Here's todays sports news...

Here's todays sports news...

The Detroit Tigers didn't have to do much to defeat the Oakland Athletics last night 5-1. The A’s decided to take the evening off on one of the biggest nights the club has experienced since the "steroid years" of the late 1980's, early 1990's. With delirious fans draped in every facet of Kelly green and gold paraphernalia, the A's promptly went out and laid a massive egg in front of a national audience. Besides the obvious embarrassment, the team played with the smarts of a Class A instructional league team. They made Detroit's Nate Robertson—an adequate arm at best—look like a wizened Sandy Koufax. They also hit into four double plays, stranded multiple men on base and made enough mental blunders to allow the Tigers to capitalize. Barry Zito, the surprise conqueror of Johan Santana in the ALDS against the Twins, appeared to have forgotten why he was there. Playoffs? Yes, Zeets. It's the first game of the ALCS remember? Gotta pitch with some guts and guile, buddy!...

Everyone loves a redemption story and the A's this year might have baseball's best redemption story as Frank Thomas put the Big Hurt on the Twins, leading the A's to a 3-2 victory. He started things off with a home run in the 1st and then added a crucial insurance run in the top of the ninth to give the A's a one run lead. That became crucial when the Twins lead off the bottom of the ninth with a triple that Milton Bradley lost in the Metrodome ceiling (everyone who plays there has done it-- it's one of the reasons playing in the Metrodome just flat-out sucks for visiting teams). ...

The A's might have wrapped up their playoff spot days ago, but the big question of who they would play was still up in the air. Finally, this afternoon, the A's got their opponent, the Minnesota Twins. ...