The airing of grievances can be found elsewhere so we can use FMD to list the Christmas songs we actually like. I'm sure many will choose The Pogues Fairytale of New York, which is a fine selection but may I suggest checking out the Low Christmas Album. Some classics, some new chestnuts. Very cool and chill.
Monthly Archives: December 2016
William Tyler – Highway Anxiety
This is not William Tyler's WGOM debut; last year Bootsy spun "Geography of Nowhere," a cut from Tyler's 2013 album Impossible Truth. He released his follow-up album, Modern Country, this June. Tyler wrote it in Oxford, Mississippi, and recorded it in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
For me the album evokes a contemporary perspective on Gram Parsons' Cosmic American Music, a genre that blurs country, folk, rock, soul, and bluegrass. Jazz is very much Tyler's addition to this mix – you can hear guitar greats Chet Atkins, Les Paul, and Bill Frisell in this track as much as Parsons' take on country-rock. Listen hard enough and you'll hear some Link Wray & Dick Dale, too.
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1987 Rewind: Game Eighty-one
MINNESOTA 4, BALTIMORE 1 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Saturday, July 4.
Batting stars: Kent Hrbek was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his twenty-first) and a walk. Kirby Puckett was 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI. Dan Gladden was 1-for-4 with a double, a run, and a stolen base (his thirteenth).
Pitching stars: Les Straker pitched seven innings, giving up one run on four hits and a walk with five strikeouts. Juan Berenguer pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit and no walks with one strikeout.
Opposition stars: Lee Lacy was 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a stolen base (his second). Larry Sheets was 1-for-3 with a run. Mark Williamson retired all four batters he faced, striking out one.
The game: In the first, Gladden doubled, stole third, and scored on a wild pitch to give the Twins a 1-0 lead. The Orioles put together three singles in the third to tie it, but Hrbek hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the third to put the Twins back on top 3-1. The Orioles only threatened once after that, when Eddie Murray got to third with two out in the sixth. Puckett added an insurance run with an RBI single in the seventh.
Of note: The Twins' search for a number two hitter continued, with Lombardozzi in the two spot in this game. He went 0-for-4...Puckett raised his average to .354...Berenguer lowered his ERA to 2.88...Eric Bell started for Baltimore and pitched 6.2 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks with two strikeouts.
Record: The Twins were 45-36 and remained tied for first place with Kansas City, which defeated Toronto 9-1.
Notes: Puckett was at DH for this game, with Mark Davidson in center field and Roy Smalley out of the lineup.
Player profile: Not really a profile, but I remember a huge deal being made about Straker not pitching any complete games in 1987 (other than the 4.1 inning rain-shortened complete game on June 29). The feeling seemed to be that he couldn't really be considered a big league starter until he had a complete game, that it would be a huge step forward for him to get one, and that after he did he'd be someone we could really count on going forward. He finally got a complete game on May 14, 1988, a four-hit shutout of Detroit that lowered his ERA to 2.35 He couldn't get out of the first inning in his next start and made only eight more major league starts in his career, posting an ERA of 5.24 in those eight starts.
1987 Rewind: Game Eighty-two
MINNESOTA 4, BALTIMORE 3 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Sunday, July 5.
Batting stars: Kent Hrbek was 1-for-3 with a home run (his twenty-second) and a walk. Sal Butera was 1-for-3 with a home run, his second. Steve Lombardozzi was 1-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs.
Pitching star: Bert Blyleven pitched a complete game, giving up three runs on nine hits and four walks with seven strikeouts.
Opposition stars: Larry Sheets was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once. Eddie Murray was 1-for-4 with a home run, his fifteenth. Ken Gerhart was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, driving in one.
The game: Gerhart's RBI double put the Orioles ahead 1-0 in the second, but Lombardozzi hit a two-run triple in the bottom of the second to put the Twins ahead 2-1. Murray tied it with a home run leading off the fourth, but Butera put the Twins back in front with a home run leading off the fifth. In the seventh, Rick Burleson hit a one-out double and scored on a pair of wild pitches to tie it 3-3. It stayed tied until the bottom of the ninth, when Hrbek led off the inning with a walkoff home run.
Of note: Kirby Puckett went 0-for-4 to make his average .350...Roy Smalley was 0-for-2 with a walk and was batting .320...Baltimore starter Dave Schmidt pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on four hits and two walks with two strikeouts.
Record: The Twins were 46-36, still tied for first place with Kansas City, which defeated Toronto 4-3 in ten innings.
Notes: Puckett took a turn in the second spot in the order in this game...Randy Bush batted third and played right field in place of Tom Brunansky.
Player profile: 1987 was by far the best year of Larry Sheets' career. He is one of two major league players to come out of Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia (Erik Kratz). He was a second round draft choice of the Orioles in 1978. He was just eighteen when he signed but reached AA in 1980. He missed all of 1981, due to "college commitments and his personal indecision about his future" according to b-r.com. He came back in 1982 and played in Class A, got back to AA in 1983 and to AAA in 1984, getting a September call-up that year. A left-handed batter, he was often platooned. He hit well in 1985 and 1986, but 1987 was his year: he batted .316/.358/.561 with 31 homers. He never came anywhere close to duplicating that: his highest batting average after that was .261, in 1990, and his highest home run total after that was ten. He stayed with the Orioles through 1989, but after two consecutive years of sub-.700 OPS they traded him to Detroit for Mike Brumley. He bounced back some for the Tigers, batting .261/.308/.403, but he became a free agent after the 1990 season. It appears that he did not play at all in 1991, played in Japan in 1992, and came back to the United States in 1993, spending most of the year at AAA but getting 20 at-bats with Seattle at the end of the season. For his career, he hit .266/.321/.437 with 94 homers, almost a third of which came in that 1987 season. At last report, Larry Sheets was a high school baseball coach in Maryland. He is a member of the Eastern Mennonite University Athletic Hall of Fame.
December 23, 2016: The Impossible
This year, I have the 24th AND the 26th off. I don't know if either has ever happened since I joined the company.
Happy Birthday–December 23
Mike Grady (1869)
Sam Leever (1871)
Tommy Thomas (1899)
Jerry Koosman (1942)
Dave May (1943)
Raul Cano (1945)
Jerry Manuel (1953)
Keith Comstock (1955)
Tim Leary (1958)
Frank Eufemia (1959)
Rick White (1968)
Brad Lidge (1976)
Jesus Colome (1977)
Victor Martinez (1978)
Cody Ross (1980)
Hanley Ramirez (1983)
Tyler Robertson (1987)
Raul Cano had a long career in the Mexican League as a player, manager, and general manager.
December 22, 2016: Prep Work
Was planning on making a bunch of stuff for presents this year. Think I'm remotely done with that yet? Course not. How's your holiday prep coming?
Winter Wonderland: Games of December 21
VENEZUELAN LEAGUE
ANZOATEGUI 1, ZULIA 0 IN ZULIA
The game's lone run came in the eighth on two singles and an error. Reynaldo Rodriguez was 1-for-4 for Zulia and is batting .310. Brian Burres pitched five shutout innings for Anzoategui, giving up five hits and a walk with two strikeouts.
MAGALLANES 4, MARGARITA 0 IN MARGARITA
Magallanes got two in the fifth and two in the eighth to take the win. Alex Senabia pitched six shutout innings for Magallanes, giving up six hits and no walks with five strikeouts. Jose Tabata hit a two-run homer, his fourth.
ARAGUA 16, LA GUAIRA 2 IN LA GUAIRA
Aragua scored four in the fifth and four in the sixth, and put an exclamation point on it with a six-run ninth. Misael Siverio struck out five in 4.1 scoreless innings for Aragua, giving up five hits and no walks. Alberto Callaspo was 4-for-6 with two doubles for Aragua, scoring once and driving in three. Renato Nunez was 3-for-5 with a double for Aragua, scoring twice and driving in one.
DOMINICAN LEAGUE
ESCOGIDO 6, GIGANTES 5 IN ESCOGIDO
Escogido led 6-2 after seven and held on. The Gigantes had the tying and winning runs on base in the bottom of the ninth before falling. The Gigantes out-hit Escogido 10-6 but stranded ten runners. Jorge Polanco was 1-for-4 with a run and two RBIs for Escogido.
AGUILAS 3, ORIENTE 0 AT AGUILAS
Hector Luna singled in a run in the first and the Aguilas led all the way. Francisley Bueno pitched six shutout innings for the Aguilas, giving up three hits and no walks with four strikeouts. Danny Santana was 1-for-3 for the Aguilas.
ESTE 5, LICEY 2 IN ESTE
It was 2-2 through seven, but Hector Gomez delivered a two-run double in a three-run eighth that provided the margin of victory. Christhian Adames was 3-for-4 with a double, scoring twice and driving in one for Este.
PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE
SANTURCE 6, AGUADILLA 3 IN AGUADILLA
Hector Olivera hit a two-run double in the sixth that put Santurce up 4-1. Reiner Roibal pitched five innings for Santurce, giving up one run on six hits and no walks with three strikeouts. Jose Lozada was 3-for-4 with a double and a walk for Santurce, scoring twice.
MAYAGUEZ 4, CAGUAS 1 IN CAGUAS
A walk, a single, another walk, an error, and a wild pitch scored two for Mayaguez in the third, and that was all they needed. Eddie Rosario was 1-for-5 with a run for Mayaguez. Kennys Vargas was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run for Mayaguez. Benji Gonzalez was 1-for-2 with a triple and two walks for Mayaguez, scoring once and driving in two. Hiram Burgos struck out five in five innings for Mayaguez, giving up one run on two hits and two walks.
MEXICAN LEAGUE
MEXICALI 4, LOS MOCHIS 3 IN LOS MOCHIS
C. J. Retherford homered leading off the eighth to tie and later in the inning the go-ahead run scored on a double, a hit batsman, a walk, and another hit batsman. Edgar Osuna struck out five in five innings for Mexicali, giving up an unearned run on three hits and two walks. Retherford was 3-for-4 and the home run was his tenth.
CULIACAN 6, OBREGON 4 IN CULIACAN
Ronnier Mustelier hit a three-run homer in the first and Culiacan led all the way. It was 6-1 after eight, but Obregon came back to score three in the ninth and load the bases with two out before a ground out ended the game. Salvador Valdez pitched five shutout innings for Culiacan, giving up four hits and four walks with three strikeouts. Mustelier's homer was his sixth.
MAZATLAN 1, JALISCO 0 IN MAZATLAN (12 INNINGS)
Mazatlan had lots of baserunners and Jalisco had few, but neither team scored until the twelfth, when a bases-loaded walk brought home the game's only run. Felipe Gonzalez struck out five in five shutout innings, giving up two hits and one walk for Mazatlan. Jeremias Pineda was 4-for-5 with a double and a walk, driving in one.
NAVOJOA AT HERMOSILLO
Rained out.
AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE
TEAM AUSTRALIA 2, WORLD ALL-STARS 1
With two out in the ninth Trent D'Antonio singled, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a Stefan Welch single to give Team Australia the win. Aaron Whitefield was 0-for-2 for Team Australia. Logan Wade was 0-for-3 for Team Australia.
1987 Rewind: Game Eighty
MINNESOTA 6, BALTIMORE 5 IN MINNESOTA (11 INNINGS)
Date: Friday, July 3.
Batting stars: Dan Gladden was 3-for-6 with a triple and a stolen base (his twelfth), scoring once. Tim Laudner was 2-for-4 with a home run, his tenth. Kent Hrbek was 1-for-3 with two walks and two RBIs.
Pitching star: Jeff Reardon struck out three in three shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk.
Opposition stars: Fred Lynn was 3-for-5 with two doubles, scoring once and driving in one. Eddie Murray was 1-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in two. Cal Ripken was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs.
The game: Hrbek singled in two in the first to take a 2-1 lead. In the fifth, Laudner homered and Al Newman delivered an RBI triple and scored on a wild pitch, giving the Twins a 5-1 advantage. The Orioles came back with two in the sixth to make it 5-3. Juan Berenguer, who had come on to relieve starter Mike Smithson in the sixth, was still in to start the ninth and walked Eddie Murray. That brought in, not closer Reardon, but Dan Schatzeder, who allowed a double to Lynn that put men on second and third. Reardon then came in and retired the next two batters, but Larry Sheets singled to tie the game at 5-5. It remained tied until the eleventh. Tom Brunansky led off with a double and Laudner walked. Greg Gagne popped up a bunt and Gladden struck out, but Steve Lombardozzi singled off Tom Niedenfuer, who had been in since the start of the ninth, to win it for the Twins.
Of note: Kirby Puckett was 1-for-5 with a run and was batting .349...Roy Smalley was 0-for-4 with a walk and was batting .323...Smithson pitched 5.2 innings, giving up three runs on five hits and a walk with six strikeouts...The three shutout innings lowered Reardon's ERA below six for good, as it stood at 5.66...Mike Boddicker pitched eight innings, giving up five runs on eight hits and four walks with five strikeouts.
Record: The Twins were 44-36, tied for first place with Kansas City, which swept a doubleheader from Toronto.
Notes: Newman played second base and batted second, with Lombardozzi out of the lineup. Lombardozzi entered the game in the tenth inning after Randy Bush pinch-hit for Newman.
Player profile: Tom Niedenfuer had a longer career than I remembered. Born in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, he was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers in 1980 and made his big league debut in mid-August of 1981. He pitched well then and continued to pitch well for several years. A relief pitcher his entire career, he was never "the closer" for the Dodgers, always sharing the job with someone like Steve Howe or Jay Howell. Still, he got nine saves in 1982 and was in double digits every year from 1983-86. He started to slip in 1986 and in 1987 was traded to Baltimore in May for Brad Havens and John Shelby. He did okay for the Orioles, but was nothing particularly special. A free agent after the 1988 season, he pitched for Seattle in 1989 and St. Louis in 1990, ending his playing career after that season. For an undrafted free agent, he did pretty well: 10 years in the big leagues, 484 games, 36-46, 97 saves, 3.29 ERA, 1.27 WHIP. He was in the World Series as a rookie in 1981 and his team made the LCS two other times. He is the brother-in-law of actress Audrey Landers. At last report, he was living in Sarasota, Florida.
Happy Birthday–December 22
Connie Mack (1862)
Matty Alou (1938)
Elrod Hendricks (1940)
Steve Carlton (1944)
Hiroyuki Yamazaki (1946)
Charley Taylor (1947)
Steve Garvey (1948)
Tom Underwood (1953)
Ken Landreaux (1954)
Lonnie Smith (1955)
Glenn Wilson (1958)
George Wright (1958)
Jeff A (1958)
Andy Allanson (1961)
Mike Jackson (1964)
Jason Lane (1976)
Second baseman Hiroyuki Yamazaki was a five-time all-star in Japan over a twenty-year career.
Charley Taylor was a minor-league pitching coach for over thirty years in the Houston Astros organization.
Steve Garvey was drafted by Minnesota in the third round in 1966, but did not sign.
There were three players born on this day who made their major league debuts in 2016: Gavin Cecchini, Jacob Stallings, and Patrick Kivlehan. I don't think that's a record, but it is unusual.