Hello everyone, this is BabySBG, and I haven't written here in quite some time, but I thought I'd take a few minutes to discuss the Twins Bloggers get together on Saturday at the Park Tavern in St. Louis Park, MN. By my recollection, this was the first time I've been to St. Louis Park [...]
Kevin Slowey vs. Andrew Miller
I'm not too disappointed with Slowey at this point. The statistical projections had him at about 6 K/G and 1.5 BB/G. So far, he's at 4.6 K/G and 1.8 BB/G. Considering the sample size, that's not too far off. He's had a home run problem, and as [...]
The year is half over.
Name: AMR (My initials. I'm not hiding, I just don't want my boss to google my name once and see my wasted time when I should be studying for exams. So I guess I am hiding.)
Hometown: New Ulm, MN
Town I Currently Live In: Brooklyn Park, MN
Profession: [...]
Covering the Guided By Voices song, shot in the former Mrs. John Murphy's garage, featuring GBV peering through the windows.
Johan Santana vs. Justin Verlander
It was tough for me to believe that much in Verlander as an elite pitcher when he had about 6 K/G and not many ground balls. Now in his second full season in the bigs, Verlander's vaunted stuff has finally translated into strikeouts--about 8 K/G this year. That's still [...]
Minnesota Twins (40-37) @ Detroit Tigers (46-31)
The Twins finished their short homestand with a win on Thursday to give them a series split with Toronto. They begin a 10-day, 11-game road trip with a weekend series against the Tigers. The Twins currently have an 18-17 record on the road. After this series, [...]
I did a half-baked look at the Tigers earlier this season. This didn't feature the whole roster, just a few select players. Here's a few more.
Probables: Verlander (featured before), Andrew Miller, and Bonderman (featured before).
(Miller '07)
The Tigers swapped their guy Wilfredo Ledezma for former Brave Macay McBride
(Ledezma '07PS-ATL, '07, '06; McBride '07PS-DET, '07, [...]
That's Carlos Silva's GB/FB/LD chart for 2007 before his start against the Blue Jays yesterday. Without going through pitch by pitch on the start, I'd say that he got a fair number of ground balls, mainly because he gave up just 2 extra-base hits (both to Frank the Tank.) And over his last [...]
Thanks to AMR.
No time for an indepth preview, just enjoy the nooner.
Will McHale move Garnett? Today's kind of the day.
[contributed by: Rhubarb_Runner]
Sports Illustrated for Kids magazine cover - August 1992
"Kirby!"
"Meet Baseball's Biggest Kid, Kirby Puckett"
There oughta be a law...
Something you want to see? Call the request line.
Yep, I saw that coming. Scott Baker went out there last night pitched a dandy of a ball game, and only faltered when he got tired out a little in the eighth. The Twins offense couldn’t get him a win, though, if by a win you mean the pitching statistic. The Twins [...]
Matt, you better get used to carrying your own luggage for awhile longer.
[contributed by: Rhubarb_Runner]
Sports Illustrated cover - July 18, 1977
"Ted Williams Analyzes Rod Carew"
"The Last .400 hitter, and maybe the next"
Long live Danny Elfman
Double-special extra bonus track. The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo on The Gong Show.
Something you want to see? Call the request line.
I was driving to my bus stop this morning and the car radio was on KSTP AM 1500, one of the totally unintended dangers of having the Twins radio network move from the Good Neighbor. I could handle the prattle of Dave Lee in the morning – he’s a North Dakota boy, he [...]
Jim Caple writes a column entitled, "101 things all sports fans must experience before they die" and the list does not include The Super Bowl.
Mac O'Grady says Tiger Woods only wins because of technology, calling him the worst driver to ever win the Masters. He says that Woods is "cheating" because his clubs have square grooves and the balls have different dimple patterns. Says Mac, "For him to go after Nicklaus's records is cheating. This is like [...]
Name: Wyl, aka CarterHayes
Hometown: born in Winona, MN; grew up splitting time in a joint-custody arrangement between Winona and Trempealeau, WI
Town I Currently Live In: Madison, WI (since late January)
Profession: Currently an undergraduate student majoring in English and Russian. Recently (honorably) discharged from the Marine Corps. Prior to that I worked the pastry station at [...]
Look on the bright side. Toronto wins keep the Yanks in third place.
[contributed by: Rhubarb_Runner]
Twenty-Five Seasons: The First Quarter Century of the Minnesota Twins
Greater Ozarks Blues Festival, 2006
Something you want to see? Call the request line.
The Large Owie returns to face one of his favorite teams to beat on tonight in search of homerun number 500. You might remember this Owie fella. For years, he played for the rival Chicago White Sox and has beaten the Twins senseless over the years with 49 home runs, the most he [...]
Man pleads guilty to manslaughter in connection with bus accident after judge declares mistrial in response to actions by Minneapolis police officer on the witness stand. Victim started the fight on the bus by being aggressive with bus driver. Man punches victim repeatedly, causing victim to fall out of bus and onto his [...]
This time from Sam Smith: "All the particulars aren't established, but the basics are the Suns get Garnett, the Celtics get Shawn Marion and the Timberwolves get the No. 5 pick, the Hawks' unprotected first-round pick for next season, which the Suns hold, the Suns' two firsts this year (No. 24 and 29) and the [...]
You get to choose one player to put in the game. Each of these players plays the same position. Defensively, there may not be much difference, although some numbers show player A has surprisingly good range.
Player A: .295/.340/.545/.885
Player B: .314/.368/.457/.825
Player C: .296/.345/.333/.678
Given those numbers, of course, I'd pick player A, but player B's [...]
Publisher Par Ridder testifies that he "cop[ied] confidential financial documents from his Pioneer Press computer onto a portable computer drive and t[ook] them to the Star Tribune.
He also acknowledged sharing some of that data on advertising, profits and personnel matters with Star Tribune officials, including members of its operating committee."
Ouch. Combine that with the [...]
Minnesota Twins (38-35) v. Toronto Blue Jays (37-37)
The Twins return home for 4 against the Jays after completing their interleague schedule with a 4-2 road trip to the east coast. The last time they faced the Blue Jays they were in the midst of turning around a bad start to May and battling their [...]
I already did a Mugshot Purgatory for the Jays, (see here). However, I've got a few more resources now, and they've had a lot of roster moves.
Probables: Roy "ALCY03" Halladay (who was on the DL last time with appendicitis), Shaun Marcum and Josh Towers (who were missed because their spots in the rotation didn't [...]
The Twins no longer have the NL to kick around.
The original choice by bS, "Lonesome Valley Blues," is now disabled, but here are a couple related clips:
'Candy Man Blues'
Interview & 'Goodnight Irene' with Pete Seeger, Hedy West, and Paul Cadwell
The Twins finish their three game trip to South Beach with a 12:05 tilt against the fourth place Marlins. The Twins are sending out Johan Santana, while the Marlins counter with Byung-Hyun Kim.
It seems like an eternity since Kim attempted to throw the 2001 World Series by allowing a game winning homerun to Mr. [...]
Good morning and welcome to the ongoing feature "What are You Hearing," where members of SBG Nation set the agenda of discussion by submitting stories and commentary. If you have a story that you'd like to submit, e-mail me at the address listed on the right. Now, let's get to it.
JeffA [...]
Dance music for white liberal arts college students
I saw these guys in 1981 from the balcony in Northrup Auditorium. Great show, even if I thought the balcony might collapse from all of us punk kids dancing. I miss Ricky Wilson.
SNL 1980 (Terri Garr, guest host).
I had a very cool, pre-Beehive 1978 clip of [...]
Hello Nation, this is SBG checking in again with another game log. Tonight’s game pits Carlos Silva against Jeremy, er, Joshua Johnson. Johnson is lugging around a 9.82 ERA this season, but if I go harping on that too much, lowestcommondenominatorguy is going to make an appearance here – Johnson has pitched just [...]
The Wordpress software is being upgraded today. If the site looks weird, that's what's happening.
Update: It appears that the upgrade was successful.
Name: brianS
Hometown: Spamtown USA.
Town I Currently Live In: Warehouse City, NorCal
Profession: edge-a-kater
Bats: right. although I hit almost as well lefty in slow-pitch
Throws: right. but I throw a football better lefty.
Positions: mostly first base. I also pitched in "yoot" baseball.
Greatest Career Achievement in Baseball/Softball/T-ball: Drove in the winning runs in bottom-of-last-at bats in an intramural
softball playoff [...]
In this universe, a bruised lung is good news.
I discovered Bonnie Raitt in the early 1980s while in college, thanks to the RA on my freshman floor. She more than paid her dues and deserves her success.
Something you want to see? Call the request line.
Remember me? I'm SBG and I used to write these game logs until ubelmann came along and showed me how it was done! Our guy ubes is taking a break for awhile -- it seems that he has a life away from the WGOM! Hoo boy, I don't advise that! Anyway, [...]
Minnesota Twins (36-34) @ Florida Marlins (35-38)
So, why are the Marlins better than your team?
Because they're run by a bunch of self-important, holier-than-thou pricks -- yet they've won more World Series titles in my lifetime than the Mets. I fucking hate that.
Dan Lewis
Dan Lewis is one of the people who run Sports.Wikia and this [...]
I have to tell you, I was less than impressed with the Marlins fan's online presence, there just wasn't much to be had. The same thing happened when we played Tampa right after the Yankees, maybe the enormous New York fan base skews my perception or something.
Wait, you say you don't care how difficult [...]
Castillo goes home... This team has had so many roster ups and downs this year that a lot of the 25-man roster wasn't even on the 40-man in spring training and so there are a lot of ad hoc 2007 mugshots. I'll state right here that the AAA pics are from the Albuquerque Isotopes [...]
Lucy! We're out of Folger's!
ESPN reports that Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor is preparing to trade Garnett.
It appears that Wolves management -- McHale and owner Glen Taylor -- is prepared for the first time to make a deal that would end the Garnett Era in Minneapolis after 12 seasons. Taylor, according to Wolves sources, has informed Garnett directly of that [...]
"Gigantic." Kim Deal again (sigh). Live in London, 1988.
"Debaser."
Jason Giambi has agreed to talk to the Mitchell Carnival, becoming the first player to agree to do so. I think he's made a big mistake.
Bud Selig has gotten to the one-time slugger and Giambi has apologized for speaking the truth, namely, that there's plenty of blame to go around. Giambi:
I alone am [...]
I sift through a lot of numbers around here, but I don't have many numbers to put on the table today. Instead, I have a simple question and a simple answer to that question.
Question: Who is the best pitcher in baseball?
Answer: Johan Santana
Santana has not only had brilliant rate statistics, but he's been a [...]
Scott Baker lives to see another day.
[contributed by: Rhubarb_Runner]
Baseball Digest magazine cover - June 1975
"Rod Carew: Are Batting Titles Over-Rated?"
Summer is ready when you are!
Network television debut, covering The Who. Late Night with David Letterman. Note Paul Shaffer's choice of outro music going into the commercial.
Scott Baker vs. Oliver Perez
In 2004, Perez was awesome. After a two-year journey through the wilderness, Perez appears to be awesome once more. (Actually, his peripherals this year read like Boof Bonser with more fly balls, which isn't so much of a problem when you have Shea Stadium to keep your HR total [...]
Ozzie: I'm tired of being positive. They'll blame the coaching staff and the manager and [owner] Jerry Reinsdorf and [general manager] Kenny Williams, but blame the players, too. I'll take the blame because I run the club, but every move I've been making so far is the wrong one because [the players] are not supporting [...]
Good morning and welcome to the ongoing feature "What are You Hearing," where members of SBG Nation set the agenda of discussion by submitting stories and commentary. If you have a story that you'd like to submit, e-mail me at the address listed on the right. Now, let's get to it.
Algonad writes: It [...]
Strikeouts are overrated.
[contributed by: Rhubarb_Runner]
Magic! - The 1987 Twins' Enchanted Season
"Crazy" on the theremin. Note about 40 seconds in when a hand on carpet is used to simulate a wind sound. --bjhess
Something you want to see? Call the request line.
Offensively, the Twins were helped out tonight by some pretty brutal Mets defense. (Of course, as Ted Williams famously said, if you put the ball in play, two of three things can happen, and two of them are good for the hitter.) But for the most part, the Twins just got the ball [...]
Johan Santana vs. Jorge Sosa
Gardy said Santana stays on his pitch count. In Gardy we trust.
Small sample size theater:
.250/.250/.250 -- Johan Santana, professional hitter
.200/.245/.260 -- Chris Heintz, career
Speaking of Heintz, his sole purpose on the roster right now is so that Gardy can DH Mauer and Redmond without needing to worry about losing the [...]
It's his prerogative to testify in front of the Mitchell Carnival if he wants, but he can rest assured that his testimony will be leaked. Further, the Yankees will get the ammunition they need to terminate his contract. Also, he will lend legitimacy to a Carnival that should never have started in the [...]
Name: Jeff A
Hometown: Delmont, SD. Actually, though, the town I currently live in is much more my “home town” than the town in which I grew up.
Town I currently live in: Wessington Springs, SD
Profession: Lawyer/Pastor
Bats: Poorly
Throws: Weakly
Positions: Generally seated.
Greatest Career Achievement in Baseball/Softball/T-ball: I hit a home run when I was eleven. We were playing [...]
They're still talking about whether Tiger Woods has lost his edge on talk radio. Tiger's not listening. He's too busy enjoying the first few hours of his new baby daughter's life.
[contributed by: Rhubarb_Runner]
ESPN magazine cover - September 30, 2002
"The Team that Saved Baseball*"
"*And Beat Spellcheck"
Silva vs. John Maine
John Maine, 2004, was Kevin Slowey's #1 PECOTA comparable in the off-season.
Twins position players who have, thus far in the season, been below replacement level hitters (by season-to-date VORP):
-1.2 -- Garrett Jones
-1.3 -- Rondell White
-1.5 -- Jason Tyner
-1.5 -- Lew Ford
-1.7 -- Chris Heintz
-1.7 -- Alexi Casilla
-2.3 -- Jeff Cirillo
-2.9 -- Jason [...]
Twins baseball in Queens. Woot! And at a stadium NOT named after some damned corporate sponsor. Old school. Kind of like Casey Stengel.
After last night's thrilling victory, let's hope that the Jackal can repeat his last outing. I'm in no mood to see any apples popping out of hats tonight. So keep it down, Carlos!
Says the SI columnist: "In the coming years, we'll be talking about a Sopranos movie or one more season the way our big brothers and sisters talked about a Beatles reunion before John Lennon died." I highly doubt that.
ESPN is reporting that Andy MacPhail will be taking over as COO of the Baltimore Orioles. After an uneven tenure with the Cubs, the one-time boy wonder will need some results in Bird-Town to rehabilitate his reputation.
Black underbills for all.
Boo
Very well, no black underbills for anyone.
Boo
Black underbills for some, miniature American flags for others.
Yay
(Flags)
Probable Starters: John "the Smirk" Maine, Jorge Sosa, and Oliver Perez.
(Maine '07, '06, '05; Sosa '07, '06, '04; Perez '07, '06, '05)
I miss Perez's beard.
Other Starters: Tom Glavine and former ChiSok Orlando "Le Duc" Hernandez.
(Glavine '07, '06, [...]