I Went to a Baseball Game and a Football Game Broke Out

My cousin Henk and I went to the Twins game on Saturday Morning. The game was tight, and it was a beautiful early October Saturday afternoon, perfect for [an outdoor] baseball game. At 2:33 PM, with twelve innings in the book and the score tied 5-5, the teams ran off the field and the game was suspended. It seems that the Minnesota Gopher game, to be played later that night, took precedence. The game was ended right then and there, as the ground crew began to turn the Metrodome into a football stadium. It was unclear whether Bud Selig was sitting behind the plate, shrugging and holding his hands in the air. Now, I have long felt that the Twins should have their own stadium. The Metrodome is a football stadium. Its seats are aligned to watch a football game. A huge number of seats in the stadium are aligned so that they don't provide a good view of the majority of the baseball action. The atmosphere within the Metrodome is terrible. Everybody knows who's been to a few games at the dome knows this. But, what happened on Saturday was just plain embarrassing.

Houston, Angels Advance

You heard it here first.

Dodgers Crush Giants Post Season Hopes

The Dodgers crushed the Giants on Saturday, scoring 7 times in the bottom of the ninth to win 7-3 and clinch the NL West division. On Sunday, the Giants won 10-0 in a meaningless game, as the Astronauts earlier won their 18th straight home game and the NL Wild Card 5-3. Think of it. Earlier this summer, the Astronauts were left for dead and rumors were circulating that they would trade Roger Clemens. All they did was end the season on a 36-10 run and claimed the Wild Card by one game over the Giants. What an incredible run.

AL Playoffs -- A First Look

Pretty much everyone in the baseball world probably expects and hopes that theYankees and the Red Sox will meet in the ALCS. As a Twins fan, I certainly don't want that. I also don't think that it's a foregone conclusion that either of these teams will advance. I will provide a more thorough analysis tomorrow, but I think that all four of these teams have the potential to win the American League (I like the Angels right now). While the possibility Red Sox and Yankee match up might be exciting, especially considering last year's ALCS, Anaheim as the 2002 champion is a formidable team, especially with the addition of uber-stud Vladimir Guerrero. This a good team, and they are playing well right now. The Twins don't have the big sticks that some of the other teams have, but they have two very good starters (who looked good against the Yanks last week) and a good end of the bullpen. They also have much more punch than previous Twins teams. With 191home runs, the Twins had 36 more than last year and the most since the 1986 and1987 teams each had 196 home runs. Stick and Ball Guy needs to look into his crystal ball and determine the fate of the American League and will do so tomorrow.

NL Playoffs

The dust has settled. The Dodgers will play the Cardinals and the Astronauts will play the Braves. Clearly, the Cardinals are the favorites, but I don'tlike them to advance. Right now, I like the red-hot Houston club. I know that they haven't won a playoff series since, well, ever. But, why not now? In the other series, it's easy to predict a Braves disappointment, but what about the Dodgers? They are essentially playoff newcomers. Let me think about that. Come back tomorrow when Stick and Ball Guy will have a complete rundown on everything you will need to know about the playoffs. (Disclaimer: wagering is illegal and S&B Guy takes no responsibility for any money won or lost by wagering on his advice.)