Happy Birthday–July 14

Jesse Tannehill (1874)
Happy Chandler (1898)
Johnny Murphy (1908)
Robert Creamer (1922)
Ralph Rowe (1924)
Bob Purkey (1929)
Billy McCool (1944)
Steve Stone (1947)
Danny Walton (1947)
Vic Rodriguez (1961)
Robin Ventura (1967)
Derrick May (1968)
Jose Hernandez (1969)
Tim Hudson (1975)

Albert "Happy" Chandler was the commissioner of baseball from 1945-1951.

Author Robert Creamer wrote a biography of Babe Ruth which is still considered to be one of the best baseball books ever.

Ralph Rowe was a coach for the Twins from 1972-1975.  He had been a minor league outfielder in 1942, 1947-1955, and 1957-1961, spending the last three years in the Twins' organization.  He was mainly a manager or coach in those years--I assume he only played if they ran into a shortage of players or something.  He managed in the Twins' organization from 1959-1960 and 1962-1971, winning league championships with Wilson in the Carolina League in 1963, Orlando in the Southern League in 1968, and Charlotte in the Southern League in 1969.  He also coached for Baltimore from 1981-1984.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–July 14

Wild Whangdoodle: Buyouts!

The Wild have bought out Parise and Suter.

They will be paying them $833,333 each for the next 8 years, and their hit against the salary cap will be as follows.

2021-22: $2.37M
2022-23: $6.37M
2023-24: $7.37M
2024-25: $7.37M
2025-26: $0.833M
2026-27: $0.833M
2027-28: $0.833M
2028-29: $0.833M

If they hadn't been bought out it would have been $7.54M for the next four years.

Bill Guerin apparently didn't buy into the short season's success against weak competition in California and is building for 4-5 years down the line?

I don't know how else to interpret this one.

Minor Details: Standings and Stats: Through July 12

STANDINGS

The St. Paul Saints are 28-31, in fourth place in the AAA East/Midwest, 9.5 games behind Omaha.  The Saints are 5-5 in their last ten games and have lost their last three games.  Their run differential is -23.

The Wichita Wind Surge is 33-27, in first place in the AA Central/North, a half game ahead of Arkansas.  The Wind Surge is 4-6 in their last ten games and have won their last two games.  Their run differential is +17.

The Cedar Rapids Kernels are 34-26, in second place in the High-A Central/West, five games behind Quad Cities.  The Kernels are 7-3 in their last ten games and have won their last seven games.  Their run differential is +48.

The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are 34-26, in third place in the Low-A Southeast/West, seven games behind Tampa.  The Mighty Mussels are 6-4 in their last ten games and won their most recent game.  Their run differential is +26.

STATS

BATTING

AVERAGE

St. Paul--Tomas Telis, .279
Wichita--Jose Miranda, .345
Cedar Rapids--Spencer Steer, .274
Fort Myers--Edouard Julien, .299

OBP

St. Paul--Brent Rooker, .365
Wichita--Miranda, .408
Cedar Rapids--Steer, .409
Fort Myers--Julien, .490

SLUGGING

St. Paul--Rooker, .511
Wichita--Miranda, .588
Cedar Rapids--Steer, .506
Fort Myers--Julien, .456

OPS

St. Paul--Rooker, .876
Wichita--Miranda, .996
Cedar Rapids--Steer, .915
Fort Myers--Julien, .946

HOME RUNS

St. Paul--Rooker, 14
Wichita--Miranda, 13
Cedar Rapids--Jair Camargo, 11
Fort Myers--Jeferson Morales, 6

RBI

St. Paul--Rooker, 34
Wichita--Miranda, 38
Cedar Rapids--Wander Javier, 34
Fort Myers--Yunior Severino, 48

STOLEN BASES

St. Paul--Keon Broxton, 6
Wichita--Aaron Whitefield, 16
Cedar Rapids--Gabriel Maciel, 14
Fort Myers--Julien, 21

PITCHING

ERA

St. Paul--Charlie Barnes, 3.88
Wichita--Josh Winder, 1.98
Cedar Rapids--Tyler Beck, 1.93
Fort Myers--Louie Varland, 2.09

WINS

St. Paul--Barnes, 5
Wichita--Zach Neff, 5
Cedar Rapids--Jordan Gore and Derek Molina, 5
Fort Myers--3 tied at 4

SAVES

St. Paul--Derek Law, 4
Wichita--Ryan Mason, 3
Cedar Rapids--Melvi Acosta, 5
Fort Myers--Denny Bentley, 4

INNINGS

St. Paul--Barnes, 58
Wichita--Winder, 54.2
Cedar Rapids--Ben Gross, 45.2
Fort Myers--Varland, 47.1

STRIKEOUTS

St. Paul--Andrew Albers and Charlie Barnes, 50
Wichita--Winder, 65
Cedar Rapids--Kody Funderburk, 59
Fort Myers--Varland, 76

WHIP

St. Paul--Barnes, 1.26
Wichita--Winder, 0.93
Cedar Rapids--Beck and Gore, 0.96
Fort Myers--Varland, 1.20

AVERAGE AGAINST

St. Paul--Barnes, .244
Wichita--Winder, .208
Cedar Rapids--Beck, .179
Fort Myers--Varland, .228

Happy Birthday–July 13

Tom York (1850)
George Bradley (1852)
Stan Coveleski (1889)
Lee Handley (1913)
Eliot Asinof (1919)
Fritz Dorish (1921)
Ruben Gomez (1927)
Daryl Spencer (1928)
Don Pavletich (1938)
Jack Aker (1940)
Buzz Stephen (1944)
Jerry Terrell (1946)
Bill Caudill (1956)
Mark Brown (1959)
Mike Fitzgerald (1960)
Pat Rapp (1967)
Ryan Ludwick (1978)
Shin-Soo Choo (1982)
Yadier Molina (1982)
D. J. LeMahieu (1988)
Tyler Skaggs (1991)

Author Eliot Asinof played two seasons in the minor leagues.  He has written several books on baseball, most notably "Eight Men Out".

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to uncleWalt’s oldest child.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–July 13

The World’s Greatest Online Magazine’s 2021 Summer Mix

Hey, gang! I know I say this every year, but I think the mix turned out pretty great this year. Like last year, the easiest way to consume it is to look up WGOM on your favorite podcast app (except the spotty one). I'll set up a link shortly to download the full file if that's your thing.

Anyway, here's your mix!

Music Band - Heat
Visioneers - Ike’s Mood I
Angel Olsen & Sharon Van Etten - Like I Used To
Julien Baker - Hardline
Orchestra Baobab - Sibam
Los Master Plus con Caloncho - Vengache Pa'ca
Diamond Rio - Poultry Promenade
George Benson - Give Me the Night
Billy Stewart - Summertime
Bosse - Augen zu Musik
Miss Grit - Dark Side of the Party
Car Seat Headrest - Something Soon
Cory Hanson - Angeles
SZA - Good Days
Iceage - Shelter Song
La Santa Cecilia - Mar Y Cielo
Waxahatchee - Can't Do Much
Ozuna, Doja Cat, and Sia - Del Mar
Mint Royale - Show Me
Translator - O Lazarus
Mannequin Pussy - Drunk II
Yola - Diamond Studded Shoes
Rostam - 4Runner
Dr. Hook - Sharing the Night Together
Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive