On August 12, 1979, the A’s Rick Langford hooked up against the Twins Jerry Koosman in the Metrodome. Minnesota won the game behind Koosman’s ten hit shut out one to nothing.

The game was played in one hour and forty three minutes. Last night the A’s and White Sox finished their game in one hour and forty nine minutes, the A’s fastest game since that getaway day in Minneapolis in 1979.

Mark Mulder and Mark Buehrle had a lot to do with last night’s game, getting the ball and thowing it back towards the hitter with accuracy, walking few, few three ball counts, and generally a well pitched game on both sides.

Tonight it’s Ted Lilly versus Esteban Loiaza, two pitchers who take their time on the mound and get deeper into the count.

Lilly needs to be aware of his pitch count and Loiaza has to be aware of the fact that he is known as an April pitcher and the calendar now shows May on its front page.

The Sox aren’t hitting, but they are definite contenders in the mediocre AL Central, thus there is no need to panic and threaten to fire the manager.

Just let them get away from Oakland and Seattle and things will be fine on the Southside of Chicago.

Click below for today’s games.Detroit’s pitching is better than its 6-25 record if you can believe that. The Tigers are starting to hit the ball against mediocre teams, but trouble is on the horizon for Alan Trammell and company because the A’s and Seattle show up next week.

Seattle is growing on me every day. I am starting to like their pitching if Gil Meche holds up. Sasaki is on his way back, and there is depth in the pen. Jeff Cirillo and Mike Cameron are starting to show signs of offensive life which is one of the keys to Seattle’s offense.

Tonight, Mike Mussina almost perfect every time out, matches up with Joel Pineiro who is gaining confidence with every start.

Andy Pettitte was hit hard last night and now must face Mark Mulder on Sunday.

The Yanks need Mussina tonight or else it’s a four game losing streak. I have a feeling that this Yankee team may not be the juggernaut I thought earlier in the year or else the AL West is better than I think. It may be a little of both.

Let’s see if John Lackey can get it together tonight against Cleveland. Anaheim is waiting patiently for Lackey to return to his rookie form.

Arizona needs to change its luck soon. Craig Counsell, one of the bright spots of its offense got hurt last night. The Diamondbacks have pitching, they need offense more than ever, how about trading Byung Hyun Kim for a big hitter?

Robb Nen is out for the year, if Joe Nathan holds up he is the logical closer as the summer gets closer.

Don’t look now, but the Reds are three and one half out of first in the NL Central. Danny Graves pitched well against SF last week and faces the Cards and Jason Simontacchi in Great American Ball Park.

The Cardinal pen gave it up again last night, how many more blown saves do they need to see before realizing that major league help is needed. Jason Isringhausen is still having trouble, so he isn’t a gimmee to return at the end of the month.

Another super game for Mike Hampton. If he comes back all the way, it should be against the law for a free agent pitcher to sign with the Rockies.

Cubs need a good game from Shawn Estes today. The Brewers should be his speed even though they have given the Cubs fits the last two nights.

Both the A’s and Giants have suffered from lousy Bay Area weather, today doesn’t look much better.

Not helping the sick bats of the White Sox either.