Hey Twins... Hey A's... Thanks for nothing

Seriously. You are trying to stay in contention as a tough and scrappy team? You'd never know it as you went a combined 1-5 against the Rays and Yankees.

Seriously, thanks for the help.
And good job second basemen Alexi Casilla forgetting how many outs there were.
No really. It's good to give the Yankees extra outs

COME ON, MARLINS!

If you won last night, there would have been a three way tie for first in the NL East!

As I stated last year... I love anarchy. I want to see a three way tie... and I want to see the no budget Marlins in contention.

Live at Gotham clip

Do you have big, cool stylish sunglasses that you've been sporting all summer long? This is for you...

Sometimes the clock should not be turned back

If we learned anything from the Back to the Future movies, it was that the time space continuum is delicate and should not be meddled with.

Also we learned that by parts 2 and 3, Christopher Lloyd was completely incomprehensible.

Well speaking of 1985, the White Sox broke out their unis from the mid 1980s...
I am all for turn back the clock night... but for God Sake look at them!

The Mid 1980s White Sox uniforms never got the crap they deserve.

The big SOX across the front, the pajama like top, the number on the leg.

This is the ugliest uniform in their teams history and this team once had their players wear lapels and shorts!

The person who designed the uniforms in Any Given Sunday thinks these stink.

And worst of all, they had great players wear these threads.
Not just Harold Baines... but Hall of Famers Carlton Fisk, Tom Seaver and Steve Carlton all wore these clown uniforms.

Look at Seaver's uniform.
His hat makes it even worse!

It has the white front so it looks like those cheap caps that businesses would print out during the 1980s.
Tom Seaver was the best pitcher of his generation and his hat looks like he was promoting Jordan's Furniture.

So folks... not all nostalgia is good.
Not everything was better in the old days.

And some uniforms should be retired.

Strange...

It's now late July... the Indians, who were one third base coach brain freeze away from tying game 7 of the ALCS last year, are holding a fire sale.

The Tigers should and the Royals are in their annual suck mode.

So the two teams in the AL Central that everyone figured were going to be in rebuilding mode or just be awful, the White Sox and the Twins, are the only two left standing now.

I was sitting on an airplane this morning looking at the standings... 1/2 a game separate the two teams... and it hit me.
"Holy Cow. At least one of these teams are going to be in the playoffs."

Either the White Sox, who looked like they were hanging onto the memories of 2005 and refusing to rebuild...
Or the Twins, who traded away their ace and basically declared to the world that "We're looking beyond 2008"...
will be the division Champion.

I don't know why this struck me as odd... but for some reason I've just been expecting the Indians or Tigers were going to go on a big run.

Man you can hear the Fox Sports dudes PRAYING neither wins the pennant.
Neither the Twins nor the White Sox are exactly the big national draw.

Tough town

The Yankees, who looked like they were going to go right into the cess pool when Wang went down possibly for the season, have been doing well.

They are 16-12 since Wang's injury and have stormed back into contention.
They are 2 games back in the loss column of my Red Sox and only 5 games back of the Rays.

They just swept the pesky Oakland A's and now get ready to play another overachieving team in the Twins.

The Yankees are back! They are probably the toast of the town, right?

Of COURSE NOT!
Hell, Bill Madden, the great writer for the Daily News wrote today about how the sweep of a winning team in late July is not impressive.

I've got Yankee fan friends talking as if THEY were the ones swept.
"Man if Molina doesn't get hit and Betimit strikes out we would have lost that series."

But you didn't!

What were the Yankees supposed to do?

For God's sake, my team just got swept and I still feel confident.
The Yankees do the sweeping and it is chicken little time.

My God... are 21st century Yankee fans becoming 20th century Red Sox fans?

That could have gone better

Man, I love getting swept right after the All Star Break and all momentum being killed.

Hey! Is that the Yankees only 2 games behind us in the loss column?
TERRIFIC!

It's a good thing I didn't go with the Sonny McLean's caravan to Anaheim.