All posts by Jeff A

Keeping Track

Solar Sox Summary

Surprise scored six in the seventh to put away a 16-8 victory over Mesa in Mesa.  The Saguaros led 7-5 before the big inning.

Tim Beckham (Tampa Bay) led Surprise with two doubles and two triples, driving in four and scoring three times.  Kevin Mattison (Florida), who has an awesome mustache, singled, tripled, and homered, driving in four and scoring four times.  Matt Dominguez (Florida) had two singles and a homer.  Mike Olt (Texas) had two singles and a double, driving in three, and Joe Terdoslavich (Atlanta) had two hits.  The win went to Miguel De Los Santos (Texas), who gave up two unearned runs on a hit and three walks while striking out three in two innings.

For Mesa, Josh Vitters (Cubs) had three singles and a double.  D. J. LeMahieu (Cubs) singled and hit a two-run homer.  Robbie Grossman (Pittsburgh) singled and doubled.  Chris Herrmann singled and doubled, driving in two and scoring once.  Junior Lake (Cubs) hit a home run.  Brian Dozier was 0-for-4 with an RBI.  Aaron Hicks was 0-for-3 with a walk, scoring once.  Marcus Hatley (Cubs) took the loss, surrendering four runs on five hits and a walk in 1.2 innings.  Dakota Watts struck out four in 1.1 innings, but allowed a run on two hits and a walk.

Mesa travels to Surprise this afternoon.

Keeping Track

Tigres Tales

Aragua made it two in a row, defeating Margarita 5-1 in Aragua.  The Tigres scored three in the first two innings and never trailed.

Lastings Milledge led the offense with a pair of doubles.  Guillermo Rodriguez hit a home run.  Joe Benson was 1-for-3 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.  Starter Deunte Heath (White Sox) struck out five in 3.2 scoreless innings, giving up four hits and a walk.  The win went to Yohan Pino (Toronto), who struck out three while giving up two hits in two shutout innings.  Francisco Butto struck out three in 1.2 shutout innings, allowing just a walk to get the save.

For the Bravos, Frank Diaz and Cesar Hernandez (Philadelphia) each had two hits.  Starter Ryan Tatusko (Washington) gave up a run on a hit and three walks in just two-thirds of an inning to take the loss.  Leonardo Astorga struck out four in three perfect innings of relief.

Aragua again hosts Margarita this evening.

Keeping Track

Solar Sox Summary

Mesa scored three in the fifth on the way to a 6-3 win over Peoria.  The Solar Sox pounded out sixteen hits in the game, their second win in their last three tries.

Tyler Saladino (White Sox) led the way with two singles and a triple.  Robbie Grossman (Pittsburgh) had two singles and a double and Brandon Short (White Sox) had three singles.  Jarek Cunningham (Pittsburgh) singled and doubled.  Brian Dozier was 2-for-5, scoring a run and driving one in.  Aaron Hicks was 1-for-5 and scored once.  Nathan Baker (Pittsburgh) got the win with two shutout innings, giving up one hit and walking one.  Brett Jacobson worked a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.  Mike Colla (Pittsburgh) walked one in a scoreless ninth to get the save.

Peoria was held to five hits and made three errors.  Taylor Whitenton (Mets) took the loss, surrendering three runs on three hits and two walks in 1.2 innings.

The Solar Sox host Surprise this afternoon.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–October 14

Joe Start (1842)
Paul Radford (1861)
Ivy Olson (1885)
Oscar Charleston (1896)
Harry Brecheen (1914)
Ken Heintzelman (1915)
Tom Cheney (1934)
Tommy Harper (1940)
Al Oliver (1946)
Frank Duffy (1946)
Ed Figueroa (1948)
Kiko Garcia (1953)
Willie Aikens (1954)
Jesus Vega (1955)
Joe Girardi (1964)
Midre Cummings (1971)
Ryan Church (1978)
Boof Bonser (1981)
Carlos Marmol (1982)

Continue reading Happy Birthday–October 14 →

Keeping Track

Tigres Tales

Hector Gimenez homered with two out in the bottom of the ninth to give Aragua a 2-1 victory over Lara.

Alex Nunez scored the other Tigres run, getting a double and a triple.  Joe Benson was 0-for-3.  Rich Rundles (St. Louis) got the win in relief, retiring both batters he faced.

For the Cardinales, Luis Antonio Jimenez (Seattle) had two hits and scored the only Lara run.  Starter Jarrett Grube (Seattle) pitched six innings, giving up a run on three hits and striking out seven.  Moises Hernandez (Seattle) took the loss in his second inning of relief.

Aragua hosts Margarita tonight.

Keeping Track

Solar Sox Summary

Mesa's winning streak ended at one yesterday as Peoria took a 6-2 victory over the Solar Sox.

Scooter Gennett (Milwaukee) led the Javelinas with two singles and a double.  Juan Lagares (Mets) singled and homered.  Kentrail Davis (Milwaukee) singled and tripled.  Jefry Marte (Mets) had two hits.  Nick Franklin (Seattle) hit a home run.  The win went to Anthony Bass (San Diego), who allowed both runs on three hits and a walk in four innings.  Robert Carson (Mets) worked two shutout innings of relief.

Mesa was led by Junior Lake (Cubs), who had two of the four Solar Sox hits.  Aaron Hicks was 0-for-3.  Bruce Pugh took the loss, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and a walk in 1.1 innings.  Dakota Watts worked 1.2 perfect innings.

Mesa travels to Peoria today.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–October 13

Charles Somers (1868)
Bill Donovan (1876)
Rube Waddell (1876)
Pickles Dillhoefer (1893)
Frankie Hayes (1914)
Lou Saban (1921)
Charlie Silvera (1924)
Eddie Yost (1926)
Eddie Mathews (1931)
Bob Bailey (1942)
Randy Moffitt (1948)
Dick Pole (1950)
Frank LaCorte (1951)
George Frazier (1954)
Bryan Hickerson (1963)
Chris Gwynn (1964)
Trevor Hoffman (1967)
Damian Miller (1969)

Better known as a football coach, Lou Saban was the president of the New York Yankees in 1981 and 1982.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–October 13 →

Keeping Track

Venezuelan Winter League Preview

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The Venezuelan Winter League starts today.  There are eight teams in the league.  The teams are Aguilas de Zulia, Bravos de Margarita, Cardenales de Lara, Caribes de Anzoategui, Leones del Caracas, Navegantes del Magallanes, Tiburones de La Guaira, and Tigres de Aragua.

Once again there are a lot of Twins players on the roster for the Tigres de Aragua.  They are Cesar Ciurcina, Jhon Garcia, Edgar Ibarra, Jose Mijares, Miguel Munoz, Josmil Pinto, Oswaldo Arcia, Joe Benson, Jon Goncalves, and Yangervis Solarte.

It is unclear, however, which of those players will actually play or when they will play.  Rosters in winter leagues are different.  There are fifty-five players currently on the Aragua roster.  Players come and go.  Some are there for a couple of weeks, some are there for a month, some stay all season.  It seems logical that there would be an "active roster" of people who are actually available to play on a given night, but if it exists it is not easy to find.  As one follows the league, one gets the impression that if a good player just happened to show up in the fifth inning, they'd hand him a uniform and send him onto the field.

We hope at least a few of the Twins players will always be around at any given time, so that following Aragua will be more interesting to us.  If not, well, it's still baseball, and it will still be something to help us through the long winter months.  Let's play ball!

Keeping Track

Solar Sox Summary

Mesa finally got its first win, defeating Scottsdale 3-2.  The Solar Sox once again got off to an early lead, as they were ahead 3-0 after six.  This time, however, they were able to hold on for the victory.

Brandon Short (White Sox) led Mesa with a single and a solo homer.  Junior Lake (Cubs) had two hits.  Brian Dozier was 0-for-3 with a sacrifice bunt.  Chris Herrmann was 0-for-2 with a walk.  Aaron Hicks was 1-for-2 with a triple and a walk.  The win went to Terry Doyle (White Sox), who started and pitched four perfect innings.  Andrew Cashner (Cubs) worked a scoreless ninth, giving up one hit to get the save.  No Twins pitchers were used in the game.

For the Scorpions, Hank Conger (Angels) and Zach Walters (Arizona) each had two hits.  Starter Tyler Cloyd (Philadelphia) took the loss, giving up a run on four hits and a walk in three innings.

The Solar Sox try to make it two in a row as they host Peoria this afternoon.