Monthly Archives: December 2020

Keeping Track

Winter Wonderland: Games of December 28

MAZATLAN

LOS MOCHIS 7, MAZATLAN 5 IN LOS MOCHIS

A five-run seventh gave Los Mochis a 7-3 lead.  Juan Uriarte hit a three-run homer in the inning.  For Mazatlan, Carlos Munoz was 2-for-4 with a home run, his sixth.  Jose Luna also hit a two-run homer.

Stats:  Isaac Paredes was 0-for-3 and is batting .383.  Jose Augusto Figueroa was 0-for-5 and is batting .300.  Alejandro Soto pitched two shutout innings and has an ERA of 2.89.

Record:  Mazatlan is 27-29, tied for seventh with Culiacan in the Mexican League, nine games behind Obregon.  They are 1.5 games behind sixth-place Jalisco.

Next game:  Mazatlan is again at Los Mochis tonight.

GIGANTES

The Gigantes will play Estrellas is the playoff semi-finals.  That series will start January 2.

LARA

LARA 4, MAGALLANES 0 IN MAGALLANES (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)

Lara led 2-0 when Yonathan Mendoza's two-run homer put it out of reach.  It was Mendoza's second homer.  Yordanys Linares also homered, his fourth, and Osman Marval was 2-for-3.  Nestor Molina pitched five shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks and striking out two.  His ERA is 2.45.

MAGALLANES 3, LARA 2 IN MAGALLANES (GAME 2--7 INNINGS)

Osman Marval's two-run homer in the sixth cut the Magallanes led to 3-2, but Lara could do no more.  It was Marval's first homer.  Lara went with a bullpen game, using four pitchers for less than two innings each.

Stats:  Ildemaro Vargas was 1-for-2 and is batting .341.  Gorkys Hernandez was 0-for-3 and is batting .323.  Carlos Rivero was 0-for-2 and is batting .306.  Vicente Campos pitched a scoreless inning and has an ERA of 1.64.

Record:  Lara is 17-12, in first place in the Venezuelan League West, a half game ahead of Magallanes.

Next game:  Lara hosts Magallanes tonight.

MAYAGUEZ

Did not play.  Mayaguez remains 12-4, in second place in the Puerto Rican League, one game behind Caguas.  They are at Caguas tonight.

MELBOURNE

Did not play.  Melbourne is 2-2, tied for first in the Australian League with Canberra and Sydney.  Their next game is tomorrow, when they host Perth.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Eighty-nine

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TEXAS 4, MINNESOTA 1 IN TEXAS

Date:  Wednesday, July 9.

Batting star:  Torii Hunter was 1-for-4 with a home run, his thirteenth.

Pitching star:  LaTroy Hawkins pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  Joaquin Benoit pitched seven innings, giving up one run on four hits and three walks and striking out five.  Ryan Ludwick was 2-for-3 with a double.  Alex Rodriguez was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his twenty-second) and a walk.  Mark Teixiera was 1-for-3 with a home run (his twelfth).

The game:  Teixiera homered in the second inning to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead.  The Twins did not mount a threat until the fifth, when Dustan Mohr hit a one-out double.  He got to third with two down, but was stranded there.  In the sixth, however, Hunter hit a two-out homer to tie it 1-1.

That was as good as it got for the Twins.  In the bottom of the sixth, Donnie Sadler walked and Rodriguez followed with a two-run homer.  In the seventh, Ludwick doubled and scored on a Michael Young single.  The Twins got a man to second in the seventh and eighth, but did not bring the tying run up to bat.

WP:  Benoit (4-4).  LP:  Kenny Rogers (7-5).  S:  Ugueth Urbina (26).

Notes:  Mohr remained in left and Bobby Kielty in right in the continued absence of Jacque Jones.  Justin Morneau was the DH.

The Twins had no one batting over .300 in their lineup.  The highest average was Doug Mientkiewicz at .296.

Rogers didn't pitch badly other than the home runs.  His line was seven innings, four runs, seven hits, three walks, and one strikeout.

Hawkins lowered his ERA to 1.79.

By stifling the Twins offense, Benoit lowered his ERA to 5.27.  A month later he would be out of the rotation.  By 2005 he became a full-time reliever, and he had some very good years out of the bullpen.  For his career, he was 14-19, 6.06, 1.58 WHIP as a starter.  As a reliever, he was 44-30, 53 saves, 2.06, 1.12 WHIP.  He only had one season when he was the closer, 2013 for Detroit, but was a valuable member of major league bullpens for several years.  I think we can say he found his niche.

The Twins had lost four in a row and eight of nine.  They fell below .500 for the first time since April.

Record:  The Twins were 44-45, in second place in the American League Central, 4.5 games behind Kansas City.  They remained one game ahead of third-place Chicago.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 29

Hank DeBerry (1894)
Bill Knickerbocker (1911)
Ted Del Guercio (1927)
Ken Rudolph (1946)
Jim Wilson (1960)
Devon White (1962)
Craig Grebeck (1964)
James Mouton (1968)
Tomas Perez (1973)
Emil Brown (1974)
Richie Sexson (1974)
Jaret Wright (1975)
Jack Wilson (1977)
Chase De Jong (1993)
Brian Navaretto (1994)

Ted Del Guercio was part of the largest trade in baseball history. He was traded by the New York Yankees along with Don Larsen, Billy Hunter, Bob Turley, Kal Segrist, Bill Miller and Don Leppert to the Baltimore Orioles for Gene Woodling, Harry Byrd, Jim McDonald, Hal Smith, Gus Triandos, Willy Miranda, Mike Blyzka, Darrell Johnson, Jim Fridley and Dick Kryhoski in the off-season following the 1953 campaign. Del Guercio was the only person involved in the trade not to play in the majors.

James Mouton was drafted by Minnesota in the eighth round in 1990, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 29 →

Keeping Track

Winter Wonderland: Games of December 23 through December 27

AP-style recaps, as we try to get caught up.

MAZATLAN

Wednesday

MAZATLAN 8, OBREGON 2 IN OBREGON (10 INNINGS)

Mazatlan broke open a 2-2 tie with a six-run tenth.  They scored the runs on four singles, a walk, a hit batsman, and an error.  Matt Gage pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk and striking out three.  Jose Augusto Figueroa was 2-for-3 with a triple and a double.

Thursday

No game.

Friday

MEXICALI 6, MAZATLAN 2 IN MAZATLAN

Mexicali scored two in the third to take a 2-1 lead and led the rest of the way.  Maxwell Leon was 2-for-2 with a double and two walks and Isaac Paredes was 2-for-2 with two walks.  Ricardo Valenzuela hit a home run, his sixth.

Saturday

MEXICALI 2, MAZATLAN 1 IN MAZATLAN

Xorge Carrillo's two-run single in the ninth gave Mexicali the victory.  Irwin Delgado pitched 5.1 scoreless innings, giving up four hits and two walks and striking out three.  Isaac Paredes and Ricky Alvarez were each 2-for-4.

Sunday

MAZATLAN 10, MEXICALI 9 IN MAZATLAN

Mazatlan led 6-1, trailed 7-6, and led 9-7, but it was tied 9-9 going to the bottom of the ninth.  Maxwell Leon singled home the deciding run with two out.  Ramon Rios was 3-for-5.  Jose Augusto Figueroa was 2-for-5 with two doubles and Carlos Munoz was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs.

Record:  Mazatlan is 27-28, tied for seventh place with Culiacan in the Mexican League, nine games behind Obregon.  They are a half game behind sixth-place Jalisco.

Next game:  Mazatlan is at Los Mochis tonight.

GIGANTES

Wednesday

GIGANTES 4, TOROS 2 AT TOROS

A three-run second carried the Gigantes to victory.  Two of the runs scored on wild pitches.  Richelson Pena pitched four shutout innings, giving up four hits and four walks and striking out three.  Kelvin Gutierrez was 2-for-4.

Thursday--Sunday

Did not play.

Next game:  The Dominican League playoffs have started.  It's a five-team playoff with a play-in round to drop it to four.  The Gigantes are the number-one seed in the playoffs, and so have a bye past the play-in round.  They will play the winner of Estrellas/Escogido.  It appears that series will start on January 2 and is a best-of-seven series.

LARA

Wednesday

CARIBES 4, LARA 1 AT LARA

Caribes scored two in the fourth and two in the eighth, while Lara's lone run came in the fifth.  Nestor Molina pitched five innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks and striking out two.  Gorkys Hernandez was 1-for-4 with a double and drove in the lone run.

Thursday

No game.

Friday

No game

Saturday

ZULIA 4, LARA 3 IN ZULIA

Zulia scored two in the seventh to take a 4-3 lead.  Ex-Twin Alex Romero doubled home the tying run and the deciding run scored on an error.  Lara put men on second and third with one out in the eighth but could not tie it up.  Carlos Rivero was 3-for-4 with a walk and all three RBIs.  Jecksson Flores was 3-for-3.

Sunday

LARA 5, CARIBES 4 IN LARA

Trailing 4-2, Lara scored three in the ninth to win it.  Yordanys Linares had a two-run double to tie it and Gorkys Hernandez singled home the deciding run.

Record:  Lara is 16-11, in first place in the Venezuelan League West, a half game ahead of Magallanes.

Next game:  Lara is at Magallanes for a doubleheader this evening.

MAYAGUEZ

Wednesday

RA12 1, MAYAGUEZ 0 AT RA12

The game's lone run scored in the third inning on a sacrifice fly.  This was RA12's first win of the season.  Kenny Hernandez pitched five innings, giving up one run on two hits and a walk and striking out four.

Thursday and Friday

No games.

Saturday

MAYAGUEZ 10, RA12 1 AT MAYAGUEZ

Mayaguez scored three in the fifth, aided by four walks, to take a 3-1 lead.  They then put it away with two in the seventh and five in the eighth.  Eric Stout struck out eight in five innings, giving up one run on four hits and two walks.  Xavier Fernandez was 3-for-5 with a home run (his second), a triple, and five RBIs.

Sunday

MAYAGUEZ 8, CAGUAS 1 AT MAYAGUEZ

Emmanuel Rivera and ex-Twin Danny Ortiz hit back-to-back homers in the first to give Mayaguez a 3-0 lead.  It was Rivera's third and Ortiz' second.  Ivan De Jesus also homered.  Ortiz was 3-for-3.  Luis Medina struck out seven in five innings, giving up one run on three hits and two walks.

Record:  Mayaguez is 12-4, in second place in the Puerto Rican League, one game behind Caguas.

Next game:  Mayaguez is at Caguas on Tuesday

MELBOURNE

Wednesday through Friday

No games.

Saturday

CANBERRA 8, MELBOURNE 4 IN CANBERRA

Trailing 4-3, Canberra scored five runs in the eighth.  They had just two hits in the inning, both singles, but got the benefit of three walks and a throwing error.  Gunnar Kines pitched five innings, giving up two runs on three hits and four walks and striking out one.  Blake Gailen hit a three-run homer, his first.

Sunday

MELBOURNE 8, CANBERRA 2 IN CANBERRA

Damek Tomscha homered in the sixth to break a 2-2 tie.  Melbourne then scored five in the seventh to put the game out of reach.  Ex-Twin Delmon Young was 2-for-4 with a double.  Brian Flynn pitched three shutout innings of relief, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out two.

Record:  Melbourne is 2-2, tied for first in the Australian League with Canberra and Sydney.  COVID concerns are playing havoc with the early season schedule.  The three teams listed above are the only teams that have played games.  Canberra and Sydney are each 1-1.

Next game:  Melbourne is scheduled to host Perth on Wednesday afternoon.

The Nation Has An Appetite

Top of the Pots: The Year’s Best Eats

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The Nation's Spin-sters seem always to get top billing around here, what with their weekly lists and annual "best of" extravaganzas. But what really matters is not what's on the spindle. It's what's on your platter. I'm going to lay out some contenders, but bring your best, people. Surely, you learned a few kitchen essentials during the 'rona lockdowns.

No pics in this post, Because Reasons. You are welcome to bring some food pr0n to the table (hint, hint: Bootsy Signal)

The Categories:

Breakfast
Lunch
Snack
Dinner/Supper
Dessert
Utility

I'll lead off after the jump:
Continue reading Top of the Pots: The Year’s Best Eats →

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Eighty-eight

TEXAS 8, MINNESOTA 6 IN TEXAS

Date:  Tuesday, July 8.

Batting stars:  Luis Rivas was 2-for-3 with a stolen base, his eighth.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Grant Balfour pitched three shutout innings, giving up a walk and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Michael Young was 3-for-5 with two runs.  Kevin Mench was 2-for-2 with two doubles and a hit-by-pitch.  Todd Greene was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Hank Blalock was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Rafael Palmeiro was 1-for-4 with a home run (his twenty-first) and a walk.  Juan Gonzalez was 1-for-4 with a home run (his twenty-first) and two RBIs.  Jay Powell pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.

The game:  After a scoreless first, the Twins scored five runs in the second inning.  Bobby Kielty and Justin Morneau walked, Chris Gomez had an RBI single, and A. J. Pierzynski was hit by a pitch to load the bases.  A sacrifice fly scored a run, Lew Ford's double scored two more, and Mientkiewicz singled home another to give the Twins a 5-0 lead.

The lead lasted until the Rangers batted in the bottom of the second.  Palmeiro led off the inning with a home run.  The next two batters went out, but Mench and Mark Teixiera hit back-to-back doubles, Greene had an RBI single, Young singled and Blalock walked to load the bases, and Alex Rodriguez hit a two-run double to tie it 5-5.  Gonzalez homered leading off the third, and that quickly it was 6-5 Texas.

The Twins opened the fourth with singles, but nothing came of it.  The Rangers scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 7-5.  In the fifth, Greene doubled and scored on a Young single to increase the lead to 8-5.

The Twins did not threaten until the ninth.  Rivas led off with a single and stole second.  Mientkiewicz singled with one out to bring the tying run to the plate.  A sacrifice fly brought home a run, but it was the second out.  Torii Hunter walked to bring the winning run to the plate and a wild pitch moved the tying run into scoring position.  But Bobby Kielty lined to center to end the game.

WP:  Powell (2-0).  LP:  Kyle Lohse (6-7).  S:  Ugueth Urbina (25).

Notes:  Gomez was at short in place of Cristian Guzman.  Ford was in left in the continuing absence of Jacque Jones, with Kielty in right.  Morneau was the DH.

Matthew LeCroy pinch-hit for Morneau in the eighth.

Ford was 1-for-4 and was batting .314.  Mientkiewicz raised his average to .301.  LeCroy was 1-for-1 and was batting .300.

Lohse lasted just three innings and allowed seven runs on ten hits and a walk.  He struck out three.  Whatever magic he'd had early in the season was clearly gone:  in his last five starts, he had pitched 23 innings and allowed 29 earned runs.  His ERA went from 2.91 to 4.63.

The Texas starter was Tony Mounce.  He also pitched just three innings, allowing five runs on five hits and three walks and striking out none.  This was the only major league season of his career.  He made 11 starts and went 1-5, 7.11, 1.78 WHIP.  He was 3-10, 4.41, 1.56 WHIP in 149 AAA innings and 31-21, 4.26, 1.46 WHIP in 431 AA innings.  There was obviously something about him that the Rangers liked, but it's also obvious that he was just not good enough to be a major league pitcher.

The Twins had now lost three in a row and seven of eight.  Another loss would drop them below .500.

Record:  The Twins were 44-44, in second place in the American League Central, 2.5 games behind Kansas City.  They were one game ahead of third-place Chicago.