Monthly Archives: January 2017

Keeping Track

Winter Wonderland: Games of January 26

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

AGUILAS 3, LICEY 2 AT AGUILAS (10 INNINGS)

Ronny Rodriguez hit a walkoff homer to keep the Aguilas alive.  Kennys Vargas was 0-for-4 for the Aguilas.  Jarret Leverett pitched five innings for the Aguilas, giving up one run on three hits and two walks with two strikeouts.  Samuel Deduno used his magical zoomball to retire the only man he faced and get the win.  Rodriguez hit two homers, one in the first inning and one in the last inning.

Licey leads the best-of-nine series 4-3.

MEXICAN LEAGUE

MEXICALI 5, LOS MOCHIS 2 IN MEXICALI

C. J. Retherford's two-run single in the fifth turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 Mexicali lead and they never trailed again.  It was the only hit Mexicali had in the inning, as they had loaded the bases on two walks and an error.  Leandro Castro was 0-for-4 for Los Mochis.  Miguel Pena pitched 5.1 innings for Mexicali, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk with one strikeout.

Mexicali leads the best-of-seven series 3-2.

AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE*

CANBERRA 4, BRISBANE 1 IN CANBERRA

Brisbane scored one in the first and it held up until the sixth, when RBI singles by Aaron Sayers and Aaron Sloane gave Canberra a lead it would not relinquish.  Aaron Whitefield was 1-for-4 for Brisbane and is batting .349.  Logan Wade was 0-for-4 for Brisbane.  Louis Cohen pitched seven innings for Canberra, giving up one run on five hits and a walk with four strikeouts.

ADELAIDE 5, SYDNEY 2 IN ADELAIDE

Karl Hoschke had a three-run double in a four-run second that put Adelaide in the lead to stay.  Sean Callegari struck out seven in seven innings for Adelaide, giving up one run on six hits and a walk.

PERTH 2, MELBOURNE 1 IN PERTH

Perth scored single runs in the first and third.  Melbourne got their lone run in the fourth.  Melbourne did not get a hit after the fourth inning and only had two hits in the game.  Lex Rutledge pitched four innings for Perth, giving up an unearned run on two hits and three walks with one strikeout.

*Games played January 27.  It's timey-wimey.

Keeping Track

1987 Rewind: Game One Hundred Sixteen

CALIFORNIA 5, MINNESOTA 1 IN MINNESOTA

Batting stars:  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI.  Randy Bush was 2-for-5 with a double and a run.

Pitching stars:  George Frazier pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.  Jeff Reardon pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Mike Witt pitched eight innings, giving up one run on nine hits and one walk with three strikeouts.  Doug DeCinces was 2-for-5 with a home run (his thirteenth) and two RBIs.  Dick Schofield was 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.

The game:  The Angels didn't have any big innings, but just sort of eased out to a good lead and held it.  George Hendrick singled in a run in the first and DeCinces singled one home in the third.  Hrbek hit an RBI double in the bottom of the third, but an RBI single by Gus Polidor and a run-scoring double by Schofield made it 4-1 in the fourth.  DeCinces homered in the seventh to round out the scoring.  The Twins had their chances but stranded twelve runners, eight of them in scoring position.

Of note:  Al Newman replaced Greg Gagne at short and led off...Bush batted second and played right field, with Tom Brunansky in left and Dan Gladden out of the lineup...Kirby Puckett was 1-for-4 with a walk, making his average .320...Gene Larkin was again the DH...Steve Carlton started for the Twins, pitching seven innings and giving up five runs on ten hits and three walks with three strikeouts.  Memory is a funny thing, but I seem to recall Tom Kelly doing this a few times--using Carlton against another team's ace.  My thought at the time was that TK figured the Twins weren't likely to beat that pitcher anyway, so there was no sense in wasting one of his good pitchers in that game.  Carlton would at least be able to give him five or six innings and keep him from having to blow out the bullpen in a game they weren't likely to win.

Record:  The Twins were 62-54, in first place, 2.5 games ahead of California.

Player profile:  He couldn't sustain it, but there were a few years when Mike Witt was about as good a pitcher as anybody.  He was born in Fullerton, California, went to high school in Anaheim, and was drafted by California in the fourth round in 1978.  He was in Class A through the middle of 1980, went to AA for the rest of 1980, and despite the fact that he didn't pitch very well there he jumped to the big leagues in 1981 and stayed there the rest of his career, other than some rehab assignments.  In his first two seasons, he produced ERAs well under four but only went 16-15.  He did finish tied for fifth (with Dave Engle and Shooty Babitt)  in Rookie of the Year voting in 1981.  After three poor starts in 1983 he was moved to the bullpen, not getting back to the rotation until late July.  He came back in 1984 and had three consecutive excellent years.  From 1984-86 he went 48-30, 3.28, 1.21 WHIP.  He averaged 255 innings in those seasons.  The best of them was 1986, when he went 18-10, 2.84, 1.08 WHIP and finished third in Cy Young voting.  That year, though, seems to have taken something out of him, because while he remained a rotation starter for three more seasons, and even made the all-star team in 1987, he was clearly not the same pitcher.  He never had an ERA under four again and never had a WHIP under 1.3 again.  He continued to make every start, though, averaging nearly 250 innings from 1987-89.  He started the 1990 season in the Angels' bullpen but was traded to the Yankees in mid-May for Dave Winfield.  He went into their rotation, but the change of scenery didn't particularly help him.  Injuries got him after that--he made only four starts (two in the minors) in 1991, three minor league starts in 1992, and twelve starts (three in the minors) in 1993, calling it a career after that.  His career numbers don't look all that impressive:  117-116, 3.83, 1.32 WHIP.  But for a few years there, he could hold his own with anybody.

Cup of Coffee

January 27, 2017: Owned

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I closed on the house on the 24th. Internet arrived on the 25th but there was just too much to do and I didn't have any extra time to hang out here. Now my body is broken from moving and I practically beg to hang out online.

As I've said before in solo conversations, it's a seven-story townhouse with a lot of smallish rooms. I have three bathrooms, but when I'm down in my home theater room I still find myself wanting to complain that none of them are a little bit closer. There are 49 stairs. I have rediscovered my love of power tools. My speakers are still glorious, and still waiting for my damned receiver to arrive so I can use them (the expected date of arrival is the finally nearing).

Because we bought from a relative, and one I actually like, this was a very simple process. I don't know how the hell people buy houses from strangers.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–January 27

Andy Lotshaw (1880)
Milt Gaston (1896)
Bibb Falk (1899)
Fred Heimach (1901)
John Lowenstein (1947)
Tom Trebelhorn (1948)
Eric Wedge (1968)
Phil Plantier (1969)
Angel Berroa (1980)
Gavin Floyd (1983)

Andy Lotshaw had a thirteen-year minor league career as an outfielder/first baseman, leading his league in triples four times and in home runs five times.  He also played professional basketball.  He then became the trainer for the Chicago Cubs from 1922-1952.

Tom Trebelhorn managed the Milwaukee Brewers from 1986-1991 and the Chicago Cubs in 1994.

There do not appear to be any players with connections to the Minnesota Twins born on this day.

Keeping Track

Winter Wonderland: Games of January 25

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

ZULIA 5, LARA 2 IN ZULIA

Jose Pirela hit a two-run homer in the first and Zulia led all the way.  Mitch Lively pitched seven innings for Zulia, giving up one run on two hits and two walks with five strikeouts.

Zulia wins the best-of-seven series 4-1 and wins the Venezuelan League Championship.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

LICEY 5, AGUILAS 2 IN LICEY

Leading 1-0, Licey scored four in the eighth to put the game out of reach.  Yamaico Navarro hit a solo homer and Mel Rojas hit a two-run homer in the inning.  Danny Santana was 0-for-3 with a walk for the Aguilas.  Kennys Vargas was 0-for-4 for the Aguilas.  Evan MacLane pitched seven shutout innings for Licey, giving up four hits and no walks with two strikeouts.  Emilio Bonifacio was 3-for-4 for Licey.

Licey leads the best-of-nine series 4-2.

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

CAGUAS 6, SANTURCE 5 IN CAGUAS (12 INNINGS)

With two out and no one on in the twelfth, David Vidal reached on a two-base error and scored on Henry Ramos' single to win the game and the series.  Orlando Roman pitched 4.2 innings for Caguas, giving up one run on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts.  Ricardo Gomez retired all eleven men he faced for Caguas, striking out six.  Ramos was 3-for-5 with a double and a walk, scoring twice.

Caguas wins the best-of-nine series 5-3 and wins the Puerto Rican League Championship.

MEXICAN LEAGUE

MEXICALI 6, LOS MOCHIS 1 IN MEXICALI

Jason Bourgeois hit a two-run single in a three-run fifth that put Mexicali up 4-0 and left them in control of the game.  Javier Solano pitched 6.2 innings for Mexicali, giving up one run on five hits and two walks with one strikeout.  Bourgeois was 3-for-4 with a run and two RBIs.

The best-of-seven series is tied 2-2.

AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE*

BRISBANE 8, CANBERRA 5 IN CANBERRA

Trent Oeltjen hit a three-run homer in a four-run fifth that put Brisbane ahead 4-1.  They never led by less than three after that.  Aaron Whitefield was 2-for-5 with a run and two RBIs and is batting .352 for Brisbane.  Logan Wade was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run for Brisbane.  Rick Teasley pitched six innings for Brisbane, giving up two runs on six hits and no walks with two strikeouts.

SYDNEY 5, ADELAIDE 4 IN ADELAIDE

Sydney scored two in the fifth on a bases-loaded force out to take a 5-3 lead.  Adelaide got one back in the bottom of the fifth but only got one hit after that.  Todd Van Steensel struck out two in a scoreless inning for Sydney, giving up a hit and a walk.  Jacob Younis was 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI.

*Games played January 26.  It's timey-wimey.

Keeping Track

1987 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifteen

CALIFORNIA 8, MINNESOTA 2 IN MINNESOTA

Batting stars:  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-3 with a home run (his twenty-eighth) and a walk.  Roy Smalley was 1-for-3 with a home run (his sixth) and a walk.

Pitching star:  George Frazier pitched two shutout innings, giving up only a walk.

Opposition stars:  Ruppert Jones was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, his seventh.  Gus Polidor was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in three.  Kirk McCaskill struck out seven in 7.1 innings, giving up two runs on four hits and four walks.

The game:  It was over pretty early.  Polidor's two-run single put the Angels up 2-0 in the second, Devon White's RBI single made it 3-0 in the third, and a three-run fourth, aided by two wild pitches, put the Angels up 6-0.  Hrbek had a solo home run in the fourth and Smalley had one in the seventh, but those solo home runs didn't hurt the Angels.

Of note:  Al Newman again played second and batted second...Puckett was 0-for-4, dropping his average to .321...Twins starter Les Straker lasted just 3.2 innings, allowing six runs on six hits and three walks with one strikeout...The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Twins.

Record:  The Twins were 62-53, in first place, 3.5 games ahead of California.

Player profile:  Center fielder Ruppert Jones started out well, but never really improved.  He was born in Dallas, went to high school in Berkeley, and was drafted by Kansas City in the third round in 1973.  He reached the majors with the Royals on August 1 of 1976 and didn't do a lot.  Left unprotected in the expansion draft, he was the first choice of the new Seattle Mariners.  In 1977 he made the Mariners look good, hitting .263/.324/.454 with 24 homers and making the all-star team at the age of twenty-two.  Big things were expected, but he never really progressed from that point.  He had an off year in 1978, due at least partly to injuries, then had a year similar to 1977 in 1979.  Still only twenty-four, he was traded to the Yankees, did poorly (again due at least partly to injuries), and was traded to San Diego after the season.  He was their mostly-regular center fielder for the next three seasons, but often sat against left-handers, for good reason.  He came back in 1982 to make his second all-star team, batting .283 with a .798 OPS.  He went back down in 1983, became a free agent, and signed with Detroit.  He did pretty well for the Tigers as a reserve outfielder, hitting twelve homers in 215 at-bats and posting an OPS of .862.  He became a free agent again after the season, though, and signed with California, where he stayed from 1985-87.  He was a semi-regular for them, not getting very high batting averages but hitting some homers and drawing some walks.  1987 would be his last year in the majors.  He would play for two more seasons, splitting 1988 between Japan and AAA for the Rangers and spending all of 1989 in AAA for the Rangers.  For his career, he batted .250/.330/.416 with 143 home runs in 4415 at-bats.  He played for twelve seasons, and he wasn't a bad player by any means, but he never became what he was expected to be.  At last report, Ruppert Jones was an insurance salesman in the San Diego area.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–January 26

Francis Richter (1854)
Kaiser Wilhelm (1877)
Tubby Spencer (1884)
George Blaeholder (1904)
Charlie Gelbert (1906)
Bob Nieman (1927)
Ray Knoblauch (1928)
Bob Uecker (1935)
Mike Pazik (1950)
Rick Schu (1962)
Jeff Branson (1967)
Esteban German (1978)
Andres Torres (1978)
Ryan Rowland-Smith (1983)

Francis Richter was the editor of two  influential early baseball publications, the Sporting Life and the Reach Guide.

The father of Chuck Knoblauch, Ray Knoblauch pitched in the minors from 1948-1957, going 54-51.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to Daneeka's Ghost.

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