The WGOM

Happy Birthday–February 9

Jeff A — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:33:28 +0000

Heinie Zimmerman (1887) Specs Toporczer (1899) Bill Veeck (1914) Vic Wertz (1925) Erv Palica (1928) Clete Boyer (1937) Eddie Solomon (1951) Mookie Wilson (1956) Pete O'Brien (1958) John Kruk (1961) Todd Pratt (1967) Vladimir Guerrero (1975) Akinori Iwamura (1979)

For the third consecutive day, there appear to be no players with connections to the Minnesota Twins born on this day.

ESPN Magazine cover (2010-02-08) – “Meet Joe Mauer – America’s Fan-Friendliest Athlete!”

Rhubarb_Runner — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:31:52 +0000

[contributed by: Rhubarb_Runner]

ESPN Magazine cover - February 8, 2010

"Meet Joe Mauer - America's Fan-Friendliest Athlete!"

photographed by Nathaniel Welch

accompanying article by Ryan Hockensmith

- - - - - - - - - -

The cover story in this issue is titled, "Thanks [...]

Caribbean Series–Day 6

Jeff A — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:50:58 +0000

Where they stand: Dominican Republic, 5-1; Puerto Rico, 4-2; Mexico, 2-4; Venezuela, 1-5. The Dominican Republic wins the Caribbean Series.

Quick summaries:

Puerto Rico 8, Mexico 2. Jesus Feliciano (Mets) and Angel Sanchez (Boston) each had three hits as Puerto Rico stayed alive in the first of yesterday's two games.

Dominican Republic 7, Venezuela 4. The Dominican Republic [...]

Happy Birthday–February 8

Jeff A — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:36:47 +0000

Bug Holliday (1867) Don Heffner (1911) Buddy Blattner (1920) Willard Marshall (1921) Hoot Evers (1921) Joe Black (1924) Fritz Peterson (1942) Bob Oliver (1943)

For the second consecutive day, there do not appear to be any players with connections to the Minnesota Twins born on this day.

2010 Major League Baseball Yearbook & Fantasy Guide cover – “Joe Mauer – Has Minnesota’s star catcher become baseball’s best hitter?”

Rhubarb_Runner — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:22:14 +0000

[contributed by: Rhubarb_Runner]

2010 Major League Baseball Yearbook & Fantasy Guide cover

"Joe Mauer - Has Minnesota's star catcher become baseball's best hitter?"

photographed by Tom Dipace Photography - - - - - - - - - -

In browsing through the first article in the magazine, "10 Questions: The answers you [...]

I Figure If This Doesn’t Pump You Up For Football–Nothing Will

E-6 — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:21:47 +0000

Since it doesn't look like SBG (or any other Citizen) had something lined up for the big tilt, I'll borrow FTLT's postscript to today's video and run with it. The voice of John Facenda gets me pumped up for football. Jim Nantz and Phil Simms? Not so much. Consider this your official Super [...]

Happy Birthday–February 7

Jeff A — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:33:24 +0000

Tom Daly (1866) Pat Moran (1876) Charlie Jamieson (1893) Earl Whitehill (1899) Al Smith (1928) Juan Pizarro (1937) Burt Hooton (1950) Benny Ayala (1951) Dan Quisenberry (1953) Damaso Garcia (1955) Carney Lansford (1957)

There do not appear to be any players with connections to the Minnesota Twins born on this day.

Caribbean Series–Day 5

Jeff A — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:01:39 +0000

Where they stand: Dominican Republic, 4-1; Puerto Rico, 3-2; Mexico, 2-3; Venezuela, 1-4.

Quick summaries:

Dominican Republic 7, Mexico 2. Home runs by Juan Francisco (Cincinnati), Kevin Barker, and Fernando Martinez (Mets) led the Dominican Republic.

Puerto Rico 7, Venezuela 1. Home runs by Jesus Feliciano (Mets) and Danny Valencia led Puerto Rico.

Today's games: Puerto Rico v. Mexico; [...]

Caribbean Series–Day 4

Jeff A — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 15:19:54 +0000

Where they stand: Dominican Republic, 3-1; Mexico, 2-2; Puerto Rico, 2-2; Venezuela, 1-3.

Quick summaries:

Puerto Rico 7, Dominican Republic 3. Danny Valencia had two hits and drove in three runs to lead Puerto Rico.

Mexico 3, Venezuela 2 (10 innings). An RBI single by Vinny Castilla in the bottom of the tenth drove in the winning run.

Today's [...]

Happy Birthday–February 6

Jeff A — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 11:03:31 +0000

Frank LaPorte (1888) Babe Ruth (1895) Glenn Wright (1901) Dale Long (1926) Smoky Burgess (1927) Augie Garrido (1939) Richie Zisk (1949) Bob Wickman (1969) Chad Allen (1975)

Outfielder Chad Allen played for Minnesota around the turn of the century. Born in Dallas, he went to high school in Duncanville, Texas, and then attended Texas A & M. He was drafted by the Twins in the [...]

This Week In Ex-Twins

Jeff A — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:46:55 +0000

Recent transactions involving former Minnesota Twins players:

Arizona signes Doug Deeds. Cincinnati agrees to terms with Orlando Cabrera on a one-year contract. The Dodgers agree to terms with Ramon Ortiz on a minor-league contract. Oakland claims Steve Tolleson off waivers. Philadelphia signs Luis Maza. Philadelphia places J. C. Romero on the restricted list. Toronto signs Howie Clark.

Please place any additions or corrections [...]

Caribbean Series–Day 3

Jeff A — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:29:35 +0000

Where they stand: Dominican Republic, 3-0; Mexico, 1-2; Puerto Rico, 1-2; Venezuela, 1-2.

Quick summaries:

Puerto Rico 5, Mexico 3. Luis Figueroa had three hits and Randy Ruiz (Toronto) and Michael Hernandez each drove in two runs to lead Puerto Rico.

Dominican Republic 3, Venezuela 2. Freddy Guzman stole home in the seventh inning to provide the winning [...]

Happy Birthday–February 5

Jeff A — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 11:49:03 +0000

Max Flack (1890) Roger Peckinpaugh (1891) Don Hoak (1928) Al Worthington (1929) Hank Aaron (1934) Norm Miller (1946) Mike Heath (1955) Roberto Alomar (1968)

Right-handed reliever Al Worthington was in the Minnesota bullpen for most of six seasons, serving as their closer for five of them. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama, attended high school in Phillips, Alabama, and then attended the University [...]

Wait a Second

SBG — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:03:08 +0000

Let's see, the Twins took Pavano over Washburn... signed Jim Thome and Orlando Hudson... no Tony Batista, no Livan Hernandez... and the Mauer deal is imminent? We're one Hinske signing from perfection.

Break out the white shoes, boys.

Drop your lists.

Daring to Dream

ubelmann — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:00:57 +0000

So here are the CHONE projections for 2B in 2010. You could break it down in different ways, but I'll try to roughly group them such that players within each group are more or less interchangable.

In Group A, we have Chase Utley at 6.1 WAR. No one is close to him.

In Group [...]

Caribbean Series–Day 2

Jeff A — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:03:59 +0000

Where they stand: Dominican Republic, 2-0; Mexico, 1-1; Venezuela, 1-1; Puerto Rico, 0-2.

Quick summaries:

Dominican Republic 7, Mexico 1. The Dominican Republic scored four in the first and never looked back. Nelson Figueroa (Mets) pitched a complete game for the victory.

Venezuela 5, Puerto Rico 2. Raul Padron homered and drove in three runs to lead Venezuela.

Today's [...]

Happy Birthday–February 4

Jeff A — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:31:17 +0000

Germany Schaefer (1876) Bill Rariden (1888) Possum Whitted (1890) Eddie Ainsmith (1890) Joe Sparma (1942) Steve Brye (1949) Rob Picciolo (1953) Rusty Kuntz (1955) Chris Bando (1956) Dan Plesac (1962) Chris Coste (1973) Ben Hendrickson (1981)

Not to be confused with Steve Braun, outfielder Steve Brye played for the Twins for much of the 1970s. He was born in Alameda, California and went to high school in [...]

Super Bowl Homeboy

SBG — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:30:58 +0000

You Choose: Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Caribbean Series–Day 1

Jeff A — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:45:51 +0000

Where they stand: Dominican Republic, 1-0; Mexico, 1-0; Puerto Rico, 0-1; Venezuela, 0-1.

Quick summaries:

Dominican Republic 2, Puerto Rico 1. Kevin Barker homered in the bottom of the sixth to break a 1-all tie.

Mexico 7, Venezuela 2. Vinny Castilla hit a double and a homer, scoring three times and driving in two runs.

Today's schedule: Dominican Republic [...]

Semper Birdie Pruitt

SBG — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:04:53 +0000

My mind is clearer now - at last all too well I can see where we all soon will be

-- Judas, Jesus Christ Superstar

As I drove to the bus stop this morning, I heard Reusse's sidekick say that Sandra Bullock is the betting favorite to win the Oscar for Best Actress. Good thing that the [...]

Happy Birthday–February 3

Jeff A — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:48:40 +0000

Lou Criger (1872) Slim Sallee (1885) Larry MacPhail (1890) Joe Stripp (1903) Buck Ross (1915) Dick Tracewski (1935) Joe Coleman (1947) Bake McBride (1949) Fred Lynn (1952) Fred Toliver (1961) Joe Klink (1962) Scott Klingenbeck (1971)

Right-hander Freddie Toliver was with Minnesota for a little over a year in the late 1980s. He was born in Natchez, Mississippi, but went to high school in San Gorgonio, California. [...]

Call for Papers

SBG — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:10:41 +0000

I have been informed that there are certain Twins blogs that are banding together to write about Nick Punto on February 12 and we have been invited to join in. I'm asking you to participate, if you'd like. What I am envisioning is a post with a plurality of takes by different members [...]

Happy Birthday–February 2

Jeff A — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:31:40 +0000

Orval Overall (1881) George Halas (1895) Willie Kamm (1900) Wes Ferrell (1908) Red Schoendienst (1923) Don Buford (1937) Max Alvis (1938) Dale Murray (1950) John Tudor (1954) Pat Tabler (1958) Buddy Biancalana (1960) Scott Erickson (1968) Melvin Mora (1972) Adam Everett (1977)

Yes, that's "the" George Halas. He was an outfielder and played in 12 games for the Yankees in 1919 before getting involved in some other sport.

Right-hander Scott [...]

Gabe Gross

ubelmann — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:19:47 +0000

Apparently Gabe Gross signed with Oakland for 0.5Thome. I think that he would have been kind of nice to have around as a 4th OF since he would be a defensive upgrade over Cuddyer and Delmon if you wanted a defensive replacement (after, say, Jim Thome pinch-hit for Delmon) and in general Cuddyer and [...]

Doesn’t that make Butera utterly useless?

ubelmann — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:07:47 +0000

Catching up on reading the beat writers, I saw this:

Heard that there are some concerns about Drew Butera's catching skills. That's why some people want Wilson Ramos up if Jose Morales isn't ready.

With a bat in his hands, Drew Butera makes Nick Punto look like Barry Bonds. If Butera's catching skills are being [...]

Caribbean Report

Jeff A — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:18:07 +0000

The winter league playoffs are over. The Caribbean Series will start tomorrow.

Venezuela

Caracas won games six and seven to take a four to three series victory over Magallanes. In game six, Caracas scored five runs in the fifth to win 6-3. Home runs by Josh Kroeger (White Sox), Carlos Maldonado, and Jose Lopez (Seattle) led the [...]

Happy Birthday–February 1

Jeff A — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 11:00:52 +0000

Billy Sullivan (1875) Rosey Rowswell (1884) Candy Jim Taylor (1884) Frank Lane (1896) Carl Reynolds (1903) Paul Blair (1944) Danny Thompson (1947) Ernie Camacho (1955) Cecilio Guante (1960) Tim Naehring (1967) Kent Mercker (1968) Rich Becker (1972)

Infielder Danny Thompson played for Minnesota in the early to middle 1970s. He was born in Wichita, attended high school in Capron, Oklahoma, and went to college at Oklahoma State. [...]

Happy Birthday–January 31

Jeff A — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 11:00:21 +0000

Bob "Death to Flying Things" Ferguson (1845) George Burns (1893) Pinky Hargrave (1896) Jackie Robinson (1919) Ernie Banks (1931) Hank Aguirre (1931) Nolan Ryan (1947) Fred Kendall (1949) Ted Power (1955) Rafael Santana (1958) Francisco Oliveras (1963)

Right-hander Francisco Oliveras began his major league career with Minnesota. He was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico and signed with Baltimore as a free agent in 1980. He played [...]

Brendan Harris and Casey Blake

ubelmann — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 20:17:56 +0000

Every time I hear about Harris getting regular time at third base, I think of Casey Blake. Is it a fair comparison? I'm not entirely sure, but here I go (again? on my own?):

.295/.363/.469, .832 OPS -- Brendan Harris, minors .292/.371/.469, .840 OPS -- Casey Blake, minors

More or less identical, really. And if [...]

Happy Birthday–January 30

Jeff A — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 11:17:57 +0000

General Stafford (1868) Walt Dropo (1923) Brooks Lawrence (1925) Sandy Amoros (1930) Charlie Neal (1931) Davey Johnson (1943) Matt Alexander (1947) Joe Kerrigan (1954)

There do not appear to be any players with connections to the Minnesota Twins born on this day.

Happy Birthday–January 29

Jeff A — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:01:00 +0000

Ray Hayworth (1904) Bill Rigney (1918) Hank Edwards (1919) Bobby Bolin (1939) Sergio Ferrer (1951) Steve Sax (1960) Mike Aldrete (1961) John Habyan (1964) Jason Schmidt (1973)

Bill Rigney managed the Twins for approximately two and a half seasons in the early 1970s. Born in Alameda, California, Rigney went to high school in Oakland. He entered organized baseball in 1938, playing shortstop for various minor-league teams, [...]

I’m Just Trying to do this Jigsaw Puzzle

SBG — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 05:28:46 +0000

I like puzzles. Jigsaw puzzles. I've done a few already in 2010 and when I went back to ND for Christmas, I brought a couple of puzzles with and my sister and I tore through them. We decided next year that we are going to have a contest. Two identical puzzles [...]

This Week In Ex-Twins

Jeff A — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:49:43 +0000

Recent transactions involving former Minnesota Twins players:

Dodgers sign Michael Restovich.

That's all there is. If you have any additions or corrections, please place them in the comments.

Caribbean Report

Jeff A — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:32:56 +0000

The winter league playoffs are nearing an end.

Venezuela

Magallanes leads the best-of-seven championship series with Caracas, three games to two. Magallanes cruised to an easy victory in game one, scoring four runs before anyone was out in the first inning en route to a 9-0 blanking. Raul Valdez pitched five shutout innings and Robinson Chirinos (Cubs) [...]

It’s a Cinch: Shaq to the Wolves Next Year

SBG — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:29:23 +0000

We seem to be collecting superstars at the end of their careers around here.

I was all for the Brett Favre to the Vikings from the very first time I heard it. I mean I have pretty much ignored the Vikings for five years at this site, but bringing Brett to the Vikings was something [...]

Happy Birthday–January 28

Jeff A — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:19:47 +0000

George Wright (1847) Ducky Holmes (1869) Bill Doak (1891) Lyn Lary (1906) Bob Muncrief (1916) Pete Runnels (1928) Bill White (1934) Jermaine Dye (1974) Magglio Ordonez (1974) Lyle Overbay (1977) Doug Waechter (1981)

For the second consecutive day, there do not appear to be players connected to the Minnesota Twins born on this day.

Once the Weather Turns Cold, I Promise I’ll Start Watching Movies for this Column

SBG — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:51:43 +0000

My wife and I, as recently as last winter, used to sit down and watch a movie or two on the weekends. For some reason, we haven't done much of that at all. On Friday night, she was at her Mom's Group for a get together, which included a movie while I was [...]

Happy Birthday–January 27

Jeff A — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:32:18 +0000

Milt Gaston (1896) Bibb Falk (1899) Fred Heimach (1901) John Lowenstein (1947) Eric Wedge (1968) Phil Plantier (1969) Angel Berroa (1978) Gavin Floyd (1983)

There do not appear to be any players with connections to the Minnesota Twins born on this day.

Thome Thoughts

ubelmann — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:21:01 +0000

1) It's kind of funny that this should happen right after Brett Favre comes to the Vikings. Thome has been playing against the Twins for so long between the Indians and White Sox, it has a similar feeling to it.

2) Last year, AL teams averaged 85 pinch hitting plate appearances, while the NL averaged [...]

Happy Birthday–January 26

Jeff A — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:30:37 +0000

Kaiser Wilhelm (1874) Tubby Spencer (1884) George Blaeholder (1904) Charlie Gelbert (1906) Bob Nieman (1927) Bob Uecker (1935) Mike Pazik (1950) Rick Schu (1962) Jeff Branson (1967) Ryan Rowland-Smith (1983)

Left-hander Mike Pazik appeared in 13 games for Minnesota in the mid-1970s. He was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, attended high school there, and then went to Holy Cross, the most recent major league player to [...]

The Machine

Rhubarb_Runner — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:52:23 +0000

[contributed by: Big Mak]

The Machine

by Joe Posnanski

Hardcover, 320 pages

About the Author: (From Joe Pos' website) Joe Posnanski is a Senior Writer at Sports Illustrated. He was sports columnist at The Kansas City Star from 1996 to 2009, and during that time he was twice [...]

Happy Birthday–January 25

Jeff A — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:05:10 +0000

Danny Richardson (1863) Les Nunamaker (1889) Ernie Harwell (1918) Ed Head (1918) Wally Bunker (1945) Vern Ruhle (1951) Kerry Taylor (1971) Dan Serafini (1974)

Right-hander Kerry Taylor did not play for Minnesota, but he was in their organization at the beginning of his career. He was born in Bemidji, Minnesota and went to high school in Roseau, Minnesota. The Twins signed him as [...]

It Always Ends Badly

SBG — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 03:33:54 +0000

This game should have been played on my birthday.

Happy Birthday–January 24

Jeff A — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 11:35:46 +0000

Pinch Thomas (1888) Cliff Heathcote (1898) Flint Rhem (1901) Jack Brickhouse (1916) Dick Stigman (1936) Tim Stoddard (1953) Atlee Hammaker (1958) Neil Allen (1958) Rob Dibble (1964) Scott Kazmir (1984)

Right-hander Dick Stigman pitched for Minnesota for four years in the 1960s. A native of Nimrod, Minnesota, he attended high school in Sebeka, Minnesota and signed with Cleveland as a free agent in 1954. Stigman [...]

Happy Birthday–January 23

Jeff A — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 11:31:07 +0000

Red Donahue (1873) Bobby Burke (1907) Randy Gumpert (1918) Chico Carrasquel (1928) Frank Sullivan (1930) Joe Amalfitano (1934) Don Nottebart (1936) Paul Ratliff (1944) Kurt Bevacqua (1947) Charlie Spikes (1951) Alan Embree (1970) Mark Wohlers (1970) Erubiel Durazo (1974) Brandon Duckworth (1976) Juan Rincon (1979)

Right-hander Frank Sullivan came to Minnesota at the end of a pretty fair career. A tall man (6'7"), he was born in Hollywood and attended high [...]

Happy Birthday–January 22

Jeff A — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 11:41:25 +0000

Ira Thomas (1881) Amos Strunk (1889) Dave Leonhard (1941) Mike Caldwell (1949) Leon Roberts (1951) Jeff Treadway (1963) Chone Figgins (1978)

There do not appear to be any players with connections to the Minnesota Twins born on this day.

The Train Has Left the Station

SBG — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 02:30:10 +0000

My parents moved into the house that they live in on November 5, 1969. Even though that day was over 40 years ago, I remember it still. My mom's brothers and sisters were there, helping with the move and I remember, even at four years old, being quite excited about a new house. [...]

This Week In Ex-Twins

Jeff A — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:18:55 +0000

Recent transactions involving former Minnesota Twins players:

Baltimore agrees to terms with Frank Mata on a minor league contract. Baltimore agrees to terms with Chad Moeller on a minor league contract. Boston agrees to terms with Darnell McDonald on a minor league contract. Cleveland agrees to terms with Mike Redmond on a one-year contract. Milwaukee agrees to terms with Carlos [...]

Caribbean Report

Jeff A — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:05:24 +0000

The winter league playoffs continue.

Venezuela

The round robin portion of the playoffs ended Tuesday. The final standings: Magallanes, 11-5; Caracas, 10-6; LaGuaira, 7-9; Zulia, 7-9; Margarita, 5-11. Starting tonight, Magallanes and Caracas will play a best-of-seven series to determine the league champion.

Pablo Sandoval (San Francisco), who had been Magallanes' best hitter in the playoffs, did not play in the [...]

Happy Birthday–January 21

Jeff A — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:40:09 +0000

Mike Tiernan (1867) Lew Fonseca (1899) Sam Mele (1922) Danny O'Connell (1927) Johnny Oates (1946) Bill Stein (1947) Mike Krukow (1952) Dave Smith (1955) Mike Smithson (1955) Jose Uribe (1959) Andy Hawkins (1960) Darryl Motley (1960) Chris Hammond (1966) Rusty Greer (1969) Jason Ryan (1976) Byung-Hyun Kim (1979)

The nephew of infielder Tony Cuccinello, Sabath Anthony "Sam" Mele was the second manager of the Minnesota Twins. Born in Astoria, New York, [...]