AL Central

The Chicago White Sox setup man and part time closer Matt Thornton has been shut down with a forearm injury.

"I'm not concerned with my overall health,'' Thornton said. "I'm concerned about missing some time is what I'm concerned about."

According to Thornton he's been able to "warm-up through" the forearm pain all year, but now the pain has become too much. "Now warming up has turned into some pretty good soreness. I've got to take a step back"

If you're a real baseball fan, you've seen Major League. If you're a real Indians fan, you own the DVD, quote it excessively, and own a pair of Rick Vaughn-esque glasses.

It's an absolute classic full of whacky characters, great one-liners, and some of the best baseball action sequences Hollywood has ever staged. But one of the coolest things about it (and one of the reasons why it holds up so well more than 20 years later) is that life truly has imitated art.

Wind the clocks back five years

 The White Sox team that went coast-to-coast in first place were truly a complete team that had it all. In June of that season Bobby Jenks stepped up to become the man that Ozzie Guillen went to in the 9th after injuries hampered Dustin Hermanson. Ozzie did have some other options at the time with Cliff Politte and Damaso Marte as options.

Game after game, we see a hitter's numbers versus the pitcher on the mound pop up on the television screen, and we usually dismiss it.

Of course, each batter varies from pitcher to pitcher.

Even the best have a few pitchers they simply can't hit.

For Joe Mauer, however, it seems as though anytime those stats pop up, he's hitting, at the very least, .330 against the pitcher on the mound, no matter who it is, no matter which arm they throw with, and no matter how many at-bats he has against them.

As Jim Thome gave his post-game interview and wiped the shaving-cream from his face I felt as let down as an ugly girl at prom. I wanted to blame someone for this loss. Anyone. But as I gave it some thought I wasn't sure exactly whom the blame should fall on.

The candidates appear to be:

1. Ozzie Guillen
2. Matt Thornton
3. Bobby Jenks
4. Kenny Williams
5. Paul Konerko

For one reason or another, the Twins always seem to get the better of the White Sox in Minnesota. Last night, that reason was Jim Thome.

The slugger belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning off reliever Matt Thornton to give the Twins a 7-6 win. More importantly, Thome's walk-off gave the Twins a four-game lead in the division race over his former team.

Here's a look at the 10 of the most important walk-off homers of the 2010 Major League Baseball season:

Over the weekend I was laying by the pool, taking in some rays and listening to my iPod shuffle, when, after a steady stream of calming, relaxing music, the Colin Cowherd Podcast popped up out of nowhere. So much for relaxing, huh?

I'm sure most of you are familiar with Cowherd's work, but for those who aren't, Cowherd definitely knows how to get a debate going. He's equal parts stubborn and contrarian, but never ends a rant without making you think about something differently than you might have previously.

Last Week: 3-3
This Week: at NYY (8/16-19); CLE (8/20-22)

So What Happened?

The Tigers began their new role as AL Central spoiler in grand style, taking two of three from the White Sox over the weekend, with both wins being of the come-from-behind variety.

There were also fireworks—and MMM doesn’t mean the kind spewed from the U.S. Cellular Field scoreboard after White Sox home runs.

by shlepcar

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I grew up in Minnesota and as a kid attended many Twins games at the old Met in Bloomington from 1977 through 1981.

I remember clearly, and somewhat sadly, being at the game in 1980 in which Twins center fielder Ken Landreaux’s 31-game hitting streak came to an end.