Wednesday, September 14, 2005
REAL QUICK DAY
Good morning everyone!
Really quick today. Just a couple of thoughts on the Twins win, and the AL Wild Card games. Also, it is time to FINALLY say a few things of the Fargo/Moorhead Redhawks as they are starting the Northern League Championship series against the Gary Southshore Railcats. That is going to be it today. So, please be sure to chekc out the other Twins blogs at the left of this screen, and have a great day.
Remember also that discussion on the BrentNet Forum on Kanye West's statements a couple of weeks ago? Well, you should see all the crazy directions that simple statement has taken that discussion. It's all very interesting and frustrating at the same time!!! Again, be sure to check out Lay It On the Line for more on the topic.
If you do and would care to discuss any topics, please e-mail me.
LIRIANO is starting today! LIRIANO is starting today!!! Minor League guru John Sickels used his Crystal Ball to predict the career of Liriano. It is rather interesting. Closing for the A's, though?
The Twins got a lot of run support for Brad Radke last night on their way to a 9-3 win. Radke gave up a run after just two batters. But in the Top of the 2nd, the Twins managed to score four runs. Then they followed up that unusual inning with three runs in the 3rd. Ivan Rodriguez hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning, but that was it. Another quality start. Three runs on six hits in seven innings. He is now 9-11.
Jesse Crain came in an threw a perfect 8th inning, to drop his ERA to 2.29.
Travis Bowyer was able to get another inning in a non-crucial situation, and he did well again. He had a 1-2-3 inning and struck out two.
Mike Redmond had hits in his first two at bats last night. I noticed when he rounded third and scored in his first at bat that he was not running well. In his second at bat, he fouled off a bunch of pitches before punching a single to right. Probably fearing being thrown out at 1st, he hustled down the line and hurt himself again, and had to leave the game. Chris Heintz replaced him behind the plate, and he hit his second double.
What a game for Luis Rivas!!! He was 2-5 with a double and his first home run, a line shot over the left field wall! Hopefully this will be enough for the Twins to convince some team to trade a low-level middle relief pitcher for him! OK, I'm sure he doesn't even have that much value.
Michael Cuddyer was 2-5 with another triple, his third on the year.
Juan Castro was 2-5 with an uncharacteristic walk! It has to be really difficult to bat .277 and still have an on-base percentage of under .300, but Castro is doing it very well!
Matthew LeCroy hit another homer off another lefty! Maybe LeCroy could be the guy to platoon with Jacque Jones in right field!!!?? Maybe! I mean, Jacque can hit righties, and Matty can hit lefties!
Jason Bartlett also hit a long home run. It was a
two-run shot for his third of the season.
Last night, Cleveland was down 2-1 to Oakland going into the bottom of the 7th inning in a huge AL Wild Card game. But then Ben Broussard took over. He hit a solo homer that inning to tie the game. And then in the bottom of the 8th, he hit a three run homer to give the Indians a 5-2 win!
Trying to keep up with Cleveland, the Yankees were actually able to beat the Devil Rays, if you can believe that! They not only beat them, they destroyed them, 17-3. Jason Giambi went 2-5 with his 30th homer and 5 RBI. Hideki Matsui was 4-4 with 4 RBI. Jorge Posada was 2-3 with 4 RBI. Alex Rodriguez was on five time with three singles and two walks. It was just a dominant performance by the Yankees.
So, the Indians lead the Yankees by a game in the Wild Card race. They are now 2.5 games ahead of the A's.
FARGO/MOORHEAD REDHAWKS UPDATE
When the season started, I had every intention of keeping updated more with the Independent Northern League, specifically the Fargo/Moorhead Redhawks. Remember back in March, when I was in Florida for a vacation, one of my guest writers was Josh Buchholz. Josh is a former teammate and coach of mine at Concordia College, and now he is the Redhawks' Director of Baseball Operations. In that article, he wrote about Life in the Northern League and how successful the league has been. This was the 10th year the Redhawks have been in the league and they have been very successful! They named their all-time team this yea, and it was listed full of memorable names, including Chris Coste, Brian Traxler and Daryl Motley.
Last night, the Redhawks played the first game of the Northern League championship series against the Gary Southshore Railcats at Newman Outdoor Field in Fargo. Led by yet another incredible performance by Brandon Culp, the Redhawks took Game 1 by the score of 5-1. Culp set the Northern League record this season with 14 wins. He was 14-0 with a 2.60 ERA. Anyway, in his complete game last night, he allowed the one run on just four hits and one hit. He struck out eight.
The offense was led by former Twins 2B prospect Ruben Salazar who has now been the 3B for the Redhawks the last two seasons. Last night, he was 3-4 with a two-run double in the first inning to give the Redhawks the lead. Centerfielder Joe Mathis went 2-5 with a home run. SS Bryan Jeffcoat was also 2-5.
Tonight, the two teams will play again tonight in Fargo before the final three games are in Gary. Taft Cable will start tonight for the Redhawks. On the season, he went 9-1 with an ERA of 2.30.
And really, that is it for today. I will be catching up on some sleep, as well as working on some e-mail responses and a couple of future postings.. I hope that you have enjoyed it, or at least some of it. If you have, please let me know. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, ideas or anything you'd like to discuss, please e-mail me. Have a great day!