Monthly Archives: February 2021

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–February 14

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.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–February 14 →

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-five

MINNESOTA 2, TEXAS 0 IN TEXAS

Date:  Saturday, August 30.

Batting star:  Corey Koskie returned to the lineup and was 2-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  Johan Santana pitched six shutout innings, giving up five hits and no walks and striking out four.  Juan Rincon struck out two in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.  Eddie Guardado pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Mark Teixeira was 3-for-4 with two doubles.  Mickey Callaway pitched six innings, giving up two runs on five hits and no walks and striking out four.

The game:  The Rangers had men on first and third with two out in the first but did not score.  Michael Young had a one-out double in the third and Shane Spencer reached on a two-base error in the fourth.  Those were the only men to be in scoring position for either team in the first five innings.

In the sixth, however, A. J. Pierzynski led off with a single, Denny Hocking followed with a double, and Shannon Stewart delivered a two-run single, putting the Twins up 2-0.

And that was all the scoring in the game.  Teixeira led off the bottom of the sixth with a double but stayed on second.  Jacque Jones hit a two-out double in the seventh but had a similar fate.  Teixeira had another double with two out in the eighth and again was stranded.  The Twins put men on first and second with none out in the ninth, but again the score remained 2-0.  Texas went out in order in the bottom of the ninth.

WP:  Santana (9-3).  LP:  Callaway (1-5).  S:  Guardado (31).

Notes:  Hocking was at short in place of Cristian Guzman, who would not return to the lineup until September 2.  Jones was in left and Stewart in right.  Dustan Mohr replaced Stewart in right field in the ninth.

Stewart was 1-for-4 and was batting .313.  Jones was 1-for-4 and was batting .308.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 0-for-3 and was batting .301.

Santana lowered his ERA to 2.72.  He made six starts in the month of August and went 5-0, 1.07, 0.95 WHIP.  He struck out 44 in 42 innings, giving up 30 hits and 10 walks.  His ERA went from 3.49 to 2.72.

LaTroy Hawkins retired the only man he faced to drop his ERA to 2.09.

I remember Mickey Callaway as a manager and pitching coach, and of course he's been in the news lately for other reasons.  But I have no memory of him as a pitcher.  This was his first start as a Texas Ranger--he had been released by the Angels in late July.  Over half his major league appearances came in 2003--he appeared in 40 games, 23 of them this season.  He did not justify it:  he went 1-7, 6.68, 1.78 WHIP.  This was one of the few good games he pitched in his career, and he still didn't get a win for it.  For his career, he went 4-11, 6.27, 1.71 WHIP.  He made 20 starts in his 40 games and pitched 130.2 innings.  His only major league "success" came in 2002, when he made six starts for the Angels at the end of the season and went 2-1, 4.19.

The Twins had won three in a row and five of six.  The White Sox won and Kansas City didn't play (presumably a rainout), so the Twins moved into a tie for second place.

Record:  The Twins were 71-64, tied for second with Kansas City in the American League Central, a half game behind Chicago.

Friday Music Day

FMD: Feeling Cold

10 Comments

In this deep freeze of winter, what music acts that work for lots of people just leave you feeling cold? Like, you don't necessarily hate them, but you really don't understand the appeal?

I realize this is a conversation that might get a bit heated, but that could be appreciated on a frigid day like today, right?

For me, especially on this site, it's gotta be Drive By Truckers. Sorry, gang. There are others too, but that one definitely comes to mind.

What's yours, and why am I wrong?

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–February 12

Due to personal time constraints, this is a reprint from last year which has not been updated.

Pants Rowland (1879)
Chick Hafey (1903)
Dom DiMaggio (1917)
Joe Garagiola (1926)
Pat Dobson (1942)
Mike Martin (1944)
Ray Corbin (1949)
Lenny Randle (1949)
Don "Full Pack" Stanhouse (1951)
Cam Bonifay (1952)
Chet Lemon (1955)
Greg Johnston (1955)
Joe Bitker (1964)
Ryan Lefebvre (1971)
Chris Snyder (1981)
Cole De Vries (1985)

Clarence "Pants' Rowland spent his life in baseball.  A catcher, he went on to manage the Chicago White Sox to the World Championship in 1917.  He was an American League umpire from 1923-1927.  He was also a minor league manager and executive, and was president of the Pacific Coast League from 1944-1954.  He is a member of the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame.

Mike Martin won over 2,000 games as the head coach of Florida State.

Cam Bonifay was the general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1993-2001 and is currently working in the Cincinnati organization.

Ryan Lefebvre appeared in six minor league games for the Watertown Indians in 1993.  He was a Twins broadcaster in the 1997 and 1998 before moving to Kansas City in 1999, where he has been a broadcaster for the Royals ever since.

Joe Bitker was drafted by Minnesota in the sixth round in the 1984 January draft, but he did not sign.

This is a great day for players with colorful nicknames.  In addition to those listed above, we have Sweetbread Bailey (1895), Kiddo Davis (1902), Dutch Dietz (1912), Monk Dubiel (1918), and Woody Main (1922).

Continue reading Happy Birthday–February 12 →

Keeping Track

Winter Wonderland: Games of February 10 and February 11

MELBOURNE

Wednesday

MELBOURNE 19, CANBERRA 4 AT MELBOURNE

Canberra scored three in the top of the first, but Melbourne responded with four in the bottom of the first and led the rest of the way.  There were eleven home runs hit in the game, four of them in the first inning.  For Melbourne, Darryl George was 4-for-5 with a home run, a double, and three runs.  Gift Ngoepe was 2-for-3 with a home run, two walks, and two runs.  Damek Tomscha was 2-for-4 with two home runs, a walk, three runs, and three RBIs.  Colin Willis was 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk, three runs, and three RBIs.  Ex-Twin Delmon Young was 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk, two runs, and three RBIs.  Jarryd Dale was 2-for-4 with a triple, a walk, and three runs.  Jake Romanski was 1-for-5 with a two-run homer.  Brian Flynn pitched six innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and a walk and striking out five.

Record:  This was a semi-final game.  They apparently changed the format, so that it is no longer double-elimination, but rather is single-elimination with a consolation game.  Melbourne will play Perth in the finals.

Thursday

MELBOURNE 9, PERTH 2 AT MELBOURNE

Melbourne scored seven in the sixth, taking the lead from 2-1 to 9-1 and putting the game out of reach.  Jarryd Dale was 3-for-4 with a triple, two runs, and two RBIs.  Colin Willis was 3-for-5 with a two-run homer.  Damek Tomscha was 2-for-4 with a double.  Jake Romanski was 2-for-4.  Ex-Twin Delmon Young was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Tyler Beardsley pitched six innings, giving up one run on six hits and two walks and striking out two.

Record:  Melbourne wins the Australian Baseball League Championship.  This brings our "Winter Wonderland" series to a close.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-four

MINNESOTA 8, TEXAS 5 IN TEXAS

Date:  Friday, August 29.

Batting stars:  Doug Mientkiewicz was 4-for-5.  Shannon Stewart was 2-for-5 with a double, two runs, and two RBIs.  Matthew LeCroy was 1-for-3 with a home run (his fifteenth) and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Carlos Pulido pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.  Grant Balfour pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.  LaTroy Hawkins struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up two hits.  Eddie Guardado pitched a perfect inning and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Mark Teixeira was 2-for-4 with a triple.  Todd Greene was 2-for-4.  Hank Blalock was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Laynce Nix was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer (his fifth) and a walk.

The game:  LeCroy had the game's first hit in the second inning and it was a home run, putting the Twins up 1-0.  The Rangers tied it in the bottom of the second when Teixeira hit a two-out triple and scored on Greene's single.  Texas took a big lead in the third.  Michael Young led off with a double, went to third on a ground out, and scored on a sacrifice fly.  With two out and none on, Rafael Palmeiro doubled, Shane Spencer walked, and Nix hit a three-run homer to put the Rangers ahead 5-1.

The Twins started their comeback in the fifth.  Singles by Torii Hunter and Cristian Guzman were followed by a ground out, putting men on second and third with two down.  Stewart delivered a two-run single, cutting the lead to 5-3.  The Twins sent just three men to the plate in each of the sixth and seventh innings, however, leaving the score 5-3 as we went to the eighth.

In the eighth, Stewart doubled, but was still on second with two out.  Mientkiewicz had an RBI single to make the score 5-4.  Walks to LeCroy and Jacque Jones loaded the bases and a Dazzle Special (wild pitch) tied the score.  Hunter was then intentionally walked to load the bases and A. J. Pierzynski was hit by a pitch to put the Twins up 6-5.  Twins Baseball!!!!

Texas put men on first and third in the eighth but did not score.  In the ninth, Chris Gomez and Luis Rivas singled to put men on first and second.  Mientkiewicz then came through again, getting a two-run single-plus-error to give the Twins an 8-5 lead.  The Rangers went down in order in the ninth.

WP:  Balfour (1-0).  LP:  John Thomson (12-11).  S:  Guardado (30).

Notes:  Denny Hocking remained at third in place of Corey Koskie.  Jones was in left and Stewart in right.

Michael Ryan pinch-hit for Guzman in the eighth.  Gomez went in at shortstop in the ninth.  Dustan Mohr pinch-ran for LeCroy in the eighth.

Ryan was 0-for-1 and was batting .375.  Stewart was batting .314.  Jones was 0-for-3 and was batting .308.  Mientkiewicz raised his average to .303.

Joe Mays lasted just three innings, allowing five runs on five hits and two walks and striking out one.  His ERA was 6.37.  This was his last start of the season.  He would make just one more appearance, then be shut down for the rest of the season.  The bullpen bailed the Twins out, pitching six shutout innings and giving up five hits and a walk and striking out five.

This was Pulido's first appearance in the majors since 1994, a gap of nine years.  In between he played for a few different organizations and also played in Japan, Taiwan, and independent ball.

This was Balfour's first major league win.  In a pennant race, Ron Gardenhire used two pitchers who people had no reason to have much confidence in, and they rewarded him with four shutout innings and a win.

Pulido's ERA was zero.  Balfour's ERA was 1.76.  Hawkins had an ERA of 2.10.

Kansas City and Chicago both lost, so the Twins gained ground on both.

Record:  The Twins were 70-64, in third place in the American League Central, a half game behind both Chicago and Kansas City, who were tied for first.