old dogs

Maybe the excitement of the postseason pursuit has made them feel young again. Whatever the reason, it was good to see former — and aging — Jackson Generals come up big in big games on Wednesday. Carlos Guillen, soon to turn 36, went 3-for-5 and drove in the winning run for Detroit, which won its 12th straight game and reduced its magic number to 3 for clinching the American League Central title. Lance Berkman, 35, has seen the MVP buzz die down in recent weeks but is still contributing for St. Louis. He went 1-for-3 with a triple and scored a run in a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh. The Cardinals kept pace with Atlanta in the National League wild card race; they're 4 1/2 games back. And 37-year-old Bobby Abreu went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI as the Los Angeles Angels beat Oakland and stayed in the hunt in both the AL West (3 back) and wild card (4 1/2 back) races. Though his batting average is down, Abreu recently topped 20 steals for the season for the 13th straight year. He has 393 career steals; he's sneaky fast. Another old Gen, 34-year-old Freddy Garcia, is 11-7 with a 3.71 ERA for the New York Yankees, who are clinging to a 4-game lead in the AL East.
P.S. Former Mississippi Braves right-hander Charlie Morton took the loss on Wednesday when Pittsburgh clinched its 19th straight losing season. Morton is 9-10 for the 67-82 Pirates.