Ahhh somebody better listen to this, it's a real shame to waste this song on a Sunday
(4 votes, average: 9.25 out of 10)
Loading... Hopefully everyone successfully Valentined yesterday.
Date: Saturday, August 31.
Batting stars: Chili Davis was 2-for-2 with a double and two walks. Shane Mack was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk. Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4. Chuck Knoblauch was 1-for-3 with a home run.
Pitching stars: Kevin Tapani pitched seven innings, giving up one run on five hits and two walks and striking out two. Rick Aguilera retired all four men he faced, striking out one.
Opposition star: Cal Ripken was 2-for-4 with a double.
The game: Davis led off the second with a walk, went to third on a Brian Harper single, and scored on a ground out to give the Twins a 1-0 lead. In the fourth, Ripken led off with a double. He went to third on a balk and scored on a ground out to tie it 1-1.
Knoblauch homered with one out in the sixth to put the Twins up 2-1. The then took a commanding lead in the seventh. Mack led off with a double and was bunted to third. Gene Larkin then delivered a run-scoring single, Dan Gladden followed with an RBI triple, and a ground out brought home one more run to make it 5-1 Minnesota.
The Orioles threatened to get back in the game in the eighth. Dwight Evans led off with a double and Joe Orsulak drew a one-out walk. With two-out, Glenn Davis hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 5-2. Milligan then walked, loading the bases and bringing the go-ahead run up to bat. But Chito Martinez flied to center, ending the inning. Baltimore went down in order in the ninth.
WP: Tapani (13-7). LP: Mike Mussina (2-4). S: Aguilera (36).
Notes: The Twins used a standard lineup but made use of most of their bench. Larkin pinch-hit for Greg Gagne in the seventh. Al Newman then ran for Larkin and stayed in the game at second base. He did that because Randy Bush pinch-hit for Knoblauch. Scott Leius then replaced Bush on defense and played shortstop.
Puckett raised his average to .327. Brian Harper was 1-for-4 and was batting .316. Mack raised his average to .305. Mike Pagliarulo was 1-for-3 and was batting .304. Tapani lowered his ERA to 2.89. Aguilera's ERA went down to 2.35.
This was Knoblauch's first career home run and his only home run in 1991. He would eventually develop moderate power, hitting 98 home runs in his career with a high of 18 in 1999.
Tapani had allowed just four earned runs in his last three starts (23 innings).
Remember that Mack had hit .143 in April? He had an awesome second half. In August, which we've just completed, he batted .343/.387/.637. His July was even a little better: .366/.435/.622. He would not quite match those numbers in September, but he still batted .326/.363/.453. For the second half of the season, he batted .356/.405/.595. He hit 19 doubles, 7 triples, and 10 home runs in the second half.
It was a rare thing when the Twins beat Mussina. For his career, Mussina was 22-6, 3.09, 1.17 WHIP against the Twins. That's the most wins he had against any team other than Toronto and the best winning percentage against any American League team. It was the third-lowest ERA he had against any American League team. His career ERA was 3.68 and his career WHIP was 1.19.
Oakland defeated Detroit 7-6 in ten innings, so the margin between the two teams remained the same.
Record: The Twins were 78-53, in first place in the American League West, seven games ahead of Oakland.
Sliding Billy Hamilton (1866)
Charlie Irwin (1869)
Jimmy Ring (1895)
George Earnshaw (1900)
Larry Goetz (1900)
Lorenzo Ponza (1915)
Chuck Estrada (1938)
Ron Cey (1948)
Rick Auerbach (1950)
Joe Hesketh (1959)
Mark Davidson (1961)
Melido Perez (1966)
Ugueth Urbina (1974)
Alex Gonzalez (1977)
Luis Ugueto (1979)
Russell Martin (1983)
Johnny Cueto (1986)
Lorenzo Ponza invented the modern pitching machine.
Larry Goetz was a National League umpire from 1936-1957.
And now, the part of the show where Mr. Lunt comes out, and sings a Love Song.
Let's talk love songs!
I thought you were going to sing about growing up in Connecticut?
...
I grew up in New Jersey
BALTIMORE 11, MINNESOTA 5 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Friday, August 30.
Batting stars: Mike Pagliarulo was 3-for-4. Brian Harper was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his eighth. Shane Mack was 2-for-4. Chili Davis was 2-for-5 with a double. Kent Hrbek was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fifteenth.
Pitching stars: None.
Opposition stars: Joe Orsulak was 5-for-5 with a double, a walk, three runs, and three RBIs. Chris Hoiles was 4-for-5 with three runs. Mike Devereaux was 3-for-5 with a double, a hit-by-pitch, and two runs. Leo Gomez was 2-for-5 with a home run (his twelfth) and two runs. Cal Ripken was 2-for-5 with two doubles and four RBIs. Bob Milacki pitched 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on eleven hits and a walk and striking out three.
The game: Orsulak hit a one-out single in the first and scored from first on Ripken's double. The Twins put men on first and second in the first but did not score. In the second, Gomez and Hoiles led off with singles. With one out, Devereaux hit an RBI double. Orsulak walked to load the bases, Ripken hit a two-run double, and a sacrifice fly made it 5-0 Orioles.
The Twins got two singles and a double in the second but did not score, as Harper was thrown out trying to stretch the single into a double. Baltimore added to their lead in the fourth. Devereaux singled, was balked to second, and scored on Orsulak's double. Randy Milligan had an RBI single later in the inning to make it 7-0. They added three more in the fifth. Gomez homered leading off the inning. Hoiles singled, Bill Ripken walked, and Devereaux was hit by a pitch to load the bases, still with none out. Orsulak singled home a run and a sacrifice fly brought home another making it 10-0.
The major leagues don't have a ten-run rule, so the game continued. The Twins got on the board in the sixth when Davis doubled and Harper followed with a two-run homer. In the seventh Kirby Puckett hit a two-out double and Hrbek followed with a two-run homer to cut the margin to 10-4. In the eighth Pagliarulo hit a one-out single, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a Randy Bush single to make the score 10-5.
That's as good as it got, though. Singles by Hoiles, Devereaux, and Orsulak produced another run for the Orioles to bring the final score to 11-5. Todd Frohwirth, who had come on in the seventh, struck out the side in the ninth to end the game.
WP: Milacki (8-7). LP: Tom Edens (0-1). S: None.
Notes: Al Newman played second in place of Chuck Knoblauch, and despite his .271 OBP and .502 OPS he batted second. Gene Larkin pinch-hit for Greg Gagne in the eighth. He stayed in the game and for some reason was put at third base, with Pagliarulo moving to second and Newman moving to short. With two out in the ninth, Larkin and Pagliarulo switched, with Larkin moving to second and Pagliarulo moving back to third. Randy Bush pinch-hit for Gladden in the eighth and stayed in left field.
Puckett went 1-for-5 and was batting .325. Harper raised his average to .317. Pagliarulo was on a 7-for-13 streak and raised his average to .303. Mack raised his average to .302.
Edens had pitched well in his first start August 24, but he couldn't not do it again here. He lasted just 1.1 innings, allowing five runs on six hits and two walks and striking out one. His ERA went to 7.56. Carl Willis gave up two runs on 2.1 innings to raise his ERA to 2.08.
This was the only time in his career that Larkin played second base. It was the first time in his career he had played third base--he would do so two more times, both in 1993. I have no idea why, with Scott Leius and Chuck Knoblauch on the bench, Tom Kelly would put Larkin at those positions. Maybe they were just trying to have a little fun in a blowout game or something. It should be noted, though, that if Larkin had gotten injured while playing those positions the episode would not have seemed so funny.
Oakland defeated Texas 6-3 in ten innings, so they edged a bit closer in the standings. The Twins still had a solid lead, though.
Record: The Twins were 77-53, in first place in the American League West, seven games ahead of Oakland.
Skipping over St. Vincent's "Los Ageless"...anyway, this one also goes in the category of "late night show appearances of the decade"
(6 votes, average: 9.33 out of 10)Loading... I have a very romantic seven hour drive with two kids in the car in front of me today. Hopefully you all have better plans.
Joe Gerhardt (1855)
Arthur Irwin (1858)
Pretzels Getzien (1864)
Morgan Murphy (1867)
Candy LaChance (1870)
Bob Quinn (1870)
Earl Smith (1897)
Mel Allen (1913)
Red Barrett (1915)
Len Gabrielson (1940)
Ken Levine (1950)
Larry Milbourne (1951)
Will McEnaney (1952)
Dave Dravecky (1956)
Alejandro Sanchez (1959)
John Marzano (1963)
Kelly Stinnett (1970)
Damaso Marte (1975)
Tyler Clippard (1985)
Bob Quinn was a long-time executive for the St. Louis Browns, the Boston Red Sox, and the Boston Braves. He was later the director of the Hall of Fame.
Ken Levine has been a broadcaster for Baltimore, San Diego, and Seattle. He has also worked on a number of television programs, notably including "Cheers" and "Frazier".
John Marzano was drafted by Minnesota in the third round in 1981, but he did not sign.
There have been seven major league players with the last name "Valentine". The most recent was Joe Valentine, a reliever for Cincinnati from 2003-05. The best was Ellis Valentine, who played from 1975-83 and 1985, mostly for Montreal. One was a manager, Bobby Valentine.
We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to Mother 6.
Worn by: Tony Batista (2006); Fernando Romero (2018–2019)
Incumbent: Romero
Highest rWAR: Romero, 0.2
Lowest rWAR: Batista, -0.6
Best season: Romero, 0.4 (2018)
Worst season: Batista, -0.6 (2006)
Tony Batista played for the Twins fourteen years ago, which isn't long enough in the past to erase the memories. He was signed as a free agent after being released by the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, for whom he hit .263/.294/.463 in 591 PA in 2005. This was a period of maddening, self-thwarting, dumpster diving free agent signings that kept the Twins from capitalizing on the core of excellent players the organization had developed. (Also on the 2006 Twins: Ruben Sierra, Phil Nevin, Juan Castro, and RonDL White.) Who knows what Terry Ryan was told by scouts, but I'm guessing it led with "27 homers and 90 RBI." Batista, who wore Nº 7 in Ontario and Quebec, was definitely not getting that number in Baja Manitoba Minnesota. Nor was he getting the Nº 10 he wore in Arizona and Baltimore. Instead, Batista leapfrogged Joe Roa to claim the highest regular season jersey number issued by the Twins to that point.
Batista played exactly 50 games, all of them starts at third base, where he gave statues a bad name with -8 Runs Fielding in 434 innings. (Those interested in more traditional stats will observe the .954 fielding percentage and as many errors (6) as double plays turned (also 6).)
Batista was cut on 15 June. Somehow, the Twins survived Batista's performance and won the AL Central, finishing one game ahead of the Detroit Tigers. Jason Bartlett was called up to take his place on the active roster; Bartlett finished the season with 2.8 rWAR, good for 8th on the team.
No highlights survive of Tony Batista's time with the Twins because there were none to begin with.
Fernando Romero will be 25 this season, and is at a crossroads in his time with the Twins. Romero has stuff — Fangraphs rates his 95–97 mph fastball as a 70/70 — but walks have been a problem in his limited time in Minnesota. Romero has a 1.565 WHIP in 69.2 innings for the Twins, which a strikeout rate just a bit below 20% won't mitigate. He's been better than league average at keeping the ball in the park (SSS). A guy who throws hard and has an okay slider might find a spot in the bullpen, but the Twins aren't flush in fungible bullpen slots when they have guys who throw just as hard, and with better control and, thus far, results. Romero is out of options, so if he doesn't break camp with the Twins, he'll likely be wearing a different uniform the next time he reaches the majors.
Who claims ownership of jersey № 77?
Total Voters: 13
Loading ...
