Happy Birthday–May 28

Spider Baum (1882)
Jim Thorpe (1887)
Warren Giles (1896)
John Allyn (1917)
Bob Kuzava (1923)
Frank Saucier (1926)
Kirk Gibson (1957)
Bill Doran (1958)
Duane Ward (1964)
Mike Maksudian (1966)
Mike Defelice (1969)
Jhonny Peralta (1982)

Spider Baum won 325 games in the minors between 1902-1920.  267 of those wins came in the Pacific Coast League.

Frank Saucier is the player Eddie Gaedel pinch-hit for in 1951.

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2011 Game 49 Recap: City of Angels Squared 6, Land o’ Lakes Twins 5



Weather: 53 degrees and overcast
Wind: 10 mph, right to left
Time: 3:21
Attendance: 38,976

 

Box Score
Fangraphs

The boys from last year, so freewheelin',
are back on their heels now and reelin'
from a punch to the nose
and a heel to their toes
and a knee to the groin they're still feelin'.

It's not what we thought we were getting
and I'm glad that I'm not fond of betting;
I'd be down on my luck
and I'd lose my last buck
on a wager I'm best off forgetting.

Intemperate spring soon turns to summer,
but this season has been such a bummer
that I don't think I'll mind
when we leave it behind.
Reading Souhan always makes me feel dummer.

The Twins tilt tonight was no fans delight,
carnage in the bullpen's a terrible sight.
But no crying, no sorrow,
there's another game tomorrow
and maybe we'll have something go right.

Kevin’s Saga

Kevin grabbed his Treat Ticket from Ronnie, the Team Mom, and ran with his Little League teammates toward the snack bar. He already knew what he was going to get. It was what he always got and what he loved: a Twix bar.

Kevin got in line behind some of his teammates and peered in the snack bar. Twix is a popular item at the snack bar, and he could see that only a few were left. He counted five in the box on the shelf and then looked to see how many were in front of him in line.

Carl was first in line. He was the oldest player on the team and always got in line first. Frankie was next. He was big and fast, so he usually wound up near the front of the line.

Then came Nicky. He was slow and uncoordinated, but he was Ronnie's favorite and could usually sweet talk his way to getting his Treat Ticket first.

Finally, it was Scott, Kevin's closest friend on the team. The two of them had played on the same team together several times. Scott was a little older and a little faster and could usually stay ahead of Kevin, but he didn't mind. Today, Kevin was just happy to know that there was just enough Twix to guarantee him his favorite treat.

Kevin finally got to the front of the line and saw that there was exactly one Twix left. He ordered his favorite treat and held it triumphantly as he started to look for his mom.

Brian also was in line, just behind Kevin. Brian was a little younger and a little slower than Kevin, but he was Ronnie's son, which provided him with extra privileges. Brian also wanted a Twix bar and ordered one at the snack bar. He was disappointed to find out none were available, but he told the lady at the snack bar, "OK. Give me a Mr. Goodbar, then."

Ronnie was with Brian and saw that Kevin had taken the last Twix. She marched over to Kevin and snatched it from him and gave Kevin the Mr. Goodbar.

"That's mine!" Kevin said.

"Not anymore, it's not," Ronnie retorted.

"It's OK. He can have the Twix. I like Mr. Goodbar, too," Brian said.

"No son of mine is going without a Twix!" Ronnie said.

"But it was mine first and he said he's fine with it!" Kevin pleaded.

"You're lucky you get any candy at all," Ronnie said. "This is why nobody likes you!"

Ronnie stormed off with Brian in tow. Kevin looked down at the Mr. Goodbar. He had a taste of one before, and it was fine. But it wasn't a Twix. He opened the wrapper and took a small bite. A peanut made his tooth hurt and the chocolate turned bitter in his mouth after the anticipation of that sweet Twix bar. He tossed the Mr. Goodbar in the nearest trash can and looked for his mom.

Kevin told his mom what happened.

"Don't worry about it Kevin," his mom said as they pulled out of the parking lot. "There are plenty of stores that sell Twix. We'll go get you one. Maybe even a giant size bar."

Friday Music Day: Memorial Weekend, 2011

For the past 7 or so summers, I've pieced together a mix CD for my wife and our sisters that's my attempt at, well, a Summer mix for that summer. I try to put together a pop collection of stuff I think is good and will be popular with all of us. (And I try to keep the lyrics kid-friendly.) I generally stick to broadly-defined "Pop," but that has included everything from Bonnie 'Prince' Billy to Buju Banton, White Stripes to Kanye West, Justin Timberlake to Zola Jesus, Taylor Swift to Sleigh Bells, and Grizzly Bear to Gang Gang Dance.

I'm just putting my thoughts together for this year (mix usually ready for the 4th of July), but here's what I've got so far:
EMA "Milkman"
Hooray for Earth "No Love"
Nicki Minaj "Super Bass"
Eric Copeland "Puerto Rican"
JKR70 presents Clay Hughes "The Love I Gave Ya"
I'm also thinking of maybe some Current 93, Fovea Hex, Andy Stott, and Gang Gang Dance, but that's already way too much weird for a year's worth of summers. I'm going to look into Adele (I haven't heard anything other than that she's HUGE), and maybe find good summer songs of the new Thurston Moore and Low LPs, but I'm very short on actual pop. I tried listening to about 15 minutes of KDWB and whatever became of B96, but that was difficult and those songs stunk.

So, you got any suggestions of upcoming new things that would be good? (I can especially use some help finding my obligatory country single.) Thanks much!

Happy Birthday–May 27

Frank Snyder (1894)
Pinky Higgins (1909)
Terry Moore (1912)
George O’Donnell (1929)
Jerry Kindall (1935)
Fred Bruckbauer (1938)
Jim Holt (1944)
Gary Nolan (1948)
Terry Collins (1949)
Mark Connor (1949)
Mark Clear (1956)
Ed Nunez (1963)
John Jaha (1966)
Jeff Bagwell (1968)
Frank Thomas (1968)
Todd Hundley (1969)

Mark Connor pitched in the Twins’ minor league system from 1971-1972 before he suffered a career-ending arm injury.  He has been a pitching coach for the Yankees, Arizona, Toronto, Texas, and Baltimore.  He also was the head baseball coach at the University of Tennessee.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–May 27

Remodeled basement. Same half-baked taste.