115 thoughts on “August 4, 2011: Dongers”

  1. Cuddy with his 5 rbi game has taken over the team lead in RBI with 60.
    I wonder when the last time a Twin had 5 rbi is a game

    1. Cuddyer had four RBIs (and three HRs) on the season as of May 10. On May 11, he had his first hit that scored a teammate. Since then, he's batting .327/.399/.560 in 73 games. On the season, he's batting .277/.376/.420 with RISP and .316/.435/.474 with RISP and two outs. He's also batting .355/.466/.700 vs. lefties. Nice move, Scioscia.

  2. Last night Rob Neyer posted a great, hard-to-verify trivia question (careful, potential spoilers in the comments):

    According to Tracy Ringsolsby (and via Bob Brenly), 426 players have worn a Colorado Rockies uniform ... and Todd Helton has been teammates with 361 of them.

    So here's the Impossible Trivia Question ... Which major-league player has had the most teammates?

    Not guys who played on the team in the same year, but actual teammates. To answer this question, you would need daily transaction logs going back a few decades. But only a few decades, because teams use a lot more players (especially pitchers) than they used to.

    I suspect the answer is Pete Rose or Rickey Henderson. The real trick would be nailing down the number.

    I thought it might be fun for folks to give answering it a shot here. These were my initial guesses:

    Spoiler SelectShow

    This player appears to be the best candidate:

    Spoiler SelectShow

    I read that name in the comments before I posted my own answer, but he would have otherwise been on my list.

    1. This goes back to that Cuddy teammate list, it's a tricky thing to track.
      Maybe if Neyer's talking about this, someone will put together the transaction database I was asking for.

      1. I like the second name you put there, hitman, as he was on the mid-00's Royals that seemed to have 50 players each season.
        Looked it up: 58*, 46, and 55 different players on those teams. He missed 12 games in August in the first of those seasons, so maybe he was only teammates with 55 of them.

        Also, I looked at his B-R page... when he makes the HOF**, after listing all of his teams, there won't be any room for a biography. Just something like

        Spoiler SelectShow

        *Holy crap! What is that record?
        **Hall of pretty good, actually.

        1. Spoiler SelectShow

          would most definitely make the Strat-O-Matic Hall of Fame. He is the perfect platoon DH.

    2. The person in question would have to have a combination of longevity and team-switching in their career. Neyer's guess of Rickey Henderson was the first name off the top of my head, but there has to be players that switch teams more often than Rickey. It certainly wouldn't be Rose.

      1. Spoiler SelectShow
          1. Those are just the numbers from B-R's oracle. The number of players with a distance of 1 were teammates, but only the the sense they played for the same team in a year. I posted them under the assumption that the majority of the teammates listed were actually teammates for at least one game.

      1. There's a spoiler button in the bar immediately above where you type. Either click it once, type your spoiler, and then click it again; or type your spoiler, select the text, and click the spoiler button.

  3. Based on helping my friend move last night, the amount of stuff one family acquires increase exponentially with the amount of kids. When he was single, he fit all his stuff in his truck. Now he's living with his GF and her two kids from a previous marriage. They borrowed his brother's horse trailer to move, plus his truck and her SUV.

      1. I'm moving at the end of the month, and were it not for my furniture, I could get everything I own in to my Civic. When I went to Ireland my entire life was in a duffle bag and a backpack. It'll be the same when I fly out to Prague. I much prefer that life I think.

        1. I don't think I could handle the life of a vagabond at this point, but having that small an amount of stuff to my name again would be fantastic.

          1. The vagabond thing sucks sometimes, like with relationships, but it's very liberating to be able to just grab some bags and go wherever you want.

        1. My new method of clothes washing, now that I have to do it myself, is when I take off clothes put them directly in the washer. When it's full, I run it. Then I dry them, of course. And the clothes just stay in the dryer until I need to wear it. I don't think I've put anything away properly yet.

          1. I did that during my time as a single man living alone.

            I only had three months of that in my entire life. It was great...it was just a very short experience.

            1. I missed out on that sort of fun since the only time I was single and living away from home, I had to use communal washer/dryers or go to the laundromat.

      1. We're doing the cloth diaper thing, so I'm assuming it'll be an hourly chore for us.

        1. We did that with Skim. Your bank account will thank you, although at times you'll want to break down and just buy a load (and I suggest keeping some extras in the car at all times; you'll forget the diaper bag at some point).

          1. One of my aunts made us one of these, so we have a small stock-pile to start with. I'll definitely try to keep the "extras in the car" thing in mind. My wife is not the more remember-ful person ever.

            1. There were probably fewer than five times over the years that they actually came into play for my girls, but those times would have been horrible for all involved if I hadn't had the extras.

              1. We always keep a pack or 2 or disposable diapers around in the car, so if we need them in a pinch (or if we're visiting people for more than a day or so) they're there.

    1. Back in the day, I could fit everything I owned in my Prelude. Last time we moved, I needed a truck and a Pod. Seriously.

      1. we're not hoarders, but with a 4000 sq' house worth of furniture, etc., I've already told everyone that we're done moving and going to be buried here in the back yard.

        1. Yeah, it's been my experience that the amount of stuff you have expands in direct correlation to the amount of space you have.

          1. Carlin said a house was just a place for your stuff. It sounds like actually stuff is just a thing for your house.

        2. We bought our 2800 Sq' house (our first) with the intention of never moving again, and the furniture acquisition since has certainly cemented that.

    2. Family's obviously a part of it, but there's also just the fact that, as we get older, we tend to acquire more stuff. Each time we move, we throw out a bunch, but it seems like we still have more to move.

      1. No kidding. Accumulation creep is hard to avoid. Moving might actually help control it.

    1. This brings up a thought I've been mulling over this morning. I saw Passan got all up on his high horse over the Molina from thing the other day, so I finally watched the video. Why is Molina being so vilified for "spitting" on the umpire like he is? It didn't look to me like he actually spat, but was just yelling. I thought the umps reaction to some spittle was a bit over-done. And then something like this happens and we wonder why a player, in the heat of a fairly tight division race playing against the team your in it with would over-react like Molina did?

      1. It's a natural reaction when someone accidently spits on you from two inches away. I lost what little respect I had for yadier.

        1. I'll concede the over-selling of the spit thing by the ump, but I still think Molina is being a bit over-vilified as if he purposely spit on the guy.

          1. It has nothing to do with spitting. Going after an umpire like that after a routine (missed) call?

          2. Based on what I'd read, I assumed Molina horked up a big ol' loogie and spit it right in the ump's face. Seriously.

            1. That's what I got out of every story about it so I finally went and watched the video and never saw anything that looked like anything other than yelling-spittle. If I know anything about loogi-spitting, its tough to do while in a constant state of yelling.

      2. I was expecting an Alomar incident based on the description, but no dice on that. Certainly well out of line, but the main problem is just that no one should be yelling like that at anyone else from that distance. (Or from any distance, really.)

        One thing I would note about that situation: I wonder if the textbook "you're ejected" sign is too confrontational. In soccer, say, if a player is ejected, the referee has the the option of calmly raising the red card over his head. No motion is made towards the player and there is nothing abrupt. Sure, no one's happy about leaving, but the gesture itself is nothing dramatic. But when an ump ejects a player in a baseball game, he usually points at him and then makes an exagerrated motion towards the stands. This sort of thing usually elicits a big response from the crowd, but it never diffuses the situation, and usually exacerbates the trouble. In this day and age, would it be reasonable for umpires to verbally eject players and then inform the scorekeeper (or someone) after which an announcement could be made to the crowd? Again, Molina was way out of line, but Drake legitimately was looking to diffuse the situation and at the same time he's forced to make a pretty confrontational gesture towards Molina.

        1. huh...good observation. We could take it a step further and say the "out" call is a little confrontational as well. The normal way is a fist pump with flexing of biceps. Some take it a step further and direct a punch towards the out player. Then there's the Tom Hallion 'Super Macho Man super punch.'

        2. Additionally, a soccer referee (at least a good one) is taught to never card (red or yellow) a player when they are not being directly addressed. If the player is on the ground, wait for the player to stand (if possible, I remember that dbag on Brazil in '94 getting "stretchered off" after elbowing Tab Ramos in the face). Of course, there will be many situations when the player will attempt to walk away and blow off the referee, but at least make the visible attempt to properly address them beforing giving the card.* Still, it's an interesting idea.

          *I realize in baseball this will not work because, as shown by Bob Davidson, an umpire is expected to walk away rather than to escalate the situation. However, in soccer, this is done ONLY when the decision to card has already been made rather than when a player has not yet crossed that line. Of course, not many cards in soccer are also for dissent.

        3. Rather than overhaul the motion of the call, which seems like an overreaction, I think the easiest way to address this issue would be to get rid of umpires who have a demonstrated pattern of provoking players and managers, and then to fine any of the others when they overstep their bounds.

    2. Davidson's conduct is a disgrace. Even if he got all his calls right, he ought to be let go.

  4. I got the 1991 World Series DVD's in the mail yesterday. I am watching game 1 this morning. Maybe it is just me but Tim McCaver isn't an idiot--at least in 1991. He just kind of sort of accidentally mentioned a reverse babip hybrid by saying that Brian Harper had put 91% of his balls into play during the season. During the same broadcast he was going into detail about Charlie Leibrandt's pitch speed and locations. It was useful analysis.

    Also, man, it sure got loud in the dome after the Gagne dinger.

    1. I've noticed that a lot of announcers who vilify the new-fangled stats refer to them often, just not by name, when they analyze game situations.

    2. If Dan Gladden slid into Olsen spikes first today he would have been vilified.

    3. Twins fans have a special hate for McCaver because of the '87 series. The announcers in general were, of course, Cardinals homers and that was hard for them to shake. I was a bit too young to have an actual opinion on if they announced like homers, but that was the impression I was given by my dad.

      1. There was also the time during the 87 when Al Michaels forgot his microphone was on and ranted on the air about how much he hating beeing in Minneapolis.

            1. A guick Google search shows that it was during Game 5 around a commercial break.

    4. Tim said some dumb things back then, and sure made his usual run of super-obvious statements, but he seemed a lot more with it and spent some time doing research before the game. At least in the World Series anyway.

      My pappy said that he liked Pat Summerall when he was younger, but that when he was old and with John Madden, it was the disaster I always saw. Anyone else have an opinion on that?

  5. Sheenie's parents have driven up to our house from New Orleans TWICE with Uhauls full of her grandparents' antique furniture. I'm not looking forward to our next move whenever that may be.

      1. "You're always concerned it might be his ulnar nerve," Twins minor league director Jim Rantz said. "I think we've got to wait for a reading from our doctors. There's enough concern that we're bringing him to Minnesota." [emphasis added]

        kiss of death.

    1. Given how this usually goes with Twins doctors of late, he'll be shut down in an attempt to rehab it, then they'll do the surgery so late, he'll lose all of next year as well. At least his arb clock hasn't started yet.

      1. I'd think that at this point he's going to lose all of next year anyway. If that's the case, I'd hope that the Twins try to do something this offseason to lock Liriano up for a few more years.

        1. If he had the surgery today, then he would only have a single month of minor league ball left if he came back after exactly one year. Under the slightly more reasonable assumption that he takes a bit over a year to get back, then that means 2012 might have some rehab starts in the low minors. Then in 2013 he tries to make the team in spring training.

  6. I am having a very good day. I received an offer of employment today from the place I applied at back in April, and put in my resignation at my current employer. After 5+ years it's definitely time for a change. I look forward to having free time in the evenings again, and working somewhere where I have the potential for advancement.

    1. Awesome. I recently left a job of six years with no advancement potential and am currently job hunting now. It's always a sweet feeling when you get that call. You're taking us all out to lunch, right?

      1. I'm still wrapping my head around it. For about 3 months I got nauseous every day heading to work, so to imagine that the end is in sight is pretty damn sweet.

        1. ugh...been there, too. That feeling will put a hole in your stomach eventually. Glad you're getting out.

      1. Dido. Life is too short to be stuck forever in a job you aren't excited about doing.

    2. Good for you, man. I quit a job several years back - hated going to work, politics, etc. Landed on my feet and was glad to be in the driver's seat.

    3. Good for you man. I'm sorta in the same boat - quitting a job that's getting me nowhere and hoping my new course of action turns out for the better. Best of luck, keep us up to date.

      1. Good for you man

        Geeze, I plagarized the comment right above me without even realizing it 'til I saw them on top of each other* in the Recent LTE sidebar.

        *That's what she said.

    1. It's probably good that his fiancee was handy--that way he could use the express lanes. Traffic's still pretty brutal about that time of day, especially when the Mariners are playing (even in front of relatively small crowds.)

  7. JoeCStrib: #Twins vs. RH Haren: Span 8, Mauer 3, Cuddyer 4, Kubel 9, Thome DH, Valencia 5, Young 7, Nishioka 6, Butera 2. (Liriano P)

    I's guessing Mauer's arm is pretty sore after taking a couple foul balls last night, so that probably has something to do with him at first. I do like Mauer batting second, though.

    1. My only issue with this lineup is that I would prefer Revere in left over Delmon. I'm thinking that Haren will likely serve Delmon his lunch. At least Ben is left handed. That's about all I've got.

      1. I agree, but it's hard to sit the guy after he hit two homers last night. Maybe he'll finally go on a tear like the middle of last season.

  8. its just like making a trade! (twitter)

    MinnesotaTwins
    Gardenhire tells media that Morneau will join Triple-A Rochester tomorrow in Norfolk to begin his rehab assignment. #Twins

Comments are closed.