First Monday Book Day

First Monday Book Day: Adaptations

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Been a while since we had an FMBD post. As I washed my beard on Saturday I found myself wondering whether The Boss’ POTUS biography journey has made it into the hirsute Chief Executive era.

We’ve had some CoC chatter about the new Dune film adaptation. I’ve been watching & enjoying Foundation on Apple TV+, but I’m not familiar with Asimov’s series. The same was true for The Expanse (final season drops on Prime in December) and James A. Corey’s novels. I’ve been meaning to start reading those.

What previously-unadapted* novel or series would you like to see get the (home) cinema treatment? On my film list are: Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We, J. M. G. Le Clézio’s Désert, & Vonnegut’s Player Piano. Eugene Vodolazkin‘s Laurus, Richard Ford’s Canada, & Richard Powers’ The Overstory all seem ripe for a high-quality miniseries treatment.

My current read is Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Committed, which is a follow-up to The Sympathizer.

* We can hold ourselves to English-language adaptations.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Twenty-seven

CLEVELAND 5, MINNESOTA 4 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Sunday, May 10.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a double.  Bob Allison was 2-for-4.  Leo Cardenas was 1-for-4 with a home run (his third), a walk, and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Tom Hall struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and two walks.

Opposition stars:  Duke Sims was 2-for-4 with two home runs and three RBIs.  Sam McDowell pitched 8.1 innings, giving up four runs on nine hits and two walks and striking out eight.  He also hit a home run.

The game:  In the bottom of the first, Larry Brown reached on an error and scored on a double by Ted Uhlaender, giving the Indians a 1-0 lead.  McDowell homered leading off the third and Sims homered with one out in the fourth to make it 3-0.  Meanwhile, the Twins had only two singles through five innings and only advanced one man as far as second base.

The changed in the sixth when Cardenas got the Twins on the board with a home run.  The Twins' joy was short-lived, however, as with two out in the sixth Vada Pinson walked and Sims followed with a two-run homer, putting Cleveland up 5-1.

The Twins did try to come back.  In the eighth Cardenas walked, Killebrew singled, and Tony Oliva had an RBI single to cut the lead to 5-2.  In the ninth Allison singled, Rick Renick had a pinch-hit double, and Minnie Mendoza hit a two-run single, cutting the lead to 5-4 and putting the tying run on base with one out.  The Twins could do no more, however, and the game ended with a 5-4 score.

WP:  McDowell (4-3).

LP:  Dave Boswell (0-5).

S:  Rich Hand (2).

Notes:  Allison was at first base in place of Rich Reese.  Frank Quilici was at second in place of Rod Carew.  Mendoza went to second base in the seventh inning as part of a double switch.  Renick pinch-hit for Hall in the ninth.  Carew pinch-hit for Cesar Tovar in the ninth.  Jim Holt pinch-ran for Mendoza in the ninth.

Oliva was 1-for-3 and was batting .345.  Killebrew was batting .330.  Carew was 0-for-1 and was batting .328.  Renick was 1-for-1 and was batting .308.  Brant Alyea was 0-for-4 and was batting .308.  Tovar was 0-for-4 and was batting .300.

Mendoza was 1-for-2 and was batting .154.  Quilici was 0-for-3 and was batting .167.  Mitterwald was 0-for-4 and was batting .186.  Boswell allowed five runs (four earned) in 5.2 innings and had an ERA of 6.17.

This was only Hall's seventh game of the season.  Prior to this game, he had pitched just 1.1 innings since April 24.  I don't know if he was battling an injury, but it doesn't appear that way.  He just was not being used for some reason.

This was the second and last home run of Sam McDowell's career.  The other came in 1967.  He also had seven doubles and two triples.  His lifetime batting numbers are .154/.171/.176.

I find it odd that, with Rod Carew on the bench, Bill Rigney chose to use him in place of Tovar, rather than the light-hitting Mendoza.  Mendoza got a two-run single, so either Rigney knew something I don't or he just got lucky.

The Twins went 6-3 on their nine-game East Division road trip, taking two of three in each series.

Record:  The Twins were 18-9, in first place in the American League West, a half-game ahead of California.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–November 1

Doc Adams (1814)
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)
Anthony Bass (1987)
Alex Wimmers (1988)
Brent Rooker (1994)

Daniel Lucius "Doc" Adams was instrumental in developing the rules of baseball and was the first man to play what we now know as shortstop.

With the addition of Brent Rooker, November 1 takes the lead for most Twins birthdays, with nine.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–November 1 →

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Twenty-six

MINNESOTA 5, CLEVELAND 3 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Saturday, May 9.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his sixth), a walk, and a stolen base (his second).  Paul Ratliff was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer and a walk.

Pitching star:  Luis Tiant pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits and no walks and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Ex-Twin Ted Uhlaender was 3-for-3 with a home run (his second) and two RBIs.  Roy Foster was 1-for-4 with a home run, his third.  Ex-Twin Dean Chance struck out nine in 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on three hits and six walks.

The game:  Uhlaender homered leading off the bottom of the first to give the Indians a 1-0 lead.  The Twins stole three bases in the first three innings, but none of it led to a run, so it was still 1-0 after five.  Tiant led off the sixth with a double and Oliva hit a two-out two-run homer to give the Twins the lead 2-1.

Rich Reese led off the Twins seventh with a walk.  He was still there with two out, but Chance then walked Ratliff, Tiant, and Cesar Tovar to force in a run and make it 3-1.  The Twins scored no more in the inning, however, as Mike Paul came in and got Rod Carew to ground out.

It cost the Twins, as Cleveland tied it in the eighth.  Foster led off with a home run, cutting the lead to 3-2.  Jack Heidemann then tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly, tying it 3-3.  In the ninth, however, Leo Cardenas walked and Ratliff hit a two-run homer, putting the Twins on top 5-3.  Tony Horton got a leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth and went to second on a passed ball, but could advance no farther.

WP:  Ron Perranoski (1-1).

LP:  Dennis Higgins (0-2).

S:  None.

Notes:  Jim Holt was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Frank Quilici replaced Harmon Killebrew at third base in the ninth.

Tiant was 1-for-2 and was batting .438.  Oliva took over the team batting lead at .346.  Rod Carew was 0-for-5 and was batting .333.  Killebrew was 0-for-4 and was batting .322.  Tovar was 1-for-3 and was batting .311.  Tiant had an ERA of 2.81.  Perranoski gave up one run in two innings and had an ERA of 1.99.

Holt was 0-for-4 and was batting .160.

The two teams combined to go 1-for-14 with men in scoring position, with the lone hit being Oliva's two-run homer.

Ex-Twin Graig Nettles was not off to a good start with his new club, batting just .132 at this point.

Jack Heidemann was the starting shortstop for Cleveland, the one year he was a regular.  He was found wanting, batting just .211/.265/.292.  He started more games than anyone else for the Indians in 1971 as well, but it was only 81.  By 1972 Frank Duffy was the starter and Heidemann was back in the minors, playing just ten games in the bigs.  He continued to get chances in the majors through 1977, but could never hit well enough to stick.

Record:  The Twins were 18-8, in first place in the American League West, a half game ahead of California.  As early as it was in the season, it still had to be a little frustrating for the Angels to win four in a row and five of six and not be able to gain on the Twins.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–October 31

Harry Smith (1874)
Cal Hubbard (1900)
Ken Keltner (1916)
Jim Donohue (1938)
Ed Stroud (1939)
Ed Spiezio (1941)
Dave McNally (1942)
Dave Trembley (1951)
Mike Gallego (1960)
Matt Nokes (1963)
Fred McGriff (1963)
Eddie Taubensee (1968)
Steve Trachsel (1970)
Tim Byrdak (1973)
David Dellucci (1973)
Mike Napoli (1981)
Javy Guerra (1985)

Cal Hubbard was an American League umpire from 1936-1951.  He is in the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the College Football Hall of Fame.

Dave Trembley was the manager of the Baltimore Orioles from 2007-2010.

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

Continue reading Happy Birthday–October 31 →

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Twenty-five

MINNESOTA 7, CLEVELAND 6 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Friday, May 8.

Batting stars:  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-4 with a double.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-4 with a stolen base (his eighth) and two runs.  Rod Carew was 2-for-5.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his ninth) and two walks.  George Mitterwald was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his second.

Pitching star:  Stan Williams pitched 3.2 innings, giving up one run on one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Vada Pinson was 2-for-4 with a triple and a double.  Larry Brown was 2-for-4.  Roy Foster was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his second.

The game:  In the first Brown singled and Pinson tripled, putting the Indians up 1-0.  In the third, Jim Kaat and Tovar singled and Carew hit a two-run single-plus-error, putting the Twins up 2-1.  The Twins then got two walks, loading the bases with two out, but did not score again in the inning.

In the bottom of the third Cleveland started the inning with three singles, loading the bases, but could only score on a sacrifice fly, tying the score 2-2.  The Twins took the lead back in the fifth when Carew singled and Killebrew followed with a two-run homer.  The Twins put men on second and third with one out in the sixth, but failed to add to their lead.

It cost them, as the Indians went back in front in the sixth.  Pinson doubled and Tony Horton hit an RBI single, making it 4-3.  Ray Fosse singled, and with one out Foster hit a three-run homer, giving Cleveland a 6-4 advantage.

But in the eighth, Bob Allison led off with a single and Mitterwald hit a two-run homer, tying it 6-6.  With one out Tovar singled, stole second, went to third on a ground out, and scored on a Tony Oliva single to put the Twins ahead to stay.  Cleveland did not get a baserunner after the Foster homer.

WP:  Williams (3-0).

LP:  Barry Moore (3-2).

S:  None.

Notes:  Allison was at first base in place of Rich Reese.  Reese replaced him at first in the eighth inning.  Jim Holt replaced Brant Alyea in right field in the ninth inning.

Carew was batting .365.  Oliva was 1-for-5 and was batting .346.  Killebrew was batting .327.  Alyea was 1-for-4 and was batting .324.  Tovar was batting .311.  Williams had an ERA of 1.10.  Kaat gave up five runs (four earned) in 5.1 innings and had an ERA of 2.86.

Allison was 1-for-3 and was batting .154.  Mitterwald was batting .197.

The first five men in the Twins' batting order were all over .300.  Two of the next three were below .200.

Cardenas was 7-for-16 and 14-for-37, raising his average from .191 to .263.

Cleveland's starter, Moore, pitched 7.2 innings, allowing seven runs on eleven hits and six walks and striking out seven.

This was Foster's rookie year.  He batted .268/.357/.468 with twenty-three home runs and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting to Thurman Munson.  Foster actually had the better offensive year--Munson batted .302, but had just six homers and had an OPS of .801 to Foster's .824.  That was as good as it would get for Foster, though.  In 1971 he batted just .245/.314/.439 with eighteen homers.  In 1972 he lost his starting job to Alex Johnson and Buddy Bell, and he never got back to the majors after that.

Record:  The Twins were 17-8, in first place in the American League West, a half game ahead of California.

Remodeled basement. Same half-baked taste.