Jake Westbrook ended the longest winless stretch of his career just in time for the slumping Cleveland Indians, who stopped a four-game losing skid with a 5-0 victory over the Texas Rangers on Thursday.

Westbrook (2-6) picked up his first win since April 27 -- a span of nine starts -- by allowing five hits in six innings. The right-hander, who signed a $33 million, three-year contract extension in April, spent nearly six weeks on the disabled list with a strained side muscle.

Grady Sizemore celebrated his 25th birthday by driving in two runs against Kason Gabbard (4-1) and 40-year-old Kenny Lofton beat out an infield RBI single for Cleveland, which went just 3-7 on a 10-game homestand.

Fortunately for the Indians, their slide coincided with one by the first-place Detroit. The Tigers, who lead Cleveland by one-half game in the AL Central, have dropped 10 of 14.


CENTRAL W L PCT GB
Detroit 61 46 .570 -
Cleveland 61 47 .565 .5
Minnesota 55 52 .514 6

Quite possibly one of the worst races in recent baseball history. It rivals the 05 NL West. Seriously, does any team want to win this division?

Wouldn't say it's been this bad (the '05 NL West race had no teams 10 games over .500, did they?), but it sure seems like no one is wanting to play for it. And the Tigers and Indians shouldn't just be concerned about each other, the Twins should've been buried a while ago but are still in it...though they didn't help their cause much getting rid of Castillo.

A couple of weeks ago, it was one of the best races.

Twins are playing the Indians starting tomorrow BTW.

Tigers will win the division...I have no doubt in my mind...

me=nervous

Current odds to win the AL Central:


Tigers 10/13 (.77 to 1)
Indians 5/6 (.83 to 1)
Twins 7/1
White Sox 500/1
Royals 1500/1

The scary thing is that this race is getting increasingly more important. At one point it wasn't as big a deal because the loser won the wildcard. Now, the loser might miss out on the wildcard to the Yankees or Mariners.

Tigers back in 1st by .5 game.

Things really get serious now.

To be in first after going weeks without a quality start is amazing. I'm confident in our chances with Kenny, Miller and Zumaya hopefully all coming back very soon.

I saw somewhere that before Verlander won on Saturday, the only Tiger starter to win a game during a 22 GAME STRETCH was Tata. It went back all the way to July 18, I think, when Miller beat Santana. Otherwsie, our wins (I think there were only 6 of them) went to Grilli, Miner, Durbin out of the pen, and Byrdak. Yikes.

Zumaya pitches today in Toledo.
Miller pitches Wednesday in Toledo (and hopefully tries some other pitches while he's there in an otherwise meaningless game).
Kenny simply "vowed" his season wasn't over.

I saw somewhere that before Verlander won on Saturday, the only Tiger starter to win a game during a 22 GAME STRETCH was Tata. It went back all the way to July 18, I think, when Miller beat Santana. Otherwsie, our wins (I think there were only 6 of them) went to Grilli, Miner, Durbin out of the pen, and Byrdak. Yikes.

Zumaya pitches today in Toledo.
Miller pitches Wednesday in Toledo (and hopefully tries some other pitches while he's there in an otherwise meaningless game).
Kenny simply "vowed" his season wasn't over.

and Grilli got a win after blowing Nate's quality start and the team coming back.

I heard Kenny isn't making any rehab starts, once he's ready, he'll just come out and start for the Tigs...

And also I wish to send my "Good Ridances" to Jack Hannahan...

don't think I don't recall your hitless stint in the bigs last year Jacky...

he should put his AL Champs Ring on eBay

It's been a second-half struggle for Indians, Tigers

By Phil Rogers
Special to ESPN.com
Updated: August 21, 2007

Did the Cleveland Indians get the message?

This is their year to be the American League Central's leading team, taking their turn in a rotation that in recent years has included the Tigers, White Sox and Twins. They can't seem, however, to get out of their own way and let it happen.

If the Indians had kept playing the way they did before the All-Star break, they would be taking a 6½-game lead into this week's three-game series against the skidding Tigers at Detroit's Comerica Park. This would be a chance to deal a death blow to Detroit, which is showing all the signs of PPS (Post Pennant Syndrome).

Instead, even unflappable manager Eric Wedge has been flapped. His Cleveland team greeted his new lifetime contract (actually an extension that takes him through 2010) with a 16-19 start to the second half that has created some new math in the AL playoff race.

Because the Yankees were running through starting pitchers like they were the Washington Nationals, it seemed a safe assumption that the wild card would come from the deep Central. Cleveland, Detroit and Minnesota all seemed good candidates to win 90-plus games, maybe even 95-plus. But the Yankees' awakening and the continued good play of the Mariners have refocused attention on the division race.

The Indians and Tigers meet six more times this season, with only one series (Sept. 17-19 in Cleveland) remaining after this one. The team that survives will be the one that does the best job dealing with its scar tissue.

For Cleveland, the damage is psychological.

The Indians have a talented roster, but they haven't reached the postseason with it. Five of the nine regulars and two-fifths of the starting rotation (three-fifths if you count lefty Cliff Lee, who was pitching so badly he was shipped to Triple-A last month) were around for the 1-6 collapse in 2005, which caused them to miss the playoffs after their 40-13 run in August and September.

For Detroit, the damage is physical.

Like the White Sox last year, their pitching staff is showing the strain caused by a run to the World Series. The staff ERA has jumped from a league-best 3.84 to 4.73, which ranks 11th. The cause is twofold: the injuries that have sidelined 42-year-old staff leader Kenny Rogers and set-up man extraordinaire Joel Zumaya, and a drop in effectiveness by Nate Robertson, Jeremy Bonderman and much of the bullpen, including 39-year-old closer Todd Jones. lol

Zumaya returns for the Indians series after making three rehab outings in the minors. He will be greeted like a savior when he makes his first jog across the outfield on the way to the mound, but no one really knows whether he'll be his old self after missing more than half of the season with a ruptured tendon in his index finger.

There's a violence in his pitching motion and the 100-mph fastball and snapdragon curve it produces. Scouts are curious about whether he can command the strike zone with quality pitches after such a stop-and-start season.

"I'm not going to use [Zumaya] as a long man,'' Tigers manager Jim Leyland said on Sunday in New York, where Detroit lost for the third time in four games against the Yankees. "Obviously he's coming back because he's ready to pitch, and if he's ready to pitch, I'm going to put him in there.''

Zumaya is only one piece of the puzzle for the Tigers, who are suddenly a team in transition.

They made a bold call on Friday, promoting 20-year-old outfielder Cameron Maybin -- a kid with braces, for goodness' sake -- to replace Craig Monroe, who was discarded because he wasn't hitting home runs at the same pace he did a year ago. They are so dissatisfied with shortstop Carlos Guillen's fielding that they have tried for weeks to add Jack Wilson in a trade, even though adding Wilson would mean switching Guillen to first base, where Sean Casey has been a contributor. And Leyland said Sunday that third baseman Brandon Inge, a rock on the 2006 team, would get some time off to try to get himself together.

Inge is hitting .242, making this the third year in a row his average has dropped, and his slugging percentage (.389) is the worst it's been since 2003, when he was still a catcher. He has 127 strikeouts, only one fewer than his 2006 total, and he epitomizes the frustration that has spread through the Tigers during a stretch in which they have gone 8-19.

Inge told John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press that he was "getting pitched like I'm Babe Ruth.'' It's unlikely that is how he is being pitched, but that's how a hitter feels when he's pressing, and right now this is an organization that's pressing.

General manager Dave Dombrowski says Maybin is the best young player he's ever seen. That's why he felt the time was right to throw him into this mix even though Maybin had played only six games above Class A.

Maybin homered off Roger Clemens on Saturday but finished the series in New York 2-for-11 with four strikeouts. He also looked uncomfortable in left field; he played there because Curtis Granderson is entrenched in center.

No one is going to be under closer inspection in this week's series than Maybin, although Detroit fans may have to wait until Wednesday to get their first long look at him. Leyland doesn't plan to start him Tuesday, when the Indians are going with Fausto Carmona, who has suddenly supplanted C.C. Sabathia as their toughest starting pitcher.

With Carmona, Paul Byrd and Jake Westbrook scheduled to start for Cleveland (the Tigers will start Jair Jurrjens, Justin Verlander and Robertson), the Indians' focus is to play low-scoring games. That's because their lineup is badly underproducing, averaging 4.1 runs per game in the second half, which ranks 13th in the American League. They enter the Detroit series having produced five-plus runs only three times in their last 14 games.

More than any lift from taking two of three against Tampa Bay, that's the trend they carry with them. The Indians are hitting .254 in the second half, taking the season average down to .267 -- 19 points less than Detroit and seventh in the AL. These are hitters in need of a breakout series.

Travis Hafner, signed to a four-year, $57 million extension over the All-Star break, is hitting .226 with four homers since then. Victor Martinez is at .252 with two homers; Casey Blake is at .230 with one homer. Kenny Lofton, acquired from Texas on July 28, has not provided a lift. He's hitting .254 and has scored only six runs in 19 games.

These guys have to dig deep. We've got some leaders out there, guys who have been here three or four years. It's time for some guys to step up.

"I've been talking all year about how tough we are,'' an exasperated Wedge said at one point last week. "It's easy to be tough when you're winning. Now is the time when we have to toughen up. Enough's enough. Now we're going to see how tough we are. We'll see.''

Wedge practically called out Hafner, Martinez and Blake by name.

"These guys have to dig deep,'' he said, without naming names. "We've got some leaders out there, guys who have been here three or four years. It's time for some guys to step up.''

Closer Joe Borowski just got here. He signed with the Indians last winter after Philadelphia questioned the results of his physical. He has been a godsend, for the most part, but has blown two of his last five save chances, leading to losses against Tampa Bay on Sunday and against the White Sox on Aug. 8. He's been scored on in four of his last six outings -- just another element adding suspense to the series at Comerica Park.

"Do we have leaders in that clubhouse?'' Wedge asks. "I don't know. We're going to find out. Because we're in the trenches right now.''

Forgive Wedge for his battlefield metaphor. He is in the fight of his baseball life.

That quote by Inge is stupid. He's getting pitched like Craig Monroe. Low and away. Ruth wouldn't have swung at 3 straight curve balls away.

I've seen variations of that quote in about 10 different articles now.

I think Inge has officially become a joke, especially amongst sportswriters.

He's actually half right. Ruth probably got pitched around a lot. Trouble is, he probably also didn't swing at crap pitches. Inge does. So while he may be pitched like Babe Ruth, he's swinging the bat like Babe the pig.

Tigers will win the Central Division...there is no doubt in my mind...


Eric Wedge will never lead a team to the postseason...

I wonder if this would help but um...in my dream the other night ago, I went to yahoo sports, and read an article that said TIGERS WIN THE AL CENTRAL with a pic of Verlander pitching.

Maybe this should turn into the race for the wildcard thread.

Agreed.

Or a race for next year's AL Central/Wild Card.

I Say We Focus On Draft position. Bushleague Thing To Say, I Know.

Tigers will win the Central Division...there is no doubt in my mind...


Eric Wedge will never lead a team to the postseason...

Wil, care to make another wager?

He's hoping Wedge get's fired now.

I don't know what is more pathetic, the fact that we are now 7 games behind Cleveland or the fact that we are only 8 games over .500.

The 8 games over .500 is worse

You can't control other teams, but to play almost .500 ball sucks ass.

If the Colorado Rockies gain a game on us, there will be 4 teams in the NL West with equal or better records than the Tigers.

4 teams in one division.

I'm going to start following them next year out there. hopefully they aren't a fluke.

Who? The Tigers? they won btw omg

I was talking about the Rockies that Glenn mentioned.

Speaking of which, do any of you MLB slappys know how I can tell what divisions the Tiger's play next year in interleague play?

American League
W L GB Left
New York Yankees 78 62 -- 22
Seattle Mariners 74 64 3.0 24
Detroit Tigers 75 65 3.0 22

fixed!

the tigers get an extra game....sweet that could come in handy

Yeah, I forgot to edit that.

The standings that I copied weren't updated yet.

sorry, that was kind of a dick post

Thank you for your update post

Angles are going to sweep the Injuns this weekend and we're going to sweep Seattle.

I'm not giving up on the division. :)

:cornbread:

Lets have some fun with math...

Team
Opp #games win% win%*games

Seattle:
@DET x3 .536 1.608
OAK x3 .489 1.467
TB x4 .414 1.656
@OAK x3 .489 1.467
@ LAA x4 .590 2.360
CLE x4 .583 2.332
TEX x3 .468 1.404
Total Opp win%= .512

New York:
@KC x3 .446 1.388
@TOR x3 .511 1.533
@BOS x3 .600 1.800
BAL x3 .435 1.305
TOR x4 .511 2.044
@TB x3 .414 1.242
@BAL x3 .435 1.305
Total Opp win%= .483

Detroit:
SEA x3 .536 1.608
TOR x1 .511 0.511
TEX x3 .468 1.404
@MIN x3 .493 1.479
@CLE x3 .583 1.749
KC x3 .446 1.388
MIN x3 .493 1.479
@CHI x3 .421 1.263
Total Opp win%= .495

nice

you better fact check that shit Wizzle, lol

Key injuries:

Seattle:
SP Cha Seung Beak - done for year

New York:
SP Clemens DTD - right elbow inflammed
3B A Rod DTD - right ankle MRI coming
1B Andy Phillips - done for year

Detroit:
none reported now, but several issues to watch...
Sheff's shoulder, Kenny's elbow, Guillen's foot, Magg's foot

don't know what other non logged injuries the Mariners and Yanks have.

Bondo's elbow, Inge's vagina

You know, call me a bandwagoner at this point but the Indians going to Los Angeles and the struggling Mariners coming in is picking my hope back up.

My worry is that we don't play NY again and they have the easiest path. It means that we could play .600 ball and still miss the playoffs.

NY dropped a 2-1 game to Toronto tonight, putting us within 3.5, and the Yanks have Boston up next. I'm calling for a Boston sweep, while we sweep the Twins. Who's with me??

NY dropped a 2-1 game to Toronto tonight, putting us within 3.5, and the Yanks have Boston up next. I'm calling for a Boston sweep, while we sweep the Twins. Who's with me??

Aye.

How great would it be if we swept Minnesota while the Red Sox sweep Boston...man it's fun to dream

FYI

5.5 behind Cleveland
3.5 behind the NYY

2.5 behind the Yanks. If we hold on to beat Minny this afternoon and the BoSox take care of business, we'll be within 1.5. This is getting semi-exciting/interesting.

Jeter just went yard on Schilling. Yanks up 4-1 in the 8th.

Schilling should NEVER be pitching in the 8th inning these days.

COME ON PAPI!

Yankees win. SON OF A BITCH!!

i hate joba chamberlain

fucking Jeter.

at least Joba gave up his first run...i was sick of ppl drooling about his 0.00 ERA...

thank you Mike Lowell for taking that fat ass farm boy yard

Well, the Yanks have Baltimore for 3 games. If memory serves, the O's have fared pretty well against the NYY this year.

Here are the pitching matchups


Baltimore at NY Yankees
Mon, Sep 17 - 7:05 pm EDT
D. Cabrera vs. P. Hughes

Baltimore at NY Yankees
Tue, Sep 18 - 7:05 pm EDT
J. Leicester vs. M. Mussina

Baltimore at NY Yankees
Wed, Sep 19 - 7:05 pm EDT
B. Burres vs. A. Pettitte

Balt should be able to beat Mussina (hell, who hasn't?) so hopefully they can get at least one other game in the series as well.

cabrera will win tonight vs that scrub hughes

Well, the Yanks have Baltimore for 3 games. If memory serves, the O's have fared pretty well against the NYY this year.

Here are the pitching matchups



Balt should be able to beat Mussina (hell, who hasn't?) so hopefully they can get at least one other game in the series as well.

They also finish the year with Baltimore. Plus they play Toronto and Tampa I think. We need some upsets there badly.

I heard the Indians magic number is 7 after last night's meltdown.

It's over now. You know, I give them a lot of credit, having dealt w/ all those injuries this year, to some very key players and we were still in it til' the last week. In a whole, this season has been a disappointment, but I'll be surprised if we're not the favorites to win the AL Central next season. When we are healthy, we are a far better team than the Indians. I have faith that Dombrowski will improve the team in some ways for '08. We bring everybody back, and hopefully next year can be less injury-prone...

But by God, do I hate Cleveland

Yeah, no way we can drop two against the Tribe like that and hope to come back into the race.

This team isn't done contending though.

unstickied

[smilie=death.gif]

I am rooting for the Yanks to win and for the Red Sox to choke away the AL East right now. The Sawks Nation can suck my dick for getting bitched by the Yanks 2/3.

I hope the Indians get swept in the ALDS...they are the biggets fraud playoff team of all time...

they went 0-6 vs. the Yankees this year, and 2-5 Vs. the Red Sox...I hate that big lard ass Donkey Travis Hafner and his sub .250 batting avg and I hate that curly haired albino Grady "I LEAD THE AL IN K's" Sizemore...and I fucking hate that tool Casey Blake and that other faggott Jhonny Peralta who can't even spell his fucking name right...

I can't wait til 2008 is over when CC Sabathia walks b/c the cheap ass poor city of Cleveland can't afford to resign that fat ass pick-up truck, and I hope Fausto Carmona gets effin trucked by a come backer off the bat of Bobby Abreu and he goes back to being the fucking piece of shit 1-10 record, blowing 4 saves in 1 week asswipe he was last year...

and all those little faggotts who live in americas trailor park that is Cleveland, Ohio, go through another calendar year without any of their sports teams winning a fucking title, pushing it to 51 years of misery

I hate Cleveland, I hate the Cavs, I hate the Indians, I hate fucking Brady Quinn and his steamrolled face, I hate that marsupial Anderson Varejao and that faggot of a PG Boobie "I piss when I face a starting PG" Gibson...Cleveland is the biggest garbage city in America, that whole city is built on a land fill and makes Detroit looks like Maui...I can smell the fumes of Lake Erie all the way from here in Sterling Heights

FUCK CLEVELAND SPORTS...YOU HAVEN'T WON A TITLE SINCE LYNDON B. JOHNSON WAS IN OFFICE AND THE BEATLES RELEASED THEIR FIRST ALBUM!!!

your a city of scum and I'll be laughing my ass off when LeBron leaves as a UFA in 2 years...

sorry...just had to vent...I'm all better now

Seconded.

I have serious problems in that the play of the Tigers made me too depressed to come into the forums for a few weeks and have to think about it. I think I'm over it now, but if you don't hear from me for a few weeks, it's probably just a relapse.

I sort of lost track of the playoff hunt when the Tigers faded, but I was just shocked to see that Colorado is only 1 game out of the wildcard in the NL.

Also, thread title changed to reflect MLB-wide playoff races.

Nice, I hope they make the playoffs. Maybe I can go watch a game when I get out there.

EDIT- just looked. They all play good series for the most part to finish the race. SD plays at SF and Milwaukee, Philly plays Atlanta and Washington, Colorado plays LA and Arizona. Washington and SF are the worst teams of the bunch at 70-87, but still not push overs.

How about a 5 way tie in the NL?:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3038686

I'm supporting the Diamondbacks in an effort to keep the Cubs from winning a championship. The curse continues!

I want the Padres to win the World Series...they are the only team that I like out of the remaining contenders...if they don't make it to the playoffs, then I'm not watching...

I hate the Mets and Yankees, I hope A-Rod goes 1-20 and the Yankees lose...I want the Indians to continue that losing trend that city has been custom too for 44 going on 45 years...and I hate all Philadelphia sports teams...And I hate the Angels too

Jake Peavy is the messiah

(except on 3 days rest)

Jake Peavy is the messiah

(except on 3 days rest)

Better than Brandon Webb? I think your following the false prophet Glenn.

lol @ the Mets.

I guess it was largest comeback in MLB history...by the Phillies

The '06 Tigers laugh at the '07 Mets.

Better than Brandon Webb? I think your following the false prophet Glenn.

Talk to me tomorrow after Peavy single handedly takes his team to the playoffs tonight to top off his Cy Young season.

Talk to me tomorrow after Peavy single handedly takes his team to the playoffs tonight to top off his Cy Young season.

I hope not. GO ROCKIES.

I'd like to see some playoff ball out there when I move.

Rockies have Fogg-y outlook on facing Peavy

By Michael Knisley
ESPN.com

DENVER -- There's only one October. So says Major League Baseball's postseason marketing campaign, anyway.

And there's only one October baseball game Monday, the first day of the month, instead of the spider web of tiebreaker games that might have been. The Colorado Rockies (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=col) earned the right to play in it -- well, half-earned the right, anyway; they needed help with the other half -- with a 4-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=ari) on Sunday at Coors Field as the regular season closed out. Their prize?

Jake Peavy (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6872) on Monday.

The San Diego Padres (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=sdg), fresh -- or, more likely, foul -- from two straight losses at the Milwaukee Brewers (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=mil), finished in a tie with Colorado for the National League's wild-card playoff berth and will play the Rockies on Monday night in Denver in only the seventh one-game tiebreaker in major league history. Colorado plays host to the game by virtue of winning the season series against San Diego, 10 games to eight. First pitch is scheduled for 7:37 p.m. ET on TBS.

A week of fantastically complicated tiebreaking scenarios -- in which it was possible that five NL teams would finish with identical records at the end of Sunday's games -- resolved itself much more simply. The winner of the Rockies-Padres game moves on to play the Philadelphia Phillies (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=phi) in one of the two NL Division Series. The other series matches West champion Arizona against the Central champion Chicago Cubs (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=chn).

The Padres held Peavy (19-6, 2.36 ERA) back on Sunday rather than pitch him on three days' rest, in hopes of setting him up as the Game 1 starter in the Division Series. Now they will put the NL's likely Cy Young Award winner on the Coors Field mound to face Colorado's Josh Fogg (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6770), winner take all ... or all of what the wild card offers, anyway. As Sunday afternoon moved into Sunday evening and the thrill of the Rockies' down-to-the-nub survival game against Arizona wore off, that reality began to settle over the Colorado clubhouse.

"You have to get a good pitch to hit, and then hit it hard," the Rockies' Matt Holliday (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7311) said about Peavy. Holliday's infield single in the eighth inning Sunday played a critical role in a three-run rally that was the difference against Arizona. "He does a good job of limiting your good pitches to hit. We'll have to take whatever opportunities he does give us."

Serious stuff from one of the top candidates for the NL's Most Valuable Player award. But not for long. Holliday paused for a moment to interrupt his thoughts about Peavy, smiled and said, "I can't believe we have to rely on Josh Fogg."

In other words, no sweat.

Fogg (10-9, 4.79) is known as "Dragon-Slayer" in the Rockies clubhouse because he has been successful in a number of matchups against aces from other teams this season. He beat the Diamondbacks' Brandon Webb (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7121) on Sept. 2, beat the Red Sox's Curt Schilling (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=4267) on the road on June 13, beat the Astros' Roy Oswalt (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6646) on June 7, beat the Yankees' Mike Mussina (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=4715) (a one-time ace, anyway) on June 19 and outpitched the Dodgers' Brad Penny (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6276) two weeks ago, although Fogg didn't get the decision in that Rockies' win.

Now it's Peavy, in the biggest game of Fogg's seven-season career.

And Holliday is dissing him.

"I've got that all year," Fogg said. "Go ask 'Tulo' [Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7850)]. He'll tell you we've got no chance tomorrow. He tells me all about it. 'No way you can beat Peavy. No way you can beat [Derek] Lowe (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5801).' He likes to mess around with me. But that's just part of the game. You go out there and make pitches, you can beat anybody on any day."

Momentum is an unreliable ally in baseball, but if it matters Monday, the Rockies should benefit. They go into the tiebreaker with 13 wins in their past 14 games and 22 in their past 29. They essentially have been playing do-or-die baseball since the middle of September, when they were 6½ games back.

Except perhaps for the Peavy factor, Colorado can make the case that it's got the Padres right where it wants them.

"I hope so," said right fielder Brad Hawpe (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7322), whose two doubles Sunday drove in three of Colorado's four runs against the Diamondbacks. "They have to travel in from out of town, and they're coming off a loss. We're coming off a good win, and we're at home. We're going to have our crowd, which is big for us."

Because Monday's game counts as a regular-season contest for statistical purposes, it provides an extra opportunity for several milestones to be reached. Peavy, for example, can win 20 games for the first time in his six-year career, and the Rockies can secure the highest all-time fielding percentage in major league history. Through 162 games, Colorado has a .98932 fielding percentage, slightly better than Boston's .98910 last year.

The tiebreaker game also delays by a day a resolution to the NL batting championship race. After Sunday, Holliday leads the league with a .340 average; Atlanta's Chipper Jones (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5164) finished his season at .337.

Talk to me tomorrow after Peavy single handedly takes his team to the playoffs tonight to top off his Cy Young season.

Bad predictions are a schtick of mine.

This one was wishful thinking on my part because I love Peavy.

He had the Cy Young right there for the taking last night and he blew it, as he has done in the past in the playoffs.

Webb gets the Cy now, IMO.

If it helps you any I heard Jake Peavy took his team to the playoffs in MLB 2K7 on his Xbox.

Suck it Peavy! (nothing against him, but I was happy with the outcome of that game).

BTW, that double was definately a HR. No way it would bounce back like that with the padding. That hit a wheel chair and came back in.

I'll hold off gloating till I see the results of Diamondback-Cubs game. Will Webb shut them down? Yes.