Pitching Matchups:

 RHP Carl Pavano (8-13, 4.40) vs. RHP Justin Masterson (12-10, 3.15) tonight at 7:05

LHP Scott Diamond (1-5, 4.81) vs. LHP David Huff (2-6, 4.20) Saturday at 1:05 p.m.

LHP Francisco Liriano (9-9, 4.77) vs. RHP Mitch Talbot (2-6, 6.33) Saturday at 7:05 p.m.

RHP Liam Hendriks (0-2, 6.23) vs. RHP Fausto Carmona (7-15, 5.23) Sunday at 1:05 p.m.

Summary:

The Twins have lost 16 of their past 19 games. Danny Valencia is hitting .294 (10-for-34) with two homers and seven RBI against the Indians this year. Pavano is 1-1 against the Indians this year. At the end of the most recent trip, the Indians swept a three-game series from the Twins. They outscored them, 23-15. Asdrubal Cabrera is hitting .327 (17-for-52) with three homers and 11 RBI against the Twins this year. Masterson is 1-0, with a 1.53 ERA, allowing five earned runs in 291/3 innings, against Minnesota this season.

Twins News/Notes:

• 1B Justin Morneau is suffering from his second debilitating concussion in the last 14 months, and his status for next season won't be known at least until February, when he reports to Fort Myers, Fla., for spring training.  Morneau, the 2006 AL MVP, might not ever play first base again.

• Before Thursday's game against Seattle, manager Ron Gardenhire took a look at the lineup card that had just been spit out of his printer. "Well, that's not a good lineup card," he said, tearing up the card and throwing it into the trash bin next to his desk. "Even the computer is sick." Because of injuries (the Twins have used the disabled list 24 times this season and shut down three players for the rest of the season) Gardenhire is on his last stack of official Major League Baseball lineup cards. That's the first time it's ever happened, he said. "I can't even tell you how many I've had to change (the lineup card)," he said. "It's crazy. It's really crazy."

• C Joe Mauer, shut down for the season since being diagnosed with pneumonia, was resting at home Thursday, but team trainer Rick McWane said he might join the Twins for their last series of the season, Monday through Wednesday against the Royals at Target Field.

• OF Jason Kubel hasn't played since Sept. 16 because of a left foot sprain sustained on May 30 in Detroit. Still, he told manager Ron Gardenhire he wants to be available as a pinch hitter this weekend

• C Drew Butera snapped a 0-for-21 skid with his RBI single in the fifth Thursday. Before that hit, Twins' catchers, Butera, Rene Rivera and Joe Mauer, were a combined 0-for-27. Butera hadn't hit safely since Sept. 2 at Anaheim.

Twins Injuries:

• CF Denard Span (migraine symptoms) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to Aug. 14. He missed two months earlier this season because of a concussion. He resumed baseball activities Sept. 3 and took batting practice Sept. 7. On Sept. 16, Span went through his third consecutive workout without experiencing any problems. He was activated Sept. 21 and played four innings as the Twins eased him back into action. He sat out Sept. 22 but expects to play tonight.

• OF Jason Repko (concussion symptoms) was hit in the helmet by a pitch Sept. 18, and he hasn't played since. There is a chance he won't return this season.

• DH/OF Jason Kubel (sore left foot) left the Sept. 16 game, and he didn't play Sept. 17-22. He might be able to return as a pinch hitter before the end of the season.

• C Joe Mauer (pneumonia) was diagnosed Sept. 16, and he requires at least two weeks of rest. He's out for the rest of the season.

• SS Tsuyoshi Nishioka (sore right oblique) did not play Sept. 6-8. He was back in the lineup Sept. 9, but he didn't play Sept. 10-14. He was shut down for the season on Sept. 16.

• 1B Justin Morneau (left knee surgery and right foot surgery in September 2011) did not play Aug. 29-Sept. 18 due to a mild concussion and left shoulder stiffness. On Sept. 19, he had season-ending surgeries to remove a cyst in his left knee and bone spurs from his right foot.

• 2B Alexi Casilla (strained right hamstring) went on the 15-day disabled list July 28. He was activated Aug. 12 but then was placed back on DL Aug. 13 after aggravating the injury. He began a rehab assignment with Class A Fort Myers on Aug. 29, but he was re-injured in that game. He was running at Target Field in mid-September, and he hopes to be activated before the end of the season.

• RHP Nick Blackburn (right lateral forearm strain) went on the 15-day disabled list Aug. 22. An MRI revealed an entrapped nerve caused by inflammation. He was transferred to the 60-day disabled list Sept. 4, ending his season.

Player of the Game

Asdrubal Cabrera stole this 'Player of the Game' away from Kosuke Fukudome with an RBI single in the bottom of the 8th. Before this single, Cabrera hit another single and a 3 run home run. The home run was the final nail in the coffin for the White Sox. Fukudome had just about as good a night as he can, started off with a home run to lead off the game. He ended the game with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored along with a fantastic diving catch in right field. In any game that a team wins by 9 runs, there are always multiple heroes and Jeanmar Gomez deserves some credit as another one. Gomez pitched 6 innings, only allowing one earned run and earning the win. Gomez earned 5.49 'POG' points while Fukudome scored 6.94 and winning player Asdrubal Cabrera scored 7.20.

Feathers Up

Jeanmar Gomez has pumped his own value up as of late, making him a late season favorite for next year's starting rotation. In his 5 starts since coming back from AAA on August 30th, Gomez has pitched 6 innings in every game but one and has been the winning pitcher in each start. In those starts he has never given up more than 2 runs in a single game. Gomez has been on the Indians radar since he pitched a perfect game in AA Akron a few years ago and although he has had mixed results over his first two big league seasons, he looks to be becoming a strong option at starter.

With a double in the 7th inning, Travis Hafner became the 35th player to acrue 1,000 hits while playing for the Cleveland Indians. Pronk has more hits than any current member of the Tribe. Congratulations to Travis Hafner, the greatest hitter in Indians history who was unable to play a position on the field.

Feathers Down

The Indians won't be going to the playoffs in 2011. Overall an extremely positive outing against the next best team in the Central.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 11 - Chicago White Sox 2

Player of the Game

The Indians did not have any offense until the 6th inning. That all changed when Pronk slammed a 2-run shot over the right field wall. This was Travis Hafner's 13th home run of the year, earning him the "Player of the Game" award tonight with a score of 4.43. This is Hafner's 10th award of the year, tying him for 4th place on the team.

Feathers Up

Ubaldo Jimenez pitched deep into the game and had a very good outing until the 7th inning. Jimenez ended up pitching 7 complete innings, giving up 4 runs on 6 hits. He went into the 7th with a 2-1 lead and left the game trailing 4-2. Jimenez struck out 7 White Sox batters and walked just 2.

Indians batters only struck out 4 times tonight. If you have been watching the Indians play all year, you know that this is a big deal. Games seem to be a lot less frustrating when a team can hit the ball into play.

Feathers Down

Chad Durbin entered the game in the 8th inning, relieving Ubaldo Jimenez. He gave up a home run to the first batter he faced, Alexei Ramirez. He also gave up a home run to the third batter he faced, Alex Rios. But that's not all. Chad Durbin was not satisfied with only giving up 2 home runs in an inning. He allowed Brent Morel to smash a 2-run shot into left field, giving up a total of 3 home runs in just one inning. Durbin continues his woes out of the bullpen, maintaining an ERA of over 5.00.

Final Score: Chicago White Sox 8 - Cleveland Indians 4

Matt LaPorta has a four game hitting streak. You probably haven't noticed because it has occurred over the Indians last 12 games. LaPorta, who is fourth on the team in home runs and RBI, has been essentially removed from the Indians roster as he has only been allowed to play in four of the Indians last 22 games. LaPorta's replacement has been Lou Marson who, as a back-up catcher, has played in 22 of the last 31 games. So far this season, there is no question that LaPorta is a superior player to Marson as he has a slightly higher batting average and a slugging percentage more than 100 points greater. The real question is why is then, Lou Marson starting over Matt LaPorta?

Matt LaPorta has struggled a lot over his tenure thus far with the Cleveland Indians. This is no secret and has been talked about ad nauseum, so I won't reiterate any more to that here, other than to point out that his line stats of .234/.300/.395 are not only unacceptable for the middle of the lineup spot he was supposed to be in, but are terrible even for a bottom of the order hitter. Here are a couple quotes from manager Manny Acta about Matt LaPorta from earlier in the season:

“He has made progress, but expectations for a guy like him are high. That's not because of the trade, but because of being a high draft pick and the way he cruised through the minors.”

“He's had a lot of inconsistency, but shows flashes of what we anticipated. He needs work on plate discipline. He's projected as a walks, power guy and it is still not there.

While his last point is accurate, the first isn't really the best way to think about the situation. There are so many draft busts and scouting errors, that it is a mistake to evaluate a current player based on what he did five years ago. While his numbers are not necessarily a good predictor of his future performance, the Indians must have had enough time to see where his real talent level lies. I believe that at some point during the season Tribe management decided that Matt LaPorta will never become the player they need him to be. As soon as the Indians were legitimately out of the playoff race, LaPorta was removed from the roster and sent to AAA, never to make a return to the starting line up. If there was any chance of LaPorta being the starting first baseman next season, I don't think that Manny Acta would have insulted him by replacing him with a back-up catcher. If they have already decided to part ways with LaPorta, it makes sense to see what Lou Marson is capable of in an every day role (early results: not very much).

Much has been made of Carlos Santana playing first base, but this would extremely weaken the Indians offense. While a player of Santana's talent is among the best available at catcher, he is only an average first baseman. Since Santana is a given in the roster, the question is whether the Indians will be able to find a better first baseman or catcher next season and amazingly talented catchers are in short supply.

Starting off fresh at first next year makes sense, especially if the ownership decides to finally spend for that big free agent. There are quite a few big name first basemen that should be available next year, possibly allowing some of the lower tier ones to slip to the Indians. The Yankees and Red Sox are set with Mark Teixeira, Adrian Gonzalez and Kevin Youkilis so they will likely be inactive in this market, allowing other teams a shot at big names. The biggest names out there will be Albert Pujols, Lance Berkman and Prince Fielder. With the extremely low payroll of the Indians, along with an option to renegotiate with Grady Sizemore, the Indians should have enough spending money to get even a top tier player. The success early in the season and the addition of Ubaldo Jimenez for the next few years should place the Indians as an early season favorite for the Central Division in 2012 and the Dolans may pick next year as their time to take a chance.

Player of the Game

Nick Hagadone won his second "Player of the Game" award tonight with a score of 2.56. Hagadone pitched 1.2 scoreless innings with a walk and 2 strike outs. Zach McAllister was not far behind tonight with a score of 2.44. Jim Thome proved to be the best offensive player tonight. He had an RBI single, a run scored, and two walks, giving him a score of 2.35.

Feathers Up

The Indians offense put together some hits in the fourth inning to score a few runs. The inning started with singles by Jason Donald, Carlos Santana, and Jim Thome. Shelley Duncan walked and Grady Sizemore hit a sacrifice fly. Then Matt LaPorta doubled and Jack Hannahan hit a sacrifice fly. After three outs were recorded in the inning, the Indians found themselves up 4-0.

Indians starting pitcher Zach McAllister greatly improved form his last outing. Last time he pitched, on August 24th, he only pitched 3.1 innings and gave up 8 runs. Tonight, McAllister pitched 5.1 solid innings and gave up just 2 runs.

Feathers Down

Zach Putnam came out of the bullpen in the 7th inning with a one run lead and was unable to keep that lead. Putman only recorded one out before he was pulled from the game. Putnam gave up 2 singles, a double and hit a batter before giving up 2 runs and leaving 2 base runners for Nick Hagadone.

Final Score: Chicago White Sox 5 - Cleveland Indians 4

Player of the Game

Travis Hafner hit a two run home run early in the game to give the Indians a lead, and the winning margin. He also had a single later in the game as well. Kosuke Fukudome, Asdrubal Cabrera also scored well with home runs of their own, as did the relief pitchers, Joe Smith, Vinnie Pestano and Chris Perez, who all earned decisions.

Feathers Up

The Columbus Clippers won the Governors' Cup for the International League championship and will now play for the AAA championship in Albuquerque, NM. The game will be televised on versus if anyone would rather see a championship caliber team, than the Indians.

Jack Hannahan returned from the dead today to take over defensive duties at third from Lonnie Chisenhall late in the game. It's good that he got over his injury, but hopefully he will be relegated to this type of work for the rest of the season as Lonnie Chisenhall needs to get as many at bats as he can to prepare for 2012. The Indians made a couple of roster moves in the last two days as well, bringing back Zach McAllister and Corey Kluber from AAA. McAllister will start the night game tonight and Kluber will be available out of the bullpen. The Indians also announced that Josh Tomlin will be recalled in time to start next Saturday against Minnesota.

The Indians have found some offense over the last 5 games, scoring at least 6 in every game except today and hitting 3 home runs in today's game. The Indians even got the home runs from some expected run producers in Travis Hafner and Asdrubal Cabrera.

Feathers Down

Waste of space catcher, Lou Marson, struck out another 3 times today. That makes him 0 for his last 6 at bats with 6 strike outs over the last 3 games. If anyone thinks he is better than anyone currently on the Indians or Clippers they are sorely mistaken. Bet no one saw this coming, the "Bad stuff about Austin Kearns" section has now turned into bad stuff about Lou Marson. He's now batting .233 on the season.

Asdrubal Cabrera hurt himself swinging in his last at bat and was forced to leave the game for the 9th inning with an oblique injury. If the injury is serious at all we can expect Cabrera to sit out the rest of the season. He

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 4 - Chicago White Sox 3

Pitching Matchups:

Today 9/20: Gavin Floyd (12-11, 4.42) vs. Fausto Carmona (6-15, 5.26)

Tonight: Dylan Axelrod (0-0, 2.25) vs. Zach McAllister (0-1, 12.27).

Wednesday 9/21: Mark Buehrle (11-9, 3.74) vs. Ubaldo Jimenez (4-2, 4.56).

Thursday 9/22: Philip Humber (9-8, 3.59) vs. Jeanmar Gomez (4-2, 3.78).

Sox Medical Watch:

• C Ramon Castro (broken right hand) went on the 15-day disabled list July 10. He had the cast and pins removed Aug. 9, and he hopes to return to action in late September.

• INF/OF Brent Lillibridge (broken right hand) went on the 15-day disabled list Sept. 9. He'll miss the rest of the season.

• RHP Tony Pena (right elbow tendinitis) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 28. He began a rehab assignment with Class AAA Charlotte on June 16. After making a solid appearance June 24, Pena informed trainers that there was further soreness, prompting him to be shut down. He started a new rehab assignment with Charlotte on July 20, but he suffered yet another setback with his elbow after four pitches. He had season-ending Tommy John surgery in August.

Sox News/Notes:

• C A.J. Pierzynski is signed through the 2012 season, and gets $6 million for next season. Although with C Tyler Flowers showing some ability, especially behind the plate and working with a veteran pitching staff, there is a good chance the White Sox might try to move Pierzynski's contract. Not real easy to do at that price, but it would only take one other general manager in need of a veteran catcher for it to happen.

• 1B/DH Paul Konerko continued to cement himself into the White Sox record books, as his home run on Sunday was the 30th of the season, giving him 30 for the seventh time in his career. It was also the fifth time he has recorded 30 home runs and 100 RBI in a season, second most in franchise history to Frank Thomas, who did it eight times.

• DH Adam Dunn had three hits off left-handed pitchers in the series against Kansas City, which doubled his season total. While the 2011 season has been a complete bust for Dunn, anything he can take from it that will help for 2012 will be embraced by the organization.

• 2B Gordon Beckham entered this week with an AL leading fielding percentage .992 among second basemen, attempting to become the first White Sox second baseman to lead the league in fielding since Nellie Fox in 1963. So while his offense has been dismal this season, Beckham can at least take that with him to the offseason.

• RHP Gavin Floyd was scheduled to start in the early game of todays doubleheader, with RHP Dylan Axelrod getting the nod in the night game. It will be his second start since being called up, and is yet another pitcher trying to make a statement to the organization heading into the offseason. With LHP Mark Buehrle a free agent and Floyd, as well as LHP John Danks probably trade candidates, the White Sox need to know that there are some safety nets to fall back onto, just in case.

By the Numbers:

29-35—The White Sox's record against the AL Central this season, heading into the four-game series against the Tribe this week. That's yet another reason why the White Sox fell short of overtaking Detroit. So sad.

Player of the Game

Asdrubal Cabrera won today's 'Player of the Game' with 3 hits and 3 RBI. Cabrera knocked in his first two in his first at bat with a two run home run. The next inning, Cabrera came up with Jason Donald on base again and scored him with a double. His third hit was a single up the middle later in the game.

Feathers Up

The Indians started out well, scoring 4 times in the first 2 innings. Jason Donald started off each run scoring effort with a single and was knocked in both times by Asdrubal Cabrera. In the first inning, Cabrera and Carlos Santana hit back to back home runs to take an early lead 3-0. This positive start looked like it would continue, but M's starter Charlie Furbush settled down and completely shut down the Tribe over the next few innings.

Feathers Down

Although the rosters were completely different, one thing stayed the same between today's make-up game and the original back in May, it rained. I poured throughout the game today on a day where neither team could afford a delay or a rain out so they played through. Of course, one other thing that has changed since May is the Indians place in the standings. Since the Indians have been eliminated from the Central Division race, this game has a lot less meaning than it once seemed to.

David Huff blew up his spot in the third inning destroying a lot of the good work he's built up over the season. After a Lonnie Chisenhall error, Huff allowed a double and after an out, allowed four straight hitters to reach. Another out later Ichiro Suzuki ended Huff's day with an RBI double. His replacement, Chad Durbin, didn't fare any better as he allowed a walk and a grand slam adding another terrible note to an already bad season for the middle reliever.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 6 - Seattle Mariners 12 Final in 7

Tonight's game (9/19) is a make up of the rain out from May 15th. This is the second make up of that series, the last coming on 8/23. The Indians won the first game of the series when it was oringinally scheduled and the first make up game, so if the Indians win tonight, it will be one of the most drawn out sweeps in history with 127 days between the first and last game. 

The Mariners are coming to town on their way from Seattle to Minneapolis. Sunday wrapped up a series loss to the Rangers for the Mariners and, after today's day game, will move on to play the Twins for 3. The Indians get to stay at home after the quickie against the M's, but have to play 8 games in the next 6 days. 

Probable Starters 9/19 4:05

Charlie Furbush (2-6, 5.77) vs. David Huff (2-5, 3.40)

Charlie Furbush has one of the funniest names in baseball and a very average ERA. David Huff has been a pleasant surprise this season and will use his last couple starts to prove he belongs in the starting rotation next season. Only a couple spots seem set (Justin Masterson and Josh Tomlin) and Huff would love to make himself part of the top 5. 

Player of the Game

Shelley Duncan hit a home run and a double, knocking in 3 runs, which gave him his 10th "Player of the Game" award of the season with a score of 6.18. Both feats happened in the 6-run 7th inning. Duncan led off the inning with a solo home run, and came to bat again with 2 outs and the bases loaded and doubled just over the head of the left fielder, scoring two more runs. Justin Masterson came in second with a score of 4.91.

Feathers Up

The Indians and Twins finalized the deal for Jim Thome. What was suppose to be a player to be named later turned into cash considerations. In the end, the Indians paid $20,000 to the Twins to get Thome.

The Indians were aggressive on the base paths today. Two base runners stole a base today. Jason Kipnis stole second after reaching safely on an error in the first inning. Kosuke Fukudome stole second in the sixth inning after hitting a single.

Shelley Duncan ruined Carl Pavano's shutout by taking him deep to left field in the top of the 7th inning. That jump started the Tribe offense in the 7th. They took advantage of a fielding error, a few bases-loaded walks, and added a bases-loaded single and double, scoring a total of 6 runs in the inning.

Justin Masterson pitched well today. He gave up 3 runs, only 1 of which was earned. He allowed 7 hits in 6 innings pitched, but all of them were singles. The only command issue he had is when he hit Jason Repko and sent him to the hospital with a possible concussion. Masterson recorded the win today, which was his first career win against the Twins.

Feathers Down

Tribe bats were quiet today early in the game. The Indians collected just 3 hits in the first 6 innings. All three hits were singles, one by Lonnie Chisenhall, one by Lou Marson, and the other by Kosuke Fukudome.

The defense today was lacking. Blame it on the rain, blame it on the cold, whatever the reason may be, 4 errors in a game is unacceptable. While it is nice to give Asdrubal Cabrera a day off every once in awhile, Jason Donald had a rough day defensively at short stop. Donald had 2 of the team's 4 errors. The other errors were both throwing errors, one by Lou Marson, the other by Jason Kipnis. Lou Marson also had a passed ball, allowing a runner to get from second to third. These defensive woes resulted in 2 unearned runs.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 6 - Minnesota Twins 5