WATERCOOLER CHAT: DRAMATIC NIGHT IN BASEBALL
BASEBALL
It was a dramatic night in the baseball world, as the final playoff spot was up for grabs. The Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins dueled it out in a one game playoff that would hand the winner the New York Yankees. Minnesota played host, and this would potentially be the last game for the Twins at the Metrodome. And get this, their new stadium will be outdoors… in Minnesota!!!!  Anyway…
The game was deadlocked until the 3rd inning, when the Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera blasted a homer to put the Tigers up 3-0. The air came out of the stadium for the Twins. However, the Twins would battle back in the 6th and 7th innings with home run shots from Orlando Cabrera and Jason Kubel. Electricity was in the place as the Twins took the lead 4-3. But, just when things looked bleak for the Tigers in the 8th, their lead off hitter, Magglio Ordonez smacked a homer to tie the game at 4. Yep, the game would require extra innings.
In the 10th, Brad Inge stepped up to the plate for Detroit, and nobody expected much. He was only hitting .229 for the season. Then… he cranked a beautifully placed double to deep left that would score a run. 5-4 Tigers. But, in the bottom in the tenth, Matt Tolbert hit a simple single that would tie the game. 5-5. Finally, it came to the 12th inning, and the hero was the Twins Alexi Casilla. He hit a single to right, and drove in the winning run. Congratulations to the Minnesota Twins. They are now in the playoffs, and have all the heat behind them. Sure, many predict that the Yankees will wipe the floor with them, but with this extra ‘umph’, you just can’t be sure. Minnesota 6, Detroit 5.
Elsewhere, in pre-season NBA, there was some excitement in Cleveland. We got our first peek at the LeBron James / Shaq connection for the coming season. Sure, Shaq only played for about 16 minutes, but the duo looked good out there. Finally, the Cavs have a reliable big man down low who can take some pressure off LeBron. Unfortunately, Shaq is getting up there in age, and will probably miss time during the season to an injury here and there. But, come playoff time, this team could be deadly. Cleveland 92, Charlotte 87.
