Monthly Archives: November 2016

WGOM

Pledge Drive Wrap-up

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Sorry, gang, been a little busy. Anyway, just wanted to let you know that we made our goal of $500 and raised a total of $577.42. Awesome job, everyone. We'll keep this post up for a little bit if only as a jumping off point for all the great content that came out over the pledge drive. The conversation isn't over yet!

Thanks again, you guys. This is truly the World's Greatest blah blah blah.

WGOM PLEDGE DRIVE POSTS

"THE NATION HAS PROBLEMS: VOL. 11" - The Nation Has Problems - Greekhouse
"BOOK DAY: AWARD SEASON" - First Monday Book Day - Daneeka's Ghost
"γνῶθι σεαυτόν - KNOW THYSELF" - WGOM Fitness - New Britain Bo
"WHO WANTS TO BE AN ASTRONAUT?" - WGOM Advice - Mike
"APPLE JELLY … MADE WITH APPLES & STUFF" - The Nation Has An Appetite - Can of Corn
"FTLT ON THE WOLVES" - NBA - FirstTime "hitman" LongTime
"CSI: CARLSBAD, CA [2003 UPPER DECK]" - Baseball Cards: Detective Work - Rhubarb_Runner
"COMFORT FOOD" - The Nation Has An Appetite - brianS
"CLASSIC ALBUM REVIEWS – VAN HALEN" - Miscellaneous - freealonzo
"TRIPLE-THREAT COOKIES" -The Nation Has An Appetite - Pepper
"A SERIES OF QUESTIONS ON PARENTING" - Father Knows Best - Algonad
"NOVEMBER 21, 1998: RANDOM DAY IN TWINS HISTORY" - History, Minnesota Twins - The Dread Pirate
"VIDEO GAME POST: BITE-SIZED THRILLS" - Games - nibbish
"FMD: MUSIC FOR KIDS" - Friday Music Day - Philospher
"GUMBO FOR THE PEOPLE" - The Nation Has An Appetite - meat
"MOVIE DAY" - At the Movies - spookymilk
"THE CRUCIFEROUSING" - The Nation Has An Appetite - brianS
"THE GHOSTS OF DOS A CERO" - Soccer - MagUidhir
"BERSERK BOXSCORES: WHITE SOX @ TWINS 04/19/1962" - Berserk Boxscores - Beau
"TABLETOP TIMES: THE LATEST HOTNESS FOR CHRISTMAS" - Games - punmanbowler
"MUSINGS FROM THE EMERITUS" - Better Know A Citizen - SBG

Keeping Track

Winter Wonderland: Games of November 27

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

CARACAS 7, MAGALLANES 4 IN MAGALLANES

Jesus Guzman broke a 4-4 tie with an RBI single in the eighth and Henry Alejandro Rodriguez hit a two-run homer in the ninth to put the game out of reach.  Luis Arraez was 0-for-5 for Magallanes and is now batting .363.

ARAGUA 8, LA GUAIRA 6 IN ARAGUA

Renato Nunez' two-run homer in the seventh broke a 6-6 tie.  Nunez was 2-for-4 with a double in addition to his ninth homer, scoring twice.

ANZOATEGUI 6, LARA 5 IN LARA (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)

Anzoategui scored three in the fifth to make it 5-5 and Denis Phipps singled home the go-ahead run in the seventh.  Rafael Ortega was 2-for-3 with a triple and a double, scoring three times and driving in one for Anzoategui.

LARA 3, ANZOATEGUI 1 IN LARA (GAME 2--7 INNINGS)

Jesus Montero hit a two-run homer in the sixth to break a 1-1 tie.  Paulo Orlando was 2-for-3 with two runs for Lara.

MARGARITA 8, ZULIA 3 IN MARGARITA

Already leading 4-2, Margarita scored four in the eighth to put the game out of reach.  Cade Gotta had a two-run triple in the inning.  Cesar Carrillo pitched five innings, giving up one run on five hits and two walks with no strikeouts.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

ORIENTE 4, GIGANTES 0 AT GIGANTES (6 1/2 INNINGS--RAIN)

Aneury Tavarez homered to lead off the fourth and Fernando Martinez hit a two-run homer later in the inning to give Oriente a 3-0 lead.  Tavarez was 2-for-3 for Oriente.

LICEY 3, AGUILAS 2 IN LICEY

It was 2-2 going to the bottom of the ninth, but Sergio Alcantara singled, was bunted to second, and scored on a Jorge Bonafacio single to win it for Licey.  Matt Koch pitched 5.2 innings, giving up one run on three hits and no walks with two strikeouts.

ESCOGIDO AT ESTE

Rained out.

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

MAYAGUEZ 9, CAROLINA 4 IN MAYAGUEZ

Mayaguez scored three in the first and Kennys Vargas hit a grand slam in a five-run fourth that put the game out of reach.  Vargas was 2-for-4 with a triple in addition to his second home run.  He also walked and scored three times.  Dereck Rodriguez pitched one inning for Mayaguez, giving up a run on three hits to raise his ERA to 1.13.  Lean Marrero was 1-for-1 as a reserve for Carolina.  J. J. Fernandez was 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs for Carolina.

SANTURCE 2, AGUADILLA 1 IN SANTURCE (10 INNINGS)

Christian Vazquez homered with one out in the tenth to give Santurce the walkoff win.  Vazquez was 3-for-4 with a walk and scored twice.  Evan Grills pitched seven innings, giving up an unearned run on four hits and no walks with six strikeouts.

MEXICAN LEAGUE

NORTH ALL-STARS 4, SOUTH ALL-STARS 3

It was tied 3-3 going to the bottom of the ninth.  C. J. Retherford and Jose Amador opened the bottom of the ninth with singles, putting men on first and third.  A short fly ball was the first out, but Olmo Rosario grounded to second and the South could not turn the double play, allowing the winning run to score.  Amador was 2-for-4 with a run in the game.

AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE<>/h4>

ADELAIDE 10, MELBOURNE 3 IN ADELAIDE

Adelaide scored three in the third and five in the fourth to go up 8-1.  Jordan Cowan was 2-for-5 with two doubles for Adelaide, scoring twice and driving in three.

CANBERRA 21, SYDNEY 11 IN CANBERRA

Canberra led 5-0 and 6-4, fell behind 10-6, tied it 10-10, and led 12-11 after five and a half before blowing it open late.  Canberra hit five home runs and Sydney one.  Robbie Perkins was 4-for-5 with a home run and a double, scoring twice and driving in four.  Mike Reeves was 3-for-5 with a home run (his third) and a walk, scoring twice.  Kyle Perkins was 3-for-6 with two doubles, scoring three times and driving in four.

Keeping Track

1987 Rewind: Game Fifty-six

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MINNESOTA 5, KANSAS CITY 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, June 8.

Batting stars:  Gene Larkin was 1-for-1 with a triple and three RBIs.  Kirby Puckett was 1-for-4 with a home run, his eleventh.  Roy Smalley was 2-for-2 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  Mike Smithson pitched six innings, giving up two runs on six hits and no walks with one strikeout.  Jeff Reardon struck out three in a scoreless inning, giving up two hits.

Opposition stars:  Frank White was 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Willie Wilson was 2-for-5.  Bo Jackson was 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base, his fifth.

The game:  Puckett's homer in the sixth tied the score 2-2.  The Twins opened the seventh with singles by Smalley and Tom Brunansky.  Steve Lombardozzi bunted, but the Royals failed to get an out at third base, loading the bases.  Dan Gladden hit into a force out at home, but Larkin pinch-hit for Al Newman and lined a triple down the right field line to give the Twins a 5-2 lead.  The Royals threatened in the ninth.  They opened the inning with a walk and a single off George Frazier, bringing Reardon into the game.  He struck out the first two men he faced, but Hal McRae singled in a run and Wilson got an infield single to load the bases.  Kevin Seitzer then struck out to end the game.

Of note:  Randy Bush was 2-for-4...Mark Gubicza started for Kansas City and pitched well for six innings, but was charged with five runs in six innings, giving up six hits and three walks with five strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins were 30-26, in second place, one game behind Kansas City.

Notes:  As you can see, this was a big series for early June, with the second place Twins playing the first place Royals...Newman was again at shortstop, replacing Greg Gagne...Bush was in right field, with Brunansky in left and Gladden on the bench...Sal Butera was again the catcher, replacing Tim Laudner...Larkin raised his average to .372...Puckett went down to .316...Smalley raised his average to .318...The Twins pinch-ran for Smalley, the DH, in the seventh inning, meaning that Frazier and Reardon were in the lineup.  Their spot did not come up.

Player profile:  Bo Jackson, of course, was a star football player and was injured in football in 1990.  He tried to come back in baseball, and did play for the White Sox in 1991 and 1993 and actually was pretty decent as a part-time player for California in 1994.  He was never the same player he had been, though.  He got a September call-up with the Royals in 1986 and was a starting outfielder for them from 1987-1990.  He struck out a lot, but he also hit for power and stole a good number of bases.  In addition, he made some spectacular plays in the outfield.  In his four-plus seasons before getting hurt, he hit .250/.309/.474 with 142 home runs and 82 stolen bases.  He made one all-star team, in 1989, famously hitting a home run in the first inning.  He might have come back after the 1994 season--he hit .274/.344/.507 in 201 at-bats that season--but after the players' strike he decided he was enjoying spending the time with his family and elected not to play any more.  He has kept a relatively low profile since then, so much so that many people have forgotten what an incredibly talented and popular athlete he once was.  Still, there's something refreshing in this day and age about an athlete gracefully stepping out of the spotlight.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–November 28

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Heinie Pietz (1870)
Frank O'Rourke (1894)
Jerry Gardner (1920)
Wes Westrum (1922)
Sixto Lezcano (1953)
Dave Righetti (1958)
Walt Weiss (1963)
John Burkett (1964)
Matt Williams (1965)
Pedro Astacio (1969)
Robb Nen (1969)
Jose Parra (1972)
Carlos Villaneuva (1983)

Jerry Gardner spent most of his life in baseball as a minor-league player and manager and as a scout.

We would like to wish a very happy birthday to Mom Runner.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–November 28 →

Keeping Track

1987 Rewind: Game Fifty-five

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MINNESOTA 7, TEXAS 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, June 7.

Batting stars:  Sal Butera was 2-for-3 with a double, scoring once and driving in three.  Randy Bush was 3-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.  Kirby Puckett was 0-for-2 with two walks, scoring once and driving in one.

Pitching star:  Keith Atherton pitched three shutout innings, giving up two hits and no walks with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Geno Petralli was 3-for-3 with a home run (his second) and a double, driving in two.  Pete O'Brien was 2-for-4 with a double.  Curtis Wilkerson was 2-for-4 with a stolen base (his fourth), a hit-by-pitch, and a run.

The game:  Petralli homered in a two-run third and singled in a run in the fourth to put the Rangers up 3-0.  The Twins came back in the fifth, as Butera hit a three-run double and later scored on a bases-loaded walk to Puckett to give the Twins a 4-3 lead.  A sacrifice fly tied it 4-4 in the top of the seventh, but in the bottom of the frame Bush delivered an RBI single and Roy Smalley brought home two with a double to put the Twins ahead 7-4.  The Rangers did not get a man past first the rest of the game.

Of note:  Juan Bereguer started and struck out ten in six innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on eight hits and two walks...Texas starter Edwin Correa struck out seven in 4.1 innings but allowed four runs on three hits and four walks.

Record:  The Twins were 29-26, in second place, two games behind Kansas City.

Notes:  Al Newman was at shortstop in place of Greg Gagne...Bush was in right, with Tom Brunansky in left and Dan Gladden out of the lineup...Puckett's average was now .317...Butera was making his 1987 Twins debut, a move that resulted from the trade of Mark Salas.  The Twins had traded Butera to Detroit in the spring of 1983.  He had played with Montreal and Cincinnati, being released by the Reds on May 19 of 1987.  The Twins signed him three days later, sent him to AAA Portland, and brought him up for this game.  He would stay the rest of the season.

Player profile:  Geno Petralli is another guy who turned being a reserve catcher into a fairly lengthy career.  Unlike most who do that, though, he was known more for his bat than his glove.  He was drafted by Toronto in the third round of the January draft in 1978.  He made his major league debut as a September call-up in 1982.  He got another September call-up in 1983 and played a few games early in the season in 1984.  The Blue Jays had Ernie Whitt as their catcher back then and were pretty well satisfied with him, so Petralli was sold to Cleveland in May of 1984.  He appears to have been injured a lot of that season, as he played only twenty-three games of AAA, and he was released in April of 1985.  The Rangers signed him a month later and brought him to the majors to stay in July.  He didn't play a lot in 1985 or 1986, but 1987 saw increased playing time for him, as he topped two hundred at-bats for the first time.  He responded by batting .302 with an OPS of .868, his best season in the majors.  In an effort to get his bat into the lineup more, he started six games at third base and one at first.  He also was used at second, right field, and left field.  He was the Rangers' primary catcher in 1988, although he started only seventy-two games there, and batted .282,  He was injured much of 1989 but got the starting job back in 1990 and batted .304 with a .775 OPS.  In 1991, however, Ivan Rodriguez came along, and Petralli was back to a reserve role.  He remained in that role through 1993, then his playing career was over.  His career numbers are .267/.344/.360 in 1874 at-bats spread over twelve seasons.  He does not have a reputation as a good defensive catcher, and allowed a lot of passed balls, but partly that's the result of frequently being asked to catch knuckleballer Charlie Hough.  His father played in the White Sox' organization from 1948-53 and his son Ben played in independent ball in 2010.  Another son, James, is part of a band called White Denim.  Geno Petralli was a coach for the Round Rock Experss in 2016.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–November 27

Bullet Joe Bush (1892)
Johnny Schmitz (1920)
Billy Moran (1933)
Jose Tartabull (1938)
Dave Giusti (1939)
Dan Spillner (1951)
Mike Scioscia (1958)
Randy Milligan (1961)
Tim Laker (1969)
Ivan Rodriguez (1971)
Willie Bloomquist (1977)
Jimmy Rollins (1978)

No players with connections to the Minnesota Twins appear to have been born on this day. The closest we come is Billy Moran, who was part of a three-team trade involving Minnesota, Cleveland, and the Los Angeles Angels. Minnesota acquired Frank Kostro and Jerry Kindall and sent Lenny Green and Vic Power to Los Angeles. Billy Moran was sent from the Angels to Cleveland in that trade.