Monthly Archives: December 2020

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Eighty-one

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CHICAGO 10, MINNESOTA 3 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Monday, June 30.

Batting stars:  A. J. Pierzynski was 3-for-4 with a home run (his ninth) and two runs.  Bobby Kielty was 1-for-3 with a home run (his ninth) and a walk.

Pitching star:  Juan Rincon pitched 4.1 innings, giving up one run on one hit and two walks and striking out one.

Opposition stars:   Magglio Ordonez was 2-for-3 with two home runs (his thirteenth and fourteenth), a walk, and three RBIs.  Jose Valentin was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his twelfth.  Willie Harris was 2-for-5 with a triple.  Carlos Lee was 1-for-3 with a home run (his thirteenth), a walk, and three runs.  Joe Crede was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his seventh.  Jon Garland struck out seven in seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks.

The game:  It got late early, as they say.  Harris led off the bottom of the first with a triple and scored on an Aaron Rowand single.  Crede hit a two-run homer in the second.  In the third Rowand walked and scored on a Frank Thomas double.  Ordonez followed with a two-run homer.  After an error, Valentin hit a two-run homer, making the score 8-0 White Sox.

There's not a lot to say after that.  The Twins got on the board in the seventh on back-to-back homers by Kielty and Pierzynski.  In the eighth Ordonez and Lee homered.  The Twins got one more in the ninth when Pierzynski singled and scored on a Lew Ford double.  And that was that.

WP  Garland (6-6).  LP:  Joe Mays (8-5).  S:  None.

Notes:  Ford was 1-for-3 and was batting .357.  Corey Koskie was 1-for-3 and was batting .309.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 0-for-2 and was batting .302.  Jacque Jones was 1-for-2 to get back up to .300.

Mays lasted just 2.1 innings, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on six hits and striking out two.  His ERA was 6.30.

Micheal Nakamura gave up a run in 1.1 innings.  His ERA went to 7.82.  He had been with the Twins for 22 games and had appeared in 12 of them.  He then would be sent down to AAA and would not return the rest of the season.  He went from being used every day to being in Rochester in a big hurry.

Eight of the ten Chicago runs were scored on homers.  Two of the three Twins runs were scored on homers.

This was Rincon's second-longest appearance of the season.  He had gone five innings on April 6, his first game of the season.  He had six other games in which he pitched three innings or more.

We are now half-way through the 2003 season.  Kansas City was swept in a doubleheader, so despite getting beaten badly the Twins moved into first place.

Record:  The Twins were 43-38, in first place in the American League Central, a half game ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 21

Cy Williams (1887)
Josh Gibson (1911)
Bob Rush (1925)
Howie Reed (1936)
Paul Casanova (1941)
Elliott Maddox (1947)
Dave Kingman (1948)
Joaquin Andujar (1952)
Tom Henke (1957)
Roger McDowell (1960)
Andy Van Slyke (1960)
Dustin Hermanson (1972)
LaTroy Hawkins (1972)
D’Angelo Jimenez (1977)
Freddy Sanchez (1977)
Philip Humber (1982)
Danny Duffy (1988)

Josh Gibson is generally considered to have been the greatest batter in Negro League history.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to hungry joe’s wife, peckish jane.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 21 →

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Eighty

MINNESOTA 5, MILWAUKEE 4 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Sunday, June 29.

Batting stars:  Luis Rivas was 3-for-5 with a stolen base, his sixth.  Bobby Kielty was 2-for-4 with two doubles.  Matthew LeCroy was 2-for-4 with a double.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-5 with a walk.  Lew Ford was 2-for-5 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  Johan Santana struck out four in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  LaTroy Hawkins pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Scott Podsednik with a walk and a stolen base, his sixteenth.  Brady Clark was 2-for-2 with a stolen base, his fourth.  Keith Ginter was 2-for-5 with a double.  Matt Ford pitched three innings, giving up one run on four hits and three walks and striking out two.  Danny Kolb pitched three innings, giving up one run on four hits and a walk and striking out three.

The game:  The Twins had the bases loaded in the first inning but did not score.  The Brewers loaded the bases in the third and did score.  Keith Osik singled, Royce Clayton walked, Podsednik singled, and Ginter delivered an RBI single.  A ground out scored another run to make it 2-0 Milwaukee.  The Twins got one back in the third when Kielty hit a two-out double and scored on Torii Hunter's single.

The Brewers struck again in the fifth.  Clayton tripled with one out and scored on a Podsednik single.  Ginter then hit an RBI double and a sacrifice fly brought home the second run of the inning, making the score 4-1.  The Twins again got one back in the sixth when Doug Mientkiewicz walked, LeCroy singled, and Ford hit an RBI single.

It stayed 4-2 until the ninth.  The Twins had a chance in the eighth, but bad baserunning took them out of the inning.  They had men on first and second with none out, but Mientkiewicz got picked off second and Jacque Jones was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first on LeCroy's one-out double.  They again had men on first and second in the ninth, this time with one out, but this time they came through.  Justin Morneau had an RBI single, a hit batsman loaded the bases, and a sacrifice fly tied it at four and sent the game to an extra inning.

In the tenth Rivas singled with one out and stole second.  With two down, Guzman singled to bring home the tying run.  The play-by-play says he singled to first base--perhaps the ball bounced away from the first baseman.  At any rate, it was enough to bring the Twins the victory.

WP:  Hawkins (5-2).  LP:  Mike DeJean (2-5).  S:  None.

Notes:  Matthew LeCroy was again behind the plate in place of A. J. Pierzynski.  Pierzynski would be back in the lineup the next day.  It's interesting that, with Pierzynski missing a couple of days, Ron Gardenhire went with the offense of LeCroy rather than the defense of Tom Prince.  Ford was in left in place of Jones.  Kielty was the DH.

Jones pinch-hit for Dustan Mohr in the eighth and went to left field, with Mohr going to right.  Morneau pinch-hit for Kielty in the ninth.  Denny Hocking then pinch-ran for Morneau.  Prince went behind the plate in the tenth in place of LeCroy for no obvious reason.  Perhaps LeCroy was injured somehow or was not feeling well.

Ford was batting .359.  Corey Koskie was 0-for-5 and was batting .308.  Mientkiewicz was 0-for-2 and was batting .304.

Rick Reed started for the Twins and pitched six innings, giving up four runs on six hits and three walks and striking out two.

Santana lowered his ERA to 2.41.  Hawkins lowered his ERA to 1.79.

This was Matt Ford's first major league start.  It was his rookie season.  He had been in the bullpen for twenty-one games and had done well:  2.15 ERA, 1.13 WHIP in 29.1 innings.  They then moved him to the rotation for four starts, where he did not do well:  0-3, 8.79, 2.38 WHIP.  It looks like he then was injured, or maybe was injured during one of those four starts, because he did not pitch any more in 2003.  He never reached the majors again.  He bounced around the minors and independent ball for several more seasons, continuing to play through 2008.  He was with the Twins in AAA in 2006 and did not do very well.  I'm not saying the Brewers mishandled him, and maybe he would've been injured anyway.  But we'll never know what would've happened if they'd just left him in the bullpen where he'd been successful.

This was the first time the Twins had won two games in a row since June 11-13.

Record:  The Twins were 43-37, tied for first with Kansas City in the American League Central.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 20

Jack Manning (1853)
Harry Stovey (1856)
Jimmy Williams (1876)
Branch Rickey (1881)
Fred Merkle (1888)
Butch Henline (1894)
George Pipgras (1899)
Gabby Hartnett (1900)
Spud Davis (1904)
Eddie Leishman (1910)
Julio Becquer (1931)
Oscar Gamble (1949)
Cecil Cooper (1949)
Jose DeLeon (1960)
Augie Ojeda (1974)
Aubrey Huff (1976)
David De Jesus (1979)
James Shields (1981)
David Wright (1982)

Eddie Leishman was twice the Minor League Executive of the Year.

We would also like to wish a very happy anniversary to spookymilk and mrs. milk.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 20 →

Keeping Track

Winter Wonderland: Games of December 18

MAZATLAN, GAME 47

MAZATLAN 9, NAVOJOA 4 IN NAVOJOA

Batting stars:  Isaac Paredes was 4-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs.  Anthony Giansanti was 3-for-4 with a home run (his fifth), a double, a walk, and three runs.  Daniel Sanchez was 3-for-5 with a two-run homer, a double, and two runs.  Edson Garcia was 2-for-5.

Pitching stars:  Juan Ramon Noriega, Marco Antonio Rivas, and Roberto Espinosa each threw a scoreless inning.

Opposition stars:  Jorge Sesma was 3-for-4 with a double.  Jorge Flores was 2-for-4 with a double.  Alonso Gaitan was 2-for-4.  Josuan Hernandez was 2-for-4.

The game:  Navojoa took a 2-0 lead in the first, but it was 3-3 after five.  In the sixth, Maxwell Leon broke the tie with an RBI double and Paredes had a two-run double, putting Mazatlan up 6-3.  They led the rest of the way.

WP:  Matt Gage (3-0).  LP:  Octavio Acosta (3-4).  S:  None.

Stats:  Paredes is batting .391.  Jose Augusto Figueroa was 1-for-3 and is batting .301.  Noriega's ERA is 3.00.  Rivas is at 1.54.  Espinosa is at 1.67.  Jesus Pirela gave up a run in one inning and has an ERA of 1.83.

Record:  Mazatlan is 24-23, tied for fifth place with Culiacan in the Mexican League, six games behind Obregon.  They are 1.5 games behind fourth-place Jalisco.

Next game:  Mazatlan is again at Navojoa this afternoon.

GIGANTES, GAMES 22 AND 23

GIGANTES 6, TOROS 1 AT TOROS (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)

Batting stars:  Alfredo Marte was 3-for-3 with a double.  Jose Siri was 2-for-4 with two doubles, two runs, and two RBIs.  Juan Francisco was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fifth) and three RBIs.  Ronald Guzman was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Chris Ellis struck out seven in five innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk.  Ryan Kussmaul and Ramon E. Ramirez each pitched a scoreless inning.

Opposition star:  Miguel Andujar was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk.

The game:  Francisco hit a two-run homer in the third to give the Gigantes a 3-0 lead.  They scored three in the fourth to put the game out of reach.  Siri had a two-run double in the inning.

WP:  Ellis (1-0).  LP:  Carlos Hernandez (0-2).  S:  None.

TOROS 6, GIGANTES 5 AT TOROS (GAME 2--8 INNINGS)

Batting stars:  Moises Sierra was 2-for-4.  Jose Siri was 1-for-3 with a home run (his second) and a walk.

Pitching star:  Domingo Tapia struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Miguel Andujar was 3-for-4 with a double.  Jorge Mateo was 2-for-3.  Peter O'Brien was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his third.

The game:  The Gigantes led 4-2 after six.  An error with two out in the seventh brought home two runs and tied the score.  O'Brien hit a walkoff two-run homer in the eighth.

WP:  Keury Mella (1-0).  LP:  Juan Minaya (0-1).  S:  None.

Stats:  Alfredo Marte was 0-for-2 and is batting .438.  Ronald Guzman was 0-for-4 and is batting .326.  Richelson Pena gave up two runs in 4.2 innings and has an ERA of 2.84.  Edgar Santana retired the only man he faced and has an ERA of 3.00.  Tapia has an ERA of zero.  Wily Peralta gave up two runs in an inning but both were unearned, so he still has an ERA of zero.

Record:  The Gigantes are 11-12, in fifth place in the Domincan League, 2.5 games behind Este.  They are 2.5 games behind fourth-place Escogido.  The games behind numbers look odd because weather has cause a number of postponements, so that the teams have played a very dissimilar number of games.

Next game:  The Gigantes host the Toros this afternoon.

LARA, GAME 20

LARA 7, ZULIA 3 IN LARA

Batting stars:  Yordanys Linares was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Osman Marval was 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs.  Gorkys Hernandez was 3-for-5 with a triple and a double.

Pitching stars:  Wilking Rodriguez retired all five men he faced, striking out two.  Jesus Sanchez pitched 1.1 scoreless innings.  Yapson Gomez and Ricardo Gomez each pitched a scoreless inning.

Opposition stars:  Ex-Twin Alex Romero was 2-for-4 with a double.  Humberto Arteaga was 2-for-4.  Daniel Brito was 1-for-3 with a home run (his third) and a walk.  Carlos Betancourt pitched three shutout innings, giving up three hits and no walks and striking out one.

The game:  Zulia led 3-2 through six, but Lara scored five in the seventh to take control of the game.  The last two runs scored on an error.

WP:  Rodriguez (1-1).  LP:  Arcenio Leon (0-1).  S:  None.

Stats:  Ildemaro Vargas was 1-for-4 and is batting .382.  Josmar Cordero was 0-for-3 and is batting .373.  Yonathan Mendoza was 1-for-4 and is batting .313.  Linares is batting .308.  Hernandez is batting .306.  Jecksson Flores was 0-for-4 and is batting .302.  Yapson Gomez has an ERA of zero.  Ricardo Gomez has an ERA of 1.29.

Record:  Lara is 12-8, tied with Magallanes for first place in the Venezuelan League.

Next game:  Lara plays a doubleheader in Margarita today.

MAYAGUEZ

Their game at Manati was postponed.  Mayaguez remains 7-2, in second place in the Puerto Rican League, 1.5 games behind Caguas.  They will play a doubleheader against Manati today.

MELBOURNE, GAME 2

MELBOURNE 4, SYDNEY 2 IN SYDNEY

Batting stars:  Blake Gailen was 3-for-5 with two doubles.  Ex-Twin Delmon Young was 2-for-4 with a double.  Darryl George was 2-for-5.  Damek Tomscha was 1-for-4 with a home run.

Pitching stars:  Drew Anderson struck out five in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.  Cameron Gibbens struck out all four men he faced.  Mitch Ellis pitched a scoreless inning despite giving up two hits and two walks.  He struck out one.

Opposition star:  Matthew Rae struck out four in four innings, giving up one run on five hits and no walks.

The game:  Gailen singled home a run in the seventh to tie it at two.  Tomscha homered leading off the eighth to give Melbourne the lead.  Young doubled and scored later in the inning to provide an insurance run.

WP:  Gibbens (1-0).  LP:  Zac Shepherd (0-1).  S:   Anderson (1).

Stats:  Gailen is batting .625.  Young is batting .571.  Jarryd Dale was 1-for-3 and is batting .333.  George is batting .300.  Ellis, Gibbens, and Anderson each has an ERA of zero.

Record:  Melbourne is 1-1, tied for second place with Sydney in the Australian League, a half game behind Perth.

Next game:  Melbourne is again at Sydney for an afternoon game.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Seventy-nine

MINNESOTA 5, MILWAUKEE 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, June 28.

Batting stars:  Torii Hunter was 3-for-4 with a home run (his eleventh), a stolen base (his third), two runs, and two RBIs.  Corey Koskie was 2-for-4 with a home run, his twelfth.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Kenny Rogers struck out six in six innings, giving up one run on six hits and two walks.  LaTroy Hawkins pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and striking out one.  Eddie Guardado pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Scott Podsednik was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.  Keith Ginter was 2-for-4.

The game:  The Brewers put men on first and second with none out in the second but did not score.  It cost them, as the Twins got two in the bottom of the second.  Hunter led off with a home run, Mientkiewicz singled, Bobby Kielty walked, and Luis Rivas had an RBI single to make it 2-0 Twins.

It stayed 2-0 until the fifth, when Eddie Perez doubled and scored on a two-out single by Podsednik to cut the lead in half at 2-1.  The Twins got the run back in the bottom of the fifth when Koskie homered to make it 3-1.

Milwaukee opened the sixth with consecutive singles but did not score.  In the seventh, however, Eric Young doubled and scored on Podsednik's two-out single to again cut the lead to one run at 3-2.  In the seventh, however, the Twins used the stolen base to score twice.  Cristian Guzman singled, stole second and third, and scored on Hunter's single.  Hunter then stole second and scored on a Mientkiewicz single, making the score 5-2.

That pretty much iced the game.  The Brewers got a single in the eighth but never brought the tying run up to bat.

WP:  Rogers (7-3).  LP:  Dave Burba (0-1).  S:  Guardado (20).

Notes:  Matthew LeCroy was behind the plate in place of A. J. Pierzynski.  Kielty was in right field.  Justin Morneau was the DH.

Lew Ford pinch-hit for Morneau in the seventh.  Tom Prince replaced LeCroy behind the plate in the eighth.

Ford was 0-for-1 and was batting .353.  Koskie raised his average to .314.  Mientkiewicz went up to .307.

Hawkins lowered his ERA to 1.83.  Guardado went down to 2.76.

Burba was apparently injured at the start of the season, as this was his first game of 2003.  He would make only two starts, although he would appear in fifteen games in relief.  He pitched 5.2 innings, giving up three runs on nine hits and a walk and striking out three.

It seems like every time I do a Twins/Brewers game Scott Podsednik plays a key role, making me wonder if he was a Twins killer.  Not really.  For his career he batted .285/.328/.381, not bad numbers but nearly identical to his career numbers generally.  In 2003, however, he batted .440/.500/.600 against the Twins, so he was certainly a Twins killer that season.

Record:  The Twins were 42-37, in second place in the American League Central, one game behind Kansas City.