Happy Birthday–August 26

Chick Fraser (1873)
Jesse Barnes (1892)
Sparky Adams (1894)
Gene Moore (1909)
Alex Kellner (1924)
Alex Trevino (1957)
Jeff Parrett (1961)
Angel Hernandez (1961)
Chad Kreuter (1964)
Ricky Bottalico (1969)
Brendan Harris (1980)
Kyle Kendrick (1984)
Eric Fryer (1985)
Darin Mastroianni (1985)
David Price (1985)
Elvis Andrus (1988)
Mario Hollands (1988)
Brusdar Graterol (1988)
Tyler Wells (1994)

It is reported that Angel Hernandez has been a major league umpire since 1993.  We continue to search for evidence of this.

Mario Hollands was drafted by Minnesota in the 24th round in 2009 but did not sign.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to spookymilk’s sister and to Can of Corn's Kernel.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–August 26

2022 Game 123: Minnesota at Houston

Chris Archer has started 21 games for the Twins this season. In not one of them has he pitched more than five innings. Not one. He'll take the mound again tonight, but if want to see him pitch, try not to blink. Archer squares off with Luis Garcia, who is 10-8 with an ERA just north of four and 127 strikeouts in 124 innings. If momentum is tonight's starting pitcher, advantage Astros, I guess.

The Guardians keep collecting wins while the Twins squander their opportunities and pile up the losses with lackluster defense, baserunning, and an offense that is only days away from an official MIA designation. The main thing that keeps me hanging on is that I love watching Luis Arraez play baseball and feel compelled to watch every plate appearance and track his batting average on a daily basis. So, I have no idea how you turn this team around and get it playing up to its potential again, that's Rocco's job and that's why he makes the big pile of dough. It doesn't strike me as an easy task, though.

Play ball!

Happy Birthday–August 25

Dick Rudolph (1887)
Darrell Johnson (1928)
Choo Choo Coleman (1937)
Dooley Womack (1939)
Rollie Fingers (1946)
Dave Heaverlo (1950)
Stan Perzanowski (1950)
Pete Redfern (1954)
Oddibe McDowell (1962)
Albert Belle (1966)
Doug Glanville (1970)
Gary Matthews (1974)
Logan Morrison (1987)
Justin Upton (1987)
Chandler Shepherd (1992)

Continue reading Happy Birthday–August 25

2022 Game 122: Minnesota Twins at Houston Astros

Dylan Bundy
vs
Framber Valdez

The Guardians won yesterday and the Twins did not, falling further back in the division. The Orioles have a better record. MLB released its 2023 schedule and for the first time, every team will play all other 29 teams in a season. There's still a bias towards intradivision games, but it's less than it used to be. The AL Central has a chance for everyone to be below .500 next year.

Valdez is having his best season yet. He's also left-handed. Insert everything free wrote yesterday into this game log.