2016 Game 91: Indians at Twins

First Pitch 1:10 pm

Kyle Gibson (2-5, 5.02 ERA, 42 K, 1.483 WHIP)
Josh "Little Cowboy" Tomlin (9-2, 3.51 ERA, 68 K, 1.120 WHIP)

For those of you who didn't make it to last night's rain-delayed, extra-inning finish, Max Kepler drove in Mauer from third with an infield grounder that was thrown home as the Indians tried to keep the game alive. I'm not sure where this team is going to finish. With 72 games remaining, they have the opportunity to at least save a little face and dig their way out of the AL Central cellar. They'd only have to pick up 13 games on Chicago to do that. Not a can of corn by any means, but also not out of the realm of possibility considering it's the White Sox we're talking about catching. I've seen some pretty odd things happen in the second half in my day -- seemingly impossible winning streaks and slack-jaw, head-shaking collapses. And that's just by the Twins. But no matter how we finish because of our abysmal start, this team has won me back. You can start to see the nucleus of a pretty good young squad here -- an outfield full of outfielders, an infield with potential and no shortage of pop up and down the lineup -- and that's what I'll be watching for. With the non-waiver deadline looming in a couple of weeks, the Twins are also active sellers in the trade market, so we may find out how much value Ervin Santana has to a contending club (Texas, perhaps?) wanting to bolster its starting rotation. Looks like we got our crappy weather out of the way last night and it's getting close to that time, so...

Play ball!

Happy Birthday–July 17

Hugh “One Arm” Daily (1847)
Ernest Barnard (1874)
Judge Emil Fuchs (1878)
Lou Boudreau (1917)
Roy McMillan (1929)
Jerry Lynch (1930)
Toni Stone (1931)
Deron Johnson (1938)
Don Kessinger (1942)
Charley Steiner (1949)
Pete Ladd (1956)
Bobby Thigpen (1963)
Jason Jennings (1978)
Adam Lind (1983)

Ernest Barnard was the general manager of the Cleveland Indians from 1903-1926.  He was also the second president of the American League.

Judge Emil Fuchs was the owner of the Boston Braves from 1923-1935.  He was a magistrate judge in New York City from 1915-1918.

Toni Stone was the first woman to play in the Negro Leagues.  She played from 1949-1954.

Charley Steiner has been broadcasting Los Angeles Dodger games since 2005.

No players with connections to the Minnesota Twins appear to have been born on this day.  However, the original WGOM was born on this day.

We would also like to wish a very happy anniversary to Mr. and Mrs. Beau.

July 16, 2016: Free stuff

High school friend of my wife has a 6 year old daughter and 4 year old son. My kids are roughly 2 years younger, respectively. Every year, we get bags of hand me downs from them - here again today to deliver another load and swim in the pool ... I can't begin to contemplate how much money they've saved us.

Happy Birthday–July 16

Shoeless Joe Jackson (1889)
Doc Prothro (1893)
Bill Woodson (1917)
Jim Odom (1921)
Norm Sherry (1931)
Eddie Fisher (1936)
Lee Elia (1937)
Terry Pendleton (1960)
DeMarlo Hale (1961)
William VanLandingham (1970)

The father of former NFL coach Tommy Prothro, third baseman Doc Prothro played in the majors for parts of five seasons and had a lifetime batting average of .318.

Acclaimed voice actor Bill Woodson was the voice of the Twins' "Get to Know 'Em" advertising campaign in the first decade of the twenty-first century.

Jim Odom was an American League umpire from 1964-1974.

DeMarlo Hale was a minor league manager from 1993-2001 and has been a major league coach since 2002.

No players with connections to the Twins appear to have been born on this day.