1960 Leaf #66 – Earl Battey

This is my first foray into 1960 Leaf. It arrived on Thursday. I had never actually seen any of these cards in person, so I was in for a little culture shock when it arrived. The card is ever so slightly under the standard size.

Whenever I would see a picture of 1960 Leaf cards, the design always made me think of the fifties and sixties team promos that were 5×7 or 4×6. Something in my brain made me think that the 1960 Leaf cards were exactly the same. I can see how foolish I actually was, now that I have my first card in hand.

This was around a time where cards came in all sorts of shapes and sizes. My thinking wasn’t out of line. It was just flawed without seeing an example in hand.

This is one of my first cards of Earl Battey too. Earl was a great catcher that was blocked by Sherm Lollar in the Sox organization. His sporadic starts did nothing for his average. He was a lifetime .209 hitter with the White Sox. When he was shipped off to the Senators, he blossomed into a great overall player, winning three gold gloves. By the time that the Senators moved to Minnesota and dubbed the Twins, Earl was a star.

1960 Leaf is strange for many reasons. This was the first Leaf baseball set since the forties and the last until the eighties. There are variations that zoom in on just the face, if you didn’t think the mugshot bust shots weren’t creepy enough. The set was packaged in a wrapper with marbles. Yes, those round little objects that kids used to play with in a circle (before they played video games) were packaged with these cards.

This is also one of the last cards of Earl Battey in a White Sox uniform. By the time this card came out, he had already went to Washington.

This move will put Gomez in the lead off role for 2010 and signals the end of Mike Cameron’s reign in Milwaukee.  Alcides Escobar will now take over the everyday shortstop role in Miller Park for years to come and will likely hit in front of Ryan Braun in the lineup.

Gomez, 23, has 59 stolen bases in just over 1,000 career at-bats. He was the prize possession in a deal that sent Johan Santana to the New York Mets before the 2008 season, who has yet to hit for consistent contact.

The Crew has also declined David Weathers’ $3.7 million option for 2010, costing the team $400,000.  It appears they would rather spend their money in the free agency market which is stock full of some decent arms.

Tomorrow, I’ll go over the five moves that the Brewers must make this off-season.

The Yankees and Andy Pettitte trailed Carl Pavano and the Twins 1-0 after six innings.  That’s right, the former “American Idle” had blanked the Bombers on just two hits up to that point.  Pettitte was nearly Pavano’s equal, having not allowed a base runner through four innings, and just one earned run and three hits.  That’s when the Yankees newest Mr. October, at least for round one round of the playoffs, struck.

Alex Rodriguez came to the plate with out in the 7th and drilled a 3-2 fastball high atop the wall in right-center field for a game tying home run.  In seven career post season game against the Twins, Rodriguez has now driven in nine runs. Pavano bounced back to strike out Hideki Matsui for the inning’s second out, but Jorge Posada went the opposite way for a solo home run to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.

The Yankees bullpen then took over as Pettitte exited with one out in the bottom of the 7th. Joba Chamberalin allowed a double to Delmon Young, but retired Brendan Harris and Jose Morales to preserve the lead.  Phil Hughes would need a little luck in the 8th inning to do the same.

Nick Punto doubled to lead off the inning and Denard Span followed with a bouncer back up the middle.  Derek Jeter cut the ball off, but had no play on Span at first.  But the Captain alertly spun and threw home to keep Punto at third.  He did more than just that.  Punto had gone half way down the line and was now caught in between.  He scurried back to third but Posada’s throw beat him to the bag and A-Rod applied the rally crushing tag.  Instead of runners on the corners with no one out, the Twins merely had a man on first with one out.  Ron Gardenhire, hands a top his head in frustration, looked on in exasperation, his team having run themselves out of another potential big inning.

Hughes retired Orlando Cabrera for the second out and Joe Girardi sent for Mariano Rivera to face Joe Mauer.  Rivera shattered Mauer’s bat as the soon to be AL MVP grounded out meekly to Mark Teixeira for the final out of the inning.

Posada and Robinson Cano added RBI singles in the 9th and, after allowing a lead off single to Michael Cuddyer, Rivera retired the next three batters for a four-out save and sent the Yankees back to the ALCS for the first time since 2004.

Series Notes

Alex Rodriguez was 5-11 (.455) with 2 home runs and 6 RBI in the series.

The Yankees three starting pitchers – CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Andy Pettitte combined to allow three earned runs in 19 innings.

Johnny Damon was just 1-12 in the series and swung and missed his way to the “Golden Sombrero” in Game 3.  It comes on the heels of a 22-89 (.247) last month of the season.

Andy Pettitte tied John Smoltz for the most career post season wins with 15.

Joe Mauer was 5-12 (.417) with two walks, but his RBI in Game 3 was his only one in the series.

Trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the 9th, Mark Teixeira reached base with his first hit of the series.  Alex Rodriguez then hit a deep drive off Twins’ closer Joe Nathan that landed well beyond the fence in center field for a game tying home run.  Seconds after the ball left his bat, A-Rod looked over at his teammates and pumped his fist.  It was a “jump on my back boys” moment for a player who won’t be hearing about post-season slumps any time soon.  Oh, and A-Rod drove in the Yankees first run too.

Then after escaping a bases loaded, no out jam in the top of the 11th, the Yankees celebration began when Teixeira hit a bullet off left-hander Jose Mijares down towards the left field corner.  The ball hit the top of the wall and ricocheted into the stands for a game winning homer.  And yes, A.J. delivered hiscompensatory pie.

The victory ended a wild night at the new digs and put the Yankees up a commanding two games to none in the best of five series.  Starters A.J. Burnett and Nick Blackburn got into a good ol’ fashioned pitcher’s duel before the Twins broke a scoreless tie in the 6th.  Burnett, who walked five on the night, issued a one out free pass to Delmon Young, who stole 2nd base as Carlos Gomez struck out for the second out of the inning.

Ron Gardenhire sent light hitting Brendan Harris up to pinch-hit for Matt Tolbert, who had to leave the game with a strained oblique.  Harris came through with a deep drive to left-center that eluded Johnny Damon and then caromed past Melky Cabrera for an RBI triple.  Burnett got out of further trouble by getting Nick Punto to ground out to end the inning.

The Yankees, who didn’t have a hit until Robinson Cano’s single in the 5th, came right back in the home half of the 6th.  Derek Jeter reached on a one out ground rule double and Damon followed with a walk.  Blackburn retired Teixiera on a pop up for the second out, but A-Rod singled to left to even the game at a run apiece.

The bottom of the Twins order had a big night and they came through in the clutch against Phil Hughes in the top of the 8th.  Gomez reached on a two out walk and moved to 3rd on Harris’ single to right.  Punto’s single to center put the Twins up 2-1 and knocked Hughes from the game.  Denard Span showed the top of the Twins order could be productive too when the lead off man singled off of Mariano Rivera for a 3-1 Minnesota lead.  Rivera kept it a two run game with a strike out of Orlando Cabrera.

Both teams blew big opportunities in the game due to base running mistakes.   Burnett hit both Young and Gomez with two outs in the 4th and Tolbert singled to right field. But Gomez rounded 2nd base too far and Nick Swisher alertly threw behind him to an awaiting Jeter, who applied the tag before Young could score.  A very “Timo Perez” moment in New York.

The Yankees had their own snafu as they appeared ready to win the game in the 10th.  Jorge Posada reached on a one out single and was replaced on the bases by Brett Gardner.  The Yankees top base stealing threat easily swiped 2nd base and then moved to 3rd when Nathan’s errant pick off throw sailed in center field.  Gardenhire elected to walk Jeter to set up the double play and the Yankees unwittingly obliged.

Damon hit a line drive that ticked off Nathan’s glove towards Cabrera at short.  Gardner misread the ball and took off for home.  Cabrera snagged the line drive and easily doubled Gardner off the 3rd as the Twins finally got a break.  But it was a break they couldn’t take advantage of, thanks in part to left field umpire Phil Cuzzi (pronounced Cuz-zee; and you know people in Minnesota will realize what that rhymes with).

Mauer sliced a fly ball down the left field line off of Damaso Marte and just out of the reach of Melky Cabrera, who had moved over from center field at the start of the inning.  The ball clearly landed several inches in fair territory before bouncing into the stands for what should have been a ground rule double.  But Cuzzi emphatically ruled it foul. Without a good angle to see it, no one from the Twins argued the call.

It seemed like it wouldn’t matter when Mauer and Jason Kubel stroked back to back singles, and David Robertson gave up another base hit to Michael Cuddyer to load the bases with no one out.  But with the infield playing in, Teixiera gloved Young’s hot smash for the first out.  Gomez then swung at the first pitch, as did Young, and grounded to Teixeira, who threw home for the force out.  Robertson and the Yankees were then able to breath again when Harris flew out to Gardner in center field for the final out of the inning.

And then the players took their roles and Yankees Stadium witnessed its’ 16th walk-off victory of the season.

A-Rod had a pair of RBI singles and the New York Yankees spanked the Minnesota Twins, 7-2 to take a 1-0 lead in the best of five series. A-Rod wasn’t alone though in getting off to a good post-season start.

Derek Jeter reached safely in all four at-bats and belted the first playoff home run in the new Yankee Stadium. It tied the game at two apiece in the 3rd inning and fired up the home crowd that had been temporarily silenced when the Twins took a 2-0 lead.

Nick Swisher doubled in the 4th scored Robinson Cano all the way from first base to give the Yankees their first lead of the night. A-Rod’s RBI single off of rookie starter Brian Duensing an inning later put the Bombers ahead by two and the next hitter, Hideki Matsui, hit a long home run to straight away center field off lefty Francisco Liriano for a 6-2 Yankees lead.

CC Sabathia wasn’t spectacular, but was very good. He threw 113 pitches in 6 2-3 innings and allowed one earned run. The Twins put two runs on the board against him with two outs in the 3rd. Orlando Cabrera singled and Joe Mauer followed with a double to the gap in left-center. Michael Cuddyer’s single to right brought home one run and Mauer scored when Jorge Posada couldn’t handle Sabathia’s delivery for a passed ball.
Sabathia passed an immediate test in the 1st inning when Denard Span reached 3rd base with less than two outs. But the Yankees ace struck out Mauer and retired Cuddyer on a fly out to center. He exited with two on and two out in the 7th, but Phil Hughes stranded the runners when he struck out Cabrera.

Game Notes

Even with Hideki Matsui on deck, odd decision by Ron Gardnehire to pitch to Alex Rodriguez with Derek Jeter on 3rd base in the 7th. A-Rod delivered his second RBI single, this time off of Jon Rauch.

Admiral Eric Olson threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Derek Jeter’s home run was the 18th of his post-season career.

Mariano Rivera pitched the 9th inning, allowing a 2-out walk and a single before retiring Cabrera to end the game.

Jorge Posada had the dubious distinction of committing two passed balls.

2nd Base

Now, onto the postseason! My predictions should be taken with a grain of salt, and considered an optimistic piece by an unabashed Red Sox fan.  For what it’s worth, I said the New York Yankees would finish in third place and that Joe Girardi would be fired by the 4th of July. So, really, my predictions are subject(and likely) to be completely inaccurate. It’s the postseason, and who doesn’t love a little guessing game.

I picked the Philadelphia Phillies over the Colorado Rockies, 3 games to 1. I think the Rockies are underrated, and could shock the Phillies. However, the Phillies have the arms that are likely to play very well, especially Cole Hamels. He’s had a mixed bag of a season, but he’s thrown a few gems this year. Cliff Lee was a huge pickup for them and Joe Blanton’s been up & down this year, but I think he’s beaten a number of quality lineups this season and should be ok. Pedro Martinez & Jamie Moyer will be big components to their wins  throughout the postseason.

I picked the LA Dodgers over the St. Louis Cardinals, 3 games to 2.  I think Joe Torre’s handling of his roster will win this series. The Dodgers have a few starting pitchers with questions, but when Juan Pierre is a 4th outfielder and could easily be a starter on any other team, that’s a tremendous advantage, in my opinion. Ramirez, Ethier and Kemp are big home run hitters, and Pierre’s speed off the bench will be trouble for anyone. As you may guess, I’m picking Juan Pierre to play a big part in the Dodgers success due to his revitalized 2009 season.

I picked the Red Sox over the Angels 3 games to 1.  This one could go either way, I think. It may even go 5 games. The Angels could very well win this. I’m picking 4 games, though, for the Sox. I’m crossing my fingers and saying Buchholz and Lester will rise to the occasion and that Beckett will provide the solid veteran postseason presence. With Victor Martinez behind the plate and in the lineup, I think they have a real good chance to dominate. I suspect we’ll see Jason Varitek start at catcher at least once.

I picked the Yankees over the Twins with a 3 game sweep.  In a short series, I think the Yanks can smash their way offensively. They may even look impressive.  I believe the Yankees pitching staff has a lot of questions(is C.C. due to rebound when it matters? Is Pettitte’s age a factor? How will Burnett react to his first taste of October?) that will be answered one way or the other in the postseason. It’s possible I’m way off base and the 103 Win Yankees are the real deal.
I picked the Phillies over the Dodgers in the NLCS, 4 games to 2. Pedro won’t be the MVP, but he’ll be a big piece of their win. It’ll come down to pitching, and I think the Phils have a slight advantage. My theory is it takes pitching, ultimately, to win in the postseason, and the Phils may be better equipped to make it to the World Series. They seem to have more options.

Naturally, I picked the Red Sox over the Yankees in the ALCS, but it will go 7 games and the Sox will take it 4 games to 3.  My surprise pick is that Tim Wakefield gets put on the roster, pitches a few innings in a lopsided loss, early in the series. I also believe that Billy Wagner, Alex Gonzalez, and Victor Martinez will shine in the series and put a spotlight on the great pickups during the season.

I chose the Red Sox over the Phillies in the World Series, 4 games to 1.  I think Pedro Martinez will get a standing ovation at Fenway and then fails to make it through 5 innings. A Sox fan can hope, right?

What are your picks?

On September 1, 2004, 40-year-old Terry Mulholland got the start against Baltimore and threw six innings in a Twins victory. His catcher was newly acquired Pat Borders, who was even older, at 41. It was the first time since 1945 that a pitching battery featured two men of 40+ years. That game was the 1,042nd of Borders’ career; for Mulholland, it was appearance 626.

Borders is the oldest Twin to ever don the tools of ignorance, but Mulholland still has some elders to look up to. Chief among them is Jesse Orosco, who closed out his 24-season career on the Metrodome mound in 2003, at age 46. Steve Carlton and Joe Niekro both pitched at age 43; the oldest position player was Dave Winfield, who appeared in 77 games at age 42 in 1994.

Kirby Puckett’s career may not have lasted long enough, but on August 30, 1987, he had plenty to smile about. On that day, he went 6-6 with two home runs and four RBIs in a 10-6 victory over the Brewers. That came a day after he went 4-5 with another two long balls. It was one of two six-hit games in his career; no other Twin has accomplished that.

The opposite honor goes to Bob Allison. On September 2, 1965, in a game against the Tigers, Allison came to the plate five times and was retired on strikes as many times. It’s the only time a Minnesota player has struck out in all five at-bats in a game. Three other Twins have struck out five times in a game, but with more plate appearances: Sandy Valdespino in 1967, Bobby Darwin in 1972, and Roy Smalley in 1976.

In 1991, Chuck Knoblauch made his major league debut on April 9, but after 120 games, he still hadn’t hit a home run. That changed on August 31 in a game against the Orioles. With the score tied in the bottom of the sixth inning, Knoblauch stepped to the plate with one out and hit a solo shot off Orioles starter Mike Mussina, spurring a Twins victory. He went on to hit 98 career home runs, with a high of 18 for the Yankees in 1999.

September 4 is the 29th birthday of Twins reliever Pat Neshek. The sidewinder’s career WHIP is .961; the only active pitcher with a lower career mark (minimum 100 innings pitched) is Joakim Soria. Armando Gabino made his own relief debut with the Twins on August 25; he’ll turn 26 on August 31.

Rob Wilfong (56 on September 1) played second base for Minnesota from 1977 to 1982, when he and Doug Corbett were traded to the Angels for Tom Brunansky and pitcher Mike Walters. His best season came in 1979, when he hit .313/.352/.458. Teammate Roger Erickson (53 on August 30) won 14 games as a 21-year-old for the Twins in 1978.

Former Twins second baseman Luis Rivas (30 on August 30) played on three playoff teams, from 2002-2004. He stole 31 bases in 2001, his rookie season. David West (45 on September 1) came to the Twins in the Frank Viola trade in July 1989. He made 15 appearances for the 1991 champions, then was traded in 1992 for Mike Hartley, the Phillies’ right-handed reliever. Hartley turns 48 on August 31.

Until next week, Twins fans.

Kralick’s came first, on August 26, 1962 against Kansas City. His only baserunner came on a walk to George Alusik in the ninth inning. Unfortunately, his teammates were having nearly as much difficulty posting a run against Bill Fischer, the Athletics’ starter. After leaving men in scoring position in each of the first four innings, the Twins were blanked until the seventh, when Lenny Green hit a two-out sacrifice fly to bring home Bernie Allen with the game’s only run.

That game was the first no-hitter in Twins history, and the first for the franchise since Bobby Burke did it in 1931. Kralick went 12-11 in 1962, one of a few productive seasons in Minnesota before he was traded to Cleveland in 1963 for Jim Perry.

In early August 1967, Chance had a perfect game going through five innings, but the contest was called due to rain. Unperturbed, Chance retook the mound in Cleveland on August 25. The Indians struck first, getting a run in the top of the first inning on two walks, an error and a wild pitch. The Twins tied it in next half inning, though, and went ahead in the sixth when Tribe pitcher Sonny Siebert balked with the bases loaded.

Chance walked five men in the game, but was helped with two double plays. Along with Kralick’s no-no five years previous, these were the only two Twins no-hitters with a one run margin of victory; it was also the only one to happen on the road. Incidentally, Chance had thrown a one-hitter against the Twins in 1962 as a member of the Angels; Zoilo Versalles broke up that no-hit bid with an eighth inning single.

On August 27, 1975, Twins first baseman Craig Kusick had an entirely different problem in facing the Brewers’ Bill Travers. In the second, sixth and eleventh innings of a tight pitchers’ duel, Travers plunked Kusick, tying a major league record for the most times a batter has been hit in a game. After the last beaning, both Travers and Kusick were removed from the game. The pinch-runner, Steve Brye, scored the winning run when Tony Oliva singled off reliever Tom Murphy.

Another, longer extra-inning affair was August 26, 1978. The Twins and Yankees were knotted at four runs apiece through 19 innings before New York’s Mickey Rivers singled in a run to win it for the home team. Minnesota’s starting pitcher, Pete Redfern, failed to get the victory on his birthday.

Two years later on the same day, the umpires struck for a day, creating problems across the schedule. Most teams called upon amateur arbiters, but the Twins and Blue Jays hit upon the novel solution of using coaches to umpire. The Twins’ Jerry Zimmerman joined Toronto’s Don Leppert in helping two amateurs call the game; it was the first time since 1941 that active coaches or players had umpired. The Blue Jays won, 7-3.

On August 24, 1981, Minnesota first baseman Danny Goodwin slid into the designated hitter’s spot, thereby allowing 21-year-old Minneapolis native Kent Hrbek to make his major league debut. Batting in the eighth spot, Hrbek recorded his first hit in the fifth inning with an RBI single off the Yankees’ Tommy John. In the 12th inning, with the score tied at 2, Hrbek came through again, bopping a leadoff homer to win the game for the visiting Twins. He would go on to hit 292 more home runs in 1747 career games.

August 26 marks the 29th birthday of Twins infielder Brendan Harris. He was originally drafted in the fifth round of the 2001 draft by the Cubs, two picks ahead of Ryan Howard and 137 behind Joe Mauer. He joined the Twins in the Delmon Young trade, and has gone 203-766 for the Twins in two seasons.

Other Twins with birthdays this week: Stan Perzanowski (59 on August 25); Joe McCabe (69 on August 27); Marty Martinez (68 on August 23); and Randy St. Claire (49 on August 23).

Hyeong Rok-Choi, a South Korean catcher with the GCL Twins, will be 20 on August 23. This season, he has an on-base percentage of .374.

Until next week, Twins fans.

On that day, all nine Minnesota batters recorded at least two hits off Cleveland pitchers. It was the first time that had ever happened in the majors. Eric Raich started for the Tribe, but was pulled in the second inning after allowing six runs on eight hits. Reliever Jackie Brown went the remainder of the game. He allowed only three runs, but did so on 12 hits. For the Twins, Dan Ford and Phil Roof both had three base knocks, and Roof also homered. Jim Hughes, the Twins’ starting pitcher, had an easy night; the Twins won 9-1.

On August 19, 1961, the pitchers chipped in a bit more. In a victory over the Angels, both starter Jack Kralick and reliever Al Schroll homered in a 9-7 victory. It had never happened before in the American League, and isn’t likely to happen again as long as the designated hitter rule is in place. In his career, Kralick hit four home runs, while Scholl only had the one. That season, their staff mate Pedro Ramos knocked three balls out of the yard.

On August 22, 1975, Dave McKay hit an equally auspicious home run—in his first big league at-bat. That homer, off the Tigers’ Vern Ruhle, made McKay one of four Twins to go yard in his first at-bat. The others are Gary Gaetti, Andre David, and Rick Renick. In 645 career games over 8 seasons, McKay hit 21 total home runs. Gaetti turns 51 on August 19.

Another interesting Twins debut came on August 21, 1990. Minnesota’s Paul Abbott took the mound for the very first time in his career. His opponent: the Royals’ Jim Campbell, who was also making his first appearance in the bigs. Campbell and the Royals won, and Abbott went 0-5 that year before finally notching his first victory in 1991.

In 1997, Roberto Kelly was in his second season with the Twins, and had cooled off slightly after hitting .323/.357/.457 in 1996. He was, however, 32 years old, and GM Terry Ryan saw fit to package him off to Seattle on August 20 for a player to be named later. That player became Joe Mays, a 21-year-old pitching in High-A Lancaster. In 1998, though, he shot through the Twins system and debuted the following year. His best year was 2001, when he won 17 games with a 3.13 ERA. Kelly was 36-121 for the Mariners, but they lost to Baltimore in the ALDS, and he was gone in the winter.

Besides Gaetti, fellow late-‘80s Twin Tom Brunansky (49 on August 20) has a birthday this week. In 1987, Brunansky tied a career-high with 32 homers and slugged .489. Mid-‘70s utility man Luis Gomez (58 on August 19) had 1251 career at-bats without a home run; since 1920, only four non-pitchers had more homerless at-bats.

There have been 13 players who scored a run for the Twins without ever getting a hit, and seven of them–Jason Pridie (three runs), Boof Bonser, Danny Morris, Bert Cueto, Ed Palmquist and Bucky Guth) never had a hit in their careers. Guth, whose career spanned three games in 1972, turns 62 on August 18.

Paul Molitor, the St. Paul native who ended his Hall of Fame career in Minnesota, is 53 on August 22. He’s currently a coach in the Twins’ system. Another coach, Rochester’s Bobby Cuellar, turns 57 on August 20. His big-league career consisted of 6.2 innings in 1977 with the Rangers.

Graig Nettles started his long career with the Twins, playing in 121 games from 1967-69 before being included in a trade with the Indians. He went on to play in 2700 games, mostly with the Yankees. Rick Reed (45 on August 16) won 15 games for the Twins in 2002 after coming over in a trade for Matt Lawton. Alex Cole (44 on August 17) stole 29 bases in 1994 as the everyday centerfielder.

Until next week, Twins fans.

Pino shades to the stocky side at 6’0”, 190 pounds. In his delivery, he brings the ball straight up from behind him and releases it rapidly, with little extension of the arm. Because of this, his release point is low, and he whips his arm very fast in bringing the ball up to deliver it. His delivery with a man on base has a noticeable hitch to it; actually, you wouldn’t call his stretch motion smooth, either.

His fastball sits around 89-90 MPH, and he seems more comfortable throwing it than his off-speed pitches. From this amateur scout’s seat in the upper deck, it was hard to differentiate Pino’s off-speed pitches, but he seemed to throw a changeup and a slider.

In the first inning, Pino relied mostly on fastballs, hitting 90 several times. Most of his off-speed offerings were out of the strike zone. With two outs and two men on, he challenged veteran Daryle Ward with several consecutive high fastballs before finally inducing a groundball with one.

Pino walked the leadoff batter in the second, and the runner came around to score on a groundout. He was missing with his fastball and throwing fewer breaking balls. Pino did, however, make a very nice play on a dribbler to the third base side of the mound. He wasn’t fast in getting to it, but made a barehanded pickup and a strong, accurate throw.

In the third inning, Pino began throwing his breaking ball earlier in the count. He gave up a hard hit on a slider, but otherwise escaped damage thanks to a double play.

Ward came up again in the fourth. Again Pino got him into a 0-2 count, and again he challenged with a fastball. This time, though, Ward was waiting for it, and slammed it into the right-center gap. Steve Tolleson made a superb running catch; the ball would have left the park in any other part of the outfield. Throughout the inning, Pino was pumping fastballs. He retired the side in order in both the fourth and fifth innings.

Through five innings, Pino had allowed one run on four hits. In the sixth, though, he ran into trouble, giving up four straight singles, and was pulled for Juan Morillo. His overall line was 5.2 innings, eight hits, two earned runs, a walk and four strikeouts. He threw 91 pitches, 59 of them for strikes (65%).

I personally was not very impressed with Pino. His breaking pitches were ineffective, and his fastball didn’t have enough movement to compensate. He was helped by a few nice defensive plays, especially Tolleson’s, and the double play. On the other hand, through five innings he was extremely strong. That made for a tremendous pitching duel between him and Nationals prospect Ross Detwiler.

Detwiler is a tall drink of water at 6’5”, 185 pounds. He’s spent time in Washington this year, but got knocked around in his last start before Friday. On this night, however, in front of over 12,000 fans, he was on his game. His fastball hit 93 MPH and his changeup was baffling. Compared to Pino, he looked majestic on the mound, throwing straight over the top like a windmill. Both pitchers worked at a quick pace.

Detwiler also threw a loopy curveball about 15 times. In general, it wasn’t very effective, and he missed the strike zone with it often, but he did get twos strikeouts with it, against Tolleson and Jose Morales. Mostly, though, he stuck with inside fastballs, and he hit his spots extremely well.

After the starters exited, Syracuse tacked on two more runs and withstood a series of Rochester rallies, winning 4-3. Matt Tolbert had three hits; the Wings left 10 men on base. Pino dropped to 1-2 in Triple-A.

• As if you haven’t heard, the Twins made a ton of moves on Wednesday. The most exciting to me is obviously the Jeff Manship promotion. Manship will be taking over for Glen Perkins in the bullpen and will likely remain in the long-relief role for the immediate future. He’s one of the better pitching prospects in the organization and can hopefully be a reliable arm that can give the Twins multiple innings per appearance. With the way our bullpen has been this season, we really need it.

• This move was just the beginning of an entire chain of moves throughout the Minor Leagues. Most notably, Anthony Slama finally got the promotion Twins fans have been calling for all season. He’s taking Manship’s spot on the Red Wings pitching staff. Slama lead the Eastern league in both appearances and saves prior to the promotion. But at 25-years-old, the reluctance to promote him both this season and last season has made Twins fans go crazy and I personally don’t blame them for voicing their displeasure on this one. I usually don’t question many of the organizations philosophies, and I understand that they want a player to go through the ups and downs at each stop, but it’s almost as though they’ve completely neglecting the fact that he went to college. They moved him quickly at first and slammed on the breaks when he got in Ft. Myers where he posted nearly identical numbers that he posted in Beloit where he only spent about a 1/3 of the time.

• Taking Slama’s spot on the Rock Cats roster is Loek Van Mil. Yes, the 7′1” Van Mil. He needs to be added to the 40-man roster this off-season to protect him from the Rule V Draft and the Twins probably wanted to see him get a few innings in Double-A to justify their decision. Van Mil definitely deserved this promotion. He’s posted solid numbers throughout his Minor League career but struggles with his control quite a bit. He’s still considered a ‘work in progress’ but he’s definitely got potential. Hopefully he continues to put up good numbers while cutting back on the walks.

• With an open roster spot on the Miracle roster, Bobby Lanigan got the promotion to Ft. Myers. Lanigan has been very inconsistent this season but has good control and gets a lot of ground ball outs. I think this is a good promotion, but a case could certainly have been made for Brad Tippett who has been the best pitcher for the Snappers all season, which isn’t saying much but at the same time it still is.

• And the Twins weren’t done. Brad Stillings took Lanigan’s roster spot in Beloit and both Kelvin Mota and Jhon Garcia were promoted from the Gulf Coast League to the Appalachian League.

• Aaron Gleeman posted a video of Nick Nelson rapping to ‘Swee Home Alabama’ like Eminem did in ‘8 Mile’. One word, priceless. And for those wondering, yes, bloggers are that cool.

• Seth Stohs posted his updated Top 50 Twins Prospects list. It’s awesome looking at prospect lists and Seth’s has a lot of interesting names. Most notably, a guy most Twins fans still haven’t heard of is Adrian Salcedo who cracked his top 10.

• Brian Pietrzak wrote a great book review for Munson: The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain by Marty Appel. The book sounds great and it’s now on my list of books that I’ll be looking to read this fall. But tops on that list is still Joe Posnanski’s The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-stoppping World Series: The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds.

• And make sure to head over to A Voice From Twins Territory to read a great interview with Kyle Gibson.

• And for more on Gibson, make sure to read the Star-Tribune’s article by Joe Christensen. Stohs also updates us on a few other unsigned players. He also informs us that former first round pick Jay Rainville has decided to retire from professional baseball. Sad news.

• Finally, here’s my Quote of the Day:

“Was that catching or missing? He’s the third catcher. He says he can do it, and I believe him because he’d be faster running back and picking it up at the backstop than anybody else.”

- – Twins manager Ron Gardenhire on Carlos Gomez catching for Jesse Crain and Jose Mijares in the bullpen.

Kelly was drafted by the Seattle Pilots in 1968. He first joined the Twins organization on April 28, 1971, signing as a free agent after being released from the Brewers. His only big-league experience came in 1975, when he spent 49 games in Minnesota. In 127 at-bats, he recorded only 23 hits; this may have helped convince him that his baseball future was not on the field.

After a brief minor league stint with the Orioles, Kelly became manager of the Triple-A Tacoma Twins in 1977. After two seasons in Visalia and two in Orlando, he joined Minnesota in 1983 as a coach, and served in that duty until being named manager late in 1986.

In 1987, Kelly’s first full season, the Twins won the World Series despite winning only 85 games in the regular season. Their high-water mark came in 1991, when they won 95 games and won the title again. Kelly also presided over a number of rotten teams; the Twins posted losing records every year from 1993-2000. His 1140 career wins are 43rd in major league history.

Not a few of those wins came courtesy of Kirby Puckett, who had two tremendous games this week in history. One came on August 10, 1994, when he knocked in seven runs with a pair of homers in a 17-7 victory over Boston. It tied a personal best in RBIs. Unfortunately, the real story that day was the strike; that was the last game the Twins played in 1994; at the time, they were 53-60, 14 games out of first place.

First, on August 15, 1993, Puckett had five hits, including two home runs, in a 12-5 victory over Oakland. It was one of six five-hit games in his career, and 13 multi-homer games.

That outburst happened on the same day that the Twins traded infielder Mike Pagliarulo to the Orioles for Erik Schullstrom, a tall right-hander. Schullstrom pitched a total of 60 innings (37 games) in his career, all for the Twins, but never won or lost a game. Incredibly, no other player in major league history has thrown as many innings without getting a decision.

Though a career record of 0-0 is somewhat unsatisfying, it is more than Terry Felton can say for himself. On August 11, 1982, Felton allowed three runs to the Angels in a single inning of relief and was saddled with the loss. That put his career mark at 0-14, the worst ever start by a major league pitcher. Felton lost another pair of games that year before retiring into ignominy.

Besides TK, a number of Twins alumni have birthdays this week. Mudcat Grant, who won 21 games for the pennant-winners in 1965, turns 74 on August 13. He’s the only big leaguer to come from Lacoochie, Florida. Bill ‘Soup’ Campbell (61 on August 9) pitched for the Twins from 1973-76, and led the league in appearances in 1976 with 78. He shares that birthday with Pat Mahomes, who turns 39.

Lew Ford, an original piranha, turns 33 on August 12. John Moses (52 on August 9) had the misfortune of playing for the Twins in between their championship seasons, from 1988-1990.

Two minor league backstops have birthdays this week—Drew Butera (26 on August 9), who has thrown out 44% of base-stealers in Rochester, and Wilson Ramos (22 on August 10), who is hitting .308 in New Britain. Michael Tarsi, a 6’8” pitcher for Beloit, will be 23 on August 11.

Until next week, Twins fans.

Another Twin, Greg Colbrunn, carried on with the theme on August 4, 1997. In the fifth inning of a game with the Blue Jays, Colbrunn pinch-hit for Scott Stahoviak and, with the bases loaded, took Omar Daal out of the yard to propel Minnesota to a win.

Brad Radke was the winning pitcher that day, and the victory was his 12th in as many starts. That was by far the most consecutive wins a Twins pitcher had ever had. The mark still stands today, though Johan Santana tied it in 2004. In those 12 starts, Radke threw 91.1 innings and allowed 70 hits and 19 earned runs.

Radke made another entry into the Twins’ record books in 2006, when he notched his 10th victory of the year on August 3 over the Royals. It was Radke’s 10th season with 10 wins or more; the only other Twin to accomplish that is Jim Kaat.

On August 5, 1967, Twins pitcher Dean Chance had his sights set on a perfect game against Boston at Metropolitan Stadium. Through five innings, he hadn’t allowed a baserunner. The weather, however, proved a more potent adversary than the Red Sox; the game was called in the fifth inning.

Chance did throw a no-hitter later in the season, against the Indians on August 25th. It was one of his league-leading 18 complete games that season, and one of only five Twins no-hitters. Most recently, Eric Milton no-hit the Angels on September 11, 1999. Milton, now a member of the Dodgers, turns 34 on August 4.

Sadly, things are not always so cheerful in Twins Territory. On August 5, 1969, Twins skipper Billy Martin famously punched pitcher Dave Boswell in the streets of Detroit. Boswell needed 20 stitches to close the wound.

Another Minnesota pitcher, Joe Niekro, got himself into a scrape on August 3, 1987. In a game against the Angels, the umpires became suspicious knuckleballer Niekro and came out to inspect his equipment. When he pulled out his pockets, a nail file came out with them. Niekro claimed he needed to file his nails to hold the knuckleball. The umpires did not agree.

Interestingly, in his Tales from the Minnesota Twins Dugout, Kent Hrbek says that Niekro was indeed using the file on his nails. For the ball, he used a piece of sandpaper glued to his palm.

On August 8, 1998, Paul Molitor was a 41-year-old designated hitter, several years removed from his glory days in Milwaukee and Toronto (although he did rap out 225 hits in 1996, leading the AL). Playing against Baltimore, Molitor went 5-5 and also stole a base. The steal was the 500th of his career, and made the St. Paul native and University of Minnesota product only the sixth player in history to record both 500 steals and 3,000 hits. He stole 9 bases that season; in each of his first 19 full seasons, he’d stolen 10 or more.

Three Twins teammates from the 1960s have birthdays this week. Frank Kostro (72 on August 4) was a backup infielder who appeared in 176 games for the Twins over five seasons. Dwight Siebler (72 on August 5) appeared in 23 games for the Twins in 1966, and kicked around for five seasons. He’s the only big leaguer to ever come out of Columbus, Nebraska, and he shares a birthday with Bill Pleis (also 72), who pitched in 190 games for the Twins between 1961-66.

Another relief pitcher, Tom Burgmeier, turns 66 on August 2. A St. Paul native, Burgmeier led the Twins in appearances from 1974-77. Ron Davis, a pitcher in the mid-1980s, is 54 on August 6; Bombo Rivera is 57 on August 2; Craig Breslow is 29 on August 8.

Among current and future Twins, birthdays are being celebrated this week by Matt Guerrier (31 on August 2), David Winfree (24 on August 5), and Miguel Munoz (21 on August 4).

Until next week, Twins fans.

Earlier this week we learned that the A’s had asked for top prospect Danny Valencia in return for Cabrera which the Twins rightfully scoffed at. Valencia, as it turns out, has been a popular name thrown out by other teams this week with the Pittsburgh Pirates also asking for the talented third baseman in a trade for All-Star second baseman Freddy Sanchez. Sanchez is a far better player than Cabrera, so if the Twins refused to include Valencia in a trade for Sanchez, I doubt they’d finally feel compelled to include him in a deal for Cabrera. At least, that’s my hope.

The more likely scenario is that the A’s have lowered their asking price for Cabrera. On Thursday morning, Daniel Barbarisi of the Providence Journal reported that the Boston Red Sox turned down an offer for Cabrera which would have sent a 27-year-old minor league reliever in Fernando Cabrera and 26-year-old first baseman/outfielder Chris Carter to Oakland in exchange for (Orlando) Cabrera. While both (Fernando) Cabrera and Carter aren’t terrible players, they do have less value than Valencia.

If it’s the right deal, Cabrera might be a solid pickup. While I do see him as a slight upgrade (again, I want to put emphasis on the word slight), I don’t see him playing a huge difference on the overall outcome of the season.

With potential suitors looking unlikely to deal top talent for Cabrera, the A’s now sound as though they’re at the point that they’ll ‘take anything they can get’ for Cabrera. While that’s probably a little misleading, as the Twins will probably still have to surrender a quality prospect to get Cabrera in return, but it certainly sounds as though their ‘top prospects’ are off-limits, which they should be.

One intersting thing to note is that the Twins have also been linked to Oakland reliever Michael Wuertz and Adam Kennedy. Wuertz is believed to be staying in Oakland while Kennedy is a free agent after the season and has recently been linked to the Twins.

The A’s want to keep Kennedy, but I’m sure if the right deal came along, they would trade him too. Unfortunately, the A’s ask for top talent in return for their players so my hopes of the Twins nabbing both Kennedy and Cabrera is more or less a pipedream.

I’ll try to update anything that happens throughout the day. The deadline for non-waiver trades is 3:00 PM CT this afternoon. Stay tuned.

One of the most fortuitous trades in Minnesota history came on July 31, 1989. On that day, the Twins were 51-53, 12 games out of first place. The New York Mets, meanwhile, were seven games back in the National League East after dropping seven in a row. Minutes before the midnight trading deadline, the two teams agreed on a deal that sent reigning Cy Young Award winner Frank Viola to the Big Apple in return for a slew of pitching prospects, headlined by David West and Rick Aguilera.

Viola was the first pitcher ever traded following a Cy Young Award season. In 24 starts with the Twins in 1989, he was 8-12 with a 3.79 ERA. After the trade, he went 5-5 in New York, but couldn’t help the Mets to the division title; they came in second place to the Cubs.

On the Minnesota end, the deal also included minor leaguers Kevin Tapani, Tim Drummond and player-to-be-named-later Jack Savage. All four, besides Savage, debuted with the Twins in 1987, with Aguilera assuming the most prominent role.

General manager Andy MacPhail admitted right after the trade was made that “we have the lion’s share of the risk here.” The gamble paid off, though, in the years to come, as Tapani emerged as one of the elite pitchers in the American League, and Aguilera as a top relief pitcher. Combined, the five pitchers threw 2284 innings for the Twins. Tapani is ninth all-time in victories (75) and innings pitched (1171.1) for the Twins, and Aguilera is the franchise leader in saves, with 254.

In 1995, after six years to the day in Minnesota, Tapani was dealt again, to the Dodgers with Mark Guthrie. The main return was 28-year-old Ron Coomer, in his fourth season at Triple-A. Given an opportunity to play in Minnesota, Coomer, hit .278 over the next six seasons and was named to the All-Star team in 1999.

Other Twins deadline deals over the years: minor leaguer Jeff Perry for aging Hall of Famer Steve Carlton in 1987; Matt Lawton for Rick Reed in 1998; Doug Mientkewicz to the Red Sox as part of a four-team trade, in return for Justin Jones; Kyle Lohse to the Reds in 2006 for Zach Ward; first-round pick Jay Bell to Cleveland for Bert Blyleven.

On August 1, 1986¬—a year to the day after joining the Twins—Blyleven was part of a historic day at the Metrodome. In a complete game two-hitter, Bert tied a Twins record with 15 strikeouts against the Athletics. The only real on his record was an eighth-inning Alfredo Griffin home run. What is more, with his 15 strikeouts, Blyleven became only the 10th pitcher in baseball history to reach 3,000 strikeouts in his career.

The Twins supported the Dutchman that day with a 10 run outburst, keyed by Kirby Puckett. The centerfielder tripled in the first inning, doubled in the fifth, singled in the sixth, and homered in the eighth. It was the seventh cycle in Twins history; another came on July 27, 1978, off the bat of Mike Cubbage.

While Puckett and Cubbage battered opposing pitchers, Corey Koskie got battered himself. On July 27, 2004, Koskie was hit by a pitch three times in a game against the White Sox. That set a new record for Minnesota and tied the major league mark. After the game, though, Koskie shrugged it off: “I’ve played hockey. I’ve taken quite a whack.”

On August 1st, 1983, Twins pitcher Rick Lysander played with fire and came away unscathed. He gave up 11 hits to the Angels, and also walked three men, but still managed to shut them out. Only once has a Twins pitcher allowed more hits in a shutout: on July 17, 1964, Mudcat Grant gave up 13 hits to the Senators.

It’s a slow week for Twins birthdays. New Britain reliever Alex Burnett turns 22 on July 26; he currently sports a 2.08 ERA at the Double-A level. Pete Mackanin, a utility infielder during the 1980–81 seasons, turns 58 on August 1. Shane Rawley (54 on July 27) started 25 games for the Twins in 1989.

Bill Tuttle spent parts of three years in Minnesota at the tail end of his career, in 1961–63. He didn’t make much of an impact during that time, but after his career was over, he became a crusader against chewing tobacco in baseball. Tuttle, who chewed for forty years, was missing parts of his jaw and cheek after several surgeries for oral cancer. He died July 27, 1998. His obituary from the New York Times is available here.

Until next week, Twins fans.

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• Blaine, MN: Named after James G. Blaine, a senator and three-time presidential candidate in Maine, submitted by Moses Ripley in 1877 when the township separated from Anoka. 
• Nowthen, MN:  In 1876 the Burns Township needed an official post office name and the post master, Jim Hare, wrote to Washington requesting a name.  Because of Burnstown Township in Southern Minnesota the PO General asked Hare to come up with alternatives.  He dictated a letter with many candidates and finished it with “Nowthen”.  Unbeknownst to the powers that be in Washington, Hare often started and finished his sentences with “Nowthen” and had no intention of naming the community as such (kind of like saying “Knowhatimsayin”).  The name was chosen and stuck.
• Sleepy Eye, MN: Named after Chief Sleepy Eye who recommended the area of the Minnesota River now Mankato as a sustainable place for settlers away from floods. Sleepy Eye and his people settle just west of current-day New Ulm on a lake, later named “Sleepy Eye”. 

Baker improved to 8-7 with this win. In eight innings, he gave up just one run on six hits. He walked two and struck out eight. The only run came on a solo home run to Nelson Cruz (his 23rd home run of the season). Joe Nathan came in and, despite an entertaining 9th inning that saw manager Ron Gardenhire ejected, he recorded his 25th save.

Cuddyer got the scoring started for the Twins in the 2nd inning. He doubled in Justin Morneau. Two batters later, Carlos Gomez blooped a single into RF to score Cuddyer. After Cruz’s home run, Cuddyer hit his 15th home run of the season to give the Twins a 3-1 lead. In the 7th frame, Justin Morneau singled in Alexi Casilla to give the Twins the 4-1 lead that they would hold.

Morneau, Cuddyer and Gomez each had two hits in the game. The Twins improve to 47-44 with the win, while the Texas Rangers fall to 48-41. On Sunday night, Francisco Liriano will take the mound against Derek Holland.

Later that game. Twins trailing 1-0 in the eighth. Reliever John Candelaria is in, and he’s allowed two men on with none out. The batter, Jody Reed, shoots another ball to Gaetti, and again, three Red Sox trot back to the dugout shaking their heads. Two triple plays in one game? Odd, but it happened.

What happened next is odder. The Twins and Sox played again the next day, July 18. There were no triple plays in that game. There were, though, a record-setting 10 double plays. The Twins turned six, the Red Sox four. Boston won both games.

Apologies for the rushed beginning—all those serial killings will take your breath away. This week in Twins history is memorable mainly for two reasons. First, on July 12, 1996, Kirby Puckett announced his retirement due to glaucoma. He hadn’t appeared in a game since September 28 of the previous season, when he was hit in the face with a pitch. In that final season, he hit .314 with 23 home runs and was named to his tenth consecutive All Star team.

At the end of the week, Puckett’s successor, Torii Hunter, celebrates his 34th birthday on July 19. You might find think it is odd that such a talented player was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, but you’d be wrong. In fact, five Hall of Fame players were born in the Natural State: Brooks Robinson, Lou Brock, George Kell, Arky Vaughan, and Travis Jackson, not to mention the Indians’ Cliff Lee and former Twin Terry Tiffee.

Hunter celebrated his big day a few hours early in 2002 in a game against Cleveland. After Danys Baez hit him with a pitch in the fifth inning, Hunter did the only reasonable thing—he picked the ball up and threw it back at Baez, hitting him in the leg. After the game, he’d returned to his senses, saying, “I just lost it, man.”

One Twin known for a cool head was Jim Kaat, who made only 56 errors in 25 big league seasons. On July 17, 1969, though, he showed that anyone can have a bad day at the offense, committing three errors against the White Sox. Fortunately, the Twins still got the victory—their 10th in a row—and Kaat still got the Gold Glove, his 8th out of 17. The day before, Rod Carew stole home for the seventh time that season in the first game of a doubleheader.

Nine years ago on July 15, the Twins packaged burly Butch Huskey and sweet-hitting second baseman Todd Walker to the Colorado Rockies for prospect Todd Sears. The latter appeared in only 31 games with the Twins, while Walker went on to post a .349 on-base percentage over the next eight seasons. In his absence, the Twins turned to Luis Rivas, whose OBP from 2000-2005 was .307.

Other Twins birthdays this week: catcher Tom Tischinski (65 on July 12), who played in 82 games from 1969-71; infielder Jerry Terrell (66 on July 13), a Waseca, Minnesota native and a Twin from 1973-1977; Glenn Williams (32 on July 18), an Australian who played in 13 games with Minnesota in 2005 as part of a long baseball career. Adam Johnson, the legendary first round bust, turns 30 on July 12. He pitched in nine games with the Twins over two seasons. Laugh if you will, but he undoubtedly has fond memories of striking out Mark McGwire, Juan Gonzalez, and Jim Thome (twice).

Three former Twins passed away on a day this week. Georges Maranda died on July 14, 2000 in his native Levis, Quebec. His main claim to fame is being the only major leaguer named ‘Georges.’ Ted Sadowski was a teammate of Maranda’s in the franchise’s first years, and was one of three Sadowski brothers to make it to the big leagues. He died July 18, 1993.

Lastly, Cesar Tovar died fifteen years ago on July 14. Tovar is third all-time in Twins history with 186 stolen bases. He’s also 10th all-time among Venezuelan major leaguers with 1488 games played.

Until next week, Twins fans.