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**pm530** · 09-30-2008, 05:08 AM

Daily Sports Roundup

Tuesday, September 30

The Minnesota Twins will be looking to punch their ticket to the postseason on Tuesday night by beating the Chicago White Sox. Here's a look in your Daily Sports Roundup.

The Gridiron Spotlight

You won't want to shine the spotlight too brightly on Tuesday's college football matchup, as it's an underwhelming affair between 1-3 Florida Atlantic and 1-3 Middle Tennessee. The Owls managed to beat UAB a few weeks ago, but they couldn't get much going against any of Texas, Michigan State, or Minnesota. The Blue Raiders' lone win came against Maryland, and they've been beaten by Troy, Kentucky, and Arkansas State.

When these Sun Belt teams met last season Florida Atlantic came away with a 27-14 home win as 2.5-point favorites. Middle Tennessee had won the previous two meetings between these teams by identical scores of 35-14 (one at home, one on the road), covering the spread twice. The Blue Raiders opened as 1.5-point favorites for Tuesday.

Other Notable Events

The White Sox managed to beat the Tigers in their makeup game on Monday, so now they'll battle the Twins in a one-game playoff for first place in the AL Central and MLB's final postseason berth on Tuesday. The winner of this game will move on to face the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS, with that series getting underway Thursday afternoon.

The Twins will send Nick Blackburn (11-10, 4.15 ERA) to the mound on Tuesday, and the White Sox will counter with John Danks (11-9, 3.47 ERA). Righthander Blackburn beat the White Sox in his last outing, surrendering just two earned runs on eight hits over five innings. Lefthander Danks wasn't as sharp in his last start, as he was knocked around for seven earned runs on seven hits over four innings of work by the Indians.

The Rest of the Schedule

It's another slow day for sports on Tuesday, so your only other options are preseason hockey or whatever football games you have saved on your TiVo from the weekend.

News from the Wire

Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett has a strained oblique, and his next start won't come any earlier than Game 3 of the ALDS against the Angels . . . Angels pitcher Joe Saunders seemed to be recovered from his kidney stone on Sunday - he tossed six scoreless innings in a win versus the Rangers . . . the Ducks have finally brought veteran winger Teemu Selanne back into the fold, signing him to a two-year contract over the weekend.

A Peek at the Future

The opening game of three baseball divisional playoff series are on the schedule for Wednesday, with Milwaukee at Philadelphia, the Dodgers at the Cubs, and Boston at the Angels. The league championship series are slated to get underway on October 9 and 10, while the first game of the World Series will be October 22 . . . the WNBA Finals get underway on Wednesday night in San Antonio and continue through the weekend.

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**pm530** · 09-30-2008, 05:09 AM

Six-pack for Tuesday

-- White Sox hammered Detroit, will host Minnesota Tuesday for the AL Central title; winner plays in St. Pete Thursday.

-- Games are Wednesday are 3/6:30/10......Thursday, 2:30/6/9:30.

-- At halftime, Steelers had run 22 plays for 46 yards vs Baltimore, and had gone eight quarters without a TD.

-- Third-and-1 and the Steelers throw out of the shotgun? What in the name of Rocky Bleier is going on out there?

-- Why are Packer players allowed to do the Lambeau Leap, but all the other NFL players get penalized for excessive celebrations?

-- St Louis finally put Scott Linehan out of his misery, so the Rams have 12 games to restore some respect. Heads will roll in the front office after season; if the team on the field don't get any better, lot of players' heads will roll this winter, too.

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**pm530** · 09-30-2008, 05:09 AM

Tuesday's List of 13: Our NFL List of 13.......

13) Saints-- Without question, the most fun team to watch; they led 21-9 near end of third quarter vs 49ers, and they run a flea-flicker for 40-50 yards. Sean Payton has little bit of an Arenaball mentality.

12) Patriots-- Most people would have New England higher, but the Vegas oddsmakers have Patriots -3 at Candlestick this week; would a really great team be favored by only a FG over the 49ers? Cassel is the x-factor; if he's not competent, they'll struggle to win division.

11) Ravens-- I don't have anything interesting to see about Ravens, so I'll point out that three college football underdogs of 20+ points won their game outright last week. Florida International, Oregon St. and Ole Miss all pulled that off. College football '08 is crazy.

10) Panthers-- Who wouldn't want Jake Delhomme as their QB? He is tough, gritty leader. Carolina is 3-0; they have two good runners, a pretty good defense and Steve Smith/Muhammad is tough WR combo John Fox has himself a pretty good team.

9) Chargers-- Not thrilled with Bolts being down 15-0 in Oakland at halftime, but they won by 10, so no harm done. Norv Turner always looks confused on sideline, but Troy Aikman swears by him, so we give him the benefit of the doubt. But he better make the playoffs.

8) Broncos-- Loss at Arrowhead is huge red flag; when winless team runs ball for 213 yards, after you've allowed 38-32 points in the first two home games, the defense may not be up to playoff standards.

7) Bills-- 4-0 for first time since '92, but they were life-and-death to beat Raiders at home, trailed Rams in fourth quarter. Big test in next game, going to desert to play the explosive Cardinals.

6) Eagles-- Higher on this list if Westbrook is healthy, lot lower if he isn't; when you can't run the ball for TD inside 2-yard line when the game is on the line, you're not a top-five team.

5) Steelers-- Don't like the throwback helmets; can someone tell me when Pittsburgh wore them? I am guessing the 50's. By the way, the bye can't come soon enough for Big Ben's battered body.

4) Cowboys-- Not sure why Felix Jones didn't get any touches, but Cowboys' problem against Washington was the defense. The volcano that is TO is about two weeks away from blowing a gasket.

3) Redskins-- Camera got into Washington locker room right after the win Sunday; how happy was Daniel Snyder? You get the feeling that Jason Campbell will be pretty good, once he gets some stability, as far as his coaching goes-- he's getting a lot better. .

2) Titans-- Run ball well, play good defense, don't turn ball over; in short, an old-time ball control team. Surviving the Vince Young soap opera, but they better keep Collins healthy, because Chris Simms is QB #3, and he is terrible.

1) Giants-- Best until beaten; interesting to see their offense without Burress this week. I have the whole NFC East in top six of this poll, so winning the division is going to be tough to do.

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**pm530** · 09-30-2008, 05:10 AM

Major League Baseball – Write up

MLB
Write-up

Tuesday, September 30

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White Sox lost six of their last nine games, but won last two days to get to one-game playoff with Minnesota team that swept Pale Hose a week ago in Metrodome. Twins won five of their last seven games. Danks is 2-1, 3.71 in his last three starts, 1-1, 8.38 in four starts against Twins in 2008. Blackburn is 0-2, 9.29 in his last five road starts, 1-2, 6.55 in his four starts against the Pale Hose this season.

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**pm530** · 09-30-2008, 05:11 AM

Major League Baseball - Tips & Trends

MLB

Tuesday, September 30

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Tips and Trends
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Minnesota Twins at Chicago White Sox [TBS | 7:35 PM ET]

Twins: Nick Blackburn had two poor starts in a row before pitching well in his final game against the White Sox, getting the win after allowing two runs over five innings. However, the Twins are just 3-7 overall in Blackburn’s last 10 starts. In his last 22 innings pitched on the road, Blackburn has allowed 37 hits and 19 runs.

Twins are 1-4 in their last 5 games vs. a left-handed starter.
Twins are 0-5 in the last 5 meetings in Chicago.

Key Injuries - NONE

PROJECTED SCORE: 5

White Sox (-145, O/U 9.5): John Danks was hammered in his last outing against the Indians but before that poor start, he had pitched 13 innings of shutout ball. Surprisingly, Danks is only 4-6 at home this season with a 3.98 ERA. He’s also struggled against the Twins in his career, going 2-3 with an alarming 6.88 ERA. .

White Sox are 1-4 in Danks' last 5 home starts.
The OVER is 4-1 in Danks' last 5 starts vs. Twins.

Key Injuries - OF Carlos Quentin (wrist) is OUT.

PROJECTED SCORE: 6 (OVER: Total Play of the Day)

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**Udog** · 09-30-2008, 08:38 AM

MLB
Dunkel

Minnesota at Chicago White Sox
The Twins come in having won six of its last seven against the Chisox and looking to take advantage of starter John Danks' struggles (1-2, 7.45 in four starts) against Minnesota at home. The Twins are the underdog pick (+145) according to Dunkel, which has Minnesota favored straight up by 1 1/2. Dunkel Pick: Minnesota (+145). Here are all of today's games

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

Game 937-938: Minnesota at Chicago White Sox
Dunkel Ratings: Minnesota (Blackburn) 17.253; White Sox (Danks) 15.618
Dunkel Line: Minnesota by 1 1/2; 9
Vegas Line: Chicago White Sox (-155); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Minnesota (+145); Under

**Udog** · 09-30-2008, 10:23 AM

MLB
Long Sheet

Tuesday, September 30

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MINNESOTA (88 - 74) at CHI WHITE SOX (88 - 74) - 7:35 PM
NICK BLACKBURN (R) vs. JOHN DANKS (L)
Top Trends for this game.
MINNESOTA is 22-30 (-15.6 Units) against the money line in September games over the last 2 seasons.
CHI WHITE SOX are 88-73 (+7.9 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
CHI WHITE SOX are 53-27 (+17.9 Units) against the money line in home games this season.
CHI WHITE SOX are 43-29 (+12.5 Units) against the money line against division opponents this season.
CHI WHITE SOX are 84-57 (+19.9 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
CHI WHITE SOX are 36-18 (+13.3 Units) against the money line in home games against right-handed starters this season.
CHI WHITE SOX are 51-36 (+10.8 Units) against the money line after a win this season.
MINNESOTA is 88-74 (+10.0 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
MINNESOTA is 42-36 (+6.8 Units) against the money line when the total is 9 to 9.5 this season.
MINNESOTA is 15-3 (+13.5 Units) against the money line when playing with a day off this season.
MINNESOTA is 43-29 (+10.3 Units) against the money line against division opponents this season.
MINNESOTA is 61-48 (+12.7 Units) against the money line in night games this season.
MINNESOTA is 149-110 (+26.7 Units) against the money line after a win over the last 3 seasons.
MINNESOTA is 37-30 (+10.6 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
CHI WHITE SOX are 33-40 (-10.5 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
DANKS is 6-13 (-10.4 Units) against the money line in home games in night games over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)

Head-to-Head Series History
MINNESOTA is 10-8 (+2.5 Units) against CHI WHITE SOX this season
12 of 18 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL this season . (Over=+5.6 Units)

NICK BLACKBURN vs. CHI WHITE SOX since 1997
BLACKBURN is 2-2 when starting against CHI WHITE SOX with an ERA of 5.67 and a WHIP of 1.704.
His team's record is 2-3 (-1.0 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 3-2. (+0.6 units)

JOHN DANKS vs. MINNESOTA since 1997
DANKS is 2-3 when starting against MINNESOTA with an ERA of 6.88 and a WHIP of 1.811.
His team's record is 3-4 (-1.0 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 2-5. (-3.3 units)

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**pm530** · 09-30-2008, 11:06 AM

Major League Baseball – Trend Sheet

MLB

Tuesday, September 30

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Trend Sheet
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7:35 PM MINNESOTA vs. CHI WHITE SOX
Minnesota is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Minnesota's last 12 games
Chi White Sox are 4-2 SU in their last 6 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chi White Sox's last 9 games at home

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**Udog** · 09-30-2008, 12:07 PM

MLB

Tuesday, September 30

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Hot lines: Tuesday's best MLB bet
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Minnesota Twins at Chicago White Sox (-147, 9)

After prevailing in consecutive must-win games, the White Sox (88-74) face the Twins (88-74) in a one-game tiebreaker for the AL Central title Tuesday night at U.S. Cellular Field.

Chicago was swept in a three-game series at Minnesota, falling one-half game behind the Twins in the AL Central and starting a string of five straight losses entering its final two scheduled games. But the White Sox beat Cleveland 5-1 on Sunday and won a rainout makeup with Detroit 8-2 on Monday to force one last game with the Twins.

The winner of this contest will advance to face AL East champion Tampa Bay in a best-of-five series beginning Thursday.

Chicago won a coin flip held earlier this month to decide which team would host the tiebreaker, perhaps catching a break due to its struggles at Minnesota. The Twins have also struggled on the road, going 2-7 at U.S. Cellular Field and 35-46 overall.

"We know where we're going, and we know what we've got to do," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.

John Danks (11-9, 3.47 ERA) - starting on three days' rest - is one of the few members of the White Sox who've had a tough time at home against Minnesota. He is 1-2 with a 7.45 ERA in four starts versus the Twins at Chicago, and 2-3 with a 6.88 ERA in seven starts overall.

And it doesn't help that Danks is coming off his worst start of the season, allowing seven runs and seven hits in four innings as Chicago lost 11-8 to Cleveland on Friday night. The 23-year-old left-hander went 1-0 with a 0.98 ERA in his previous three starts.

Twins catcher Joe Mauer and first baseman Justin Morneau have been particularly successful against Danks, going 8-for-12 (.667) and 7-for-16 (.438), respectively.

Twins starter Nick Blackburn (11-10, 4.14 ERA) is 0-2 with a 7.20 ERA in three career road starts versus the White Sox, and 2-2 with a 5.28 ERA in five starts and one relief appearance against them overall.Blackburn, though, earned a win against the White Sox in his last outing, giving up two runs and eight hits in five innings as Minnesota won 3-2 on Wednesday night.

Pick: White Sox

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**pm530** · 09-30-2008, 12:17 PM

Major League Baseball - Short Sheet

MLB
Short Sheet

Tuesday, September 30th

American League

Play-In Game

Minnesota at Chicago White Sox, 7:35 ET
Nick Blackburn (R) vs. John Danks (L)
Blackburn: Min 15-3 playing with a day off
Danks: 6-13 TSR at home in night games

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**pm530** · 09-30-2008, 12:21 PM

Major League Baseball – Twins vs. White Sox

MLB

Tuesday, September 30

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MLB – Matchup info Twins vs. White Sox
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(This info is from another forum, sources are not known)

A lot of conflicting factors to decipher for the Minny-White Sox game:

Here are some:

Blackburn has an ERA over 5+ on the road
Blackburn is a rookie and this is a ton of pressure
Blackburn has been hammered lately: in his last 10.3 innings he has given up 16 earned runs.
Blackburn had a 6.75 ERA in September
White Sox hitters are 37 for 116 off Blackburn (.319)

Danks is on three days rest
Danks is a much better road pitcher than a home pitcher.
Danks was hammered by Cleveland 3 days ago: 4 innings and 7 earned runs
Danks allowed 17 earned runs against Minny in 19.3 innings this year
Lefties hit Danks better than righties.
Minny hitters are 41 for 113 off Danks (.363):
Mauer 8 for 12 (.667)
Mourneau 7 for 16 (.438)
Cuddyer 7 for 12 (.583)
Harris 5 for 10 (.500)
Kubel 3 for 7 (.429)
Young 3 for 9 (.333)

Temperature is expected to be in the high 40's with a 30% chance of rain.

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Twins hitters have knocked Danks around

John Danks has a tall order to fill Tuesday against a team that has always hit him hard. His career ERA is 6.88 versus the Twins, and the 3-4-5 hitters in the Minnesota batting order have pummeled him. Joe Mauer, Justin Mourneau and Jason Kubel are a combined 18-for-35 (.514 average) with seven extra-base hits against Danks over the past two seasons. If he makes it through that murderers' row, Michael Cuddyer (1.393 OPS vs. Danks) and Brendan Harris (1.315 OPS) still await.
Danks has struggled to finish off Twins hitters:
Hitters vs. Danks with 2 strikes
Current Twins Rest of league
OBP .453 .261
BA .352 .208
SLG .463 .317

The Twins have struggled against Danks' slider (.100 BAA with two strikes), but they're 9-for-17 against his changeup on two-strike counts. In fact, Twins hitters have been adept at getting the bat on his change regardless of the count:
Hitters vs. Danks' changeup
Current Twins Rest of league
Batting average .389 .234
Miss % of swings 14.9 28.7
In-play % of swings 68.1 40.8
Chase % 38.1 39.3

Although Minnesota hitters are as likely as the rest of the league to chase a Danks change, they miss far less often. This season, the Twins have been one of the better hitting clubs against changeups -- particularly Cuddyer, Morneau, Kubel, Delmon Young and Alexi Casilla. For his part, Danks has caught too much of the strike zone. Of his low changeups, 44 percent have finished in the zone against current Twins hitters compared to 38 percent versus the rest of the league. Pitching on three days' rest for the first time in his career, keep an eye on Danks' command. If he leaves too many changeups in the zone against this lineup, he could have a real problem getting hitters out.
Will Blackburn make White Sox chase?

Minnesota has surrendered the fewest walks of any team in the majors, and Nick Blackburn has done his part by issuing just 36 free passes in 187 innings pitched. Blackburn has pounded the zone in 2008, locating 67 percent of his pitches for strikes (AL average is 63 percent).
While throwing strikes is a certainly a positive overall, Blackburn's adherence to the zone appears to hurt him at times. When he is ahead in the count or has two strikes on the hitter (situations where he can afford to be less zone-conscious), Blackburn has continued to stick to the strike zone, with below-average results:
Blackburn: When ahead in count or with 2 strikes
Strike % BAA
Ahead in count 67 .238
AL avg. 61 .208
Two strikes 70 .232
AL avg. 66 .190

Blackburn will take on a White Sox lineup that has hit him well this season. His ERA in 27 innings versus the South Siders this season is 5.67, and he has given up 37 hits. When ahead in the count, he has thrown strikes to Chicago hitters 69 percent of the time, with a .276 batting average against. When Blackburn chooses to throw one out of the strike zone, he has been adept at generating swings, with a 32 percent chase percentage overall (AL avg. is 25 percent). The White Sox have gone fishing often against Blackburn, chasing 31 percent of the time. Given his issues putting hitters away and the free-swinging nature of the White Sox lineup, Blackburn might want to waste a few pitches. Alexi Ramirez, AJ Pierzynski, Dewayne Wise and Juan Uribe and each have chased balls out of the zone above the league average rate.

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Closers could be key

Game No. 163 for the White Sox and Twins could very well end up in the closer's hands. Here is a comparison of Joe Nathan and Bobby Jenksin a few key categories:

What have you done for me lately?

Nathan has been nails in his last five outings. In fact, he hasn't allowed a hit in his previous six innings. He's attacked the zone with his fastball this month, throwing 77 percent of first-pitch heaters for strikes, compared to an already-high 65 percent in the previous months. Jenks hit a rough patch earlier this month when he allowed runs in three consecutive games, but he righted the ship with two scoreless outings before blowing a save last week against the Twins. Opponents are batting .407 (11-for-27) against his 94 mph heater in September.

Keys to success

Nathan blends an upper-90s heater with a devastating slider, both of which he throws for strikes. For Nathan, keeping the slider down makes him virtually unhittable:
Nathan's slider since 2005
Location BAA SLG
Up .216 .275
Middle .236 .346
Down .075 .090

Jenks' fastball does not possess much sideways movement, so even though it touches the high-90s, hitters can get good wood on it. Jenks has always been much better off when he elevates his fastball than when he keeps it down in the zone:
Jenks' fastball since 2005
Location BAA SLG
Up .240 .331
Middle .285 .403
Down .376 .564

Both stoppers faced each other six times this season. If their 2008 meetings are any indication, the White Sox will not want to see Joe Nathan on the hill Tuesday evening. Nathan has allowed just two hits in 23 at-bats (.087 BA) against the Sox this year; Jenks surrendered eight hits in 27 at-bats (.321 BA) against the Twins.

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Total Tidbits

Twins vs White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field, the game totals have been 11, 17, 8, 8, 14, 13, 16, 14, 12.

In Blackburn pitched games at the cell the totals have been 16, 8,11 and the whie sox alone put up 10, 7, 7.

In Danks pitched games at the cell vs Minny the totals have been 12, 8, 17 and the Twins alone put up 5, 2, 12.

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**rocko** · 09-30-2008, 06:59 PM

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But Any How Enough About Me I Still Get Alot Of Info E--mail To Me I Hope If See Something U Do Not Have Here That I Post It In Here????
But Mainly I Was Just Stopping By To Give Ya Kudduos On The Fucking Awsome Job U Guys Do,i For One Know How Much Time And Work It Takes, Way To Go Keeeper Going>>>> As My Wife Seeems To Say To Me A Lot,what U Think She Is Meaning???? Lmfao
Gllllllll
Geter Done Peace
Thanksssssssssssssssss

**BigWeiner** · 09-30-2008, 07:00 PM

Originally posted by pm530

MLB

Tuesday, September 30

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MLB – Matchup info Twins vs. White Sox
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(This info is from another forum, sources are not known)

A lot of conflicting factors to decipher for the Minny-White Sox game:

Here are some:

Blackburn has an ERA over 5+ on the road
Blackburn is a rookie and this is a ton of pressure
Blackburn has been hammered lately: in his last 10.3 innings he has given up 16 earned runs.
Blackburn had a 6.75 ERA in September
White Sox hitters are 37 for 116 off Blackburn (.319)

Danks is on three days rest
Danks is a much better road pitcher than a home pitcher.
Danks was hammered by Cleveland 3 days ago: 4 innings and 7 earned runs
Danks allowed 17 earned runs against Minny in 19.3 innings this year
Lefties hit Danks better than righties.
Minny hitters are 41 for 113 off Danks (.363):
Mauer 8 for 12 (.667)
Mourneau 7 for 16 (.438)
Cuddyer 7 for 12 (.583)
Harris 5 for 10 (.500)
Kubel 3 for 7 (.429)
Young 3 for 9 (.333)

Temperature is expected to be in the high 40's with a 30% chance of rain.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twins hitters have knocked Danks around

John Danks has a tall order to fill Tuesday against a team that has always hit him hard. His career ERA is 6.88 versus the Twins, and the 3-4-5 hitters in the Minnesota batting order have pummeled him. Joe Mauer, Justin Mourneau and Jason Kubel are a combined 18-for-35 (.514 average) with seven extra-base hits against Danks over the past two seasons. If he makes it through that murderers' row, Michael Cuddyer (1.393 OPS vs. Danks) and Brendan Harris (1.315 OPS) still await.
Danks has struggled to finish off Twins hitters:
Hitters vs. Danks with 2 strikes
Current Twins Rest of league
OBP .453 .261
BA .352 .208
SLG .463 .317

The Twins have struggled against Danks' slider (.100 BAA with two strikes), but they're 9-for-17 against his changeup on two-strike counts. In fact, Twins hitters have been adept at getting the bat on his change regardless of the count:
Hitters vs. Danks' changeup
Current Twins Rest of league
Batting average .389 .234
Miss % of swings 14.9 28.7
In-play % of swings 68.1 40.8
Chase % 38.1 39.3

Although Minnesota hitters are as likely as the rest of the league to chase a Danks change, they miss far less often. This season, the Twins have been one of the better hitting clubs against changeups -- particularly Cuddyer, Morneau, Kubel, Delmon Young and Alexi Casilla. For his part, Danks has caught too much of the strike zone. Of his low changeups, 44 percent have finished in the zone against current Twins hitters compared to 38 percent versus the rest of the league. Pitching on three days' rest for the first time in his career, keep an eye on Danks' command. If he leaves too many changeups in the zone against this lineup, he could have a real problem getting hitters out.
Will Blackburn make White Sox chase?

Minnesota has surrendered the fewest walks of any team in the majors, and Nick Blackburn has done his part by issuing just 36 free passes in 187 innings pitched. Blackburn has pounded the zone in 2008, locating 67 percent of his pitches for strikes (AL average is 63 percent).
While throwing strikes is a certainly a positive overall, Blackburn's adherence to the zone appears to hurt him at times. When he is ahead in the count or has two strikes on the hitter (situations where he can afford to be less zone-conscious), Blackburn has continued to stick to the strike zone, with below-average results:
Blackburn: When ahead in count or with 2 strikes
Strike % BAA
Ahead in count 67 .238
AL avg. 61 .208
Two strikes 70 .232
AL avg. 66 .190

Blackburn will take on a White Sox lineup that has hit him well this season. His ERA in 27 innings versus the South Siders this season is 5.67, and he has given up 37 hits. When ahead in the count, he has thrown strikes to Chicago hitters 69 percent of the time, with a .276 batting average against. When Blackburn chooses to throw one out of the strike zone, he has been adept at generating swings, with a 32 percent chase percentage overall (AL avg. is 25 percent). The White Sox have gone fishing often against Blackburn, chasing 31 percent of the time. Given his issues putting hitters away and the free-swinging nature of the White Sox lineup, Blackburn might want to waste a few pitches. Alexi Ramirez, AJ Pierzynski, Dewayne Wise and Juan Uribe and each have chased balls out of the zone above the league average rate.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Closers could be key

Game No. 163 for the White Sox and Twins could very well end up in the closer's hands. Here is a comparison of Joe Nathan and Bobby Jenksin a few key categories:

What have you done for me lately?

Nathan has been nails in his last five outings. In fact, he hasn't allowed a hit in his previous six innings. He's attacked the zone with his fastball this month, throwing 77 percent of first-pitch heaters for strikes, compared to an already-high 65 percent in the previous months. Jenks hit a rough patch earlier this month when he allowed runs in three consecutive games, but he righted the ship with two scoreless outings before blowing a save last week against the Twins. Opponents are batting .407 (11-for-27) against his 94 mph heater in September.

Keys to success

Nathan blends an upper-90s heater with a devastating slider, both of which he throws for strikes. For Nathan, keeping the slider down makes him virtually unhittable:
Nathan's slider since 2005
Location BAA SLG
Up .216 .275
Middle .236 .346
Down .075 .090

Jenks' fastball does not possess much sideways movement, so even though it touches the high-90s, hitters can get good wood on it. Jenks has always been much better off when he elevates his fastball than when he keeps it down in the zone:
Jenks' fastball since 2005
Location BAA SLG
Up .240 .331
Middle .285 .403
Down .376 .564

Both stoppers faced each other six times this season. If their 2008 meetings are any indication, the White Sox will not want to see Joe Nathan on the hill Tuesday evening. Nathan has allowed just two hits in 23 at-bats (.087 BA) against the Sox this year; Jenks surrendered eight hits in 27 at-bats (.321 BA) against the Twins.

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Total Tidbits

Twins vs White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field, the game totals have been 11, 17, 8, 8, 14, 13, 16, 14, 12.

In Blackburn pitched games at the cell the totals have been 16, 8,11 and the whie sox alone put up 10, 7, 7.

In Danks pitched games at the cell vs Minny the totals have been 12, 8, 17 and the Twins alone put up 5, 2, 12.

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This is why I like the over big time

**Udog** · 09-30-2008, 08:23 PM

rocko,

If you see something you think would help out, please post away! Thanks!

Announcement

Tuesday Trends and Indexes 9/30 (MLB, Misc.)

Tuesday Trends and Indexes 9/30 (MLB, Misc.)

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