Happy Birthday–June 12

Joe Hornung (1857)
Sol White (1868)
Red Dooin (1879)
Matty McIntyre (1880)
Otto Knabe (1884)
Bill Foster (1904)
Dutch Rennert (1930)
Gerry Arrigo (1941)
Jim Strickland (1946)
Scott Aldred (1968)
Damon Buford (1970)
Ryan Klesko (1971)
Damon Hollins (1974)
Hideki Matsui (1974)
Avisail Garcia (1991)

Sol White was a Negro League player, manager, and executive.  He wrote the first history of African-American baseball, "Sol White's History of Colored Baseball", in 1907.

Bill Foster was a star pitcher in the Negro Leagues.  He was the stepbrother of Rube Foster.

Dutch Rennert was a National League umpire from 1974-1992.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to Eric B. B.  Wherever he may b.

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2021 Game 63: Astros at Twins: Getting Ober the Hump

Bailey Ober, who I just learned about, pitches for the Twins in place of Matt Shoemaker. This is a good decision, even if Bailey Ober is completely awful, because Matt Shoemaker was beyond completely awful.

The Astros remain a strong team, and are pitching Jose Urquiday, who has been pretty good (except for his last start).

Riding the high of walking off the Yankees, let's see if the Twins can keep themselves rolling.

Happy Birthday–June 11

Roger Bresnahan (1879)
Ernie Nevers (1902)
Dan Topping (1912)
Frank Thomas (1929)
Jimmy Stewart (1939)
Danny Morris (1946)
Dave Cash (1948)
Tom Austin (1951)
Mike Fuentes (1958)
Brian Gorman (1959)
Mike Davis (1959)
Odalis Perez (1978)
Bobby Keppel (1982)
Jose Reyes (1983)
Brock Holt (1988)

Football great Ernie Nevers, born in Willow River, Minnesota, pitched for the St. Louis Browns for parts of three seasons (1926-1928).

Dan Topping was part-owner of the New York Yankees from 1945-1966.

Tom Austin is a long-time college baseball coach at Methodist University in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Outfielder Mike Fuentes was drafted by Minnesota in the fifth round in 1980, but did not sign.

Brian Gorman has been a major league umpire since 1993.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to UncleWalt.

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2021 Game 62: Damn Yankees vs. Twins

Game Time - 7:10 p.m. CT

I laid down to take just a short little rest and it somehow turned into a nap and then I overslept and the thing that woke me up was a nasty leg cramp and I realized I hadn't done the game log yet and I have to get to the grocery store before dinner and goodness gracious it is hot out there. There is something uncanny and underworldly and supremely infuriating about the way the Yankees dominate the Twins. I've not seen the likes of it in my lifetime and it's a record of Twins futility that goes back more than 20 years now. Over the course of the 2010's decade, the Yankees beat the Twins 53 times and only lost 21 games. That's a 71.6 winning percentage. In the decade before that the Bronx Bombers clobbered the Twins with a 57-25 record (69.5%). You have to go all the way back to the 1960's to find a decade where the Twins actually have a winning record against the gentlemen in pinstripes and even then just barely when they won 90 and lost 87 (50.8%). And back then we had players like Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Rod Carew,  Bob Allison and Cesar Tovar and pitchers like Jim Kaat and Jim Perry and Mudcat Grant. And I can tell you without hesitation or a shadow of doubt, this here Twins team ain't built like that.

J.A Happ gets tonight's start for the Twins, his first against the Yankees since he played for them. Happ has been pretty bad lately. He hasn't recorded a quality start since late April, his 5.61 ERA is heavily front-loaded considering his 10.17 ERA and .360 opponents batting average over his last five appearances. Michael King gets the honors for the Yankees. He's been much better out of the bullpen than he has as a starter and opener where he's failed to notch a win in four attempts and holds a 7.89 ERA. If I had to make a call about tonight's game, I'd say bet the over and hand the Yankees a broom. I could be way off base, though, because the devil is always in the details. Play ball!