The White Sox rode the left arm of John Danks to stay alive in their ALDS series with the Rays. Today, we see a matchup of two talented pitchers making their playoff debuts: Andy Sonnanstine for the Rays, Gavin Floyd for Chicago.

Who cracks? Who shines? Is this series going back to the Trop, or do the Rays start scouting that Angels/Red Sox game tonight? Find out along with us in a very special "FanHouse Live Chat"!

In the MLB regular season, "home-field advantage" is less about fans, and their energy, and much more about familiarity and comfort. Fans don't really get too crazy for regular season games, so any intangible little benefit from cheering and whooping is rare.

In the playoffs, though, the props come out. The Brewers and Angels have the thundersticks, the White Sox have their blackout, and the Rays, well, the Rays have cowbells. Not sure how that got started, but if the goal is to irritate rotund opposing closers, Rays fans can consider it a success:

''Dumbest thing I ever saw,'' he said Sunday of the fans' rallying tactic. ''Just annoying. Minor league.'' But the Sox' ''rolling blackout promotion'' for fans Sunday at U.S. Cellular Field? ''Whoever came up with that idea is a genius,'' Jenks said. ''It brings electricity to us and excites 25 players.''

In other words, Jenks's preferred regional team's fans are better than your preferred regional team's fans. I've heard this joke before.

The Minnesota Twins may have come up a run short of winning the AL Central this year, but it was still a pretty successful season for the team. After all, nobody expected them to be competitive this season after losing both Torii Hunter and Johan Santana, yet there they were challenging for another division title.

Another reason that the Twins were a surprise this year is that they played the majority of the season without right fielder Michael Cuddyer, and though Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau get most of the attention in the Twins lineup, Cuddyer has always been a dangerous presence. His absence turned out to be a bit of a blessing though as it allowed Denard Span to get playing time, and Span took advantage of it to emerge as the team's lead-off hitter of the future. Which is why it's entirely possible that Delmon Young will be traded this winter after only one season in Minnesota.

The Twins won't talk about it, but it's expected that Delmon Young, the left fielder they obtained from Tampa Bay before this past season, will be made available on the trade market.

Seeing as how Cuddyer signed a three-year $23 million extension before the season, it's unlikely the Twins will want to move him, so Young seems to be the most logical choice, Delmon didn't really produce as much as the Twins would have liked when they sent Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza to the Rays for him, yet he still has enough value to bring back a third baseman or shortstop for next season.

Ever since the Cubs were swept out of the NLDS by the Dodgers on Saturday night, I've heard quite a few different excuses for their postseason collapse. First and foremost, there's the idiotic ones about the team being cursed, which we all know is a bunch of crap. Then there are some who just think that the team collapsed under the weight of a 100-year title drought.

While some of the excuses are viable, and others are just plain dumb, there's one explanation for the Cubs failures that rules the roost of ridiculousness, and it comes from left fielder Alfonso Soriano.

"Yeah, it's tough," he said. "We tried, but it just didn't happen. We played all year like a very good team and we expected a little bit more, but it didn't happen.

"We're a very good team for [162] games, but we don't do nothing after that. That's the difference. We're not put together for [a short series]."

That could honestly be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard, and keep in mind that I have to listen to myself talk 24 hours a day.

The Cubs aren't built for a short series? That's funny, because I always thought that the most important part of a team in a short series was their starting rotation, and last I checked the Cubs had a pretty good one. Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano, Rich Harden, and Ted Lilly seem like a rotation that's built for a short series to me.

I mean, isn't the entire regular season just a whole lot of short series packaged together? They did pretty well there, didn't they?

It wasn't so long ago that Kosuke Fukudome was the king of Wrigleyville, object of the ultimate in Cubs fandom. His mixture of perceived exoticism, Opening Day heroics, and early-season success propelled to fan favorite status as quickly as one can be so propelled.

No more: After a slump so long it can barely be called a "slump" and an 0-8 postseason, Fukudome is battling the unthinkable: rumors that he'll be traded, sent to the minors, or shipped back to Japan:

But if it were up to Fukudome, would he have preferred to change planes in Los Angeles and continue westward for Tokyo? Does the Cubs' first high-profile Japanese import have the toughness to dig himself out of the hole he has fallen into? Will the Cubs give him the chance? One scout interviewed Saturday suggested a course of action that could be tough to swallow. "He has to go to the minors," the scout said. "He has to get rid of all those habits, pulling out on pitches, collapsing. He'll never hit the way he's hitting now, and this is a tough place to work out your problems. Always has been."

What Fukudome really needs is some sort of intensive swing coach, or something. Or maybe he needs to stop thinking about baseball for a while. Whatever the case may be, he'll have to have a strong spring if he plans on being in Wrigleyville much longer. Jim Hendry isn't one to dawdle when it comes to dealing formerly impressive outcasts.

Brandon Backe spent most of the season getting tuned up on a regular basis. Opposing teams racked up 202 hits against him during the 2008 campaign which contributed to 14 losses, a 6.08 ERA and a lot of pent-up aggression. Unfortunately Backe chose the wrong outlet for his angst and spent a little time in the hoosegow as a result.

Backe was at a wedding in Galveston over the weekend and after the nuptials, he retired to a hotel bar with some friends. A member of the party was told by police that he couldn't go outside with his beverage and that's when, according to the Houston Chronicle, a "riot" broke out.

During the brawl, Backe was told by police to back away. He refused, and police attempted to handcuff him, the report said.

Backe struggled with officers. One officer stated in the report that he hit Backe twice in the face before handcuffing him. The officer also reported that Backe smelled of alcohol and had bloodshot eyes.

The Galveston police have more in common with the National League than previously thought. They all hit Backe and hit Backe hard.

The pitcher may have gotten off easy, actually. Unlike others in the party and Al Reyes, for that matter, he avoided the unique thrill of being tased. Backe was released on $1,500 bond and, presumably, is searching for a place where he can avoid getting hit for a little while.

From the Windup is FanHouse's daily, extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.

A few weeks ago I was approaching a football field, en route to officiating a middle school football game. As I walked through the parking lot, I noticed an older gentleman kneeling down to pick up his keys. Only he was struggling. Every time he'd pick up his keys, he'd drop his sunglasses. Every time he'd pick up his sunglasses, he'd drop his keys, and so on. I noticed about ten people just walk by him without saying a word or even giving him a second look. There was a car waiting on him to clear the way, and the people sitting inside were visibly annoyed with the poor guy. I went over and helped him to his feet, and then leaned over and got his keys and sunglasses for him. It wasn't that I thought I was some sort of hero. I just don't understand why so many people didn't care to help.

He was thankful, but most of all you could tell he was disgusted with himself for needing my help. He did need it, he just didn't want it. I'm glad I was there, because most people couldn't have cared less.

In the Playoff Pulse series, our MLB editor takes on a hot October topic.

The White Sox and Angels avoided playoff oblivion Sunday night, but the odds remain long that either team will be able to advance to the American League Championship Series. Still, it's been done before. The Yankees came back from a 2-0 deficit in the division series against Oakland and the very Red Sox that Los Angeles is facing have climbed out of a similar hole twice.

So which trailing team has the best chance at coming all the way back to win their series?

First, let's take a look at the Game 4 pitching matchups. Of course, the team with the best chance to win two games will have the best shot at coming back in the series, but Monday's games are of paramount importance. After all, there is no Game 5 without a victory in Game 4.