Game 154: Taste the playoffs?
posted in KC Royals, The Stretch Run |Can you feel it? Well, if you’re like me, you’ve been feeling the playoffs since Monday’s victory over Chicago. Wednesday’s victory made the playoffs feel inevitable. With Chicago’s losses Thursday and Friday, Detroit’s 7-3 victory over Kansas City on Friday night, and suddenly, it’s coming true. The clinch number is 2! It’s not official yet. But it’s 11:59:50 on New Year’s Eve, and the countdown has begun its final stretch.
I just have to accentuate this quote Jason Beck writes at MLB.com.
“I don’t know what other people are thinking,” said Joel Zumaya, whose two scoreless innings helped seal Friday’s win, “but each day, I’m waking [up] and I’m going, ‘Wow, I’m one day closer to clinching the playoffs.’ It’s just crazy.
“I’m 21, and I never thought I would experience something this early. Someday, I always wanted to. I’d sit there in front of the TV and think, ‘Maybe one of these days, I’m there.’ And I’m going to be there pretty soon.”
Not much to say about the victory. Like many of the 12 wins against the Royals, Detroit trailed at some point. And like most of the 12 wins against the Royals, the Tigers put up crooked late-inning numbers to earn the win. A Sean Casey homer put Detroit ahead, 4-3, in the sixth before they really piled on with three runs in the ninth.
Wil Ledezma came an out from a quality start and probably earned his final swing through the rotation with the four hit, four strikeout, one earned run showing.
Oh, and the Twins lost, making the division clinch number fall to seven. Start rooting for those Sox to play the part of spoilers next week in the Metrodome!
Enjoy the countdown. By this time tomorrow, it could be 0! Too bad the games aren’t televised on FSN, but the celebration will be, Danny Knobler reports. Oh, and I almost forgot, there’s reason to celebrate already. Placido Polanco will be starting at second base!
Sphere It
It looks like the number will be down to “1″ by the start of tinght’s game.
I thought the Tigers would never get back to this point. I’m not sure what my emotions will be when they clinch…