November 2, 2011: Pay Me

I'm locked in some pretty tense negotiations right now, and I'm so tense and angry all the time I'll probably be scarce for a couple of days. As meat and E can perhaps attest, a lot of people believe they deserve their art for free (or close to it), and they get pissy when you draw a line in the sand. This is where negotiations stand right now.

Weekly Winterball Whiparound

Who's hot:  Andrew Baldwin (Anzoategui) is 2-0, 2.41, 0.86 WHIP in 18.2 innings (3 starts).  Pedro Guerra (Magallanes) is 0-0, 2.57, 0.71 WHIP with 1 walk and 7 strikeouts in 7 innings (3 appearances, 1 start).

Who's in the middle:  Joe Benson (Aragua) is hitting .238/.396/.429 in 42 at-bats.  Deolis Guerra (Magallanes) is 1-0, 3.38, 1.69 WHIP with 7 strikeouts in 5.2 innings (4 appearances). 

Who's cold:  Jairo Perez (Lara) is hitting .231/.375/.269 in 26 at-bats.  Rene Tosoni (Lara) is hitting .195/.283/.195 in 41 at-bats.

Who's barely played:  Oswaldo Arcia (Aragua) is 0-for-2.  Josmil Pinto (Aragua) has appeared in two games, walked once, and has yet to get an official at-bat.  Cesar Ciurcina (Aragua) is 0-0, 0.00, 0.30 WHIP in 3.1 innings (2 appearances).  Manuel Soliman (Escogido, Dominican League) is 0-0, 0.00, 2.00 WHIP in 1 inning.  Junior Subero (Caracas) is 0-0, 9.00, 3.00 WHIP in 1 inning.

Venezuelan standings:  Magallanes leads Caribes and La Guaira by a game and a half.  Aragua and Caracas are tied for fourth, two and a half back.  Zulia and Lara are tied for sixth, six and a half out.  Margarita is last, seven games behind.

Schedule:  Today Aragua is at Zulia, La Guaira is at Caracas, Magallanes is at Lara, and Anzoategui is at Margarita.

Solar Sox Summary

Mesa scored two in the eighth to defeat Phoenix 3-1 in Phoenix.

Joe Mahoney (Baltimore) had two of the five Solar Sox hits.  Brian Dozier was 1-for-4 with a double, driving in two.  Aaron Hicks was 0-for-4.  Brett Jacobson got the win, working a scoreless seventh despite giving up a hit and two walks.  Dakota Watts got a two-inning save, allowing no baserunners.

The only Desert Dogs run came on a homer by Runnier Mustelier (Yankees).  The loss went to Dan Burawa (Yankees), who allowed two runs on two hits and a walk.

Mesa travels to Surprise this afternoon.

Happy Birthday–November 1

Joe Battin (1852)
Bid McPhee (1859)
Larry French (1907)
Pat Mullin (1917)
Vic Power (1927)
Jim Kennedy (1946)
Miguel Dilone (1954)
Gary Redus (1956)
Fernando Valenzuela (1960)
Eddie Williams (1964)
Bob Wells (1966)
Ryan Glynn (1974)
Cleatus Davidson (1976)
Coco Crisp (1979)
Steven Tolleson (1983)

This is also the birthday of Twins’ farmhand Alex Wimmers (1988).

Continue reading Happy Birthday–November 1

Venezuelan View

Aragua 4, La Guaira 0 in La Guaira.  The Tigres scored single runs in four innings.  Alex Romero (Florida) led the offense with a triple and a home run.  Joe Benson was 1-for-4 with a triple, scoring once.  Deunte Heath (White Sox) worked five shutout innings, giving up three hits and four walks, to get the win.  Victor Moreno got the save with 1.1 scoreless innings despite giving up two hits and a walk.

No other Twins played yesterday.  Anzoategui shutout Lara 2-0, Caracas blanked Magallanes 5-0, and Zulia defeated Margarita 4-1.

The VWL takes Monday off.  In Tuesday's action, Aragua is at Zulia, La Guaira is at Caracas, Magallanes travels to Lara, and Anzoategui is at Margarita.

Solar Sox Summary

Where they stand:  Mesa is 11-12, second in the AFL East, four games behind Salt River.

Who's hot:  Chris Herrmann is hitting .370/.469/.593 in 27 at-bats.  Aaron Hicks is at .254/.359/.507 in 67 at-bats.  Cole DeVries is 2-0, 3.18, 1.00 WHIP with 1 walk and 11 strikeouts in 17 innings (5 starts).

Who's in the middle:  Brian Dozier is hitting .294/.346/.368 in 68 at-bats.

Who's cold:  Brett Jacobson is 0-2, 6.14, 1.64 WHIP with 5 walks and 6 strikeouts in 7.1 innings (7 appearances).  Bruce Pugh is 0-1, 8.38, 2.69 WHIP with 12 walks and 7 strikeouts in 9.2 innings (8 appearances).  Dakota Watts is 0-1, 8.68, 2.04 WHIP with 10 walks and 8 strikeouts in 9.1 innings (8 appearances).

The Solar Sox travel to Phoenix this afternoon.

Happy Birthday–October 31

Harry Smith (1874)
Cal Hubbard (1900)
Ken Keltner (1916)
Jim Donohue (1938)
Ed Stroud (1939)
Dave McNally (1942)
Mickey Rivers (1948)
Dave Trembley (1951)
Mike Gallego (1960)
Matt Nokes (1963)
Fred McGriff (1963)
Eddie Taubensee (1968)
Steve Trachsel (1970)
David Dellucci (1973)

David Dellucci was drafted by Minnesota in the eleventh round in 1994, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–October 31

Remodeled basement. Same half-baked taste.