Category: General Blogging

This is a general blogging category.

Veterans committee finalist’s announced for Hall of Fame

December 1, 2008 – Ten former major league players whose careers started in 1943 or later have been named as finalists for election and entry into the MLB Hall of Fame in 2009. Three former Minnesota Twins players, Tony Oliva, Jim Kaat, and Luis Tiant are part of this select and talented group. In addition, Dick Allen, Gil Hodges, Al Oliver, Vada Pinson, Ron Santo, Joe Torre, and Maury Wills make up the rest of the group. Boy, I must be getting old because with the exception of Hodges, I grew up watching all these guys play. How many if any of these former stars will make it is hard to say. The veterans group has not selected anyone for admission in years and the voting rules have changed since the last vote was taken. This year, candidates must garner 75% of the vote from living Hall of Famers. Since there are currently 64 living Hall of Famers, 48 votes will be required for entry.

From this group I sure would like to see Tony O, Jim Kaat, and Maury Wills get in. Voting results are scheduled to be announced on December 8 during baseballs’ winter meetings in Las Vegas. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

December 9 update – Disappointment….is how I would describe my feelings when I heard that for the fourth consecutive time no post 1942 players were selected to the Hall. How can this be, are you telling me none of these guys deserve to be in the Hall of Fame? That is a bunch of Bull*&^%, a number of these players belong there, the problem is how to get them there. I have no problem with the 64 living Hall of Famers voting but it seems to me that they are all over the board, there is no leadership here, someone needs to stand up and take charge. To achieve the necessary 75% for election, a player must receive 48 votes. The results for the most recent voting were as follows: Ron Santo (39 votes, 60.9 percent), Jim Kaat (38, 59.4 percent), Tony Oliva (33, 51.6 percent), Gil Hodges (28, 43.8 percent), Joe Torre (19, 29.7 percent), Maury Wills (15, 23.4 percent), Luis Tiant (13, 20.3 percent), Vada Pinson (12, 18.8 percent), Al Oliver (nine, 14.1 percent), Dick Allen (seven, 10.9 percent). All 64 living HOF players cast ballots, the Hall of Fame stated that voters could choose up to four candidates, and an average of 3.33 votes per ballot was cast.

Something needs to change, it is not right that players that deserve to be in the HOF are left outside looking in and then years after they pass away, someone decides they do belong in the HOF, that is just not right. This year 256 votes could have been cast and only 213 were cast, that is 43 votes that went unused. Let’s change the rules for this finalist group; I have no problem with at least one player, the highest vote getter getting the call to the hall. If you don’t want to do that, then let’s make sure that each player cast 4 votes on each ballot. You will not cheapen the entry into the MLB Hall of Fame by doing this, you will only make it better for the players and the fans who want to see the stars they cheered for many years get the credit they deserve. All I can say now is “shame on you the living 64 Hall of Famers who have your noses so high in the air that you can’t see the ballot itself”, you guys really disappointed me.

The Twins First Manager

November 18, 2008 – Harry Arthur “Cookie” Lavagetto was born December 1, 1912 in Oakland, California. The tall, dark, and handsome Lavagetto was signed by the Oakland Oaks after a high school all-star game. He acquired his nick name from his Oakland teammates, who called him “Cookie’s boy,” because he had been hired by Oaks’ president Victor “Cookie” Devincenzi. Cookie played pro ball for 10 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1934-1936) and the Brooklyn Dodgers (1937-1941) and again from 1946-1947. Cookie missed four full seasons while he served in the military during WW II from 1942 to 1945. After being released by the Dodgers after the 1947 season, Cookie returned to play with the Oaks from 1948-1950.

Cookie played in 1,043 major league games, primarily at 3B although he also played 2B and made a couple of appearances at SS and 1B. Cookie threw and batted right handed and during his major league career he batted .269 with 40 home runs, 486 RBI’s while stealing 63 bases. Cookie was named to the National league All-Star team between 1938 and 1941 although he did not play in the 1938 and 1939 games. Cookie played in the 1941 World Series for the Brooklyn Dodgers against the New York Yankees in a losing cause and again in 1947 when the Dodgers again played the New York Yankees. But it was game 4 at Ebbets Field of the 1947 World Series that brought Cookie Lavagetto to the pinnacle of the baseball world. On October 3 the Yankees and pitcher Bill Bevens were ahead 2-1 going into the bottom of the ninth inning with two out. Bevans had surrendered no hits, an unprecedented World Series feat at the time but two runners were on base from Bevens’ ninth and tenth walks of the game. Lavagetto was summoned by Dodger manager Burt Shotton to hit for Eddie Stanky and he cracked an opposite-field double to break up the no-hitter and score the two Dodger runners for a 3-2 Brooklyn win. It was Lavagetto’s only hit of the series (won by the Yankees in seven games) and his last as a big leaguer. An excellent write-up of this famous event can be found at http://www.users.qwest.net/~yarnspnr/baseball/bevans/bevans.htm .

After being released by the Dodgers, Cookie went back and played for the Oaks from 1948 to 1950. When Oakland manager Chuck Dressen was named to manage the Dodgers in 1951, Cookie was named as one of Dressen’s coaches and Lavagetto stayed with Dressen in Brooklyn (1951-53) and the PCL Oaks (1954) and followed him to the Washington Senators when Dressen became their skipper in 1955. On May 7, 1957, with the Senators floundering in last place, Dressen was fired and Lavagetto was named his successor. The team improved slightly, but finished last in 1957, 1958, and again 1959. In 1960 the Senators rose to fifth place in the eight team American League but it was too late as Senators owner Calvin Griffith had decided that he had had enough of Washington and received permission from the American League to move the team to greener pastures in Minnesota where they became the Minnesota Twins. Cookie Lavagetto was the first manager in Twins’ history, but he did not even get a chance to finish the 1961 season. With the Twins mired in ninth place in the new ten team American league, Calvin Griffith told Cookie to take a short fishing vacation to clear his head. Lavagetto took a seven-game leave of absence in early June, then returned to the helm. But he was fired June 23 with the club still in ninth place and replaced by coach Sam Mele. Cookie Lavagetto wore number 51 during his short tenure as the Twins manager. Cookie’s career as the Twins manager ended after only 66 games and a 25-41 record. Lavagetto’s major league managing record was 271 wins and 384 defeats (.414). Lavagetto rejoined the coaching ranks the next season with the New York Mets where he stayed from 1962-1963. He then joined the San Francisco Giants as a coach from 1964 through 1967 before retiring. Harry Arthur “Cookie” Lavagetto died in his sleep at his home in Orinda, California on August 10, 1990 at the age of 77.

Do you remember September 22, 1968?

September 7, 2008 – How is your memory? Do you remember what happened 40 years ago this coming September 22nd? If you don’t, you should be checking my “Today in Twins History” page. On that day Cesar “Pepe” Tovar played one inning at each position for the Minnesota Twins at the Met Stadium against the Oakland A’s becoming only the second major leaguer in history to accomplish the rare feat. Bert Campaneris of the Oakland A’s was the first. Tovar became the one and only Twins position player to be a starting pitcher in Twins history as he tossed a scoreless first inning and struck out future Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson along the way. Cesar went on to play C, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, LF, CF, and RF in that game. Tovar did not forget his offense either as he was 1 for 3 with a run scored and he sole a base for good measure. You can find the box score for this game on my “Twins Box Scores” page.

Tovar is regarded as the all-time AL leader in breaking up no-hit attempts with five. In April 17, 1967, Tovar’s single was the only hit against the Senator’s Barry Moore. On August 10, 1969, Mike Cuellar of the Baltimore Orioles was working on a streak of 35 consecutive batter retired before giving up a ninth inning single to Tovar and losing his no-hitter. Earlier in the same season (May 15), Tovar broke up the no-hit bid of another Baltimore pitcher, Dave McNally. Tovar was also responsible for spoiling two other no-hitters during his career: against the Washington Senators Dick Bosman on August 14, 1970 and against the Yankees Jim “Catfish” Hunter On May 31, 1975.

On May 18, 1969 Tovar and Rod Carew set a major league record for most steals by a club in one inning with 5 in the second inning against the Tigers pitcher Mickey Lolich and catcher Bill Freehan. Carew stole 2nd, 3rd, and home while Tovar stole 3rd and home in front of Carew. The two base steals of home in the same inning also tied an existing record.

Cesar Tovar also became the first Twins player to hit for the cycle at Met Stadium when he accomplished that unusual feat on September 19, 1972 against the Texas Rangers in a Twins 5-3 victory.

Tovar was traded after the 1972 season to the Philadelphia Phillies for Ken Sanders, Ken Reynolds, and Joe Lis. Later in his career Tovar played for the Texas Rangers, Oakland A’s, and finally the New York Yankees before retiring after the 1976 season. Cesar Tovar passed away of pancreatic cancer at the age of 54 in Caracas, Venezuela in 1994.

Twins Send Out Post Season Invoices

August 27, 2008 – Being a Twins partial season ticket holder, I received my 2008 post season ticket invoice in the mail this past Saturday. In our case we have the “Gold Glove” season ticket holder package which gives us ¼ of the games in our seats and someone else owns the other ¼ and yet another buyer owns ½ of the games. We like our seats which are in the first row right next to the visitor’s bullpen and our row only has two seats, which means we never have to get up to let someone in or out and you can’t beat that. What is frustrating is that with our seats split between three parties as they are, we have no assurance of getting our normal seats for the playoffs because the first choice obviously goes to the party that has the tickets for the ½ season ticket plan. If they choose not to order the tickets then it comes down to the other ¼ season ticket holder or us, depending on who gets their payment in first. It is always a nice to attend playoff baseball games but the prices today are getting up there and with the economy the way it is, it really makes one think before they write that check for the big bucks that it takes, in our case $2,500+. First thing on Monday I went down to the Ridgedale Twins Pro Shop and ordered my tickets but it is anyone’s guess at this point where our seats will be. I am not sure there is a better way to do this but never the less it is frustrating not to sit in your normal season ticket seats.

It seems like the post season ticket invoices go out earlier and earlier each year. I can’t help but wonder, who benefits from all that post season ticket money sitting in those coffers, is it MLB or is it the individual teams? That is a lot of money that can be invested for a month or more before monies start to get returned when teams get eliminated from possible post season play and or when playoff teams get eliminated. What about the $35 non refundable processing and handling fee? That seems kind of steep to me particularly since they have had my money for an extended period of time earning interest.

But we are talking playoff baseball here, what Twins fan wants to pass on seeing his team play in a Division or League Championship game at the Dome? What if they get to the World Series and you didn’t get tickets, how would you feel then? But that day will surely come for some of us in the near future as the 2008 prices for a single ticket for a World Series game go for $200 in the lower reserved sections.

Are the Twins going to get in the playoffs? My heart says yes and my mind says no. So why did I order post season tickets? Because this team is just damn fun to watch and I LOVE baseball.

Interesting piece with Terry Ryan

 

Terry Ryan (courtesy of SI.com)

 

August 1, 2008 – There is a very interesting piece and well worth your read at http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/07/31/aschburner.ryan/index.html by Steve Aschburner as he talked with former Twins GM Terry Ryan about the trials and tribulations of a baseball GM at trade deadline time. It also makes note of a new Twins book that Aschburner has coming out soon called The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: Minnesota Twins.

Twins Uniform Numbers

July 12, 2008 – Did you know that there are only two Minnesota Twin uniform numbers between 0 and 60 that have been worn by only one player each? Junior Ortiz, the sometimes “strange but like-able” catcher from Puerto Rico wore the number 0 in 1990 and 1991. During one of those seasons after a prolonged slump, Ortiz asked that his first name be changed to Joe but after a time he found that did not help so he went back to Junior. Ortiz also served as the designated catcher for Scott Erickson in the Twins 1991 World Series championship season. The only other number lower than 60 that has graced the uniform back of only one player is the famous number 3 worn by Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew.

How about number 13 you ask? The first Twin to wear the number 13 was outfielder Bill Tuttle from 1961 through 1962. Jerry White, the current Twins 1B coach has worn the number 13 since 1999 and has worn the number longer than any other Twin. Other Twins players to wear the number 13 were:

Rich Reese – 1964-1965

John Roseboro – 1968-1969

Dick Woodson – 1972-1974

Tom Lundstedt – 1975

Mike Pagliarulo – 1991-1993

Todd Walker – 1996

Lucky or unlucky, we will let you be the judge of that.

The number worn by more Twins players than any other? The number 21, currently worn by outfielder Delmon Young.

Twins bid adieu to interleague play for another year

July 5, 2008 – Sadly, the Twins ended their interleague play for another year with a 5-0 shutout of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Twins end 2008 interleague play with a major league best 14-4 record. The Twins now have a 120-90 record in interleague play which comes out to a winning percentage of .571 and that is not too shabby. Interleague play started in 1997 and during the first five years each division played the same division from the other league. As of 2002 the format was changed so that teams played interleague games against various divisions. The Twins record in interleague play by year is:

YEAR RECORD
1997 7-8
1998 7-9
1999 10-7 
 2000  7-11
 2001  9-9
 2002  10-8
 2003  10-8
 2004  11-7
 2005  8-10
 2006  16-2
 2007  11-7
 2008  14-4
 TOTAL  120-90

 

The Twins have played the Milwaukee Brewers the most frequently since they are designated as natural rivals and the Twins hold a winning 29-23 record against the Brew Crew. The Twins have never lost to the Montreal Expos in interleague play and never will. Twins interleague play records against the National League teams are:

Milwaukee Brewers 29-23
Pittsburgh Pirates 11-7
Houston Astros 10-7
Cincinnati Reds 8-7
Arizona D-Backs 8-4
Chicago Cubs 8-10
San Diego Padres 6-3
New York Mets 6-3
St. Louis Cardinals 6-9
Florida Marlins 4-2
Atlanta Braves 4-2
Washington Nats 4-2
Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2
Montreal Expos 3-0
San Francisco Giants 3-3
Philadelphia Phillies 3-3
Colorado Rockies 3-3

Maybe the Twins should move to the National league!

So what Twins should go to All-Star game?

July 3, 2008 – Catcher Joe Mauer should be the starting catcher if there is no last minute push by Jason Varitek voters. Varitek does not even deserve to be in contention but with the heavy Red Sox nation vote he is a perennial high vote collector. Justin Morneau deserves to start at 1B but again with the heavy Red Sox voting it is very likely that Kevin Youkilis will get the starting nod there but I see no way that Morneau will not make the team. I think that will be it for the Twins unless Joe Nathan gets selected. If you look at saves alone then Nathan is running fourth behind Frankie Rodriguez, George Sherrill, and Jonathan Papelbon. Rodriguez is first in saves so he is a shoe in, Sherrill might be the only Oriole selected and then you have to wait and see if Francona wants to go with his man Papelbon or the Twins Nathan. Joe Nathan is a premier closer and deserves to be on the team but the odds are 50-50 at best, it all depends on how AL manager Terry Francona structures his pitching staff and if he goes heavy with starters or closers.

Quit Using the Term Twinkees!

April 21, 2008– The other day I was watching a Yankee game on MLB Extra innings and one of the Yankee announcers said something that really sticks in my craw. I don’t remember who the announcer was but he was giving score updates on the other games in the American league and when he got to the Twins game he said “and the Twinkees are beating” the Royals by so and so. Damn! I hate that term the “Twinkees”, I take it as a derogatory term, maybe it is not the way it was intended but that is the way I take it. Where did that term “Twinkees” come from anyway? I hear the term used frequently when someone is ripping the Twins for one thing or another. I may be all wrong but it seems to me the term “Twinkees” was coined back in 1982 when the Twins were off loading a number of high priced players like Erickson, Smalley, and Wynegar and traded them to the Yankees and in return the Twins got players like Paul Boris, Ron Davis, Greg Gagne, Pete Filson, Larry Milbourne, and John Pacella. The Twins had so many ex-Yankees on the roster that some people started calling the Twins the “Twinkees”. Then is then and now is now, let’s quit calling our Minnesota Twins the “Twinkees!

Who is the best team in the AL Central division?

March 31, 2008 – The Central Division will be tough again this year and with the division having no particularly weak sisters, but it is very possible that only one playoff team will emerge from the Central division in 2008. My reasoning is that the teams will face each other 18 times and that will takes its toll on the overall records and they beat up on each other. So how do I see the teams finishing this year? First let’s take a look at each team.

Chicago White Sox – Nick Swisher and Orlando Cabrera are some nice additions to an aging club. The starting pitching is questionable but if Danks and Floyd come through the starters could be tough. Jenks as a closer is top notch but Dotel whom the team acquired to set up has been terrible this spring. The Sox seem to have no plan and appear to be veering away from the solid defense that they wanted to get to a couple of years ago. I don’t see this team progressing as long as Ozzie Guillen manages this team.

Kansas City Royals – Everyone says this is a much better team than it has been in the past but then again that is not saying much. Having said that, I actually like this team, they are not ready to win a title but they are building a nice team around Gordon, Butler, DeJesus, Guillen, Teahen, Greinke and several others. They still need to improve at catcher, 2B, and in their pitching both in the starter role and in the pen. Meche is their only proven starter but Greinke can be very good if he gets his head back on straight and Bannister showed flashes of being a very nice starter. I don’t see what signing Tomko does for the team other than add someone that can throw some innings. Soria the closer looked good last year but the rest of the bullpen with the exception of Gobble could stand an upgrade. It will be interesting to see what Trey Hillman can do with this bunch, he never played in the major leagues but he has been a very good manager in Japan for a number of years.

Detroit Tigers – Maybe the best hitting team in baseball this year and they have Jim Leyland to lead them. After they acquired Cabrera and Willis from Florida this winter, most everyone has conceded the division title to Detroit in 2008. They are solid in every position but the broken finger that Granderson suffered will hurt the team in April. I see Granderson as a leader and sparkplug on this team and they need him back as quickly as possible. The weak link on this Tiger team is the bullpen where they miss Zumaya terribly and there is not guarantee when and if he will be back. Their old closer and former Twin Todd Jones gets the job done but it is seldom pretty. There used to be an old Baltimore closer, I forget his name and Earl Weaver his manager used to call him two pack so and so because Weaver would go through two packs of smokes in the ninth inning waiting for this pitcher to get the side out and the save.

The Cleveland Indians are picked by some to defend their Central title this year. From a hitting perspective this team is almost as good as Detroit and that is with Travis Hafner having an off season. If he comes back strong, this is a team that will be in the hunt all year long. You throw in a pitching staff led by CC Sabathia and Fausto Carmona and the pitching is looking pretty good. The remaining starters are likely to be Jake Westbrook, Paul Bryd who is no spring chicken and throws slow and slower and Cliff Lee figures to come back after a disastrous season in 2007. Strangely enough, just like the Tigers, the Indians have a closer that never makes it looks easy but seems to get the job done in Joe Borowski.

Finally we get to Minnesota, at first blush it is easy to say that the Twins are in trouble, after all, they lost Johan Santana and Torii Hunter the two biggest stars on the team. But let’s not be so quick to give up on this team, they should be improved from a hitting perspective. I think Delmon Young will do as well as Hunter did although with fewer home runs. Mauer, Morneau, and Cuddyer should be expected to put up better numbers then they did last year. Harris is an improvement over what we had at 2B last year and the same can be said for 3B with Lamb. What appears to be a platoon at DH should be better with Kubel and Monroe but personally I would like to see Kubel earn that position outright. Gomez in center will be exciting to watch but you will need to be happy if he hits .265 and steals a bunch of bases. Everett is a glove guy but I think he will surprise a few people with his bat too. But can they pitch you say? That sir is the question; can the elderly Livan Hernandez still get guys out for 200 innings one more time? Can Liriano come back like he pitched in 2006? Can Boof can over the hump and throw 200 innings? Can Baker stand up to a full season on the mound? Is Slowey a young Radke? Time will tell but the Twins are counting very heavily on this bunch of starters. If the starters can be just half way decent, then the Twins bullpen and Nathan the closer will do their job and the Twins will be sitting pretty. Can they catch the ball? Not as well as they have in the past I’m afraid as they are weak at 2B and 3B. The outfielders all have great arms although Gomez may not always throw it where he wants to. All in all, I think the Twins will be an exciting team to watch.

So when we look at the final scoreboard standings in October, what will we see? I think it will look like this.

 

Tigers 98-64

Indians 96-66

Royals 84-78

Twins 80-82

White Sox 76-86