Happy Birthday–July 8

Hank O’Day (1862)
Ivey Wingo (1890)
Clint Brown (1903)
Salty Parker (1912)
Hector Lopez (1929)
Al Spangler (1933)
Darrell Brandon (1940)
Ken Sanders (1941)
Jim Ollom (1945)
Lerrin LaGrow (1948)
Alan Ashby (1951)
Terry Puhl (1956)
Bob Kipper (1964)
Jerome Walton (1965)
Bobby Ayala (1969)
Danny Ardoin (1974)

Hall of Fame umpire Hank O'Day was the home plate umpire in the first world series game in 1903.  He umpired in ten World Series.

Salty Parker was a long-time minor league manager and major league coach.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to AMR’s daughter, Moss’ son, and FTLT's daughter.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–July 8

2014 Game 88: Nice at Sleepless

I don't have a slew of things to say about Seattle, and the less I say about the Twins right now the better my chances of avoiding profanity. I don't know if the Twins are a mediocre team in a bad slump or a bad team in a mediocre slump. Either way, at this point in the season and with my frustration turning quickly to ennui, it's probably just as well that the Twins kick off a seven-game road trip in Seattle tonight before breaking for the All-Star game next week. The games will be on late enough that I can safely ignore them without feeling too much fan guilt.

Tonight the Twins send Kevin Correia (4-10, 4.95 ERA) to the mound. His performance of late is better than his record might indicate, losing five of his last nine starts, but with a 3.50 ERA over that span. Seattle trots out Hisashi Iwakuma (6-4, 3.33 ERA), an All-Star last year who is having just a decent season this year after missing the first month with a torn finger tendon. Play ball!