Game 72: Phillies @ Twins

The Twins haven't had a three-game sweep since visiting Seattle back in late May.
The Twins haven't had a four-game winning streak since sweeping LAA and winning the first game against MIL between April 15-18.
In his 15th start, Ricky Nolasco will be the first Twins starter with a chance to win their fourth game of the season.
Right fielder Max Kepler is riding an 8-game hitting streak, and but for an 0-5 showing against LAA on June 13, would be on a 12-game streak.

The Phillies are riding a 9-game (I think) losing streak ... hope the locals can make it 10.

Happy Birthday–June 23

Due to personal time constraints, this is a copy-and-paste from last year.  Please put any updates below.

George Weiss (1894)
Jack Smith (1895)
Karl Spooner (1931)
Dave Bristol (1933)
Tom Haller (1937)
Dave Goltz (1949)
Marty Barrett (1958)
Jim Deshaies (1960)
Hensley Meulens (1967)
Josh Byrnes (1970)
Mark Hendrickson (1974)

George Weiss was the general manager of the New York Yankees from 1948-1960.

Karl Spooner set the record, later tied by J. R. Richard, for strikeouts in a major league debut with fifteen.

Dave Bristol managed four different teams from 1966-1980.

Josh Byrnes has been the general manager of Arizona and San Diego and is currently the vice president of baseball operations for the Dodgers.

Right-hander Dave Goltz pitched for the Twins through most of the 1970s.  He was born in Pelican Rapids, Minnesota, went to high school in Rothsay, Minnesota.  He was a four-sport star, playing basketball, football, and participating in track as well as playing baseball (he was all state in both basketball and baseball).  Goltz was drafted by Minnesota in the fifth round in 1967.  He had two very good years in the low minors, then missed all of the 1969 season due to military service and made only two appearances in 1970 due to injuries.  He came back to have a fine 1971 campaign and was doing fairly well in AAA in 1972 when he was called up to Minnesota in mid-July to replace an injured Jim Kaat.  He pitched extremely well the rest of the way, going 3-3, 2.67 with a WHIP of 1.10 and an ERA+ of 121.  The Twins moved him to the bullpen for 1973, however, and he did not flourish in the role.  He was moved back to the rotation in late July and was extremely inconsistent, mixing brilliant outings with horrible ones.  The next year, he was in the rotation from the beginning, and had the first of five consecutive very good seasons for the Twins.  His best years were 1977-1978, when he went a combined 35-21, 2.99 with a WHIP of 1.24 in 523.1 innings (303 0f which came in 1977, when he won 20 games and finished sixth in Cy Young voting).  He had double-digit complete games in each of those five seasons, with a high of nineteen in 1977.  He started to slip in 1979 and the Twins allowed him to become a free agent.  It turned out to be a good decision, as he never had as good a season again.  Goltz had a poor year in 1980, went to the bullpen in 1981, and when he was no better at the start of 1982 he was released in late April.  California signed him in late May and he did somewhat better, but he did nothing in 1983 and was released again in early July, ending his playing career.  He won twenty games once, got a World Series ring (with the Dodgers in 1981), and set one record, although not a good one.  Dave Goltz holds the record for most runs allowed while getting a save, giving up eight runs while getting a three-inning save against Cleveland on June 6, 1973.  Gene Mauch once was quoted as saying Goltz was the best starting pitcher he had ever managed.  As a Twin, Dave Goltz was 96-79, 3.48 with a 1.31 WHIP.  He appeared in 247 games, 215 of them starts, and worked 1,638 innings.  After retirement, Goltz returned to Minnesota.  He is currently an insurance agent, with offices in Fergus Falls and Rothsay, Minnesota.  He also was the baseball coach for Fergus Falls Community College for two years.

Left-hander Jim Deshaies was with the Twins for most of 1993 and all of 1994.  Born and raised in Massena, New York, he attended LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, one of six major league players that school has produced.  He was drafted by the Yankees in the twenty-first round in 1982.  He put up some really good numbers in the Yankees’ system, reaching AAA by 1984.  He also made his major league debut that year, making two starts for the Yankees in August.  He did not have a good year in AAA in 1985, however, and was traded to Houston in mid-September as part of a deal for Joe Niekro.  It was a good move for Deshaies, as he was immediately placed in the Astros rotation and stayed there for six years.  He was pretty good for five of those years; the best was 1989, when he went 15-10, 2.91 with a WHIP of 1.15.  He pitched poorly in 1991, however, and when contract expired he was allowed to become a free agent.  He signed with Oakland, but was released in spring training of 1992.  San Diego signed him in late April, sent him to AAA, and brought him to the majors in early July, place him in their starting rotation.  He bounced back pretty well, but was a free agent after the season, signing with Minnesota.  He did okay in 1993, not great but not terrible.  The Twins fell out of the race, however, and in late August Deshaies was traded to San Francisco for Andres Duncan, Aaron Fultz, and a player to be named later (Greg Brummett).  Deshaies was a free agent after the season and returned to Minnesota for 1994.  He was much worse in his second go-round with the Twins, leading the league both in home runs allowed and in earned runs allowed.  As a Twin, he was 17-25, 5.71 with a WHIP of 1.46.  He appeared in 52 games, all of them starts, and pitched 297.2 innings.  He became a free agent again and signed with Philadelphia for 1995.  He did well in AAA, but flopped in two starts with the Phillies and was released in late July, ending his playing career.  In 1986, he struck out the first eight batters of the game, setting a modern-day record.  He also holds the record for most at-bats without an extra-base hit.  Jim Deshaies was a  television broadcaster for the Houston Astros from 1997-2012 and is currently a broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs.

She Works Hard For The Money

This post is partially about parenting, partially about work. In this case, they are intertwined.

My wife has always had a pretty good job and has always been pretty career-motivated. We talked a little about having me stay home when we first had kids. In the end, we decided that it wouldn't work for us. I wouldn't like it (or be good at it) and she would have been jealous of my time at home. She ended up going part-time down to a 3-day per week schedule. She worked downtown at the time and would go in early so I'd be the one to get the kids ready for daycare three days per week. We did that while we had two children.

When we had the third, she switched jobs to a small firm that was five miles from our house. It was still 20-24 hours per week but she went to an hourly wage. She could come-and-go without a ton of guilt. When the kids were in daycare, she'd work three full days. Once they were in school, she'd work four 6-hour days.

It was the perfect job for our family. She would go in to work after the kids got on the bus and would get home right before they got home from school.

Now she has decided to stay home full time with a 15, 13, and 10-year old. From the outside, it looks a little insane. She's worked all this time to get to the point that the kids are old enough to be a little more independent and now is the time she's decided to stay home? If you're going to stay home, why not do it when the kids are young? But I think she made the right decision.

A few things factored into the decision. My mom passing away last year at the age of 67, my wife's lingering affects from a concussion suffered last fall, and my daughter's rehab from a broken leg all played a part in it.

We only have three more years of all of them under one roof. Life is short and the clock is ticking.

Happy Birthday–June 22

This is a copy-and-paste from last year.  If you have updates, please include them below.

Carl Hubbell (1903)
Walt Masterson (1920)
Han Urbanus (1927)
Faye Throneberry (1931)
Russ Snyder (1934)
Dave Tomlin (1949)
Ron Hodges (1949)
Greg Booker (1960)
Brant Brown (1971)
Esteban Yan (1975)
Willie Harris (1978)
Luis Maza (1980)
Ian Kinsler (1982)

Han Urbanus is in the Dutch Baseball Hall of Fame.  He pitched over 150 consecutive complete games over a period of eight years.

The brother of Marv Throneberry, outfielder Faye Throneberry spent much of his career with the Twins franchise while it was still in Washington (1957-1960).  In December of 1960, he was chosen by the Los Angeles Angels in the expansion draft.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–June 22

Game 70: Twins v. Phillies

USA in COPA2016 semi-finals tonight against Lionel Messi and the sky blue-striped Argentines.  Can Clint Dempsey continue to have a tournament for the ages?  How many times will Michael Bradley mishandle a simple pass?  Can Jurgy come up with a decent line-up without Bobby Wood and Jermaine Jones?

What?  Twin log?  Oh yeah, Tyler Duffy v. Aaron Nola.  Beautiful night at the ballpark.  Also Ryan Howard brings his .145 average to Target Field, so that's something too.