RACK-OFF!

This week's RACK-OFF! is old school vs new school. Who rocks the
fur bikini better? Raquel Welch in One Million Years B.C...



Or Eva Mendes paying tribute to Raquel...



You know the drill. Place your votes in the box in the upper, right-hand corner...

WINNER

In a tight race, VICTORIA'S SECRET model Adriana Lima garnered 57%
of the votes to defeat GUESS lingerie model Julia Lescova in last week's RACK-OFF! lingerie showdown...

SHUTUP CERVELLI

On Tuesday, the Cleveland Indians beat the Oakland A's 6-2.
Oakland has lost four straight.

CC Sabathia finally beat the Red Sox.
Sabathia threw 128 pitches over 6 innings, allowed 10 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks and fired 10 Ks. The Yankees bullpen took it the rest of the way.
New York beat Boston 5-2.
The Yankees are 3-13 against the Red Sox this season.
Boston, currently, holds a 1/2 game lead over New York in the AL East.
The AL East is up for dibs and the Red Sox - Yankees rivalry still has 5 regular-season games left...today and Thursday...then a 3-game series on September 23, 24 & 25th.
These guys don't mess around when it gets down to the wire.
The 128 pitches thrown by Sabathia is the 2nd-highest total of his career.
Francisco Cervelli hit a solo homer in the 5th off John Lackey.
Lackey hit Cervelli in the back in his next at-bat.
This cleared both benches - no fisticuffs - but Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild was ejected.
There were 4 hit batters. Cervelli and Curtis Granderson for New York, Jacoby Ellsbury and Jarrod Saltalamacchia for Boston. After Salty got hit by Mariano Rivera, Yankees manager Joe Girardi was ejected.
Tonight: Phil Hughes vs Josh Beckett at 7:10 PM.
Thursday: A.J. Burnett vs Jon Lester at 7:10 PM.

Look at Cervelli yappin' at Salty, after he got hit by a pitch...



Get Varitek in there, for cryin'-out-loud, he wouldn't put up with that crap...



The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals 2-1.
Ramon Santiago hit a solo homer in the bottom of the 10th inning to win it for the Tigers.
Man, Detroit got their money's worth when they picked-up Doug Fister from Seattle last month. Fister had a perfect game going into the 7th inning.
He ended up pitching 7 2/3 innings, allowed 4 hits, 1 run, no walks and 6 Ks.

HAPPY MADDEN DAY!

On Monday night, the Indians beat the A's 2-1 and the Royals beat the
Tigers 9-5.
I'm not impressed!
So, today, we shall, instead, celebrate a cultural icon...
HAPPY MADDEN DAY, BABY!



That's right, kids...Madden 12 hit the shelves today!
The Dawg Pound should be happy - Browns' running back Peyton Hillis is the coverboy.

Here's a little something for the ladies...



...and the gentlemen...

WHERE WOULD THE TIGERS BE WITHOUT JV?...THE WORLD'S HOTTEST WEATHER WATCHER!

On Sunday, the Minnesota Twins laid the beatdown on the Tigers 11-4.
Without Justin Verlander, the Detroit Tigers are a .500 ballclub.
Detroit is 52-52 when Justin Verlander doesn't start. They're 21-8 when
JV owns the hill...



We're almost into September and the Tigers own a 6-game lead over the White Sox and sit 6 1/2 games over the Tribe. In September they play 6 games(3 home - 3 away) against both Chicago and Cleveland. That's 12 games that Leyland & Company need to dominate!

Like most people, the HBWHOF was following the Hurricane Irene updates over the weekend...



On TWITTER, Brooklyn Decker reported that she was watching
The Weather Channel and their reporter was standing in some wicked wind and slashing rain (wearing swimming goggles) and warning people to stay off the streets - while a bunch of dudes danced around him and gave the full monty...




Classic stuff...and it's coming from the World's Hottest Weather Watcher too...

C'MON IRENE, TOO LOO RYE AY - PART II

The Boston Red Sox won both games of their Saturday doubleheader against the Oakland Athletics.
Game 1 was moved up to an early start of 12:05 PM to avoid the wrath of Hurricane Irene. It didn't make much difference...when Jon Lester tried to take the mound in the 7th inning it was raining hard...his first two warmup pitches were airmailed and hit the backstop. Thus began two rain delays totalling
3 hours.
Lester left after 6 innings with a 9-2 lead.
Jason Varitek homered and had 3 RBIs to help the Red Sox defeat the A's 9-3.



Game 2 was scheduled for a 5:05 PM start, but - because of two rain delays in Game 1 of 45 minutes and 2 hours, 15 minutes, Game 2 began at 6:52 PM.
There was a 1 hour rain delay in the top of the 5th inning in Game 2.
The Large Father hit a 'tater and had 2 RBIs to help Boston sweep the doubleheader 4-0.
The doubleheader took almost 11 hours from start to finish!




Justin Verlander became the major league's first 20-game winner, helping the Detroit Tigers defeat the Minnesota Twins 6-4 on Saturday.
JV pitched 6 innings, allowed 8 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks and added 6 strikeouts.
The Big Potato picked up his 39th save.
Alex Avila and Miguel Cabrera hit solo dingers.
The last American League pitcher to win 20 games before September was Roger Clemens with the Blue Jays in 1997.



Jim Thome belted his 602nd career homer on his 41st birthday to help the Tribe beat the Royals 8-7...



Having sat through more than my fair share of rain delays, I can attest that there are, sometimes, good consequences. Remember, a rain delay provides fans with an excessive amount of time to consume alcohol. According to my math: RAIN DELAY + ALCOHOL + HOT CHICKS + RAIN = HOT, DRUNK, WET CHICKS...WE ALL WIN!!!

C'MON IRENE, TOO LOO RYE AY

In Friday night action, the Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins 8-1.
In his first return to Target Field, after being traded by the Twins, Delmon Young went 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs.
V-Mart went 2-for-3 with 4 RBIs.
The Tigers are 8-2 in their last 10 games and have a 6 1/2 game lead in the
AL Central.

The way things are going Tim Wakefield might have to wait until next season to get his 200th career win.
Wakefield was shooting for win #200 for his 6th time on Friday night.
Things didn't exactly work out.
Wake lasted 4 innings, allowed 8 hits and 8 runs - 4 of them earned.
He served up two 2-run, over-the-Green-Monster homers to Scott Sizemore and Josh Willingham during a 6-run 4th inning.
The Athletics shared the wealth in the RBI category: Hideki Matsui, Josh Willingham, Cliff Pennington and Scotty Sizemore had 2 apiece...David DeJesus had a 3 RBI night.
The A's beat the Red Sox 15-5.
Things got so out-of-hand that Red Sox right fielder Darnell McDonald pitched the final frame...



Right now Hurricane Irene is hammerin' the crap outta North Carlina...and it's headed up the east coast! They are evacuating the low-lying areas of New York City!! 370,000 people, residents of 5 hospitals and a number of rest homes have been relocated!!!
The Big Apple is shutting down all mass transit systems at noon today. America's largest subway system, flights, buses and taxis are not going to be running.
Crazy stuff!!
Today's Yankees - Orioles game is postponed. The A's - Red Sox game has been moved-up and scheduled as a doubleheader because Boston expects the rain to arrive later tonight and Irene should be hitting Beantown early Sunday afternnon.
A's vs Red Sox at 12:05 PM - Guillermo Moscoso vs Jon Lester
A's vs Red Sox at 5:05 PM - Graham Godfrey vs Erik Bedard
The A's and Red Sox haven't faced each other in a doubleheader since 1972.

16 BATTERS AT THE PLATE WITH THE BASES DRUNK!

The Tigers shutout the Tampa Bay Rays 2-0.
Doug Fister pitched 7 innings, allowed 5 hits, no runs, no walks and added
5 strikeouts.
Austin Jackson went YARD.
The Big Potato picked-up his 38th save - keeping the streak alive.



The Red Sox shutout the Texas Rangers 6-0.
Former Tigers' pitcher Andrew Miller threw 6 1/3 innings, allowed 3 hits,
no runs, 2 walks and notched 6 Ks.
The Large Father and the guy with the longest-last-name-in-baseball both hit 'taters and A-Gon hit two jacks AGAIN!
The sweetest swing in baseball, folks...



Now let's discuss yesterday's debacle.
The afternoon game began with an 89-minute rain delay.
In the top of the 4th inning, the scoreboard read 7-1...A's over the Yankees.
It was still raining.
So, you KNOW a lot of the Yankees' douchebag fans headed home because the weather sucked and, apparently, their beloved team was about to get swept by the A's.
The Yankees ended-up winning 22-9.
The Oakland A's pitchers were brutal!
Oakland hurlers gave-up 13 walks! This provided Yankees' batters the opportunity to go the plate 16 times with the bases loaded!!
What do you think happens when a leading MLB franchise gets 16 at-bats with ducks-on-the-pond?
THE YANKEES BECAME THE FIRST TEAM IN MAJOR LEAGUE HISTORY TO HIT THREE GRAND SALAMIS IN A GAME!!!!
Robinson Cano, Russell Martin and Curtis Granderson all hit grand slams.
Cano and Granderson each had 5 RBIs. Martin had 6.




Jim Thome is going back to Cleveland, where he started hitting dingers
20 years ago.
Thome waived his no-trade clause, which allowed the Minnesota Twins to send him to the Cleveland Indians for a player to be named later.



In the Yankees' 22-9 schlacking of the A's, Derek Jeter came to bat 4 times with the bags juiced. He grounded out twice, struck-out and walked...and, according to PEOPLE, after dating for 3 years - Jeter and Minka Kelly have split!
Man, that's a bad day...

RACK-OFF!

This week's RACK-OFF! is a lingerie showdown.
Who rocks the boudoir apparel better:
Brand spankin' new GUESS lingerie model Julia Lescova...



...or VICTORIA'S SECRET model Adriana Lima?...



You know the drill. Place your votes in the box in the upper, right-hand corner...

AHH THE WOMEN OF THE LINKS

The winner of last week's sports RACK-OFF! was golf. Nice choice, people!

A GOOD NIGHT

Nice job, all-around, by the boys last night.
The A's beat the Yankees 6-5.
Brandon McCarthy pitched a superb game. McCarthy went 7 2/3 innings, gave up 8 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks and added 6 Ks. His record, now, sits at 7-6.
Since the All-Star break he is 6-1 in 8 starts.
The A's went DEEP 3 times - Eric Sogard homered and Brandon Allen hit two dingers.
Scotty Sizemore came in to pinch hit in the 7th inning and doubled-in 2 runs.



The Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers 11-5.
A-Gon went YARD twice!
Adrian Gonzalez just came back after missing 3 games because he was nailed in the back by a pitch.
Gonzalez is hitting .348 with 20 homers and 97 RBIs.
The Red Sox and Yankees are tied atop the AL East.



Jim Leyland was working with a shortened bullpen on Tuesday night.
The Tigers' skipper gave Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde the night off.
Starter Brad Penny left, in the bottom of the 7th, with a 2-1 lead. Leyland brought in Daniel Schlereth, Ryan Perry and Phil Coke to preserve the win.
Coke earned his first save, pitching the final 2 innings, he allowed 2 hits, 2 walks and fired 5 strikeouts.
Alex Avila continued his hot batting, going 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Detroit holds a 6-game lead in the AL Central.
Avila & Coke go for the Man-hug...



This should make Michigan fans happy...Lucy Pinder's 2012 Calendar pics...

JV & AVILA - A BEAUTIFUL BATTERY

The Red Sox aren't doing themselves any favours. Boston got shutout 4-0 by Texas and sit 1 game behind the Yankees in the AL East.

Justin Verlander was on the hill for Detroit on Monday night.
Naturally, he won his 19th game.
JV pitched 7 innings, allowed 3 hits, 1 run, 3 walks and chalked-up 8 Ks.
Verlander's career high is 19 wins(2009).
This season he will be a 20-something game winner, probably win the Cy Young and will be among the top candidates for American League MVP.
This cat only gets better!
Verlander and Alex Avila make a great battery. Avila has developed into a tremendous catcher. The guy calls a great game. He's got a cannon for a throwing arm. One thing that really stands out, if you watch the Tigers regularly, is how badly Avila gets beat-up every game. This dude is a magnet for foul-tips. He's gotta be covered in bruises! Despite the constant barrage of wayward baseballs, Avila cranked a 2-run homer last night - his 15th.
In August he is 25 for 59 (.424) with 5 homers and 14 RBIs.




Random Tuesday Eye-Candy...
Hot Baseball Wife Hall of Famer Halle Berry grocery shopping...



J-Lo rockin' some sweet shoes...Notice a pattern here...I've never been a foot-fetish kinda guy - but a sweet pair of heels attached to some great gams gets my attention every time...



Justin Verlander with FOX Sports Girl Allison...

A BIG WIN

On Sunday, Austin Jackson saved the Big Potato's ass.
The Tigers had an 8-7 lead over the Indians entering the top of the 9th and Jose Valverde was sent to the mound to preserve the win.
The Big Potato walked Kosuke Fukudome. Then he hit Jason Donald.
Then Jack Hannahan bunted and was thrown out at 1st, but not before moving the runners to 2nd and 3rd base.
With 1 out, pinch-hitter Matt LaPorta hit a liner toward centerfield. Austin Jackson caught the ball, on the run, and fired a laser to Alex Avila who tagged Fukudome out at the plate!
The Tigers swept the Indians.
On a day when the Tigers' promotional giveaway was a Victor Martinez Backpack for kids, V-Mart hit a 2-run home run. Delmon Young, also, went DEEP and added 4 RBIs.




It was the most-attended 3-game series in Comerica Park's history.
The weekend series drew a total of 132,239 fans
Sunday's attendance of 43,388 put the Tigers over 2 million fans for the
7th straight season.

I took the kids and we sat in Kaline's Corner...



I saw a guy rockin' a Kenny Rogers' jersey...



Whenever you have 43,388 Tigers' fans in one place - you have a lot of
hot chicks...



Oh, and, in the 6th inning, Jim Leyland burst from the dugout - like Usain Bolt comin' outta the blocks - to argue a call at 3rd base. He was promptly ejected.
Jose Valverde extended his franchise-record save streak to 37-in-37 opportunities.








The Tigers NOW own a 4 1/2 game lead in the AL Central.