2008 Pennant Races

[BillD1984]

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE


CHICAGO WHITE SOX

2008 AL CENTRAL DIVISION CHAMPIONS

 

[Jimbo]

Game Over, White Sox win....
Watching the players after the game, you'd of thought that they just won the WS, not just made the playoffs.

Jimbo

 

[goaliebob99]

WORLD SERIES CHICAGO VS CHICAGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YEA BABY! I CAN FEEL IT GO SOX YES!

 

[BillD1984]

That was shades of Tom Brunansky's catch to clinch the AL East for the Red Sox, on the last day of the 1990 season.


BTW, the ball that Brunansky caught was off the bat of a White Sox shortstop, by the name of Ozzie Guillen.

 

[BillD1984]

Jim Thome: "Tampa's got a nice club".

 

[SabresRule]

The Minnesota Twins, once again, can't win the big games.

They ALWAYS come up short when it counts the most.

This was the most pathetic performance by a starting nine I have EVER seen in a one-game playoff!

 

[BillD1984]

The Minnesota Twins, once again, can't win the big games.

They ALWAYS come up short when it counts the most.

This was the most pathetic performance by a starting nine I have EVER seen in a one-game playoff!

You have to give Danks at least SOME credit for that.

 

[SabresRule]

The Twins under Ron Gardenhire have had a habit of squandering great opportunities.

Let's recap:

2002- Minnesota upsets my A's in the ALDS, with a key hit coming from some guy named Dave Ortiz who has become a decent player in Beantown.

They win game 1 against the Angels, have home-field advatange, but lose the next 4, with their 3 losses in Anaheim especially humilating.

I'm sure KCK can fill in the details- were the Twins overmatched or did they have good chances?

2003 an- Win game 1 of the ALDS against the Yankees, fall apart like a house of cards in game 2-4. Stir and repeat a year later in 2004.

2006- How does a team fare in the postseason after three months of insanely red-hot baseball, an untouchable starter in Santana, league MVP, and a star-catcher who wins a batting crown? Naturally, they get swept by Oakland.

2008- Sweep the White Sox in a huge series, squander their momentum by losing TWICE to the pathetic Royals (they should have started Liriano- they could have clinched on Friday OR Saturday) and turn in the most pathetic hitting performance in a big game I have seen in years.

If Joe Torre and Terry Francona are the best big-game managers, then Ron Gardenhire is one of the worst. He can't win the big games and never takes advantage of opportunity.

You knows those commercials with 'Mr. Opportunity?' The Twins probably are oblivious to those.

 

[BillD1984]

The White sox became the first team in Major League history, to win their final three games against three different teams.

 

[jgags6]

Awesome...Sounds like there are some soar losers in here!

 

[BillD1984]

FINAL UPDATE!!!!!

AL East
TB................................ DIVISION CHAMPS
BOS, NYY, TOR, BAL- Eliminated

AL Central
CHW.........................DIVISION CHAMPS
MIN, CLE, DET, KC- Eliminated

AL West
LAA .........................DIVISION CHAMPS
TEX,OAK, SEA- Eliminated


AL Wildcard
BOS.........................CLINCHED PLAYOFF BERTH
NYY, MIN, TOR, CLE, DET, TEX, OAK, BALT, KC, SEA- Eliminated


************************************************** *************************************
NL East
PHI........................DIVISION CHAMPS
NYM, FLA, ATL, WSH- Eliminated

NL Central
CHC..............................DIVISION CHAMPS
MIL, HOU, STL, CIN, PIT- Eliminated

NL West
LAD.............................DIVISION CHAMPS
ARZ, COL, SF, SD- Eliminated

NL Wildcard
MIL..............................CLINCHED PLAYOFF BERTH
NYM, HOU, FLA, STL, ARZ, COL, SF, CIN, ATL, PIT, SD, WSH- Eliminated

 

[SabresRule]

The Twins of the Ron Gardenhire era, IMO, are starting to remind me of the Cowboys-

Great talent that cleans up during the season, but can't rise up when it counts.

 

[HD MM]

Jim Thome: "Tampa's got a nice club".

Jim's always had a way with words.

 

[brainfry]

This brings up a good point.

When the Yanks and Red Sox had the same record in 2005, N.Y. got the division crown on a head-to-head record.

Same situation, different teams.

Nope, different situation.

The Yankees and Red Sox were both guaranteed a post-season spot because one would be the division winner and the other would be a Wild Card. When both teams in a tie-breaker are guaranteed a spot in the postseason, head-to-head tie-breakers are used to determine who has the higher seed. This is true for breaking a tie between different division winners, also.

In the Twins/White Sox scenario, one of those teams will NOT make the postseason. MLB always uses a one-game playoff to determine which teams will be eliminated from post-season play.

It's funny.... Last year I read countless incorrect accounts from sportswriters about who was getting into the postseason and how. They were setting up all these silly tie-breaker game scenarios that were not necessary. There is a rules section on mlb.com (or at least there used to be) that explains this stuff in detail.