Keeping Track

Minor Details: Games of 4/17

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Rochester 6, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 3 in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.  Doubles by Rene Tosoni and Chase Lambin keyed a four-run first.  Brian Dinkelman had three hits.  Tosoni also homered, driving in three for the game.  Lambin also singled, and Danny Lehmann had two hits.  Andrew Baldwin went seven innings to get the win, striking out eight while giving up three runs on four hits and no walks.  Phil Dumatrait pitched a perfect ninth for the save.

Portland 11, New Britain 6 in New Britain.  The SeaDogs did all there scoring in three innings, getting five in the third, three in the sixth, and three in the ninth.  Chris Parmelee had two singles and a home run.  Yangervis Solarte hit two doubles.  Joe Benson singled and tripled, Steve Singleton singled and doubled, and Mark Dolenc had two hits.  Liam Hendriks took the loss, allowing five runs on five hits in five innings.  He walked none and struck out four.  Brett Jacobson allowed the three-run sixth and Santos Arias allowed the three-run ninth.

St. Lucie 4, Ft. Myers 1 in St. Lucie.  A three-run third provided the margin of victory.  The Miracle had only four hits, all singles, and no player had more than one.  Their lone run scored on a passed ball.  Kane Holbrooks took the loss, giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits and no walks in seven innings.

Cedar Rapids 5, Beloit 3 in Beloit (Game 1—scheduled seven innings).  The Kernels led all the way, although never by more than three runs.  Daniel Ortiz had two doubles.  Oswaldo Arcia homered and singled.  Michael Gonzales homered.  Adrian Salcedo took the loss, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and four walks in 4.2 innings.

Beloit 9, Cedar Rapids 1 in Beloit (Game 2—scheduled seven innings).  The Snappers scored five in the third and were never threatened.  Josmil Pinto and Derek McCallum each had two hits.  Michael Gonzales hit a three-run homer in the big third inning.  Oswaldo Arcia walked twice and scored three times.  Starter Andrei Lobanov pitched four innings, giving up one run on six hits and a walk while striking out five.  Martire Garcia struck out three in two innings while allowing a hit and a walk to get the win.

At The Movies

Third Monday Movie Day

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Movie of the Month: Coraline (Henry Selick, 2009)

Coraline is Skim's favorite movie, and of the past few years, it's one of mine. Selick wrote the screenplay based loyally on Neil Gaiman's book, and Gaiman has described it as a "Fairy tale for young girls of all ages and genders." Well, apparently, I'm one of those young girls.

Coraline Jones, an only child, and her parents move to a new town into an old mansion with secrets. A snooping Coraline finds a portal into a second world where her parents are much more attentive and vibrant, but what's behind the facade? It's all about greed, in the end, although it's told in such a colorful, exciting manner that you never get the idea you're learning anything from it.

Skim did Halloween as Coraline last year and has expressed interest in doing so again. Coraline is a strong, smart, realistic female role model for Skim and Sour Cream, and any daughter's father can see that they're in short supply. I love Neil Gaiman's writing in general, but I love him most of all for this character.

Worst Movie I Saw this Month: Die-ner (Get it?) (Patrick Horvath, 2010)

This is a putrid little indie flick. I got on a zombie kick in the past month, and watching this movie killed that entirely. What starts with an interesting premise - a serial killer's last two victims come after him and his next intended targets - devolves into a hastily-written orgy of horrible acting. The serial killer is the lead, and he never shows a single redeeming quality, partially because of his inability to act. The young couple, his next intended targets, have multiple chances to leave but for some reason, they never do. With one or two rewrites and a better cast, this has potential. Instead, it's probably the worst movie I've seen all year. Sigh.

What have you seen?

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–April 18

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Frank Navin (1871)
Sam Crawford (1880)
Duffy Lewis (1888)
Jack Scott (1892)
Steve Blass (1942)
Mike Paul (1945)
Doug Flynn (1951)
Bobby Castillo (1955)
Rich Bordi (1959)
Jim Eisenreich (1959)
Dennis Rasmussen (1959)
Steve Dunn (1970)
Rico Brogna (1970)
Brian Buscher (1981)
Miguel Cabrera (1983)
Billy Butler (1986)

Rich Bordi was drafted by Minnesota in the fifth round in 1977, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 18 →

2011 Twins Game Recaps

Game #15: Twins 4, Rays 2

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Twins record: 5-10
Fangraphs
MLB Game Wrap

After I read the news yesterday (oh, boy), I was pretty bummed. I went through most of the stages - I couldn't believe it at first. I felt a little angry - how could SBG take that place away, just like that? I felt a small piece of ownership; and really, I'm at best on the outer periphery of people who deserve to feel ownership of the place. I thought about doing some bargaining - trying to explain that it was all of ours, that it belonged to the community at this point. I then was depressed most of the rest of the day (the ballgame yesterday didn't help much there).
Continue reading Game #15: Twins 4, Rays 2 →

Keeping Track

Minor Details: Games of 4/16

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Rochester at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Postponed.  No makeup date has been announced.

Portland at New Britain.  Postponed.  No makeup date has been announced.

Ft. Myers 9, Bradenton 6 at Bradenton.  The Miracle overcame a 5-1 deficit with five in the sixth and then scored three more in the eighth.  Brian Dozier had two singles and a triple and James Beresford had two singles and a double.  Danny Rams and Nathan Hanson each singled and homered.  Aaron Hicks had two hits.  Nicholas Romero drove in three.  Starter Matt Schuld worked only three innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits and a walk.  Shooter Hunt got the win, giving up an unearned run on a hit and three walks in two innings.  He struck out five.  Bruce Pugh struck out three in two scoreless innings to get the save.

Cedar Rapids at Beloit.  Postponed.  Game will be made up as part of a doubleheader June 14.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–April 17

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Alexander Cartwright (1820)
Cap Anson (1852)
Tom Needham (1879)
Jake Daubert (1884)
Buzz Arlitt (1912)
Solly Hemus (1923)
Antonio Pollerena (1947)
Tsutomu Wakamatsu (1947)
Denny Walling (1954)
Craig Worthington (1965)
Marquis Grissom (1967)
Gary Bennett (1972)

This is also the birthday of Twins’ farmhand Deolis Guerra (1989).  There do not appear to be any major league players with connections to the Minnesota Twins who were born on this day.

WGOM

Suggestion Box

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This is where you voice your opinion on features and such. What makes the transition from the old place? What can be left behind? Do we start all over with BKAC? Jeff A asked if the birthday thing had run its course (I see what he’s saying, but although I almost never commented on it, I nearly always read it).

Anyway, go nuts.

Remodeled basement. Same half-baked taste.