MLB

With his most recent bad starting pitching performance, AJ Burnett has proceeded to scare the bejesus out of New York Yankee fans across the country.

It is a relief that NFL football started yesterday (Sunday the 13th) because instead of Jets and Giants football talk over the radio and TV airwaves, it would have been more of the up and down, Jekyll and Hyde AJ Burnett talk.

Let's get the obvious and painful truths out of the way.

The Twins have been five-and-a-half games back and hovering at .500 for what seems like all season. They haven't gotten into striking distance of division-leading Detroit and probably don't deserve to be playing in October.

But one fact that many Twins analysts, fans and especially the Tigers need to fear is that they're still in it.

Round 1—RHP Eric Arnett, Indiana University

Concerned with the 108 innings thrown with the Hoosiers in the Spring, the Brewers opted to ease Eric into the professional scene. He generally worked in two-to-three inning stints.

With a mid-90s fastball, the 21-year-old posted a 9.20 K/9 strikeout rate with the Helena Brewers. 

David Purcey's return to the Blue Jays is bittersweet in many ways. He began the season as one of the surefire starting pitchers, then quickly fizzled out and was sent to work on his stuff down in the minor leagues.

It's been 19 years since the Ken Griffeys, Sr. and Jr., went back-to-back for homers off the Angels' Kirk McCaskill in Anaheim Stadium on September 14th, 1990.

This moment was the peak of the fairy tale of having two Griffeys in the Mariners' outfield for the latter part of 1990 and first part of 1991.

To recognize the anniversary of one of the real one-of-a-kind moments in baseball (and sports) history, here are some quotes from the two principals:

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The Los Angeles Dodgers made it through the weekend and took care of business.

The offense finally came alive and boomed for 19 runs in the first two games against a tough Giants pitching staff.

On Friday night, they worked Matt Cain for a 31-pitch first inning, in which they plated two runs en route to a 10-3 win.

The key hit in the first inning was a James Loney two-out, two RBI double.

For one night, you couldn't help yourself.

You couldn't help, be it whether you were at Citizens Bank Park last night or in front of the television, hearken back to about a decade ago when Pedro Martinez made things look so easy.

He may no longer be a Boston Red Sox, but he is a Philadelphia Phillie. And thus far, he has made General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr., one of the few executives with a contending team willing to take a chance on Martinez, look like a genius.

I expect the Tigers to name their Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year soon. In my mind, the Pitcher of the Year is a slam dunk for Casey Crosby. He had a dominant season that saw him do well whether you go with traditional stats or dig deeper into the stats we use to determine whether a player has potential.

The traditional stats are what win players these awards, though, and a 10-4 record with a 2.41 ERA should be enough to get him the award. Throw in 117 strikeouts in 104.2 innings and an opponent's batting average of just .195 and you write this one in ink. 

Yankee Stadium, Sept. 14, 1935, the Detroit Tigers came to town for a double header.  Hank Greenberg, a native New Yorker, and the first formidable Jewish baseball player did not gather a hit in either game and struck out five times.

In the 1998 film The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, his son Stephen detailed the indescribable sadness his father felt upon returning from the host stadium of his childhood heroes and favorite team.