only an idiot could find both crayon and paper, here's what he might write to Twins manager Ron Gardenhire." This is pretty hilarious. I'm glad Twins fans still have a sense of humor.
Phillies/Reds:
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[philly.com] Reds' big bats let them down - Their gloves didn't help much either- the Reds had more errors than runs scored.
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[cincinnati.com] Phillies' fans give lesson in passion - "We have suffered so much for so many years." Yeah, nine seasons above .500 in the past ten years, and winning your division for the past four seasons must be really rough. I mean, sure, the Phillies hold the record for most franchise losses, but that's at least partially because they're playing their 128th season of the game that has the longest regular season of pretty much any sport out there. How many teams have even played as many games as the Phillies have lost?
Rays/Rangers:
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[tbo.com] Longoria giving Rays a big lift - Remember how this series looked after Game Two? It's like two completely different teams returning to Tampa.
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[dallasnews.com] Sherrington: Rangers flirting with franchise's first true 'choke' job - At least they're maintaining their optimism in Texas these days.
Giants/Braves:
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[sfweekly.com] San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves: Who Can Torture Fans More? - Oh, wah wah wah. Seriously, Giants fans, you're winning games. I don't want to hear complaints about it.
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[ajc.com] Braves face elimination after blowing lead in ninth against Giants - Brooks Conrad: "I feel absolutely terrible right now. I wish I could just dig a hole and go sleep in there." Poor guy. He's likely going to be relegated to the bench for the rest of the series, and I'm sure he's dreading his contract situation in the off-season.
Only one game today, as the Braves try to hold off elimination against the Giants today. The Giants have decided not to start Lincecum, so they'll put their trust in the arm of Madison Bumgarner, while the Braves will look to Derek Lowe to keep Bobby Cox away from retirement for one more day.
If you've got some time to pass this afternoon, though, you can watch The Simpsons Baseball Edition. The Simpsons + Sabremetrics = An episode that was actually funny. It's amazing! "The only thing I know about strategy is that whatever the manager does is wrong. Unless it works, in which case he's a button pusher." Joe Posnanski went to hang out with Bill James to watch the episode, and wrote a column about it.