Weekend Buzz: The West is won, and Angels won't let go
"Of course we want to win the division," David Ortiz told the Boston Globe. "But what sense does it make to put that kind of pressure on our plate? Win the division, watch the Yankees, all that stuff. The important thing now is that we get healthy."
When the Red Sox are finished resting and sipping Piña Coladas and are ready to begin pushing hard again, they'll get back to you.
5. Cleveland to sell naming rights to Jacobs Field: I suppose Mr. Freeze Field, in honor of the departed slugger Albert Belle, is out of the question?
6. Now re-introducing ...: The Colorado Rockies? Look who's trailing San Diego by only 1½ games in the NL wild-card race. The Rockies are maturing right before our very eyes, from Franklin Morales (six beautiful innings in San Diego on Friday night) to Brad Hawpe, Garrett Atkins, Troy Tulowitzki and the rest.
The Rockies have reeled off eight consecutive victories, equaling the second-longest winning streak in franchise history. Their 84 wins are a franchise high. And look out, the Padres and Phillies have done a dangerous thing: made the Rockies believers. They practically beat the clubhouse door down storming in for optional batting practice before Sunday afternoon's game.
They have three games in Dodger Stadium this week and they finish at home with three against Arizona. Somebody cue the old John Denver song and let's see whether MVP candidate Matt Holliday can overcome an oblique strain to help push this thing along.
7. The skid that made Milwaukee infamous: Hey, who are those 25 guys grooving down the slide behind Bernie Brewer in Miller Park? They were Tomahawk Chopping in the seventh inning in Wrigley Field on Sunday, for crying out loud, as the Braves were coming back to beat the Brewers.
8. Synchronicity, not exactly: Meanwhile, as the Cubs rock 'n' roll toward a major October party in Piniella's first year as manager, the Wrigley Field turf is taking a beating. First literally, now verbally.
It wasn't the greatest playing surface in the league to begin with, then The Police played there twice in July and, next thing was, after Cincinnati's Ken Griffey Jr. was injured last week, Reds outfielder Adam Dunn sent this message in a bottle: "It looked like they had a monster truck rally. There's potholes. It's bad. It's unsafe."
9. Nationals play last game in RFK Stadium: But the Ghost of Frank Howard has promised to tag along to the new joint next summer.
10. Twins fans say goodbye to Torii Hunter? He's eligible for free agency this winter and seems to be detaching himself emotionally from the only organization he's ever known. He replaced Kirby Puckett as the most beloved of Twins, he's the face of the franchise and he's a guy who should remain visible in Minnesota long after his playing days are finished.
That said, if this was it for Hunter in the Twin Cities ... very nice job by manager Ron Gardenhire subbing for him just before the top of the ninth started Sunday, and a very, very touching standing ovation from the Metrodome crowd as he walked off of the field.
11. Old guys rule ... or not: About as ugly an end to a season as you can imagine for the Dodgers, with Jeff Kent ripping just about everything, from manager Grady Little and the coaches to youngsters like James Loney, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier.
Among Kent's grenades on what's wrong with the youngsters: "A lot of things. Professionalism. How to manufacture a run. How to keep your emotions in it. There's just a lot of things that go on with playing 162 games."
Yeah, well, Kent's words would carry a lot more weight if he wasn't the last one in the clubhouse every day, if he didn't sit at his locker reading Motortrend magazine while not speaking to most teammates. If these things were bothering him, wouldn't a good team leader have tried to nip this problem a long time ago, like maybe pass along some of his wisdom to the kids before the Dodgers fell from contention?
Oh yeah, Kent's 2008 option at $9 million just vested on Thursday, the day he lashed out to reporters. How transparent is that?
