Joe Posnanski compares the Metrodome to the horror film slasher that just won't die. And even those who say they love the place don't really love it. Posnanski also suspects that a mutual dislike of the 'Dome among Twins fans has become a source of pride.
(via Baseball Musings)
Rob Neyer thinks the Twins are an easy pick today and lists five reasons why. (Does Kurt know about this, now that Mack Avenue Tigers shares a virtual office with Neyer in "SweetSpot" land)?
Speaking of Mr. Mensching, he and the SweetSpot network's Twins blogger collaborated on some Q&A. You can read Nick Nelson's thoughts on the Twins at MAT, and check out Kurt's responses to five Tigers-related questions at Nick's Twins Blog.
ESPN's Buster Olney talked to a scout who says Rick Porcello's fastball will tell us how he's handling the pressure today. If he's controlling that fastball, Kid Rick is playing it cool. If he's missing the strike zone with it, his emotions probably aren't in check. [Insider]
I was one of the guests on the This Week in Detroit Tigers Baseball podcast over the weekend, and host Joe Dexter thinks this whole thing is my fault after I made a joke two weeks ago about the Tigers not being done with the Metrodome. (Yeah - sorry about that.) Of course, we talk plenty about the tiebreaker between the Twins and Tigers.
Curtis Granderson wants to win a World Series championship for you, Detroit! As Grandy writes for Big League Stew, playing meaningful baseball has made this year fun.
We know how the Tigers got to today's game, but how did the Twins get to this position? Aaron Gleeman looks back at how Minnesota ignited after season-ending injuries to Justin Morneau and Joe Crede.
If you want to hear two guys debate whether or not Cabrera should have been suspended for today, give a listen to today's On the DL podcast. (If you just want to get to the Cabrera talk, forward to the 15:10 mark.)
Nick Tarnowski agrees with Kevin Kaduk that the Tigers should sit him down, making the comparison that if this happened in Philadelphia, Phillies fans would go nuts. Dan Levy, however, believes that suspending Cabrera now would be placating the media. If the Tigers were going to take action, they should've done it on Saturday. Nick and Dan also make predictions on today's game.
Also feeling strongly that Cabrera should be benched for today is Mike McClary of The Daily Fungo. In Mike's opinion, Cabrera shouldn't be allowed to possibly redeem himself for his actions by playing today. Sitting him down could also lay the groundwork for Jim Leyland wielding proper authority over his team next season.
Danny Knobler falls on his sword for picking Cabrera as his AL MVP before the season. Don't be too hard on yourself, Danny. No one else knew it would turn out like this either.
Talking to Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan, Justin Verlander reveals how maturity and preparation helped him elevate his game and rebound from last year's disappointing performance. One telling quote: "I guess I’m not able to flip the switch like I thought I could."
Jon Heyman ranks his 30 best moves of the year from this past season. Two of the Tigers' transactions are on the list. And you may be surprised at where one of them is ranked.
Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic thinks Kirk Gibson's handling of young players such as Justin Upton, along with the fans who criticize him, make him excellent future manager material.
(via The Daily Fungo on Twitter)