The Miracle remains perfect. A game-winning homer for Chris Colabello. Miguel Sano makes the difference for Fort Myers.
Happy Birthday–April 10
Ross Youngs (1897)
Bubba Hyde (1908)
Chuck Connors (1921)
Frank Lary (1930)
Robert Nederlander (1933)
Wes Stock (1934)
Joe Gibbon (1935)
Bob Watson (1946)
Lee Lacy (1948)
Tom Lundstedt (1949)
Ken Griffey (1950)
Mike Devereaux (1963)
Starvin’ Marvin Freeman (1963)
Alberto Reyes (1971)
Mike Lincoln (1975)
Andre Ethier (1982)
Bubba Hyde was an outfielder in the Negro Leagues for twenty-six years.
Better known as an actor, Chuck Connors was a first baseman for the Chicago Cubs in 1951. He also played professional basketball, and was the first player to break the glass backboard with a slam dunk in a professional basketball game.
Robert Nederlander is a part-owner of the New York Yankees, and was managing partner in from 1990-1991, when George Steinbrenner was suspended.
April 10, 2013: Heads Up
Everyone's done with their taxes, right?
Martha Redbone Roots Project – Over Yonder in the Graveyard
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0n0aWJG40Q
I was going to play a selection from Brad Paisley's newest collection of garbage, but I'm not that low class. Instead, enjoy the hell out of this cut from Martha Redbone's Roots Project.
Game 8: Turn on the Lights
Holy cats, a night game! (Maybe. If it isn't rained out, and based on the weather report, that's a very real possiblity.)
Mike Pelfrey vs. Jeremy Guthrie
My first ever game log and it comes against a Jeremy. Fortunately, it also comes in the second game of a series after an opening loss, so I expect a solid, 4-3 victory for the Twins tonight. Maybe. If it isn't rained out.
This will be the first start for Pelfrey since his Wichita State Shockers were removed from that thing that is named after March but not fully contained within March. Hopefully he's had enough time to get over the loss so he can throw some innings against the Royals.
More importantly, Hicks wasn't with the organization when the whole Jeremy curse began, so I fully expect him to hit two doubles and a home run tonight. More realistically, I don't. But, I've been hearing a load about sending him down to Rochester. I don't know his "make-up", but I don't see a problem with letting him hack his way through the whole season barring The Minnesota Curse injury. He can always gain confidence with the extra games against the Astros. Now, it'll be a different story when he strikes out in the bottom of the ninth of Game 7 of the World Series. We'll cross that bridge when we get there, though.
Minor Details: Games of 4/8
Homers for Danny Ortiz and Byron Buxton. A strong outing by Andrew Albers. The Red Wings continue to struggle.
Happy Birthday–April 9
Doc White (1879)
Hippo Vaughn (1888)
Vic Sorrell (1901)
Fred Frankhouse (1904)
Claude Passeau (1909)
Zip Payne (1909)
Joe Brinkman (1944)
Peter Gammons (1945)
Nate Colbert (1946)
Kirk McCaskill (1961)
Hal Morris (1965)
Graeme Lloyd (1967)
Rudy Hernandez (1968)
Cecil "Zip" Payne was a long-time minor-league player and manager, collecting 2,179 hits.
Joe Brinkman and Derryl Cousins hold the record for most games umpired together, 2,123.
Rudy Hernandez was an infielder in the Mets organization from 1987-1991, reaching AA. He is currently the batting coach for the New Britain Rock Cats.
We would also like to wish a happy birthday to Mamma MagUidhir.
There do not appear to be any major league players with connections to the Minnesota Twins born on this day.
April 9, 2013: Familiar
I'm starting to remember how little fun it is to come up with a CoC the day after a late-inning loss.
Game 7: Twins 1, Loyalist Supporters of Dynastic Authority 3
WP: Santana(no, not that one) (1-1)
LP: Correia (0-1)
SV: Crow (1)
Unlike the vast majority of citizens, I grew up very far from Twins territory in the major league sports desert of Oklahoma. When I was a boy there were a couple of occasions where my family would meet my grandpa in KC to see a Twins game rather than going the full 12 hours to the Great White North.
One incident from one of those games stands out to me. It was the mid-90s. Two teams with nothing to play for met in front of a sparse crowd in a beautiful stadium. The crowd was antsy and uninspired. No doubt future Twins' legends Pat Meares and Matt Walbeck were on the field of play.
Suddenly from out of view a figure leaps over the right field fence from the stands. The crowd emerges out of their daydreaming and cheers for the unexpected turn of events. The obviously inebriated fan runs around second and then third and then slides headfirst into home. From somewhere in the upper deck an old Minnesota fan grumbles about the security being too lax. A Royals fan in the row in front of him turns around and loudly responds, 'He's wearing a Twins shirt!', pointing down to the drunken grinning idiot proudly wearing a 1991 World Series Champion T-shirt.
Old Minnesota Fan: 'That doesn't matter. We never have this problem at the Metrodome!'
Royals Fan: 'That's because the Metrodome sucks!'
OMF: 'It's better than this crummy place!'
The Royals fan balled up his fists and looked poised to swing, but came to his senses just in time that hitting a 70 year old man wasn't the best course of action, and sat back down talking very loudly about how the Twins sucked.
As a ten year old sitting next to my grandpa, that is still the closest I have ever been to getting into a fight. And it taught me some good lessons. Royals fan was right, the Metrodome did suck, and it wasn't anywhere close to Royals stadium. And of course the Twins didn't have a problem with people jumping over the right field fence at the Metrodome for obvious reasons. But dammit, that didn't matter. I was going to support my grandpa and be the best 10 year old and 70 year old duo of fighters around.
Watching this game reminded me of that near fight in the very same stadium. Correia worked a miracle by pitching 7 innings of scoreless baseball, by rights he should've been back in the clubhouse already showered, shaved, eating an early dinner and catching up on the Mad Men premiere on his iPad. But he was still out there against all reason and sense, into the eighth, tempting fate. And like my grandpa, Gardy let emotions get the best of him and kept him out there against all logic and common sense.
I don't remember who won that game so long ago, because both teams sucked and it didn't matter, and I learned that sometimes your support of a baseball team makes no rational sense, but it's still important to go out there and get into near fights with fans of other sucky teams for non-baseball related reasons.
GO TWINS!
Boy – Little Numbers
in the internet age, i feel having a ridiculously generic name doesn't really do you any favors.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InO9NVlclgI