Monthly Archives: February 2020

Friday Music Day

FMD — The Clash

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So last week I was going to write up something on the 40th anniversary of the release of London Calling, arguably the Clash's greatest album and one of the greatest albums of all time. Unfortunately illness and busyness got in the way of writing something up proper. I'd still like to do something so maybe one FMD I'll really do the album justice. It's a great album that still holds up. Check it out.

Also for some reason today is International Clash Day. Not sure why February 7th is considered International Clash Day, but here you go. Apparently, "it began as a tribute to The Clash’s music and legacy [and now] has evolved into a banner celebration of the issues and message they stood for. The Clash were unapologetically confrontational and champions of the oppressed, always striving for the possibility of a better world."

The Clash was a great band, with great songs, and a great message. So go put on some Clash, raise your voice, fight for the oppressed, Lord knows we need some raised voices these days.

Drop 'em if you go 'em boyo.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-three

MINNESOTA 5, SEATTLE 4 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Thursday, August 22.

Batting stars:  Randy Bush was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer (his fifth) and a walk.  Brian Harper was 2-for-4.  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-5 with a double.  Chuck Knoblauch was 2-for-5.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-5.

Pitching stars:  Jack Morris struck out seven in 6.1 innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and five walks.  Rick Aguilera pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Rick DeLucia pitched 6.1 innings, giving up one run on six hits and two walks and striking out three.  Greg Briley was 3-for-5 with two stolen bases, his seventeenth and eighteenth.  Pete O'Brien was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Jay Buhner was 2-for-5 with a double.  Edgar Martinez was 2-for-6 with a double and two runs.  Harold Reynolds was 2-for-6 with a double.

The game:  Martinez led off the game with a single, went to second on a ground out, and scored on an O'Brien single to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead.  Each team missed a chance in the second.  In the third O'Brien hit a two-out single and scored on Buhner's double to make it 2-0 Seattle.

Each team put a man on second in the fourth but neither scored.  The Twins had two on in the sixth and the Mariners loaded the bases in the seventh, but the score remained 2-0.  The Twins finally got on the board in the seventh when Mike Pagliarulo doubled and scored on Knoblauch's two-out single.  Seattle came right back in the eighth.  Dave Cochrane singled, and with two out Martinez had an RBI double and Reynolds had a run-scoring single, putting the Mariners ahead 4-1.

It was still 4-1 going to the bottom of the ninth.  With one out, Al Newman walked, Knoblauch singled, and Bush hit a three-run homer to tie the score 4-4.  Seattle went down in order in the top of the tenth.  With two out and none on in the bottom of the tenth, Leius hit a walkoff home run to win the game for the Twins.

WP:  Aguilera (4-4).  LP:  Mike Schooler (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Shane Mack was in left field, with Dan Gladden out of the lineup.  Gene Larkin took Mack's place in right.  Knoblauch was the leadoff batter, with Bush batting second.  Bush replaced Chili Davis in the DH slot.  Newman was again at shortstop in place of Greg Gagne.

The Twins again made liberal use of their bench.  Gagne pinch-ran for Brian Harper in the eighth.  Davis pinch-hit for Larkin in the eighth and stayed in the game in left field, with Mack moving to right.  Junior Ortiz replaced Gagne in the ninth and was the catcher.  Gladden pinch-hit for Pagliarulo in the ninth and stayed in the game in left field, replacing Davis.  Leius entered the game in the tenth at third base.

Puckett raised his average to .330.  Harper went up to .312.  Mack was 0-for-4 and was batting .306.  Aguilera lowered his ERA to 2.38.

The Twins stranded nine men and went 2-for-12 with men in scoring position.  The Mariners stranded fourteen men and went 2-for-19 with men in scoring position.

Morris threw 137 pitches in his 6.1 innings.

It seemed odd that Schooler had not had a decision before this game, but he missed the first half of 1991, not appearing in his first game until July 12.  He had five saves to this point.

Edgar Martinez was the leadoff batter for Seattle in this series.  It was his second full season, and he was still primarily a third baseman at this point.  He batted leadoff 67 times in 1991 and was good at it.  He didn't steal any bases, which is no surprise, but he batted .307 as a leadoff batter with an OBP of .405.  He would move down to (primarily) the number two spot in 1992 and would not return to the number one position.

The White Sox did not play and Oakland defeated California 2-1, so those two teams moved in to a "virtual tie" for second place.

Record:  The Twins were 74-49, in first place in the American League West, six games ahead of Chicago and Oakland.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–February 7

Tom Daly (1866)
Pat Moran (1876)
Charlie Jamieson (1893)
Earl Whitehill (1899)
Paul Owens (1924)
Dick Wiencek (1926)
Al Smith (1928)
Juan Pizarro (1937)
Burt Hooton (1950)
Benny Ayala (1951)
Dan Quisenberry (1953)
Damaso Garcia (1957)
Carney Lansford (1957)
Ralph Citarella (1958)
Endy Chavez (1978)
Brad Hennessey (1980)
Scott Feldman (1983)

Paul Owens spent over forty years in the Phillies organization, serving at various times as a player, scout, manager, and general manager.

Dick Wiencek was a minor league infielder from 1947-1949,  He then became a scout, working at various times for Washington/Minnesota, Detroit, and Oakland.  Among the players he was responsible for signing are Jim Kaat, Graig Nettles, Bert Blyleven, Jack Morris, Alan Trammell, and Mark McGwire.

Right-hander Ralph Citarella was drafted by Minnesota in the first round of the January draft in 1978, but did not sign.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to Mrs. AMR.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–February 7 →

History, Minnesota Twins

80: Out on the Loose

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Note: Any time the a number has only been issued to a coach, that number will be skipped and collected in a special post of coach numbers near the end of the series.

№ 80

Worn by: Ryan Eades (2019)
Incumbent: none
Highest rWAR: Eades, 0.2
Lowest rWAR: Eades, 0.2
Best season: Eades, 0.2 (2019)
Worst season: Eades, 0.2 (2019)

Ryan Eades pitched 3.2 innings across two games for the Twins in 2019 after a mid-season call-up from AAA Rochester. Eades replaced Willians Astudillo on the active roster on 08 June and wasted no time getting into a game. Of the sixteen batters he faced, Eades struck out five, walked two, and surrendered four hits, none of which were home runs. He allowed two stolen bases.

The first was by Niko Goodrum with two down in the bottom of the Detroit 6th on 08 June; the Tigers were up 5-2, but likely felt they needed every run they could get. Rocco Baldelli challenged the call, but it was upheld. Eades walked the batter, but recovered and struck out Nick Castellanos to end the inning. The Twins lost the game.

The second stolen base came in the top of the 8th against the Mariners on 12 June. Eades was the third pitcher of the inning for the Twins. The score was tied 1-1 when Trevor May began the inning in relief of Mike Morin. May gave up a walk and a single, then Domingo Santana hit a sac fly to score the lead runner, Edwin Encarnacion. Blake Parker was called in with one runner on and one out. Parker gave up a single to Omar Narvaez that did not score Dan Vogelbach. Dee Gordon reached on an error by first baseman C.J. Cron, scoring Vogelbach. Then, Blake Parker coughed up a three-run homer to Shed Long. Parker was yanked for Eades, who struck out Dylan Moore for the second out. Mallex Smith hit a single, then stole second. He gained third on Mitch Garver's throw, but Eades struck Kyle Seager out to escape the inning. The Twins tied it up over the next two innings while Eades held the Mariners in check. Tyler Duffey replaced Eades in the 10th, the Twins’ defense gave up three runs on three errors, and they lost 9-6.

Eades was sent back to Rochester for his trouble; Fernando Romero came up to take his roster spot. The Orioles claimed Eades off waivers on 14 August; he pitched 11.1 innings for Baltimore down the stretch. Eades was outrighted by the Orioles in October and is currently a free agent.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-two

MINNESOTA 9, SEATTLE 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, August 21.

Batting stars:  Shane Mack was 3-for-3 with a triple, a double, a walk, and five RBIs.  Brian Harper was 2-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch and two runs.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-3 with two runs.

Pitching stars:  Kevin Tapani pitched eight innings, giving up one run on four hits and three walks and striking out one.  Denny Neagle pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two hits.

Opposition stars:  Ken Griffey was 2-for-3 with a double.  Bill Swift pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.  Russ Swan pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

The game:  Edgar Martinez led off the game with a double, went to third on a fly ball and scored on another fly ball to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead.  The Twins came back with six in the bottom of the first, and they did after their first two batters were retired.  Puckett singled, Chili Davis walked, and Harper was hit by a pitch to load the bases.  Mack hit a bases-clearing triple and scored on Kent Hrbek's single.  Scott Leius walked and Al Newman delivered a two-run double.  The Twins led 6-1 and were never threatened after that.

The Twins added two runs in the second for good measure.  Singles by Puckett and Harper put men on first and second with two out.  Mack's double brought them both home to make it 8-1.  The final run of the game came in the seventh, when Davis singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on Mack's single-plus-error.

Seattle only got close to scoring twice after the first inning.  Griffey doubled leading off the sixth but could only get as far as third base.  Greg Briley doubled with two out in the ninth but was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a Scott Bradley single.

WP:  Tapani (11-7).  LP:  Bill Krueger (10-6).  S:  None.

Notes:  Newman started at short in place of Greg Gagne.

With a big lead, the Twins made lots of substitutions.  Gagne pinch-hit for Chuck Knoblauch in the sixth and stayed in the game at shortstop, with Newman moving to second base.  Gene Larkin pinch-hit for Puckett in the seventh and stayed in the game in right field, with Mack moving to center.  Junior Ortiz replaced Harper behind the plate in the eighth.  Randy Bush replaced Hrbek at first base in the eighth.

Puckett raised his average to .329.  Harper raised his average to .310.  Mack raised his average to .310.  Tapani lowered his ERA to 2.97.

Tapani threw 111 pitches.  Today, with a lead that big, he would undoubtedly have come out after seven innings, if not sooner.

Krueger started for the Mariners but lasted only two innings.  He surrendered eight runs on seven hits and two walks and struck out two.

It seems kind of amazing to have the last out be made at the plate in a 9-1 game.  In that situation, if there's any chance that the runner might not make it home safely (other than falling down or something), you hold him at third, because that run is meaningless anyway.  It could be, I suppose, that, knowing the run was meaningless, Seattle assumed Dan Gladden would concede it and not make a throw to the plate.  If so, they were wrong.

I don't recall what the deal was with Gagne at this point.  I had assumed he was nursing a minor injury, but if so, why use him late in a game like this?  It's clearly not a case of being able to bat and not play in the field, or vice-versa, because he did both here.  He would not be back in the starting lineup until August 24, but he would play in each of the two games in-between.  I'm sure there was a reason, but I don't know what it was.

Mack had an eight-game hitting streak.  He was 15-for-32 over that streak with three doubles and three triples.  The three triples have come in the last two games.  His average jumped from .292 to .310.

The White Sox lost to Detroit 12-9.  Not only did they lose another game to the Twins, but they were only a half-game above third-place Oakland.

Record:  The Twins were 73-49, in first place in the American League West, 5.5 games ahead of Chicago.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–February 6

Frank LaPorte (1880)
Babe Ruth (1895)
Jake Levy (1900)
Glenn Wright (1901)
Dale Long (1926)
Smoky Burgess (1927)
Augie Garrido (1939)
Richie Zisk (1949)
Larry Young (1954)
Bob Wickman (1969)
Chad Allen (1975)

Pitcher Jake Levy had a minor league career that started in 1921 and lasted until 1945.  He played under a variety of names, making it difficult to determine his true record, but he won at least two hundred games.  He was also a good hitter, and early in his career played in the field when he was not pitching.

Augie Garrido was the baseball coach at the University of Texas from 1997-2016.  He has the most coaching wins of anyone in Division I.

Larry Young was a major league umpire from 1983-2007.

You may have heard of that "Babe Ruth" fellow.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–February 6 →

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-one

MINNESOTA 10, SEATTLE 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, August 20.

Batting stars:  Junior Ortiz was 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs.  Shane Mack was 2-for-4 with two triples, a stolen base, (his seventh), and three runs.  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs.  Chuck Knoblauch was 2-for-4 with a walk.

Pitching star:  Mark Guthrie struck out four in 3.2 scoreless innings of relief, giving up two hits and no walks.

Opposition stars:  Greg Briley was 3-for-3 with two doubles and two runs.  Alvin Davis was 2-for-3 with a home run (his eleventh) and three RBIs.  Harold Reynolds was 2-for-4.

The game:  The Twins started the scoring in the third.  They opened the inning with singles by Ortiz and Al Newman, but a double play left them with a man on third and two out.  Knoblauch and Kirby Puckett each walked, loading the bases, and Hrbek delivered a bases-clearing double to give the Twins a 3-0 lead.

It didn't last long.  In the fourth, Ken Griffey, Jr. doubled.  With one out, he scored when Jay Buhner reached on an error.  Briley doubled, a sacrifice fly scored a run, and Omar Vizquel singled home another to tie the score 3-3.  The tie didn't last long either, though, as the Twins scored three in the bottom of the fourth.  Mack led off with a triple and Mike Pagliarulo singled.  Al Newman was hit by a pitch, and with two out Knoblauch delivered an RBI single which was followed by a run-scoring wild pitch, giving the Twins a 6-3 advantage.

The Twins increased the lead in the fifth when Mack hit his second triple of the game and scored on an Ortiz single.  The Mariners got back into it in the sixth.  With one out, Briley singled and Davis hit a two-run homer to cut the Twins lead to 7-5.  But the Twins put it away in the seventh.  Hrbek singled, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a Chili Davis single.  Walks to Pagliarulo and Ortiz loaded the bases, a wild pitch scored a run, and a ground out scored another to put the Twins up 10-5.  Seattle did not threaten after that.

WP:  Scott Erickson (16-5).  LP:  Erik Hanson (7-6).  S:  None.

Notes:  With Erickson pitching, Ortiz was catching.  Newman was at short replacing Greg Gagne.  Gene Larkin pinch-hit for Hrbek in the eighth and stayed in the game at first base.

Kirby Puckett was 1-for-4 with a walk and was batting .327.  Mack raised his average to .304.

Erickson pitched 5.1 innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks and striking out four.  His ERA went to 2.96.  Hanson started for Seattle and pitched four innings.  He allowed six runs on seven hits and two walks and struck out three.

The White Sox lost to Detroit 5-0, so the Twins lengthened their lead.

Record:  The Twins were 72-49, in first place in the American League West, 4.5 games ahead of Chicago.