Trade Deadline Madness

July 31, 2004
After playing with the Twins in an 8-2 loss against the Red Sox on the previous day, Doug Mientkiewicz changed clubhouses and uniforms to suit up for his new team. He was traded to the Red Sox in a deal that, among other things, sent Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs. The Twins got a minor league pitcher in the deal, but more importantly cleared the starting first base job for Justin Morneau.

July 30, 2001
The Twins, pushing for their first postseason appearance in a decade, attempt to sure up their pitching staff be trading Matt Lawton to the Mets in exchange for Rick Reed. Reed struggled through the final few months of 2001 and the Twins missed the playoffs, but he was a key member of the rotation when the Twins finally did win the division in 2002. Reed’s name didn’t appear on the official Division Championship merchandise, however, because he was not a member of the player’s union due to his participation as a replacement player in the spring of 1995.

July 31, 1998
In full salary dump mode, the Twins send Greg Swindell and Orlando Merced to the Red Sox in exchange for Matt Kinney, Joe Thomas, and John Barnes. Kinney was the most successful of the trio that the Twins received in the deal, starting 20 games for the Twins spread in between the 2000 and 2002 seasons before being traded to the Brewers at the end of the 2002 season. Barnes played in 20 games as in outfielder from 2000-2001, and Joe Thomas has yet to see any major league action.

July 31, 1995
Once again in salary dump mode, the Twins send two members of the 1991 championship pitching staff to the Dodgers. Both Kevin Tapani and Mark Guthrie had spent the vast majority of their careers in a Twins uniform, but would be putting on Dodger blue for the time being. The most notable acquisition for the Twins was Ron Coomer, who went on to represent the Twins in an All Star game. The Twins also got Craig Hansell, Jose Parra, and Chris Latham in the deal.

July 31, 1989
The 1988 Cy Young award winner and one of the keys to the 1987 World Series win, Frank Viola, was shipped to the Mets in a deal that helped lay the foundation for the pitching staff that would ultimately win the 1991 World Series. The Twins acquired Kevin Tapani, Rick Aguilera, and David West; all major contributors to the 1991 pitching staff. Tim Drummond and Jack Savage also came in the deal.

July 30, 1987
The Twins acquired future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton from the Indians in exchange for a player to be named later. Unfortunately for the Twins, his days playing like a Hall of Famer were well behind him, as Carlton had a 6.70 ERA in nine appearances with the Twins that season. Carlton retired after he was released by the Twins in April of 1988. The ptbnl turned out to be Jeff Perry, who has no major league statistics.

Born July 31, 1881
Bob Unglaub
Unglaub was a utility player who joined Washington in the middle of the 1908 season. He had a reputation as a clutch hitter, and seemed to be generally well liked by fans. He was a decent defender, and played mostly first base during his time in Washington, Unglaub was sold to Lincoln, NE after the 1910 season and became a player/manager there. Unglaub had an engineering degree from the University of Maryland, and used it in the off season working for various railroad shops in Baltimore. It was there that he was tragically killed in an accident in November 1916. Here is a full bio.

What’s Your Favorite Luis Castillo Story?

With the news that Castillo is on his way to New York, I remembered one of my favorite quotes from the Twins this year. It was originally reported by Lavelle E. Neal when the Twins were playing in early April and there was a chance of snow.

“Considering I’m not even sure Luis knows how to even get to the ballpark, it will be tough for him, let alone to drive in the snow,” (Mike) Redmond said. “I would want to alert the Minneapolis-area commuters that Luis Castillo would be driving in the snow, because that would be scary. Truly scary.”

Castillo, who has never driven in the snow, was unaware of the forecast.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he said. “I better go slow.”

By the time the Twins took the field for early stretching, Redmond had promised to bring Castillo to the park today.

It’s sad to see Castillo go, and it feels like a white flag of sorts, but it is probably the right move considering that Luis is not a part of this team’s future plans.

On the plus side, the Twins acquired Drew Butera, son of former Twin Sal, in the deal.

Finally, SABR 37 Pictures

I just updated all of the SABR 37 Journals with pictures. Here are links:

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4

SABR 37 Journal Part 4

Updated with pictures

As I write this we are driving north on I-35 to return home from the SABR convention.

Last night we tried another game with the newest SABR member (the nickname my son earned over the weekend). This time it worked, and we had an enjoyable evening at the ballpark. I will have a full review of New Busch Stadium later in the week (including pictures), but the weather was beautiful and the game was well played. We saw Anthony Reyes, he of the Cardinal stirrups and flat-billed hat, win his first game in 11 decisions this season; and the Cardinals finished off a double-header sweep despite some classic over-managing by Tony LaRussa.

Late in the game, the Cardinals had a one run lead with Eckstein at second and nobody out. LaRussa brought in a left-handed pinch hitter for the number two man in the lineup despite the fact that the pitcher, Chris Capuano, was also a lefty. The reason: LaRussa wanted a sacrifice bunt, and presumably the lefty (I think it was Skip Schumacher) was a better bunter.

Forget my well-documented feelings about the sacrifice for a moment, and think about wasting a bench move and an out to move a runner from second to third with Albert Pujols on deck. The Cardinals got the run on a Pujols single, probably causing LaRussa apologists to point to the genius of the mastermind, forgetting the fact that Eckstein would have scored had he been on second.

It was teachable moment for my son, who slept through my lecture; the first of many naps he will take while I talk baseball.

The rest of Saturday was filled with the awards banquet, highlighted by keynote speaker Joe Garagiola. He spent the better part of an hour telling stories that had the audience rolling. I won’t bother to try and re-tell any of his stories, because I have no doubt that they are all included in his book. The one thing that the book cannot possibly communicate, however, is Garagiola’s Yogi Berra impression. It was worth the price of the conference on its own.

So SABR 37 is in the books, and I am already looking forward to Cleveland for SABR 38.

I will leave you with what I considered the quote of the week. It came from Mike Marshall and was in reference to why he thinks the baseball establishment doesn’t embrace his ideas:

“…You can’t let these college guys with their crazy ideas into the clubhouse, otherwise we might all have to start speaking in complete sentences.”

Added: The first photographic proof of our trip is online. On our way out of the game on Friday night, a couple of perky girls in Cardinals jerseys stopped us and asked to take our picture. It can be found on this page, and it didn’t turn out so bad considering how cranky we all were at the time. If you are having trouble finding us look for the Twins gear.

SABR 37 Journal Part 3

Updated with pictures

I didn’t realize that it could rain on a baseball game. Friday night I experiencd my first rain delay when the game between Milwaukee and St. Louis didn’t start on time due to the downpour that soaked St. Louis. I then experienced my second rain delay when it started pouring again in the third inning. Though the game continued, my family took a self-imposed rain out of sorts. I don’t think my son liked outdoor baseball games because he cried basically from the start. We have tickets again tonight, so I suppose that we will give it another try. It is supposed to be cooler this time, so that may help.

The day started off much better when we walked over to the Arch grounds to watch a vintage baseball exhibition. Members of the local team, the Quicksteps, were part of an all star team of sorts that played a team made up of vintage ballplayers from the St. Louis area. I have some great pictures of the game under the Arch, which I will post when I have the capability.

The highlights of the rest of the day included a panel of women in baseball which included a veteran of the AAGPBL, Erma Bergmann, who threw a no-hitter in that league; and Mike Marshall, who once again created quite a buzz at the SABR convention with his pitching techniques that he says would completely eliminate pitching injuries and change the game as we know it.

Mike Marshall’s hour was up, so he stood on a table in the lobby and continued.

So, to summarize, a great start to the day and a rough ending. Still, it is better than being in the Twin Cities and following the Twins these days.

SABR 37 Journal Part 2

Updated with pictures.

Highlights of an eventful Thursday, presented in awards show style:

Best presentation: Catherine Groom Petroski’s research presentation on her grandfather, Bob Groom, was the highlight for me. Her closeness to her grandfather made it more than your average bio, and it was clear that the subject was an emotional one for her. Groom, of course, played for Washington during the Walter Johnson years, and is covered here in the franchise year-by-year section. I also enjoyed Anthony Giacalone’s evening session on Whitey Herzog and the rebuilding of the Cardinals from 1980-1981. That was a half hour presentation that really should have been longer.

Most interesting former player: Since the player I was most looking forward to hearing from, Jack Clark, was a no show (much like he was in the 1987 World Series), I have to give the nod to another former Senator, Roy Sievers, who was a part of the panel of former St. Louis Browns. He had a response for every question, even those not asked of him, and had a few stories about salary negotiations with Calvin Griffith.

St. Louis Browns Panel
(L to R: Roy Sievers, Bill Jennings, Footise Lenhardt, Ed Mickelson, and Bud Thomas)

Sievers on Eddie Gaedel (paraphrased) “We’re sitting in the dugout and all of the sudden out comes this midget. None of us knew about him. He walked on four pitches and was quickly taken out of the game. After the game was over, we all went to the clubhouse to meet him and the midget was gone.”

Sievers on another Bill Veeck publicity stunt, letting fans directing managerial strategy by voting with placards: “Anytime a man got on base, out would come the manager and he’d ask the fans if he should bunt or not. I can’t believe that he did that, but that was Bill Veeck.”

Best story: Ted Savage, part of the Cardinals panel, told a story about the segregation of the Philadelphia team he was a part of. In the spring of 1961, he arrived at spring training to discover that the black ballplayers not only had to stay at a different location than the rest of the club, but that location was a local funeral home. You can imagine what kind of rookie hazing can occur in that setting, and Savage said that he learned the meaning of “dead weight” that spring.

Ted Savage

Best question from the audience: Somebody asked Al Hraboksy how he felt about playing for Vern Rapp in the late 70’s. The backstory: Hrabosky was famous for his Fu Manchu facial hair, and Rapp was a manager who outlawed facial hair. Hrabosky was diplomatic, but basically said that his dislike for Rapp wasn’t because the manager outlawed facial hair, but more because Rapp wasn’t a good manager.

Best response to a question from the audience: Hrabosky on what mediocre batters he had trouble getting out: “I’m not going to say. What happens if I tell you a name then I have to face him in some old-timers game. He’ll have the advantage then.” Also, Hrabosky answering for the hitters on the panel, who both agreed that they had good luck against Sandy Koufax: “By the same token, Koufax never got myself or Ricky (Horton) out either.”

Ricky Horton and George Altman

Best question I would have asked a former player if I had the chance: Ricky Horton is a former Cardinals reliever and current broadcaster who played for the 1987 team and was among the panel of former Cardinals. The topic of pitching inside came up, and Horton made the comment that he recently saw a batter flip the bat and do a little dance after hitting a home run, prompting Horton to make a remark on the air that he would like to hit him with a pitch from the press box if he could. I wanted to ask Horton if he would have done the same with Tom Lawless when he flipped the bat in the ‘87 World Series.

Now, some awards by Micah, the six-month old.

Best way to spend a day: At the hotel pool with Mommy.

Best new food: Buffalo sauce from the chicken wings my parents ordered. Mmmm….spicy.

Best presentation: A statistical analysis of the value of strike one by David Smith. Sure, it was the only presentation I saw, and I got fussy towards the end, but it was interesting stuff.

For another perspective on the conference, check out the notes and pictures at The Pastime.

SABR 37 Journal Part 1

Updated with picture

7/26 - 6:20 AM:

Early Wednesday morning (or what we would have called late Tuesday night in college), my wife and I packed up our six month old son (and all of his stuff) and made our escape to St. Louis for the annual SABR convention. After a little less than 12 hours of Iowa scenery (who knew such a tiny-looking state could take so long to get through?) we arrived at our hotel. Emily and I were ready to sleep, while my son, who had slept plenty in the car, was ready to explore St. Louis.

Luckily, our room overlooks the Gateway Arch, so we didn’t have to go far. I intended to post pictures to accompany this little journal, but the cord that connects the camera to the computer didn’t make the trip, so pictures will be added after the trip. Imagine a six-month old being held at the base of the Arch and straining his neck to see the top.

After registering for the conference and grabbing a little supper at a restaurant in the Laclede’s Landing neighborhood (I had some great baby-back ribs and my son had his first taste of lemon), we were all finally ready to try and make up for the sleep that we lost in the drive here.

Today is a big conference day, the highlights of which seem to be a couple of players panels. The first is a group of former Browns, the second a group of former Cardinals; the latter including a man who was just about as key as anybody to the Twins’ first World Series win: Jack Clark, whose bat the Cardinals clearly missed in the 1987 World Series. There is also a research presentation by the grand daughter of Bob Groom, a Senators pitcher who played with Walter Johnson.

A couple of notes: each year conference attendees get a goodie-bag full of free stuff. This year there was a random major league cap in each. Ours included a Yankees cap. Too bad it doesn’t fit.

Incidentally, if you want a recap of the convention from a different perspective (the one not traveling with a six-month old), check out Kyle’s log entitled “Apex of Nerddom” at the MN Gameday Writers Blog. I’ll do my best to see if I can’t find more blog journals from others in attendance, because I imagine that the blog to person ratio at this conference is pretty high.

GOTW: 7.25.87 - Minnesota Twins (53-45) @ Toronto Blue Jays (56-40)

Saturday July 25, 1987
Exhibition Stadium
Toronto, ON

To say that the Twins struggled against the Blue Jays in the mid 1980’s would be an understatement. From 1984-1987, the Twins record against the Blue Jays was 12-36. Through the first 10 games between the two teams in 1987, the Twins had won only two games. At one point between 1986 and 1987, the Twins lost 10 straight at the hands of the Blue Jays. With that history in mind, it seemed like quite a victory when the Twins split a four-game series with Toronto at the Metrodome in mid-July. Still, playing at Exhibition stadium was a daunting task for the first place Twins, who dropped the first two games of the four-game series.

Thanks to the fact that Oakland was struggling a bit as well, the Twins were still two games up despite the losses. The feeling was, however, that the team needed to get wins, and had to overcome their recent difficulties north of the border.

   Minnesota Twins               Toronto Blue Jays                    
1. D Gladden            LF    1. T Fernandez          SS
2. M Davidson           CF    2. L Moseby             CF
3. K Puckett            DH    3. R Mulliniks          3B
4. G Gaetti             3B    4. J Barfield           RF
5. G Larkin             1B    5. F McGriff            DH
6. T Brunansky          RF    6. E Whitt              C
7. T Laudner            C     7. W Upshaw             1B
8. S Lombardozzi        2B    8. R Leach              LF
9. G Gagne              SS    9. G Iorg               2B 

   L Straker            P        J Cerutti            P

Things didn’t look good early for the Twins, who wouldn’t have been blamed had they collectively thought “here we go again”. After being held scoreless for two innings by Les Straker, the Blue Jay bats struck in the third. Fred McGriff’s three-run home run capped off a four-run inning that started with two consecutive walks issued by Straker. A 4-0 deficit was big, though it probably seemed even larger considering the recent history between the teams.

To the Twins’ credit, there was no quit early. The very next time at bat the Twins cut into the lead when Gary Gaetti knocked a three-run homer off of John Cerutti. Howard Sinker noted in the Star Tribune that it was the first three-run home run for the Twins in 16 days. Later in the inning, Gene Larkin scored to tie the game.

Though Straker gave the lead back the very next inning, again it can be said that the Twins did not give up. The Twins entered the sixth inning down by two, but left with the game essentially in hand. Larkin started things off with a solo home run off of Don Gordon, Larkin’s third of the season. Later in the inning, Larkin knocked in the seventh run of the inning with a single. In between, Toronto changed pitchers three times, and the Twins piled up six hits, two walks, and four stolen bases.

The Jays tried to make the game interesting with a couple of home runs in the seventh. The three-run inning pulled Toronto to within two runs, but that would be as close as they would get. The Twins scored twice late in the game to make the final score 13-9. Joe Niekro, an unlikely relief pitcher, threw 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to hold off the Blue Jays’ rally. It was Niekro’s first relief appearance in 15 years.

Stars of the Game
1. Gary Gaetti MIN 2-for-4, HR, 4 RBI
2. Gene Larkin MIN 2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI
3. Tony Fernandez TOR 3-for-4, R, RBI

The biggest story of the game, however, was the time it took to play. It clocked in at four hours and five minutes, and was the longest nine-inning game in Twins history at the time, and was only 13 minutes short of the major league record.

Box

Born on July 25:
Sandy Ullrich b. 1921
Ullrich was a pitcher who played during World War II. 1945 was his only full season in the majors, and he went 3-3 with a 4.45 ERA that season.

A couple of Twins hit for the cycle

Saturday July 24, 1976
Comiskey Park

In a 17-2 Twins victory over the White Sox, Lyman Bostock hit for the cycle. After walking to load the bases in the first inning, Bostock took care of the toughest part of the cycle early when he tripled in the top of the second. The home run came in the fourth inning (with the bases clear). He led off the eighth with a double, and was fortunate that his team batted around because the single came to lead off the ninth inning. Bostock also was credited with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning.

It was the second cycle of the year for the Twins. Larry Hisle hit for the cycle on June 4.

July 27, 1978
Metropolitan Stadium

Two years and three days later, Mike Cubbage became the fifth player to hit for the cycle since the team began play in Minnesota. The cycle came as part of a Twins 6-3 win over Toronto. Cubbage doubled in the first, hit a two-run home run in the fourth, and singled in the fifth. The triple came in the bottom of the seventh, and scored the Twins’ fifth and sixth runs of the game.

Born on July 24:
Jim Lyle b. 1900
Lyle appeared in exactly one major league game. On the final day of the 1925 season, Washington had already clinched the AL Pennant. Lyle came into a game at Fenway Park in the seventh inning and finished, allowing two runs on five hits in his three innings pitched.

Huzzah!

In between Twins wins this weekend, I got a chance to take my family to a vintage baseball tournament in Stillwater. It is an annual event that takes place as part of Lumberjack Days. Aside from the novelty of watching 1860’s era baseball, it was also nice to see the game played outdoors.

My rooting interest was with the Quicksteps, a team that is made up of members of the local SABR chapter (though the Souvenir Programme made it clear that “cranks” are expected to yell “huzzah!” for good plays be either club). The other teams were the St. Croix Base Ball Club and the Afton Red Socks.

The early game between Afton and St. Croix wasn’t particularly close, but there were a few notes of interest. The umpire, who basically paces behind home plate during the game waiting for a disputed call, was getting a little cranky and started distributing $.25 fines to pass the time (in fairness, I would be cranky too if I had to wear an 1860’s suit in late July). One player was fined for spitting, while another was fined for “endangering the cranks” - he hit a foul ball into a group of people gathered on the third base line.

While the game looks similar, there are a few major differences. The biggest change to my eye was the “one bound” rule. A batter was ruled out if the fielder caught the ball in the air or on one hop. Pitches have to be delivered underhand and “to the batsman’s liking”, but the game is still very defensive due to the 90′ distance between bases and the softer ball that is used.

The Quicksteps and Red Socks played a more competitive second game that ended in a Red Socks win. My son made it clear that he didn’t want to stay for the third game.

I intended to post pictures, but the digital camera had not yet been invented, so I didn’t want to scare the players (or maybe I forgot to pack it…). Instead, I offer a video that I posted a year or so ago of Conan O’Brien enjoying some vintage baseball:

All in all it was a fun afternoon.

Friday night I was at the Metrodome for the first game of the Twins-Angels series. I think that, after the first four innings of that game, we can finally lay to rest the notion that the Twins are a team that “does the little things” well. This has been a season of base running errors, misplayed balls, and just some stupid plays. Forget that my position is that the sacrifice bunt is poor strategy 98% of the time, the Twins can’t even seem to execute a bunt properly so I can complain about the strategy.

The game itself was entertaining, almost in a little league sort of way. Still, a win is a win, and it was nice to see the Twins pull out a game by doing the “big things” like hitting home runs and triples. A little bit of power covers up an awful lot of those little mistakes.

Coffeyville Whirlwind will be on auto-pilot most of this week. I’ll be heading down to St. Louis for SABR 37. As of now, I am most looking forward to meeting Mike Marshall, who will be giving a presentation on the mechanics of pitching. In addition, there are some interesting player panels with some old Cardinals and Browns that should be interesting, and Joe Garagiola is the keynote speaker. If I have time, I will check in with some reports, and will still be checking comments and email since I still have posts scheduled through Wednesday.

Born on July 23:
Ray Scarborough b. 1917
Scarborough, a right-handed pitcher, played for Washington from 1942-1950, though he missed two seasons for military service. It was after the break that he became a reliable starter for the Nats, and had his best season in 1948. Scarborough was traded to the White Sox in the middle of the 1950 season, and bounced around with various teams until 1953. He was selected to the 1950 All Star team and pitched one inning in the 1952 World Series when he was with the Yankees.