Baseball

Welcome to Tribe Talk, where Bleacher Report's Cleveland Indians fans weigh in on the ups and downs of the club each week throughout the season.

This week, we talk rain delays, Shin Soo Choo's 20/20 season, what statistical benchmarks a team needs to hit to be a playoff contender, and whether the 2010 Indians are better, worse or equal to the 2009 team. 

Minnesota Twins fans have an unusual luxury that they have not enjoyed in quite some time.  Instead of sweating it out until the final week or final day of the season as to whether the Twins would get into the playoffs, Twins fans can sit back and enjoy some quiet time of reflection on the season.

In looking back at the season, one question that fans are going to argue and debate over their favorite beverage in the next few days is who was the most valuable player for the Minnesota Twins this year.

The New York Yankees lost the third game to the Tampa Bay Rays Wednesday night, with a final score of 7-2.

The Yankees lead this four-game set, 2-1, with a goal to win the final and take the series.

The Rays' best, and only shot is to spilt the series, creeping up on the AL East leading Yankees to just a half-game.

Clearly with nine games remaining after this series wraps up, nothing is set in stone in the AL East.

It's been a bad year for Cleveland Indians fans.

Most of us Tribe faithful had low expectations when the season began. This was supposed to be a transition year, as the fruits of one of the deepest farm systems in the game got their first taste of the big leagues.

But even if they weren't supposed to be serious contenders, it's hard to see the Indians flailing behind even the Kansas City Royals in the basement of the AL Central without wondering how things went this wrong.

Is Kelly Johnson a player who has turned a corner, becoming a must use fantasy option, or is a one-hit wonder, so to speak?  Before we can fully answer that question, let’s take a look at the numbers he’s put up this season (through Tuesday):

627 At Bats
.274 Batting Average (150 Hits)
23 Home Runs
65 RBI
86 Runs
11 Stolen Bases
.361 On Base Percentage
.484 Slugging Percentage
.323 Batting Average on Balls in Play

Randy Wells should be happy tonight. 

By beating the San Francisco Giants Wednesday night, following his win last week in St. Louis, it is the first time since April that he won two consecutive games.  He has been trying hard to turn his unfortunate season around but it took him until the end of the year to do so.

The right-hander (8-13) outdueled the hot Giants starter, Jonathan Sanchez in the Cubs’ 2-0 victory to tie the series at one game apiece in the three-game set.

OK, this assumes the Phillies will go to the World Series but here goes nothing.

If the Phillies are the top seed in the NL (which they would be if the season ended today), they would get the option of playing Game 1 on Wednesday vs Game 1 on Thursday. All other games would be the same regardless.

The Minnesota Twins were the first MLB team to punch their postseason ticket on Tuesday night after defeating the Cleveland Indians 6-4 at Target Field.

The Twins are currently a game back of the Yankees for the best record in baseball after their division clinching victory improved them to 91-60 on the year.

Minnesota clinched their second straight AL Central title, and they will be one of the top World Series contenders when the playoff get underway in October. 

For those of you still contending in your fantasy baseball leagues, here are some batters you may want to pick up in a last ditch effort to win some cash in 2010.

Homeruns

Dan Johnson (1B TB) In only 22 at bats, Johnson has hit three homers, earned four runs and drove in seven. He seems to be getting every day at bats now for the Rays with 21 at bats in the last seven days. He should be a good source of power and earns fantasy value just being a part of the Tampa Bay line-up.

In this audio feature we have audio of Angels first baseman Kendry Morales addressing his season ending ankle break. Angels manager Mike Scioscia also talked with AM830's Jason Brennan and LA Angels Insider.com's Eric Denton about the playing time of Mark Trumbo and Hank Conger.