Monthly Archives: July 2011

2011 Twins Game Recaps

Game #89: Twins 6, White Sox 3

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Twins record: 41-48
Fangraphs
MLB Game Wrap

This week I am faced with the prospect of pushing back not just one, but two excellent food-and-drink posts, both of which concern material that I find myself much more interested in than baseball at this point of this season, frankly. So I will once again try to get out of the way and tell you to go read those posts just below here instead. As for today, I'll just say that even I can't complain about taking three of four from Chicago in Chicago.

Hitter of the Week: I'm going to pick the Iceman, just because, since I make my offensive stat charts in sets of eight games and today's game was the start of a new set, I'm going to get a kick out of Iceman's three times reached out of four PAs today keeping him on the top of the chart for a whole week after this, as he won't appear again on this set unless someone else gets hurt.

Pitcher of the Week: I think I liked Brian Duensing and his two very nice starts this week the most.

Miscellaneous

Pint-Sized Reviews: Not all Canadian beer is Blue

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[note: I'd started this post yesterday, not anticipating that meat would bring the pork again today. Awesome. So go read or re-read that recipe, then come back here and fantasize with me about eating it while drinking this beer]

The family is scattering to the winds this week, with the Boy off to the Carleton Summer Writing Program, the Mrs. and the Girl heading to Nuevo Mexico, and li'l old me staying here to work my fingers to the bone for Gov'nor Brown. So saturday night I was treated to an early birthday dinner. And what a treat it was:
*the Boy grilled a tri-tip to perfection
*the Girl made a delicious pot of pinto beans
*the Mrs. made sauteed spinach and, for dessert, a fantastic blueberry-peach crisp.

and for double-dessert, I treated myself to a bomber of the Unibroue Quatre-Centième Brassin Commémoratif belgian-style strong pale ale. So sue me for using the wrong glass.

This is an interesting hybrid brew. It pours a beautiful golden straw color with an effervescent white head that settles down quickly, leaving little lacing. The mouthfeel is soft and light, beginning with a champagne-like bubbliness that slowly dissipates in the glass. The aroma is firmly Belgian -- like a dubbel, but with a heady (yet still light) undertone of bready, biscuity malt. One reviewer nailed the taste -- reminiscent of their world-class La Fin Du Monde, but toned down. You never notice its weighty 7.5 pct ABV.

The Quatre-Centieme, brewed originally to celebrate the 400th Anniversary of Quebec City, is the beer that proves that Unibroue is a truly great brewery, not by its greatness, but by its seeming ordinariness. To make my case is the Alström Bros themselves:

While Quatre is certainly not a bad beer, it simply smacks of past Unibroue beers and doesn't offer us anything unique--like the city it's supposed to be honoring. Fairly middle of the road, but Unibroue fans will no doubt want to give this one a try.

In other words, it's not world-class great like many of Unibroue's other products, so it is consigned to "meh". Seriously? No, this is a really, really good beer. It doesn't overwhelm the palate on any one dimension, it isn't way over the top, but instead is a delicious, drinkable, well-balanced Belgian ale. Most breweries would kill just to make a beer this good, but this one is snubbed as merely quaffable. Oy.

If you are curious about but unseasoned in Belgian ales, this would be a great place to start.

The Nation Has An Appetite

I love pork. You should <3

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Braised Short Rib with Panang at Lotus of Siam RestaurantToday's installment of pork = awesome features hoisin braised country style ribs. Country style ribs aren't really ribs at all, rather these delicious morsels are cut from the rib end of the shoulder and usually contain a bone or two. Slow cooking country style ribs breaks down the fat and connective tissue which creates a tender, juicy, and delicious final product. You'll need the following:

3lbs bone in country style ribs
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/4 soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated ginger (you can substitute 1 tsp powder ginger)
2 cloves garlic smashed

Method: Put ribs into your crock pot. Cover with onion slices. Mix remaining ingredients in a small bowl and pour over ribs / onions.

Cover and cook on low for 8ish hours (you're looking for the ribs to be tender, the bone will probably fall out and the meat will be falling apart). Really, that's it. A few minutes in the morning and by the time you're home from work dinner is waiting.

Remove ribs from the crock pot and keep them warm. De-fat the pan juice and pour over the ribs, garnish with chopped cilantro.

I add some sliced peppers to the mix, jalapeno, poblano, anaheim, whatever I have around to Bam! it up a notch. I've accidentally omitted the rice vinegar from this dish and haven't noticed a marked decrease in deliciousness. A couple teaspoons of sesame oil will also add a bit of je ne sais quoi to this dish.

 

 

2011 Twins Game Recaps

Game 88: White Sox 4, Twins 3

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OK, Meat helped me out for the game log, so now that I'm online I can throw up a recap of Saturday's game. Twins lose on a walk-off but the way Buehrle was dealing, this probably shouldn't have been close. Which really pisses me off since Buehrle is on my fantasy team. Oh well, the Sluggies will do fine anyways.

It would really help if Mijares remembered that he once knew how to pitch. It would also help if the Twins realized that Burnett sucks and we need a setup righty.

2011 Twins Game Logs

Game 89: Twins @ Pale Hose

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Hi Everybody! I don't see a game log slated for today so here is an emergency post.

A. Sleetstack (1-2) 3.71 ERA, 108 ERA+
V.
J. Peavy (4-2) 4.83 ERA, 84 ERA+

Lineups:

Twins
1. Revere CF
2. Casilla 2B
3. Mauer DH
4. Cuddyer 1B
5. Valencia 3B
6. Tosoni LF
7. Nishioka SS
8. Butera C
9. Repko RF

Sux

1. Juan Pierre LF
2. Alexei Ramirez SS
3. Paul Konerko 1B
4. Adam Dunn DH
5. Carlos Quentin RF
6. Alex Rios CF
7. A.J. Pierzynski C
8. Gordon Beckham 2B
9. Mark Teahen 3B

Go Twins!

Keeping Track

Minor Details: Games of 7/9

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 9, Rochester 0 in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Game 1—Scheduled 7 innings).  The Yankees scored three each in the first, second, and fourth.  Trevor Plouffe had half of the Red Wings’ four hits, raising his average to .310.  Delmon Young was 0-for-2 with a walk.  Eric Hacker surrendered all nine runs on ten hits and two walks in 3.1 innings.  Jake Stevens worked 2.2 scoreless innings, striking out five while giving up three hits and no walks.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 6, Rochester 4 in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Game 2—Scheduled 7 innings).  A five-run third gave the Yankees all the runs they needed.  The Red Wings out-hit the Yankees 13-9.  Delmon Young singled and doubled.  Nate Roberts, Trevor Plouffe, and Aaron Bates each had two hits, with Plouffe raising his average to .314 and Bates raising his average to .332.  Starter Thomas Diamond surrendered five runs on six hits and a walk while striking out five in 2.2 innings.  Kyle Waldrop struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings.

Binghamton 7, New Britain 6 in New Britain (Game 1—Scheduled 7 innings).  The Mets scored all of their runs in the fourth inning.  Brian Dozier had two hits, raising his average to .314.  Bobby Lanigan allowed all seven runs on five hits and four walks in 3.2 innings.  Tony Davis struck out three in two shutout innings.

Binghamton 9, New Britain 5 in New Britain (Game 2—Scheduled 7 innings).  The Mets again put together a big inning, this time scoring six in the third.  Chris Parmelee singled and hit his eighth home run.  Chris Herrmann had two hits.  Deinys Suarez was charged with all nine runs, but only four were earned, as the Rock Cats made four errors.  Suarez allowed seven hits and four walks in 3.1 innings.  Tyler Robertson pitched 2.2 scoreless innings.

Ft. Myers 4, Brevard County 1 in Brevard County.  The Miracle scored two in the fifth to break a 1-1 tie.  Josmil Pinto singled and doubled.  Oswaldo Arcia hit his second home run.  Logan Darnell worked seven strong innings, giving up a run on three hits and two walks.  Andrew Albers pitched two shutout innings for his fourth save.

Clinton 8, Beloit 5 in Beloit.  The LumberKings had four two-run innings.  Jairo Perez hit two home runs and scored three times; he now has eight homers and is hitting .404.  Tobias Streich singled and homered and Daniel Santana had two hits.  Starter Blayne Weller pitched four innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and a walk.  Andrei Lobanov took the loss, surrendering six runs on six hits and two walks in just 2.2 innings.  Michael Tonkin worked 2.1 scoreless innings, striking out two.

Elizabethton 3, Greeneville 2 in Elizabethton.  Niko Goodrum broke the tie by circling the bases to lead off the eighth, hitting a double and coming the rest of the way around on a throwing error.  Tyler Koelling hit a two-run homer, his fourth.  David Hurlbut went six innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out six.  Bart Carter worked two shutout innings to get the win, striking out four.  Madison Boer had a perfect ninth for his fourth save.

GCL Twins 2, Red Sox 1 at Red Sox (11 innings).  The Twins scored the winning run on a walk, an error, and two infield outs.  Julio Torres had three of the Twins’ six hits.  Starter Hein Robb lasted three shutout innings, giving up one hit and two walks.  Marcus Limon gave up three hits in 2.1 scoreless innings.  The win went to Tyler Herr, who allowed an unearned run on a hit and two walks while striking out three in two innings.  Matthew Tomshaw pitched a perfect eleventh to get the save.

DSL Twins 7, Orioles 5.  The Twins scored all of their runs in the first two innings, building a 7-2 lead.  Joel Polanco had three hits.  Ernesto Ciprian hit a three-run homer and drove in four.  Yorman Landa gave up two unearned runs on a hit and three walks in two innings.  Francisco Nunez struck out six in 3.2 scoreless innings to get the win, giving up two hits and two walks.  Jose Vasquez gave up a run on a hit and two walks while striking out two in two innings to get the save.  Nineteen walks were issued in the game, twelve of them by Twins pitchers.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–July 10

Jimmy McAleer (1864)
Bobby Lowe (1865)
John Heydler (1869)
Wayne Blackburn (1914)
Paul Pryor (1927)
Gene Alley (1940)
Hal McRae (1945)
Bob Bailor (1951)
Andre Dawson (1954)
Buddy Groom (1965)
Lee Stevens (1967)
Marty Cordova (1969)

For some odd reason, John Heydler does not appear to be a member of the Hall of Fame. 

Umpire Paul Pryor is an alumnus of the author's alma mater, the University of South Dakota.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–July 10 →