Tag Archives: Minnesota Twins

2023 Game Log 74 – Red Sox at Twins

It looks the the summer of our discontent is settling in on this 2023 Twins team. Third worst record since May 1 (behind the Royals and A's), 23 games under .500 since 2021, etc. But what's worse the Twins are just playing bad unfun baseball. Bonehead plays in the field, stupid baserunning, poor approaches at the plate, head-scratching match-ups and moves by the manager, former Twins tearing up the league in new uniforms. If the Twins were in any other division other that the AL Central, we'd be GOSOing the team already. Oof.

Bailey Ober on the mound tonight and he's been a nice little addition to the starting rotation. 0.99 WHIP, almost a K per inning. Looks like he could be a positive contributor for years to come. Kutter Crawford -- who has a name that should have been given to a minor character in Field of Dreams -- is "starting" for the Sox, but it looks like this may be a bullpen game for them.

First pitch at 6:40. Should be toasty warm at the ballpark if you head out.

Happy Birthday–June 20

Ned Cuthbert (1845)
Jim Delahanty (1879)
Cum Posey (1890)
Namon Washington (1894)
Billy Werber (1908)
Andy Etchebarren (1943)
Dave Nelson (1944)
Paul Beeston (1945)
Dickie Thon (1958)
Doug Gwosdz (1960)
Paul Bako (1972)
Juan Castro (1972)
Carlos Lee (1976)
Kevin Gregg (1978)
Kendrys Morales (1983)
Adalberto Mejia (1993)
Ronny Henriquez (2000)

Cum Posey, played for, managed, and owned the Homestead Grays in the Negro National League.

Paul Beeston has been president and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays from 1989-1997 and from 2010-2016, at which time he became president emeritus.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–June 20

2023 Game Log 73: Boston Red Sox at Minnesota Twins

Twins open a four game series at Target Field against the Red Sox. While the Sox have one more win than the Twins, they play in the AL East, which makes that figure mean something entirely different.

The Twins' offense is, uh, not good right now...

And as Rhu_Ru noted, in yesterday's game, "Gallo, Buxton, Kepler, and Jeffers K'd in all their ABs". So yeah, that's not great! We're getting one of those years where we do things like have a promising road trip then trip onto our faces against lesser teams. I fear this is going to be the type of team we have this year. Again. Rays of sunshine, bracketed by frustration. Uh, play ball!

Happy Birthday–June 19

Eddie Cicotte (1884)
Lou Gehrig (1903)
Bill Swift (1908)
Don Gutteridge (1912)
Archie Ware (1918)
Mom A (1925)
Chet Boak (1935)
Bob Aspromonte (1938)
Isao Harimoto (1940)
Jerry Reuss (1949)
Duane Kuiper (1950)
Jim Slaton (1950)
Johnnie LeMaster (1954)
Doug Mientkiewicz (1974)
Alex Prieto (1976)
Dustan Mohr (1976)
Bruce Chen (1977)
Blake Parker (1985)
Collin McHugh (1987)
Jacob de Grom (1988)
Austin Brice (1992)
Casey Legumina (1997)

Archie Ware was a star first baseman in the Negro Leagues.

Infielder Chet Boak played for the Twins’ AAA affiliate, the Syracuse Chiefs, in 1961, but does not appear to have actually been a part of the Twins’ organization, as records show him belonging to the expansion Washington Senators. One assumes he was loaned to the Twins’ for part of that season.

Isao Harimoto is the only person to have 3,000 hits in Japanese baseball.

I would like to wish a very happy 98th birthday to Mom A. She was never a big baseball fan (she felt I'd had a good game if she didn't have to wash my uniform, which unfortunately happened quite a bit because I sat on the bench a lot), but she came to every game and often worked in the cramped little concession stand even on the hottest days.  The federal government has made her birthday a national holiday, and she certainly deserves the honor.  Happy birthday, Mom.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–June 19

Happy Birthday–June 18

Charlie Ganzel (1862)
Russ Hodges (1910)
Roy Partlow (1912)
Ron Necciai (1932)
Lou Brock (1939)
Bill James (1949)
Andres Galarraga (1961)
Sandy Alomar (1966)
Felix Heredia (1975)
Tommy Watkins (1980)
Steve Cishek (1986)
Jason Castro (1987)
J. B. Shuck (1987)
Matt Moore (1989)
Tomas Telis (1991)

Russ Hodges was a baseball broadcaster from 1929-1970, most notably with the Giants.  He is most famous for his home run call on Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'Round the World" in 1951.

Ron Necciai struck out 27 batters in a nine inning game while playing for Bristol in the Appalachian League in 1952.

It may never happen, but Bill James belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–June 18

2023 Game 69. Detroit at Minnesota

a rare 6:10 non weekend home start time

In the standings Detroit are closer to the Twins (7 games back) than they are to the Royals in last place (10 games up )

Matthew Boyd goes for the Tigers, he has 2 decisions in his last 4 starts (0-2). Sonny Gray gets the nod for the Twins, he has 1 decision in the his 7 starts (0-1)

Byron Buxton is back. and batting cleanup. We almost got a full lineup on our hands! With just Jorge Polanco still on the IL.

2023 Game Log 67 – Brewers at Twins

Time for my semi-annual, why does MLB hate money and schedule the Brewers for a two-game mid-week series when a weekend series would guarantee near capacity crowds screed. Whew, I feel better already.

Brewers season similar to Twins in that they play in a crappy division yet only find themselves 2 games over .500. They are especially feeling a little down after being swept by the lowly A's this past weekend. Corbin Burnes on the mound for the Brewers. He's considered their ace I guess but has been pretty humdrum in 2023. His one strikeout per inning may cause issues for the strikeout prone Twins however.

Pablo Lopez up for the Twins and we all would like to see the April version of Lopez, not the May version, especially given that Louis Arraez is still tearing it up it in the National League. Lopez pitched really well against the Rays last week in a losing effort. Hopefully he can continue to pitch like that and the Twins bats can come alive.

Looks like a gorgeous night for some baseball. First pitch at 6:40p.

Happy Birthday–June 10

Due to personal time constraints, this is a reprint from last year, which was a reprint from the year before, which has not been updated.  We did add Patrick Murphy to the list, but did not have time to do a bio for him.

Jack Graney (1886)
Garland Braxton (1900)
Danny McFayden (1905)
Vic Harris (1905)
Mike Kreevich (1908)
Frank Demaree (1910)
Chuck Thompson (1921)
Hank Foiles (1929)
Carmen Cozza (1930)
Ed Palmquist (1933)
Kazuhisa Inao (1937)
Johnny Edwards (1938)
Ken Singleton (1947)
Elias Sosa (1950)
Gerry Hunsicker (1950)
Francisco Barrios (1953)
Floyd Bannister (1955)
Scott Ullger (1955)
Pokey Reese (1973)
Al Alburquerque (1986)
Patrick Murphy (1995)

Jack Graney had a few unusual "firsts".  He was the first major leaguer to bat against Babe Ruth.  He was the first player to wear a number on his uniform.  He as also the first player to become a broadcaster.

Outfielder Vic Harris was a long-time Negro League player and manager, leading the Homestead Grays to nine Negro National League pennants.

Chuck Thompson was a long-time broadcaster for the Baltimore Orioles.

Outfielder Carmen Cozza played in the low minors in 1952-1953, batting .242.  He later became a college football coach, most notably at Yale.  Upon his retirement in 1996, he held the record for most coaching victories in the Ivy League (179) and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

Kazuhisa Inao is one of the greatest pitchers in Japanese baseball history.

Gerry Hunsicker is a long-time baseball executive, working for the Mets, the Astros, and the Rays.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–June 10