Twins Morneau Out for ALDS

Minnesota slugger Justin Morneau has ruled himself out of the first round of the playoffs. Morneau has been out since he suffered a concussion in Toronto July 7th, kneed in the head inadvertently by Blue Jays second baseman John McDonald.

That's bad news for Twins fans, but Jim Thome has really picked up the slack. The White Sox made a big mistake by not bringing him back.

Mauer: 'Love Putting on a Twins Uniform'

Reigning AL Most Valuable Player Joe Mauer made his eight-year, $184 million contract extension with the Twins official Monday. The St. Paul, Minnesota native is a three-time batting champion.

I wonder how much of a Hometown Discount He Took to stay with his hometown team?

Baseball needs to do soemthing to get rid of these insane contracts. Whenever someone is signed to a deal like that, this prices out the true fans who want to go to the ballpark to watch these multimillionaires play. There's a reason why the NFL has yet to have a player crack the $100 Million dollar mark for a contract.

Good for Joe Mauer. Joe and I have the same birthday, and he seems like a team oriented player, but that's just insane.

My Division Series Picks

New York Yankees Over Minnesota Twins In Five Games
Boston Red Sox over Los Angeles Angels in four games
Los Angeles Dodgers over St Louis Cardinals in Five Games
Philadelphia Phillies over Colorado Rockies in Four Games.

American League Division Series Previews

Twins-Yankees


Red Sox-Angels

Twins Win AL Central, Will Play Yankees Tonight

The Minnesota Twins scored in the bottom of the 12th inning to edge Detroit 6-5 in a one-game playoff to win the American League Central title.

Baseball Tonight talks about the Twins winning the AL Central Title.


Joe Mauer talks about the Twins-Tigers Tiebreaker game.

Tiebreaker to Decide Winner of AL Central

Both the Tigers and Twins won Sunday, leaving them tied for the AL Central lead. Detroit and Minnesota will play a one-game tiebreaker Today at the Metrodome. It's the third straight year that a tiebreaker will decide the division champ.

Rick Porcello is piching for the Tigers in this game opposed by Scott Baker for Minnesota.
The Winner of this game plays the Yankees In The ALDS!
Watch The Game On TBS or Listen on ESPN Radio!

Let's Play Game 163!

For the third straight year, Major League Baseball will feature a 163rd game in the regular season, as the Tigers and the Twins play for the AL Central Title Tuesday Night.

Baseball Tonight previews Tuesday Night's one-game playoff between the Detroit Tigers and the Minnesota Twins inside the Metrodome.

The Winner of This game will play The New York Yankees in the ALDS.

Walking on the Dome

Jim Caple tours the moon roof of the Metrodome and enjoys rare views of Minneapolis and the ballfield far below.

Farewell, Metrodome

It is the final weekend of baseball inside the Metrodome in Minnesota. The Twins are fighting for the AL Central title against the Minnesota Twins. The Twins have to hope the White Sox take the series against Detroit and they do likewise against Kansas City to win the AL Central.

Jim Caple visits the Metrodome during its last few days as home to the Minnesota Twins


Torii Hunter talks about playing the outfield in the Metrodome.


Twins fans talk about the Metrodome.


Tim Kurkjian gives his favorite Metrodome memories.

Sheffield Hits His 500th Homer: Kubel Cycles

Gary Sheffield hits his 500th homerun, the first to ever do so in a pinch-hit at bat.


THE BBTN Minute discusses Sheffield's 500th homerun.


Tim Kurkjian talks about Gary Sheffield's journey to 500 homeruns.


Jason Kubel Cycles in a memorable night at the Metrodome.


Alfonso Soriano homers to helo the Cubs beat the Cardinals.

MLB Highlights 4-10-09

Here Are Your MLB Highlights from last night, April 10th!
Cubs vs Brewers 4-10-09


Diamondbacks Vs Dodgers 4-10-09


Mariners Vs Athletics 4-10-09


Giants vs Padres 4-10-09


Phillies Vs Rockies 4-10-09


Mets Vs Marlins 4-10-09


Nationals Vs Braves 4-10-09



Yankees Vs Royals 4-10-09


Blue Jays Vs Indians 4-10-09


Astros Vs Cardinals 4-10-09


Twins Vs White Sox 4-10-09


Rays Vs Orioles 4-10-09


Rangers Vs Tigers 4-10-09

Let's Play One: Twins-White Sox In One Game Playoff Tonight

The White Sox and Twins are playing for all the marbles.

Tonight is a one game playoff between the Chicago White Sox and the Minnesota Twins.

Tonight's Pitching matchup will be awesome. Nick Blackburn starts for the Twins; John Danks gets the call for the White Sox.

The Winner of this one game playoff will go play the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Divisional Series.

Watch the game on TBS!

White Sox Must Win Today To Force One Game Playoff

Paul Konerko and the Chicago White Sox have to beat the Detroit Tigers today to keep their postseason hopes alive.

If the Sox beat Detroit, the Twins and White Sox will play a one game playoff on Tuesday to decide the AL Central Champion.

BBTN Minute: White Sox Vs. Twins Preview

Starting tonight, The White Sox and Twins meet up in a huge matchup that will decide the AL Central. Baseball Tonight has a preview.

Can You Say Target Field?

The Minnesota Twins and Target announced an agreement on an exclusive 25-year partnership that includes naming rights to the Twins' new stadium, scheduled to open for the 2010 season just across from Target Center, home to the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves.

The retailer and the Twins also will collaborate on the design of Target Plaza, which includes a pedestrian bridge and public gathering space connecting the $517 million, 40,000-seat Target Field to downtown Minneapolis. The walkway will run right next to Target Center, and they're all just a few blocks away from Target's corporate headquarters in downtown Minneapolis.

I'm sure the people that will be the happiest that the Twins are leaving the Metrodome are the other teams in the AL Central, as the Metrodome's roof and surface led to a type of play that you wouldn't get on an outdoor grass field.

Eddie Guardado Traded For Hamburger

No Joke!

The Texas Rangers traded closer Eddie Guardado to the Minnesota Twins for a Hanburger.

Minor League Pitcher Mark Hamburger.

The Rangers have now made Frank Francisco, a man with zero career saves, their new closer.

Francisco Liriano to start 2008 In Minors

Minnesota Twins pitcher Francisco Liriano will start the season in the minor leagues.

The left-hander is coming back from elbow surgery and was 2-2 with a 4.02 ERA in spring training. He missed the 2007 season recovering.

Liriano is scheduled to start for the Class A Fort Myers Miracle on Thursday night at Fort Myers.

Hopefully, for Liriano and the Twins sake, Liriano keeps his arm healthy. The Twins really need him to pitch to try to get Twins fans fired about their terrible offseason when they lost former Franchise Cornerstones Torii Hunter and Johan Santana.

MLB Preview: AL Central

Can Acquisitions Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis help Detroit clinch their first World Series Title since 1984?

Detroit Tigers fans still can't believe their incredibly good luck. Minnesota Twins fans can't believe how far they're team has fallen off the map with the loss of Johan Santana. White Sox fans hope the improved bullpen can help them win more games, and Royals fans are hoping Alex Gordon and Gil Meche can help lead Kansas City out of the cellar.

And then there's Cleveland, the winner of the AL Central last season. All forgotten. Indians fans like it this way. They hope this quiet team can surprise again.

DETROIT TIGERS
The Tigers in 2007 hoped to repeat their success from 2006 when they marched to the World Series. They may have failed to do that, but this team still made history last season. Comerica Park was abuzz on June 12th as Justin Verlander threw a no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers, winning the game 4-0. This was the first no-hitter by a Tiger since Jack Morris did it in 1984 and the first ever thrown at Comerica Park.
Curtis Granderson became only the second player in franchise history to have at least 30 doubles, 15 triples, 15 home runs, and 10 stolen bases in a single season. The other Tiger to accomplish this feat was Charlie Gehringer in 1930. Magglio Ordonez .363 batting average was the highest in Major League Baseball. He finished the season as the AL batting champion, and is the first Tiger player to accomplish the feat since Norm Cash in 1961.This Tigers team will get much better in 2008, primarily due to the addition of the final two members of the 2003 Florida Marlins that were with the team last season.

Pitching Wise, Justin Verlander is the ace of the rotation, but filling in at the number two spot will be former Marlins Ace Dontrelle Willis. Nate Robertson and Kenny Rogers will follow him, leaving the final spot to be won in Spring Training. This team has been improved tremenendously in all areas with Miguel Cabrera. The Tigers would be smart to sign both Cabrera and Willis long term. Curtis Granderson will continue to score runs from the lead off spot in any way imaginable. There will be a lot of homeruns for this team. On Paper, they're the World Series Champions right now. But we all know that games aren't won on paper. They're won on the field.

The expectations for Detroit are high. Let's see if they can be met.



CLEVELAND INDIANS
The most important thing for the Indians' future is to re-sign C.C. Sabathia. He collected his 1000th career strikeout on May 21st, on Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners. He was also named to the American League All-Star team for the third time. On September 28, he became the youngest pitcher to record 100 career wins since Greg Maddux in 1993. On October 23, Sabathia won the Players Choice Award for Outstanding AL Pitcher.[2] His pitching performance led the Cleveland Indians to their first American League Central Division Championship since 2001, his rookie season. For his performance, he was awarded the 2007 American League Cy Young Award joining Gaylord Perry as the only two Cleveland Indians pitchers to ever win the award.

If Sabathia can't be resigned this season, expect both the Yankees and the Mets to lure big money to try to lure him to their side of New York.

Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner will continue to slug balls out of Jacobs Field.

Fausto Carmona and Joe Borowski headlined a magnificent Indians bullpen in 2007, and the bullpen has added former Japanese Closer Masahide Kobayashi to the bullpen.

Cleveland will fight for the Wild Card Spot in 2008.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX
The 2007 White Sox started off the year in unbeleievable fashion, as Mark Buehrle threw a no-hitter against the Texas Rangers on April 18th. The Sox got a bad case of the injury bug down the stretch, but during that time, we got to see how well Chicago develops it's talent. Josh Fields played so well playing for the injured Joe Crede that the Sox are considering trading Crede. Mark Sweeney played well in the outfield and will be replaced with Nick Swisher, who would have gone to the North Side of Chicago if the Cubs weren't able to lure Kosuke Fukudome away from Japan. The White Sox made moves to improve their bullpen, which was not very good last season. Scott Linebrink and Octavio Dotel have been signed to help hold down the fort for Bobby Jenks in the ninth. Jenks was dynamite in 2007, retiring 41 straight batters in 2007.

The Sox have also improved in the infield. Danny Richar leads at the battle to man second base and the Sox acquired Gold Glove winner Orlando Cabrera by trading away Jon Garland. Let's not forget about Powerful Paul Konerko at First Base and Jim Thome at Designated Hitter.

Can Chicago contend in a crowded AL Central? The key will be their bullpen and defense keeping leads the starting pitching pitching and offense gives them.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS
The Royals are hoping to surprise in 2008. They lured Trey Hillman away from Japan to try and get this ballclub back on the right foot. They signed outfielder Jose Guillen to a three year contract, despite the fact that he will serve a 15 game suspension for perfromance-enhancing drugs.

Alex Gordon will only get better at third base, as will Ryan Shealy. Gold Glove Winner Mark Grudzielanek will be in betweeen both, manning second base. Gil Meche is the Royals Ace, and had a suprisingly good first season. Will be able to repeat it? I don't think so, simply because of how good the whole AL Central is.

In The Bullpen, watch out for Yasuhiko Yabuta.

MINNESOTA TWINS
The Twins had an unfair Free Agency Period. First, they lost Torii Hunter to Free Agency, then they lost Johan Santana in a trade. To "replace" Hunter, the Twins traded Matt Garza away for Delmon Young. To "replace" Santana, the Twins signed former Diamondback Orlando Hernandez. The Twins are also hoping Francisco Liriano can be healthy all season and catch that "lightning in a bottle" of a season in 2006 after missing the 2007 Season to recover from Tommy John Surgery.

MY PROJECTED ORDER:
DETROIT
CLEVELAND
CHICAGO
KANSAS CITY
MINNESOTA

That Concludes this MLB Preview. In our Final MLB Preview, we will take a look at the National League Central. Can Chicago Repeat as Division Champs? Will Milwaukee Step Up and contend again? Can St. Louis make noise? Can Miguel Tejada avoid the talk of the Mitchell Report? Can Pittsburgh avoid last place? Find out all this and more in our next and final MLB Preview.

Johan Santana, Mets Agree To Record Contarct

The deal is done.

Johan Santana reached preliminary agreement with the Mets Friday night on a record contract, according to a major-league source, all but completing the trade that will send the two-time Cy Young Award winner from Minnesota to New York in exchange for four young players.

The Mets locked up Santana for the next seven years, signing him to a six-year, $137.5 million extension on top of the final year of his current deal, which is valued at $13.25 million. The total value of the package is $150.75 million, making his new average salary more than $21.5 million — a record for a pitcher on a long-term contract.

Santana, who turns 29 on March 13, needs only to pass a physical to make the trade official. But the most difficult elements of the transaction — the trade and contract negotiations — finally are complete. Santana is scheduled to take his physical Saturday morning, Twins GM Bill Smith said, according to The Associated Press.

The Mets needed Major League Baseball to grant a two-hour extension of the 72-hour negotiating window to persuade Santana to waive his no-trade clause, forsake free agency at the end of the season and approve the deal.

Santana was present for the final stages of the talks, according to two sources close to the negotiations. He was adamant that he deserved a vastly superior deal to Giants lefty Barry Zito, who signed a seven-year, $126 million contract as a free agent last off-season.

In return for Santana, who was eligible for free agency at the end of the season, the Twins will receive outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitchers Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra.

Cubs right-hander Carlos Zambrano held the previous salary record for a pitcher under a multi-year deal — $18.3 million per season over five years. Zito is earning $18 million per season in his deal with the Giants.

Santana's new average trumps both of those numbers, leaving Indians left-hander C.C. Sabathia — who is eligible for free agency at the end of the season — as the next in line for a monster score.

If The Mets really wanted him, they would agree to whatever figure he wanted. They did that. This all but assures the Mets to be the favorites heading into Spriing Training.

Johan Santana Traded To Mets

Johan Santana was traded from the Twins to the New York Mets.


The New York Mets are poised to obtain two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins for four prospects.

The Mets are expected to send pitchers Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra and outfielder Carlos Gomez to Minnesota.

For the trade to be completed the Mets must sign Santana to an extension. That shouldn't be difficult since they have a solid working relationship with agents Peter and Ed Greenberg, who also represent Jose Reyes and Endy Chavez. The Mets are believed to have 48 to 72 hours to reach a deal with Santana, who will waive his no trade clause if an extension is reached.

Johan Santana already has two American League Cy Young Awards. He will totally dominate in the National League, because the Designated Hitter is replaced by the pitcher. The Mets have the pitching, and the offense should be back to full strength. Santana will prove he is well worth the record contract he is about to receive from the Mets.

What does this mean for the Twins? After signing Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer to record contracts, the Twins never meant to keep Johan after he signed that initial offer. The Twins new Ace is Francisco Liriano, who the Twins hope can be healthy for a full season after undergoing Tommy John Surgery.

The Mets fans had waited all offseason for their team to make a major move. This move was well worth the wait. It Propels the Mets to the top of the National League.