Venezuelan View

Aragua 4, La Guaira 0 in La Guaira.  The Tigres scored single runs in four innings.  Alex Romero (Florida) led the offense with a triple and a home run.  Joe Benson was 1-for-4 with a triple, scoring once.  Deunte Heath (White Sox) worked five shutout innings, giving up three hits and four walks, to get the win.  Victor Moreno got the save with 1.1 scoreless innings despite giving up two hits and a walk.

No other Twins played yesterday.  Anzoategui shutout Lara 2-0, Caracas blanked Magallanes 5-0, and Zulia defeated Margarita 4-1.

The VWL takes Monday off.  In Tuesday's action, Aragua is at Zulia, La Guaira is at Caracas, Magallanes travels to Lara, and Anzoategui is at Margarita.

Solar Sox Summary

Where they stand:  Mesa is 11-12, second in the AFL East, four games behind Salt River.

Who's hot:  Chris Herrmann is hitting .370/.469/.593 in 27 at-bats.  Aaron Hicks is at .254/.359/.507 in 67 at-bats.  Cole DeVries is 2-0, 3.18, 1.00 WHIP with 1 walk and 11 strikeouts in 17 innings (5 starts).

Who's in the middle:  Brian Dozier is hitting .294/.346/.368 in 68 at-bats.

Who's cold:  Brett Jacobson is 0-2, 6.14, 1.64 WHIP with 5 walks and 6 strikeouts in 7.1 innings (7 appearances).  Bruce Pugh is 0-1, 8.38, 2.69 WHIP with 12 walks and 7 strikeouts in 9.2 innings (8 appearances).  Dakota Watts is 0-1, 8.68, 2.04 WHIP with 10 walks and 8 strikeouts in 9.1 innings (8 appearances).

The Solar Sox travel to Phoenix this afternoon.

Happy Birthday–October 31

Harry Smith (1874)
Cal Hubbard (1900)
Ken Keltner (1916)
Jim Donohue (1938)
Ed Stroud (1939)
Dave McNally (1942)
Mickey Rivers (1948)
Dave Trembley (1951)
Mike Gallego (1960)
Matt Nokes (1963)
Fred McGriff (1963)
Eddie Taubensee (1968)
Steve Trachsel (1970)
David Dellucci (1973)

David Dellucci was drafted by Minnesota in the eleventh round in 1994, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–October 31

Crock Pot Brisket* Stew and Stone Imperial Black IPA

It’s been cool off and on for a few weeks up here in the Great White North, but the last few evenings have been downright chilly. Brisk enough to remind me that brainS and meat have spent much of the past year filling my mind with glorious Crock Pot ambitions. An uncluttered Sunday morning (rare with a newborn) provided ample opportunity to get after it…so I did.

Continue reading Crock Pot Brisket* Stew and Stone Imperial Black IPA

Venezuelan View

Aragua 10, La Guaira 8 in Aragua.  The Tigres lost a 5-1 lead but came back to win.  Luis Hernandez led the way with two singles and a double.  Luis Maza singled and tripled, Hector Gimenez singled and doubled, and Lastings Milledge had two hits.  Joe Benson was 1-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Rich Rundles (St. Louis) gave up a hit but struck out three in a scoreless inning to get the win.  Francisco Butto pitched a perfect ninth to get the save.

Magallanes 6, Caracas 5 in Caracas (12 innings).  The Navagantes scored in the twelfth to win a see-saw game which featured eleven errors.  Bryan LaHair (Cubs) led the way with two doubles and a single, driving in three.  Kole Calhoun (Angels) had two singles and a double.  Ezequiel Carrera (Cleveland) singled and doubled, and Jose Altuve (Houston) and Luis Landaeta each had two hits.  Deolis Guerra did not give up a run in two-thirds of an inning for Magallanes despite allowing a hit and two walks.  Clevelan Santeliz retired all four batters he faced, two by strikeout, to get the win.  Pedro Guerra struck out one in a perfect twelfth to get the save.

In games in which no Twins played, Caribes defeated Lara 5-0 and Margarita trounced Zulia 13-2.  Today, Aragua is at La Guaira, Lara at Anzoategui, Caracas at Magallanes, and Zulia at Margarita.

Solar Sox Summary

Mesa scored two in the fifth to break a 5-5 tie on the way to an 8-5 win over Peoria in Mesa.

Josh Vitters (Cubs) had two singles and a homer to lead the Solar Sox.  Robbie Grossman (Pittsburgh) singled and doubled, Xavier Avery (Baltimore) had two hits, and Junior Lake (Cubs) hit a home run.  Aaron Hicks was 0-for-4.  Marcus Hatley (Cubs) worked 1.2 innings to get the win, giving up a run on a hit.  Brandon Kloess (White Sox) pitched a perfect ninth to get the save.

For the Javelinas, Juan Lagares (Mets) and Adam Moore (Seattle) each singled and doubled.  Zelous Wheeler (Milwaukee) had two hits.  The loss went to Erik Turgeon (Mets), who allowed two runs on two hits in 1.2 innings.

Mesa is off today.  The Solar Sox travel to Phoenix Monday.

Happy Birthday–October 30

Ed Delahanty (1867)
Buck Freeman (1871)
Charlie Deal (1891)
Clyde Manion (1896)
Bill Terry (1898)
Dave Barnhill (1914)
Leon Day (1916)
Bobby Bragan (1917)
Joe Adcock (1927)
Jim Perry (1935)
Bruce Gardner (1938)
Jim Ray Hart (1941)
Houston Jimenez (1957)
Dave Leeper (1959)
Dave Valle (1960)
Lee Tunnell (1960)
Gerald Perry (1960)
Scott Garrelts (1961)
Danny Tartabull (1962)
Mark Portugal (1962)
Marco Scutaro (1975)
Jason Bartlett (1979)

Dave Leeper was drafted by Minnesota in the third round in 1978, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–October 30