Solar Sox Summary

Mesa led 7-3 after six, but surrendered five in the seventh and four in the eighth, falling to Salt River 12-9 in Salt River.

Salt River was led by Nolar Arenado (Colorado), who had four hits including a home run and drove in four.  Adam Eaton (Arizona) had a pair of doubles and scored three times.  Rob Brantly (Detroit) singled and doubled.  Hernan Perez (Detroit) had two hits to drive in three runs, and Jake Goebbert (Houston) hit a home run.  Josh Wall (Dodgers) got the win despite allowing a run on two hits and a walk in one inning.

Aaron Hicks led the way for the Solar Sox, going 3-for-5 with a single, a triple, and a home run, scoring twice and driving in two.  Xavier Avery (Baltimore) had two singles and a triple.  Robbie Grossman (Pittsburgh) and Jarek Cunningham (Pittsburgh) each had two hits.  Chris Herrmann was 1-for-4 with a walk, scoring once, and Brian Dozier was 0-for-3 but walked twice, scored a run, and drove in a run.  The loss went to Marcus Hatley (Cubs, who yielded five runs on six hits in one inning.  Dakota Watts gave up a hit and a walk, but no runs, in two-thirds of an inning.

Mesa travels to Scottsdale this afternoon.

Happy Birthday–October 19

Mordecai Brown (1876)
Fred Snodgrass (1887)
Bob O'Farrell (1896)
Al Brazle (1913)
Walt Bond (1937)
Sandy Alomar (1943)
Al Gallagher (1945)
David Palmer (1957)
Mark Davis (1960)
Tim Belcher (1961)
Dave Veres (1966)
Keith Foulke (1972)
Horacio Estrada (1975)
Michael Young (1976)
Randy Ruiz (1977)

The Twins chose Tim Belcher with the first pick of the 1983 draft, but he did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–October 19

Venezuelan View

We started this season following Aragua, which is the team we've followed the last few years.  Upon further review, however, it appears that there are several Twins players on other teams in the Venezuelan league as well.  We'll continue to follow the Tigres, simply because it's fun to have a team to follow, but we'll try to make the reports a little more comprehensive in the days to come.

Where they stand:  Aragua is 3-2, tied for third with Caracas in the VWL, a game behind Magallanes and La Guaira.

Who's hot:  Jairo Perez is 4-for-6 with a double and a walk for Lara, giving him numbers of .667/.714/.833.  Many observers do not expect him to keep up this pace for a full season.  Rene Tosoni, also playing for Lara, is 4-for-13, giving him numbers of .308/.438/.308.  Andrew Baldwin, playing for Anzoategui, is 1-0, 3.18, 0.53 WHIP in 5.2 innings (1 start).  Cesar Ciurcina is 0-0, 0.00, 0.43 in 2.1 innings (1 appearance). 

Who's cold:  Joe Benson is 2-for-16, giving him numbers of .125/.300/.188.  Junior Subero, playing for Caracas, is 0-0, 9.00, 3.00 WHIP in 1 inning (1 appearance).

Who's in the middle:  Deolis Guerra is 0-0, 4.50, 1.00 WHIP in 2 innings (1 appearance) for Magallanes.  Pedro Guerra, also playing for Magallanes, is 0-0, 4.50, 1.25 WHIP in 4 innings (1 start).

Solar Sox Summary

Mesa scored four in the third and five in the fifth, building a 12-1 lead on the way to a 13-7 victory.

Jarek Cunningham (Pittsburgh) led the Solar Sox with two home runs and a triple, scoring three times and driving in five.  Joe Mahoney (Baltimore) had two doubles and a home run, driving in three.  Robbie Grossman (Pittsburgh) singled and homered, and Brian Dozier had two hits.  Terry Doyle (White Sox) got the win, going five innings and giving up a run on a hit and a walk.  Brett Jacobson worked 1.1 scoreless innings, walking two and striking out two.

The Rafters were led by Nolan Aranado (Colorado), who had two singles and a homer and drove in three.  Dixon Machado (Detroit) singled and tripled.  Stephen Fife (Dodgers) surrendered seven runs on seven hits and two walks in only three innings to take the loss.

Mesa travels to Salt River this afternoon.

Happy Birthday–October 18

Candy Cummings (1848)
Cliff Carroll (1859)
Walt Wilmot (1863)
Boileryard Clarke (1868)
Hans Lobert (1881)
Burt Shotton (1884)
Charlie Berry (1902)
Skeeter Newsome (1910)
Roy Cullenbine (1913)
Andy Carey (1931)
Bobby Knoop (1938)
Willie Horton (1942)
Ed Farmer (1949)
George Hendrick (1949)
Andy Hassler (1951)
Jerry Royster (1952)
Mike Walters (1957)
Alan Mills (1966)
Doug Mirabelli (1970)
Alex Cora (1975)

Alex Cora was drafted by Minnesota in the twelfth round in 1993, but he did not sign.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to AMR.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–October 18

Solar Sox Summary

Where they stand:  Mesa is 3-8, third in the AFL East, 6 games behind Salt River.  They are on a one-game winning streak.

Who's hot:  Brian Dozier is hitting .353/.395/.500 in 34 at-bats.  Chris Herrmann is hitting .417/.533/.667 in 12 at-bats.

Who's cold:  Aaron Hicks is hitting .097/.263/.161 in 31 at-bats.  Brett Jacobson is 0-1, 7.36, 1.91 WHIP in 3.2 innings (3 appearances).  Bruce Pugh is 0-1, 13.50, 3.64 WHIP in 4.2 innings (4 appearances).  He has walked 7 and struck out 2.  Dakota Watts is 0-1, 9.53, 1.76 WHIP in 5.2 innings (4 appearances).  He has walked 4 and struck out 7.

Who's in the middle:  Cole DeVries is 1-0, 4.50, 1.00 WHIP in 10 innings (3 starts).  He has walked 1 and struck out 8.

Remodeled basement. Same half-baked taste.