August 12, 2023: His Pillow

So, a while back we got a travel pillow or whathaveyou from that one guy's pillow company as a promotion at a Twins game. I'd say it's about 16" x 12". It's actually been a pretty perfect size for the youngsters. The older outgrew it awhile ago, but it's still the perfect size for Rick. Guess I've got to thank him for that much.

Happy Birthday–August 12

Christy Mathewson (1880)
Ray Schalk (1892)
Harlond Clift (1912)
Fred Hutchinson (1919)
Bob Buhl (1928)
Kevin Cooney (1950)
Matt Clement (1974)
Lew Ford (1976)
Zach Cosart (1985)
Chris Owings (1991)

A notoriously bad hitter, even for a pitcher, Bob Buhl had a lifetime average of .089 and went the entire 1962 season without getting a hit (0-for-70).  Oddly, he equaled his career high in walks that year with six, which goes to show something or other.

Kevin Cooney was an eleventh round draft choice of the Twins in 1972.  He pitched in the Twins’ organization for two seasons, then a shoulder injury ended his playing career.  He then became a college baseball coach.  He was the head coach at Montclair State from 1984-1987 and at Florida Atlantic from 1988-2008.

We would like to wish a happy birthday to MagUidhir's niece and nephew.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–August 12

Happy Birthday–August 13

Fielder Jones (1871)
George Susce (1907)
Lou Finney (1910)
Sid Gordon (1917)
Jerry Neudecker (1930)
Vinegar Bend Mizell (1930)
Mudcat Grant (1935)
Tony Cloninger (1940)
Fred Stanley (1947)
Jerry Crawford (1947)
Andre Thornton (1949)
Tom Niedenfuer (1959)
Jim Reboulet (1961)
Jay Buhner (1964)
Tom Prince (1964)
Mark Lemke (1965)
Alex Fernandez (1969)
Jarrod Washburn (1974)
Will Ohman (1977)
Corey Patterson (1979)
Dallas Braden (1983)
Boone Logan (1984)
Hansel Robles (1990)
Randal Grichuk (1991)
Taijuan Walker (1992)

Jerry Neudecker was an American League umpire from 1966-1985.  He was the last major league umpire to use an outside chest protector.

Jerry Crawford was a major league umpire from 1976-2010.  He is tied with Bruce Froemming for the most postseason games umpired, 111.

Jim Reboulet is the brother of ex-Twin Jeff Reboulet. He was in the minors for six years, reaching AAA. He had three seasons with sixty or more stolen bases.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–August 13

Minor Details: Games of August 10

SAINTS 8, BATS 5 IN ST. PAUL

The Twins scored five runs in the fifth to take an 8-4 lead.  They had five walks, a wild pitch, a double, and a single in the inning.

Trevor Larnach hit a home run, his eleventh.
Andrew Stevenson hit a home run, his fourteenth.

Blayne Enlow pitched four innings, allowing four runs on four hits and one walk and striking out six.
Ronny Henriquez struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.
Kody Funderburk pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.

NATURALS 10, WIND SURGE 6 IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

Northwest Arkansas scored three in the first and four in the fifth to take a 7-2 lead.

Aaron Sabato was 3-for-5 with a home run (his seventh), two runs, and three RBIs.
Alex Isola was 2-for-2 with a double and two walks.
Dalton Shuffield was 2-for-4.

Travis Adams pitched 4.1 innings, allowing six runs on six hits and three walks and striking out four.

KERNELS 11, RIVER BANDITS 5 IN QUAD CITIES

Ben Ross homered in a four-run third that gave Cedar Rapids a 6-3 lead.  Cedar Rapids added four more in the sixth to go up10-3.

Carson McCusker was 4-for-5 with two doubles, two runs, and four RBIs.
Ross was 2-for-3 with a home run (his fifteenth), a double, three walks, and two runs.
Emmanuel Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with two walks and two runs.
Kala'i Rosario was 2-for-5 with a triple and a walk.

Christian MacLeod pitched five innings, giving up three runs on five hits and three walks and striking out four.
Malik Barrington struck out two and walked one in two shutout innings.

MARAUDERS 15, MIGHTY MUSSELS 7 IN FORT MYERS

Fort Myers led 8-2 through five, but Bradenton scored three in the sixth, seven in the eighth, and three in the ninth.

Rafael Cruz was 3-for-5 with a double.
Ricardo Olivar was 2-for-4 with a walk.
Maddux Houghton hit a home run, his fourth.
Alec Sayre hit a grand slam, his third homer.

Ben Ethridge pitched four innings, giving up two runs on two hits and five walks and striking out three.

FCL TWINS 4, FCL PIRATES 10 AT PIRATES

The Twins scored three in the third and led the rest of the way.  The Pirates out-hit the Twins 10-4, but the Twins drew nine walks.

Walker Jenkins was 2-for-5.  It's only five games, but he's batting .429 with an OPS of 1.122.

Cleiber Maldonado pitched four innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and a walk and striking out one.
Devin Kirby pitched 4.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and three walks and striking out four.

DSL GIANTS BLACK 8, DSL TWINS 5 AT GIANTS

The Giants scored six in the seventh to overcome a 5-2 Twins lead.

Ariel Castro was 3-for-4 with a triple, a double, three runs, and two RBIs.
Junior Del Valle was 2-for-4.

Miguel Cordero pitched five innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk and striking out three.
Jose Ojo struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

TODAY'S TILTS

9:00  FCL Twins at FCL Red Sox
9:30  DSL Nationals at DSL Twins
6:00  Bradenton at Fort Myers (Jack Noble, 0-2, 2.70)
6:30  Cedar Rapids (Andrew Morris, 1-1, 4.09) at Quad Cities
7:05  Wichita (Marco Raya, 0-3, 11.25) at Northwest Arkansas
7:07  Louisville at St. Paul (Louie Varland, 6-0, 4.53)

Happy Birthday–August 11

Danny Murphy (1876)
Bobo Newsom (1907)
Bob Scheffing (1913)
Walter McNeil (1934)
Bill Monboquette (1936)
Vada Pinson (1938)
Sal Campisi (1942)
Jim Hughes (1951)
Dennis Lewallyn (1953)
Bryn Smith (1955)
Melky Cabrera (1984)
Colby Rasmus (1986)
Pablo Sandoval (1986)

Walter McNeil is better known as Wally the Beer Man, long-time vendor at Minnesota Twins games.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to Mrs. Moss and a happy anniversary to Mr. and Mrs. AMR.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–August 11