2011 Game 90: Royals at Twins

The "second half" gets underway tonight in the best way possible, save for maybe the Hosers coming to town. Tonight, the Royals visit a team that's gotten some much-needed rest, as they've faced a total of one pitch since Sunday.

Bruce Chen 5-2, 60.2 IP, 3.26 ERA, 4.19 FIP, 4.37 xFIP, 0.7 WAR
Francisco Liriano 5-7, 83.2 IP, 5.06 ERA, 4.33 FIP, 4.26 xFIP, 0.6 WAR

You know, I expected Chen's basic numbers to look better than Liriano's, but even the advanced stats? Well, huh.

Chen's year has been a success (in Royals terms) mostly because his walks are way down and his homers are down. Standing in his way, though, is the fact that he is Bruce Chen and is a thoroughly mediocre-at-best starter. Still, he's a lefty, so...

Liriano, meanwhile, has crummy K/BB stats on the season, but they've been stumbling toward respectability since his pitch-to-contact nonsense. I'm predicting, not so New Guy-ally, I don't think, that he gets the "second half" started with a bang, leading to the Twins finishing no worse than .500.

So let's get healthy at long last and do this thing, eh?

Minor Details: Games of 7/13

Rochester.  No games scheduled.

Eastern League All-star Game:  West 8, East 3.  Yangervis Solarte was 0-for-2 with a walk.  Liam Hendriks walked one in a scoreless inning.  Brett Jacobson retired all four batters he faced.

Ft. Myers 4, Daytona 3 in Ft. Myers.  The Miracle built a 4-0 lead after three innings.  Danny Rohlfing was 4-for-4 with a triple.  Estarlin De Los Santos had two singles and a double.  Steve Liddle doubled and tripled.  James Beresford had two hits.  Pat Dean worked 7.1 innings, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks.  Bruce Pugh gave up two hits in 1.2 scoreless innings to get his tenth save.

Beloit 5, South Bend 1 in Beloit.  The Snappers scored three in the first and never lost the lead.  Adam Bryant and Daniel Santana each singled and doubled.  Michael Gonzales hit a three-run homer, his thirteenth.  Liam Hendriks gave up an unearned run on three hits and two walks in seven innings.  Michael Tonkin struck out four in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.

Elizabethton 6, Pulaski 3 in Elizabethton.  The Twins scored three in the eighth to break a 3-3 tie.  Eddie Rosario singled and homered.  Kennys Vargas singled and doubled.  Tyler Koelling, Nick Lockwood, and Matej Hejma each had two hits.  Pedro Guerra allowed three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out five in 4.2 innings.  Steven Evans struck out two in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.  The win went to Matthew Summers, who struck out two and gave up one hit in 1.2 scoreless innings.

GCL Orioles 4, Twins 3 at Orioles (10 innings).  A single, a bunt, and another single plated the winning run.  Joshua Hendricks singled and doubled.  Starter Hung Yi Chen struck out three in three shutout innings, giving up one hit.  Kyle Wahl struck out five in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.  The loss went to Marcus Limon, who pitched the tenth.

DSL Twins 2, Reds 0 at Reds.  The Twins scored single runs in the fourth and seventh.  Carlos Martinez had three hits.  Eddy Concepcion had two hits.  Starter Jose Jimenez pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and two walks.  Javier Vargas got the win, striking out three in three shutout innings while giving up two hits and a walk.  Francisco Nunez faced eight batters, giving up a hit to one of them and striking out the other seven.

July 14, 2011: Angry RNs

the NICU at the hospital didn't have a coffee machine, however the nurses' station at the labor and delivery department nearby did, and they gave me this fancy keycard to go in between the two. i would mosey on over (frequently) to steal a cup of coffee, and i would always get dirty looks. i would sheepishly say, "oh, hi, i'm just here from the NICU to steal some coffee." that would always soften them up, and i'd then get a sympathetic glance and they'd said, "of course, take as much as you want." score.

Whither Chuck James?

I've made no secret of my desire for Chuck James [to join the Twins for the rest of the season]. But in reading about him a bit, I'm starting to wonder if the Twins think much less of him.

Background: he is a former good starting pitcher for the Braves who needed shoulder surgery in 2008. After a year rehabbing, he was with the Nationals org last year, with a 2.32 ERA, .939 WHIP, 7.0K/9, and 1.5 BB/9 (albeit mostly in AA). According to a great article from Sloane Martin,

He was able to get back to the baseball shape and the pitching form he was accustomed to and was thankful for the Nationals’ patience and opportunity. But he chose to sign with the Twins because of their bullpen situation and the fact that the Nationals had so much young talent.

Basically, the Twins offseason revamping of the bullpen, combined with its lack of depth and young prospects in the bullpen, James was confident he’d be able to land a spot on the Major League roster.

Instead, James was sent to Rochester after spring break broke, with Perkins, Mijares, and Dusty Hughes as lefty relievers. He wasn't even added to the 40-man roster until Nathan's DL trip and the overall poor performance of the bullpen basically forced the team's hand.
Continue reading Whither Chuck James?

Pavement — Box Elder

A kiss off song that would make a young Dylan proud.  Careful, a naughty word gets sung twice in this song.  The Wedding Present have a pretty good version too, but I couldn't find a version on You Tube.

 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf7iLTlSroY&feature=related

4 votes, average: 7.75 out of 104 votes, average: 7.75 out of 104 votes, average: 7.75 out of 104 votes, average: 7.75 out of 104 votes, average: 7.75 out of 104 votes, average: 7.75 out of 104 votes, average: 7.75 out of 104 votes, average: 7.75 out of 104 votes, average: 7.75 out of 104 votes, average: 7.75 out of 10 (4 votes, average: 7.75 out of 10)
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Minor Details: Games of 7/12

Rochester.  No games scheduled.

New Britain.  No games scheduled.

Ft. Myers.  No games scheduled.

Beloit.  No games scheduled.

Elizabethton 17, Pulaski 5 in Elizabethton.  The Twins led 3-0 after four, then scored ten runs in the fifth.  Kennys Vargas had four hits, raising his average to .368, and drove in three.  Eddie Rosario had two singles and a triple, raising his average to .317, and drove in three.  JaDamion Williams had three hits to raise his average to .316.  Max Kepler singled and doubled.  Nick Lockwood had two hits, scoring twice and driving in three and raising his average to .313.  Todd Van Steensel worked six innings, giving up a run on two hits and a walk to raise his record to 3-0.

Red Sox 3, Twins 1 at Red Sox (bottom of the fourth—suspended).  The Red Sox scored three in the second to take the lead.  The Twins have only one hit so far.  Bobby O’Neill allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits in three innings, walking none and striking out three.  Game will be completed Saturday.

DSL Rockies 2, Twins 1 at Rockies (Game 1—Scheduled 7 innings).  The Rockies scored in the sixth to break a 1-1 tie.  Five players had one hit each for the Twins.  Jose Abreu went five innings, giving up an unearned run on three hits and a walk.  Ezequiel Zarzuela took the loss, allowing an unearned run on two hits and two walks in two innings.  The Twins made four errors.

DSL Rockies 5, Twins 3 at Rockies (Game 2—Scheduled 7 innings).  The Rockies scored three in the first and two in the sixth.  Victor Arias and Erick Gonzalez each had two hits, with Gonzalez raising his average to .320.  Felix Jorge allowed three runs on five hits, walking none but taking the loss.

Happy Birthday–July 13

Tom York (1850)
George Bradley (1852)
Stan Coveleski (1889)
Lee Handley (1913)
Eliot Asinof (1919)
Fritz Dorish (1921)
Ruben Gomez (1927)
Daryl Spencer (1928)
Don Pavletich (1938)
Jack Aker (1940)
Buzz Stephen (1944)
Jerry Terrell (1946)
Bill Caudill (1956)
Mark Brown (1959)
Mike Fitzgerald (1960)
Pat Rapp (1967)
Ryan Ludwick (1978)
Yadier Molina (1982)
Shin-Soo Choo (1982)

 We would also like to wish a happy birthday to uncleWalt’s cousin.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–July 13