Man, this week has been lean in the store. Come visit me. PLEASE.
Monthly Archives: November 2016
Happy Birthday–November 18
Deacon McGuire (1863)
Jack Coombs (1882)
Les Mann (1892)
Gene Mauch (1925)
Roy Sievers (1926)
Danny McDevitt (1932)
Cal Koonce (1940)
Jim Shellenback (1943)
Steve Henderson (1952)
Luis Pujols (1955)
Mike Felder (1961)
Jamie Moyer (1962)
Dante Bichette (1963)
Ron Coomer (1966)
Tom Gordon (1967)
Gary Sheffield (1968)
Shawn Camp (1975)
David Ortiz (1975)
Steve Bechler (1979)
C. J. Wilson (1980)
Roy Sievers was a star for the franchise when it was in Washington in the 1950s.
There are seventy-six current and former major league players born on this day. I'm pretty sure that's the most on any day.
Movie Day
We'll get it in where we can, and that's now. What's your pre-holiday fare? For that matter, what's your holiday fare? Do I own Planes, Trains and Automobiles? If so, I should pop it in tonight.
November 21, 1998: Random Day in Twins History
I used a random number generator to pick a season from the past with the idea that I would quickly highlight the Twins history that occurred today in that year. The generator sent me to the year 1998.
The Twins concluded a sixth-consecutive losing season in 1998 and began to finally embrace a full rebuild. Relatively cheap veterans Greg Swindell, Bob Tewksbury, Mike Morgan, Otis Nixon, and Orlando Merced were all traded during the season or allowed to leave as free agents. Paul Molitor finally retired.
The STrib's John Millea noted, "Don't be surprised if the 1999 season is Tom Kelly's last as manager of the team. The payroll is getting smaller, the players are getting younger, and Kelly's patience continues to wear thin. He is at his best when the clubhouse is full of veterans who have been through the wars and earned their stripes. Kelly is not exactly the fatherly type when it comes to youngsters, and sometimes that has resulted in strained relationships that can hinder the ballclub's progress."
Well, that wasn't entirely true. 1999 wasn't Kelly's last season with the team, although the payroll did get smaller and the roster got younger. Who knows how Kelly's patience wore. The sentence about striped veterans is the type of non-factual, journalistic mumbo-jumbo that would make Ken Tremendous a cult hero within years.
On this date, Terry Steinbach had filed for free agency and the Twins were mulling whether to bring him back. Their internal candidates were Javier Valentin and A.J. Pierzynski, and the team did not believe either was fully ready for the next season. Still, the team had been disappointed with Steinbach's production behind the plate the previous two years.
Postscript: On January 4, the Twins finally re-signed Steinbach. Despite being nearly ready, it would take Pierzynski two more years to become the starting catcher mainly due to some, um, maturity issues. One wonders at the official number of "wars" Pierzynski has endured in his career.
Did You Know that David Ortiz played in 86 games, and Torii Hunter played in 6 games that season? On the mound, Eric Milton started 32 games that year. Hunter has been retired for one season, and Ortiz just retired. Milton was just 105 days older than Ortiz, and just 122 days older than Hunter, but has not played in a game since June 27, 2009 even though he earned more than $47 million in his career.
Did You Also Know that the winning pitcher in Milton's last game was King Felix?
Furthermore, Did You Know that the final hitter Milton faced was Junior Griffey?
A Series of Questions on Parenting
Here's the situation. I will soon have a 16 and 14 year old. It feels like we've hit a point where parenting strategy has to shift. Less telling them what to do and more picking them up after they fall. This doesn't seem as obvious as parenting younger kids. I didn't have to think much when a toddler was grabbing an electrical cord. It was pretty obvious what I should do.
Should I monitor digital communications with her friends?
Should I let her use social media?
Should I tell her I know she has a second "secret" Instagram account?
How much input should I give her on classes she chooses?
How much input should I have on college?
Do I encourage her to start looking at colleges or just sit back and wait?
Do I suggest any schools she should visit? What if I think she's going down the wrong road? Do I really know the wrong road for her?
Should I give any advice on her major? What if she thinks she wants to go on to get a PhD?
If she's watching Netflix on her Kindle after she's gone to bed, do I punish her or just explain why it's a bad idea?
Should she have a bed time?
Should I push her to get her driver's license?
We haven't gotten to the dating thing. What do I do then? I picture myself like the coach on Friday Night Lights where I say and do the wrong thing most of the time.
How much do I "warn" her about boys?
How much do I talk about safety and avoiding bad situations? (I have a pretty cautious daughter. The hesitance to get her driver's license comes from a Driver's Ed course that focused on car crashes as a "Scared Straight" strategy. It scared her straight out of the vehicle.)
Thanks for reading and any suggestions!
Winter Wonderland: Games of November 16
ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE
PEORIA 5, SURPRISE 2 IN PEORIA
With Peoria up 3-2, Guillermo Heredia delivered a two-out two-run single in the eighth to secure the win. Nick Gordon was 1-for-4 for Surprise and is batting .351. Mitch Garver pinch-hit and was 0-for-1. Tanner English was 1-for-2 with a walk. Mason Melotakis pitched one inning, giving up a run on three hits and no walks with no strikeouts. Randy Rosario struck out two in one inning, giving up two unearned runs on a hit and a walk. Surprise leads Glendale by a half game and Peoria by a full game with one game remaining. Glendale and Peoria play each other today while Surprise hosts Salt River. The league is incredibly balanced. Surprise has the best record at 16-14-1. Everyone else is within a game of .500 except for Scottsdale, which is 13-18.
GLENDALE 10, MESA 0 IN MESA
Glendale scored six runs in the first four innings and then added four in the sixth. Austin Gomber struck out seven in six shutout innings for Glendale, giving up two hits and no walks.
SCOTTSDALE 4, SALT RIVER 0 IN SCOTTSDALE
Scottsdale scored two in the first and led all the way. James Kaprielian pitched 4.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and two walks with four strikeouts for Scottsdale. Gleyber Torres was 3-for-4 with a double for Scottsdale, scoring twice and driving in one.
VENEZUELAN LEAGUE
MARGARITA 3, LA GUAIRA 1 IN LA GUAIRA
An RBI single by Carlos Garcia broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth and Margarita added an insurance run in the ninth. Ryan O'Rourke started for Margarita and struck out four in four innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk.
ZULIA 6, MAGALLANES 5 IN ZULIA
Zulia scored four in the first, only to see Magallanes catch up at 5-5 in the ninth. Jose Pirela led off the bottom of the ninth with a double and scored on Giovanny Urshela's single to win it for Zulia. Luis Arraez was 3-for-5 for Magallanes and is batting .387.
LARA 7, ARAGUA 5 IN ARAGUA
Lara scored three in the fourth to go up 3-0. They still led 7-3 going to the bottom of the ninth, when Aragua scored two and had the tying run on base with none out. A double play and a strikeout ended the game. Hector Gimenez was 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI and Jesus Montero was 3-for-5 with a run and two RBIs, both for Lara.
ANZOATEGUI 9, CARACAS 5 IN ANZOATEGUI
Tomas Telis hit a grand slam in a five-run fifth that put Anzoategui up 8-3. Telis was 2-for-4 and scored twice.
DOMINICAN LEAGUE
ESCOGICO 6, ORIENTE 4 IN ESCOGIDO
Mark Thomas hit a two-run homer in a three-run Escogido second and they never trailed. Daniel Palka was 0-for-2 with a walk for Escogido.
ESTE 2, AGUILAS 1 IN ESTE
An error tied it 1-1 in the top of the ninth, but another error gave Este the win in the bottom of the ninth. Bryan Evans pitched six shutout innings for Este, giving up one hit and one walk while striking out three.
LICEY 10, GIGANTES 6 AT GIGANTES
Licey led 3-0 after one, trailed 5-4 after two, tied it at six in the fifth, and went into the lead to stay with two in the seventh. Diory Hernandez was 4-for-6 with two runs and an RBI. Wily Mo Pena was 3-for-4 with an RBI.
PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE
CAGUAS 4, CAROLINA 1 IN CAROLINA
Kelly Dugan's two-run homer in the sixth put Caguas up 4-0 and left them in control of the game. J. J. Fernandez was 0-for-3 for Carolina.
AGUADILLA AT MAYAGUEZ
This game is listed as a forfeit, with the note "refusal". It appears that it was Aguadilla that refused and forfeited, but nothing actually comes out and says that. I'll let you know if I find out more about what happened.
MEXICAN LEAGUE
OBREGON 5, NAVOJOA 3 IN OBREGON
Justin Greene had an RBI double in the third and scored later in the inning to put Obregon up 4-2. Corey Wimberly was 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs for Obregon.
LOS MOCHIS 8, JALISCO 0 IN LOS MOCHIS
Los Mochis took a 5-0 lead with five in the second and controlled the game the rest of the way. Luis Niebla pitched five shutout innings, giving up one hit and four walks while striking out four for Los Mochis.
MAZATLAN 8, HERMOSILLO 5 IN HERMOSILLO
Mazatlan led 4-0 after one, trailed 5-4 after four, but went into the lead to stay with a three-run seventh. They had only one hit in the inning, aided by two walks, a hit batsman, and an error. Yunesky Sanchez was 2-for-4 with a double for Mazatlan, scoring once and driving in one.
CULIACAN 6, MAZATLAN 1 IN MAZATLAN
Issmael Salas' two-run single capped a four-run first that gave Culiacan all the runs it needed. Ryota Igarashi pitched struck out twelve in eight shutout innings, giving up one hit and no walks, for Culiacan.
AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE*
BRISBANE 3, CANBERRA 2 IN BRISBANE
Aaron Whitefield scored from second on a ground out in the seventh, breaking a 2-2 tie and leading to a win for Brisbane. Mitch Nilsson was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, driving in one, for Brisbane.
*Game actually played November 17. It's timey-wimey.
Candlemass – A Sorcerer’s Pledge
I bet a sorcerer would pledge to the WGOM. Why haven't you?
1990
C'mon, cheaptoy, that's 2 metal ("metal"? "metal?"?) bands in one week. On Pledge Drive week no less! You can't say your interests aren't represented.
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November 17, 2016: I Pledge Unto Thee…
Pledge Drive is going well. I'll get an update of donations later today. Also, the well's running a little dry, so if anyone has an extra post lying around inside themselves...
Triple-Threat Cookies
Lest y'all think I haven't picked up any sports lingo in the nearly 4 years I've been hanging around here . . .
In this case, the recipe's name refers to the fact that these cookies contain three kinds of chocolate. Yeah, baby.
from The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern by Claudia Fleming, via Epicurious
1/4 (1 1/8 oz.) cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 (4 2/3 oz.) granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon brewed espresso*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 ounces extra-bittersweet chocolate, chopped**
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup (4 3/4 oz.) mini chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, briefly whip the eggs to break them up. Add the sugar, espresso, and vanilla and beat on high speed for 15 minutes, until thick. (Yes, that's really 15 minutes.)
Here's how your batter should look at the end of that time:
While the eggs are whipping, place the butter, extra-bittersweet chocolate, and unsweetened chocolate in the top of a double boiler, or in a medium-size metal bowl suspended over a pot of simmering (not boiling) water. Heat until the butter and chocolate melt. Remove the boiler top from over the water and stir the butter/chocolate mixture until smooth.
Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until partially combined (there should still be streaks). Add the flour mixture to the batter and carefully fold it in. Fold in the chocolate chips. If the batter is very runny, let it rest until it thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.
Here's my finished batter:
Drop the batter by heaping teaspoonfuls (yes, these are tiny cookies!) onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, rotating sheets on top and bottom racks halfway through. When done, the cookies should be puffed and cracked on top. (You don't want to overbake these or you'll miss out on the cookies having a gloriously fudge-y center.) Remove baking sheet from the oven and transfer cookies a wire rack to cool completely.
Store in an airtight plastic container or ziplock bag for up to 1 week.
*I'm no coffee drinker, but I keep a jar of instant espresso (e.g. Medaglia d'Oro) in the freezer and brew it when needed for a recipe.
**The chocolate flavor really comes through in these cookies, so if you're making these, I recommend springing for the good stuff.
1987 Rewind: Game Forty-five
MINNESOTA 7, MILWAUKEE 2 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Wednesday, May 27.
Batting stars: Gary Gaetti was 1-for-3 with a home run (his eleventh) and a walk, scoring twice. Greg Gagne was 2-for-5 with a double, scoring once and driving in one. Kent Hrbek was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.
Pitching stars: Frank Viola struck out seven in six innings, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks. George Frazier pitched three shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk while striking out two.
Opposition stars: Robin Yount was 1-for-2 with a double and two walks, scoring once. Jim Paciorek was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
The game: The Twins scored single runs in the second, fourth, and fifth, but the Brewers got two in the sixth to cut the margin to 3-2. The Twins responded with four in the bottom of the sixth to put the game out of reach. They were aided by two Milwaukee errors, two walks, and a wild pitch.
Of note: Kirby Puckett was 1-for-4 with an RBI, dropping his average to .319...Milwaukee starter Bill Wegman pitched five innings, allowing six runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out three.
Record: The Twins were 23-22, tied for second with Seattle, four games behind Kansas City.
Notes: This was the first of two saves Frazier would get in 1987. The second would come nearly a month later, June 23, against Cleveland...Despite the two Milwaukee errors in the sixth, only one of the Twins runs was unearned.
Player profile: The younger brother of Tom Paciorek, this would be Jim Paciorek's only season in the majors. It was only about two-thirds of a season, at that--he was sent to AAA in mid-July, coming back as a September callup. He was drafted by Milwaukee in the eighth round in 1982. A corner infielder, mostly, he hit for fine averages in the minors and drew a lot of walks but had very little power. He hit .309 in Vancouver with a .398 OBP in 1986, which is what landed him with Milwaukee the next year. The Brewers' main third baseman was Ernie Riles, who wasn't all that much, but they still played Paciorek sparingly, giving him only 101 at-bats in 48 games. It must be admitted that he didn't do much with the playing time they did give him, batting just .228, but given his minor league record it seems like he deserved more of a chance. He apparently decided that if he couldn't beat out Ernie Riles there wasn't much point in continuing, so he went to Japan after the season and played there through 1993 before ending his playing career.
Further note: Jim Paciorek had another brother who played in the majors, John Paciorek. John Paciorek played in one game for Houston on September 29, 1963, the last day of the season. He went 3-for-3 with two walks, four runs, and three RBIs. His career line is 1.000/1.000/1.000, which of course makes his career OPS 2.000. He was eighteen years old and had played one season of professional ball, batting .219 for Class A Modesto, so why he got a September callup is unclear, but one has to say he made the most of it. He was back in Class A in 1964 and stayed there through 1968. He finally reached AA in 1969, but played only twenty-nine games for Waterbury. He was apparently injured frequently during his career, dealing with back and shoulder injuries. The injury that ended his career in 1969 was a torn achilles tendon. He later became a physical education teacher and has written two books on batting.