Tag / Twins

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#187 – Tanyon Sturtze

TS_7.24Name: Tanyon Sturtze

Rank: 187

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1999-2000

Tanyon Sturtze, fresh off of rotator cuff surgery, joined the White Sox organization on November 23, 1998 after signing as a free agent.  He spent the 1999 season at Triple A Charlotte, trying to work his way back to the major leagues.  He started the last game of the season for the White Sox, going six scoreless innings against the Twins.

Sturtze found himself in the bullpen as the White Sox broke camp in 2000, but things did not go well for him at all.  Appearing in 10 games, he gave up 25 hits and 23 runs, 21 earned, in only 15 2/3 innings pitched.  On May 23, with an ERA over 12, he was designated for assignment.  A week later, he was traded to the Devil Rays in exchange for Tony Graffanino.

Sturtze’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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by jim

Transaction Tree

WhiteSox-rosterA few weeks back, when Corey Kluber won the Cy Young award, a New York time reporter tweeted how the Indians had, through multiple trades, turned Eddie Taubensee’s 1991 roster spot in to Kluber.  The fine folks at Grantland took it a step farther, and looked at the longest such chain for all 30 teams.

The White Sox fall smack dab in the middle of the league, having the 15th longest chain, dating back to the February 8, 1994 signing of amateur free agent Carlos Lee.  Lee made his major league debut on May 7, 1999, and quickly became a mainstay of the White Sox lineup, holding down left field through the 2004 season.  New manager Ozzie Guillen had tired of the station to station team he inherited, and was looking to implement some small ball, so Lee was shipped to the Brewers for a package that included Scott Podsednik and Luis Vizcaino.

Vizcaino spent just the one season with the White Sox, earning a World Series championship ring for his troubles.  With general manager Kenny Williams looking to repeat, he packaged Vizcaino with Orlando Hernandez and outfielder Chris Young in a trade to the Diamondbacks for starting pitcher Javier Vazquez.

Vazquez lasted 3 seasons with the White Sox, up to and including their 2008 AL Central title-winning year.  As the White Sox battled the Twins for the title, Vazquez turned out to be the one weak link in the rotation.  With the season stretching to a 163rd game, Guillen was forced to turn to Vazquez to start the first game of the division series against the Rays.  Vazquez responded to the challenge by giving up 6 runs in 4 1/3 innings, putting his team in an early hole in the best of 5 series.

Feeling that he couldn’t open the 2009 season with Vazquez still on the roster, Kenny Williams moved him, along with Boone Logan, to the Braves for, among others, Brent Lillibridge and Tyler Flowers.  Flowers made his debut in 2009 and became the full time starting catcher in 2013.  His production has been lacking over the course of his major league career, and, should an opportunity to upgrade arise, this chain may come to an end.

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#199 – Manny Ramirez

manram

Name: Manny Ramirez

Rank: 199

Position: DH

Year With White Sox: 2010

With the White Sox 4 games behind the division leading Twins and looking for an offensive boost, they put in a waiver claim for Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers let him and the remaining $3.85 million on his contract go.

Unfortunately for the White Sox, Ramirez was not much help.  Over the final month of the season, in which the White Sox dropped another 2 games in the standings, Ramirez managed 1 home run and a whopping 2 RBI.  All told, the move didn’t quite work out the way GM Kenny Williams or manager Ozzie Guillen intended.  Following the season, Ramirez left the White Sox as a free agent.

Ramirez’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: Continue reading →

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2014 Final Standings

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles Dodgers

The 2014 baseball season came to an end this past Sunday.  I made it to 35 games this year, in 4 stadiums across 3 states.  Here are the final standings for those games, and the 17 different teams that I saw in person.

Team Won Loss Winning Pctg
New York Yankees 2 0 1.000
San Francisco Giants 1 0 1.000
Pittsburgh Pirates 1 0 1.000
Cleveland Indians 1 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 1 0 1.000
Kansas City Royals 3 1 0.750
Chicago Cubs 3 2 0.600
San Diego Padres 1 1 0.500
Toronto Blue Jays 1 1 0.500
Houston Astros 1 1 0.500
Detroit Tigers 1 1 0.500
Chicago White Sox 14 17 0.452
Minnesota Twins Continue reading →
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#208 – Toby Hall

TobyHallWhiteSox

Name: Toby Hall

Rank: 208

Position: C

Years With White Sox: 2007-2008

Following the 2006 season, Toby Hall signed with the White Sox as a free agent to be the backup to A.J. Pierzynski.  His first season on the south side got off to a late start after he dislocated his shoulder during spring training.  He was activated off the DL on May 16, which, after finishing the season with a .207 average and a whopping 3 RBI, he admitted was a month too soon.

Given a full offseason to continue healing, Hall bounced back in 2008.  As the White Sox battled the Twins for the AL Central crown, Hall put up a .260 average.  He did run into some controversy in August, when he nearly re-injured his shoulder while trying to hit Jermaine Dye with a shaving cream pie.

Following the season, the White Sox declined his option for 2009 and allowed him to leave as a free agent, but his shoulder could no longer hold up to the rigors of catching and he never appeared in the major leagues again.

Hall’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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More Looking Forward To Next Year

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersMajor League Baseball released their tentative 2015 schedule earlier this week and, with little more to be concerned with for this season, let’s take a look at what’s on tap for next summer for the North Siders.

The Cubs open the season at home against the Cardinals on Monday, April 6.  If one were to try and determine when super-phenom Kris Bryant is likely to be called up, the early May road trip to visit the Cardinals and Brewers would seem like a good bet.

This year’s inter-league slate is against the AL Central, with the Royals, Indians, White Sox, and Tigers making trips to Wrigley Field, while the Cubs hit the road to visit the Tigers, Indians, Twins, and White Sox.

The Cubs finish the season on the road against the Reds and Brewers, which would make for a great pennant race should the team be in contention.

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Looking Forward To Next Year

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersMajor League Baseball released their tentative 2015 schedule earlier this week and, with little more to be concerned with for this season, let’s take a look at what’s on tap for next summer for the South Siders.

The White Sox open the season on the road against the Royals on Monday, April 6.  The home season begins that Friday, when the Twins come to town for a 3 game set.

This year’s inter-league slate is against the NL Central, with the Reds, Pirates, Cubs, and Cardinals making trips to US Cellular Field, while the Sox hit the road to visit the Brewers, Pirates, Cardinals, and Cubs.

The White Sox finish the season at home against the Royals and Tigers, which would make for a great pennant race should the team be in contention.

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Ballpark Tour – Target Field

targetfieldStadium Name: Target Field

Location: Minneapolis

Home Team: Twins

Years in Service: 2010 – Present

Visits: 2

After 28 seasons of indoor baseball at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, the Twins moved back outside starting with the 2010 season when they opened Target Field in downtown Minneapolis.  The first regular season game took place on April 12, 2010, with the Twins defeating the Red Sox.  This summer, Target Field hosted the All Star Game, the first in Minnesota since 1985.

I took the long trip up to Minneapolis last weekend, along with Danny and Michael, to see the White Sox take on the Twins.  We picked two good games to see, as the White Sox offense came to life and they won both games against the Twinkies.  We sat down on the first level, between home plate and third base behind the White Sox dugout for both games, so I didn’t get to sample the different areas of the ballpark, but I certainly liked what I saw.  The one thing I didn’t like about the park was the configuration of most of the outfield.  Between the large hitting background in center field and the high walls in left and right, there is a lot of dead space in the outfield that seems to put the fans far away from the action.  Besides that, though, a good time was had by all and I certainly wouldn’t mind returning one day.

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2014 All Star Break Standings

As we head in to the All Star break, it’s time to take a look at the team records for the 17 games I attended in the first half of the baseball season.

2014 Team Records

Team Won Loss Winning Pctg
New York Yankees 2 0 1.000
Kansas City Royals 2 0 1.000
San Francisco Giants 1 0 1.000
Cleveland Indians 1 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 1 0 1.000
Tampa Bay Rays 1 1 0.500
San Diego Padres 1 1 0.500
Chicago Cubs 1 1 0.500
Chicago White Sox 6 10 0.375
Seattle Mariners Continue reading →
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All Time Team Records

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersAnother exciting baseball season is upon us, and it is time once again to look at the all-time team records for games that I have attended.  Some changes from last year:

– A horrible 2013 dropped the winning percentage for the White Sox 9 points.

– The Miami Marlins join the roster of teams I have seen in person

All-Time Team Records

TeamName Won Loss Winning Pctg
California Angels 1 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 12 2 0.857
Florida Marlins 15 8 0.652
Philadelphia Phillies 10 6 0.625
Toronto Blue Jays 9 6 0.600
Chicago White Sox 220 187 0.541
Tampa Bay Rays 7 6 0.538
Colorado Rockies 7 6 0.538
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 15 13 0.536
New York Yankees 9 8 0.529
Chicgao Cubs 191 170 0.529
Continue reading →