All posts by Jeff A

Happy Birthday–April 30

Dave Eggler (1849)
Charley Jones (1850)
Jack Sheridan (1862)
Jumbo Brown (1907)
Chet Laabs (1912)
Ernie Tyler (1924)
Ken Retzer (1934)
Ray Miller (1945)
Phil Garner (1949)
Tracy Ringolsby (1951)
Jeff Reboulet (1964)

Jack Sheridan was the first home plate umpire to crouch behind the catcher in the style that umpires do today.

Ernie Tyler has been the umpires’ assistant for Baltimore Orioles home games since 1960.  He went from opening day of 1960 through July 27, 2007 without missing a game, a streak of 3,769 games.  He missed two games that weekend to go to Cooperstown for the induction of Cal Ripken, Jr. into the Hall of Fame.

Ray Miller was the manager of the Twins in 1985 and 1986, replacing Billy Gardner and being replaced by Tom Kelly.

Today is also the birthday of Twins' farmhand Ryan O'Rourke (1988).

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 30

This Week in Ex-Twins

Colorado organization (AAA Colorado Springs) places Matt Macri on the temporarily inactive list.
Angels organization (AA Arkansas) activates Loek Van Mil from the disabled list.
Dodgers organization (AAA Albuquerque) places Randy Keisler on the seven day disabled list.
Mets select the contract of Jason Pridie from Buffalo (AAA).
San Diego options Pat Neshek to Tucson (AAA).
San Diego organization (AAA Tucson) places Bobby Kielty on the seven day disabled list.
Washington organization assigns Joe Testa to Potomac (A) from extended spring training.

Minor Details: Games of 4/28

Rochester 8, Buffalo 6 in Rochester.  The Red Wings scored six of their runs in the first three innings.  Jeff Bailey was 4-for-4 with a double and a home run, scoring three times and driving in three.  Ben Revere was also 4-for-4.  Matt Brown doubled and homered, and Trevor Plouffe had two hits.  Andrew Baldwin got the win, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk in six innings.  Carlos Gutierrez surrendered three runs on two hits and a walk in one inning.  Phil Dumatrait struck out three in the ninth to get the save.

New Britain 9, New Hampshire 7 in New Hampshire.  A four-run Rock Cats seventh broke a 5-5 tie.  Mike Hollimon hit two home runs and drove in three.  Ray Chang hit two doubles.  Yangervis Solarte hit a three-run homer in the seventh.  Bobby Lanigan allowed five runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks in five innings.  Jake Stevens gave up a run on four hits in two innings to get the win.  Cole DeVries struck out three in two innings, giving up an unearned run on one hit, to get the save.

Palm Beach 5, Ft. Myers 2 in Palm Beach.  The Cardinals scored in the second inning and never trailed.  Anderson Hidalgo had three hits and James Beresford had two.  Kane Holbrooks took the loss, allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits and a walk in six innings.

Beloit 4, Peoria 3 in BeloitLance Ray’s two-out solo homer in the eighth broke a 3-3 tie.  Ray also doubled.  Daniel Santana singled and doubled, and Jamaal Hawkins hit a two-run homer.  Logan Darnell worked 6.1 innings, giving up two unearned runs on just two hits and a walk.  Jose Gonzalez pitched 1.1 scoreless innings to get the win.

Happy Birthday–April 29

Frank Hankinson (1856)
Ernie Johnson (1888)
Steve Ridzik (1929)
Mickey McDermott (1929)
Ed Charles (1933)
Luis Aparicio (1934)
Akira Ohgi (1935)
Tom House (1947)
Rick Burleson (1951)
Ron Washington (1952)
Bob McClure (1952)
Steve Crawford (1958)
John Vander Wal (1966)
Sterling Hitchcock (1971)
Rafael Betancourt (1975)
Tony Armas (1978)

Rick Burleson was drafted by Minnesota in the eighth round in 1969, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 29

Minor Details: Games of 4/26 – 4/27

ROCHESTER

Tuesday—Buffalo 5, Rochester 0 in Rochester.  Brian Dinkelman and Rene Tosoni each had two hits.  Kyle Gibson gave up one run on four hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in six innings.  Jeff Manship surrendered three runs on four hits in 1.2 innings.

Wednesday—Rochester 3, Buffalo 2 in Rochester.  Matt Brown’s homer broke a 2-2 tie in the fifth, and four Red Wing pitchers made it stand up.  Brown also doubled.  Brian Dinkelman singled and doubled, and Ben Revere had two hits.  Scott Diamond got the win, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk in six innings.  Alex Burnett struck out both batters he faced to get the save.

NEW BRITAIN

Tuesday—New Hampshire 6, New Britain 5 in New Hampshire (10 innings).  The Fisher Cats scored three in the ninth to tie and one in the tenth to win.  Steve Singleton had two hits.  David Bromberg allowed one run on five hits and a walk with seven strikeouts in 5.1 innings.  Tyler Robertson surrendered the three runs in the ninth, and Jake Stevens took the loss.

Wednesday—New Hampshire 11, New Britain 5 in New Hampshire.  The Fisher Cats scored six runs in the second and the game was pretty much over.  Steve Singleton singled, doubled, and homered.  Allan de San Miguel had two hits.  Deolis Guerra surrendered nine runs on nine hits and three walks in 3.2 innings.  Brett Jacobson worked 2.1 scoreless innings of relief.

FT. MYERS

Tuesday—Ft. Myers 12, Charlotte 10 in Ft. Myers.  In a see-saw game, Ft. Myers scored six in the fifth to overcome a 6-1 deficit, fell behind 9-7, then scored five in the eighth to win.  The Miracle had only eight hits but drew seven walks.  Chris Herrmann had two hits and drove in three.  James Beresford had two hits.  Brad Stillings allowed six runs on ten hits and a walk in five innings.  Jhon Garcia got the win despite giving up three runs on six hits in two innings.  Dakota Watts pitched a scoreless ninth for the save.

Wednesday—Palm Beach 4, Ft. Myers 3 in Palm Beach.  Luis Mateo hit a two-out solo homer in the bottom of the ninth off Bruce Pugh to win the game.  Danny Rams singled and doubled.  Matt Schuld allowed three runs on six hits and a walk in five innings.  Andrew Albers threw two shutout innings, giving up two hits.  Pugh gave up the game-winning homer in his second inning of work.

BELOIT

Tuesday—Beloit 6, Burlington 4 in Beloit.  The Snappers scored four in the sixth to overcome a 3-1 deficit.  Oswaldo Arcia went 4-for-4 with two homers and a double.  He scored three times and drove in three.  Manuel Soliman allowed three runs on four hits and three walks while striking out seven in 4.2 innings.  Blayne Weller worked 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk to get the win.  Jose Gonzalez struck out the only man he faced to get the save.

Wednesday—Beloit 10, Burlington 2 in Beloit.  The Snappers scored six in the first and were never threatened.  Wang-Wei Lin doubled and homered, driving in three.  Oswaldo Arcia singled and homered.  Daniel Santana singled and tripled.  Derek McCallum had two doubles.  Daniel Ortiz singled and doubled.  Jamaal Hawkins had two hits.  B. J. Hermsen gave up just one run on four hits in seven innings with seven strikeouts to get the win.

Rock Cats Recap

Where they stand:  New Britain is 9-6, tied for second in the EL East, 1.5 games behind Reading.

Who’s hotJoe Benson is 6-15 with three doubles and a home run.  For the season, he is .379/.446/.638 in 58 at-bats.  Yangervis Solarte is 7-18 with a double and a home run.  For the season, he is .341/.357/.512 in 59 at-bats.  Cole DeVries is 0-0, 0.00, 0.24 WHIP in 12.1 innings with 18 strikeouts in five appearances.  Steve Hirschfeld is 1-0, 2.40, 1.00 WHIP in 15 innings with 11 strikeouts in three starts.

Who’s coldMike Hollimon is 2-16.  For the season, he is .071/.170/.043 in 42 at-bats.  Chris Parmelee is 3-17.  For the season, he is .290/.323/.500 in 62 at-bats.  Spencer Steedley is 0-1, 8.53, 2.37 WHIP in 6.1 innings (five appearances).  He has struck out eight.  Deolis Guerra is 2-1, 5.54, 1.46 WHIP in 13 innings (three starts).  He has struck out eight.

Transactions:  None.

What’s next:  The Rock Cats have three more games in New Hampshire.  They then come home for three against Harrisburg and four against Richmond.

Minor Details: Games of 4/25

Pawtucket at Rochester—Postponed.  Will be made up as part of a doubleheader July 4.

New Britain 9, New Hampshire 2 at New Hampshire.  The Rock Cats scored four in the sixth and three in the seventh.  Steve Singleton hit three doubles.  Yangervis Solarte had two singles and a homer and scored three times.  Joe Benson homered.  Liam Hendriks got the win, giving up two runs on four hits and a walk in six innings.  Cole DeVries threw three perfect innings, striking out six.

Charlotte 11, Ft. Myers 5 in Ft. Myers.  The Stone Crabs scored four runs in each of the first two innings.  Greg Sexton drove in six runs with two doubles.  Danny Rams had two hits.  Ryan Mullins allowed four runs on three hits and a walk in one inning.  Matt Tone surrendered four runs on four hits and two walks in two innings.  Shooter Hunt pitched 1.2 scoreless innings of relief, walking two.

Burlington 7, Beloit 3 in Beloit.  The Bees scored four runs in the fifth.  Tony Thompson drove in four runs.  Daniel Ortiz had two doubles, Wang-Wei Lin doubled and singled, and Oswaldo Arcia had two singles.  Andrei Lobanov allowed six runs (five earned) on three hits and three walks in 4.2 innings.  Clinton Dempster retired all four batters he faced.

Happy Birthday–April 26

Jack Barry (1887)
Ray Caldwell (1888)
Hack Wilson (1900)
Bernard Malamud (1914)
Virgil Trucks (1917)
Sal Maglie (1917)
Ron Northey (1920)
Merle Anthony (1926)
Granny Hamner (1927)
Amos Otis (1947)
Tom Norton (1950)
Mike Scott (1955)
Steve Lombardozzi (1960)
Curtis Wilkerson (1961)
Brian Anderson (1972)
Geoff Blum (1973)
Joe Crede (1978)
Alejandro Machado (1982)

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 26