Beat the Streak

I'm sure that with your fantasy teams you boys have your hands full, but if you wanted another fun thing to do, try Beat the Streak on mlb.com. A friend told me about it and I just picked my first two hitters. The way it works:

Pick a hitter every day that you think will hit safely.
Try to beat DiMaggio's record 56-game hitting streak by choosing players that hit safely on the day that you choose them! (that's easy, right? ;)

Rooster says: I bet that's a lot harder than it sounds. I wouldn't pick any of my fantasy players to get a hit on any given day! :(

Melodee says:
Poor Brian, are the Aberdeen Highlanders struggling?
Considering the fact that the best players fail at the plate 7 times out of 10, there's a good deal of "luck" involved in predicting who will get a hit. :)

From One Day to the Next

Yesterday I said

If the Twins keep batting the way they do, though, it's questionable whether Santana can pull it off. I mean, even Superman needs some run support!

In last night's game we scored nine runs on nine hits with two doubles, a triple, and a home run. That's the amazing thing about baseball. The performance on the previous day doesn't really dictate how a team will do the next day. In 162 games there's lots of room for hitting big and hitting...nothing at all. My hope is just that the Twins will hit big when they need to so they can win series and keep a winning percentage.

More Family Heritage

Well, Dan, I couldn't find Ferg Cranston's stats, but I did find a picture and the following quote from a 1948 game report:

(Sun June 27) The travel weary Brandon Greys were no match for the Merchants in Minot. Greys, who had beaten Minot in the Brandon tournament Wednesday, were handed a 15-1 shellacking. Alvin Keck held the Greys to six hits while he helped at the plate with a double and a triple and scored two runs. Ferg Cranston and Ed Claussen each had three hits for the Merchants.

The 1948 Minot Merchants. Ferg is second from left in the front row. I'm probably imagining it, but I think I see a resemblance to grandpa...

Melodee to Dan:
No, I couldn't find a box score. But I realize I should have included the link to the 1948 game reports that I did find. It's right here.

Family Heritage

Did you know we had a real live baseball player in our family? Mom found this in an obituary about Grandpa's cousin Ferg Cranston:

In earlier years, Mr. Cranston established himself as a baseball player of considerable skill. In 1931 at age 18, he started his amateur career as a catcher on Minot teams. He was with the 1937 state champion Dakota transfer Club and the 1941 North Dakota titlist Aakrann Bottlers. The 1937 achievement earned him a certificate from the U.S. semi-pro commissioner.

His playing was interrupted by military service [82nd Airborne from '42-45], and after he returned to Minot he played with the Minot Mallards, Minot Merchants, and Minot Legionnaires.

You have to love the names of those teams. How would you like to play for the Mallards?

Rooster Says:
Nice work, Melodee! Hmm, I'm not sure which name I like best, but "Ferg" Cranston is pretty cool. Short, no doubt, for "Ferguson," seeing as we've got Fergusons and Sinclairs in the family tree. I always like to think I'm somehow related to theologian extraordinaire Sinclair Ferguson! So, Ferg played for the Mallards. How cool!

Ouch

Congratulations to the Phils, Rooster... The Twins were less fortunate yesterday.

There are many ways to lose a ballgame, and some of them are worse than others. J.C. Romero happened to discover one of the very worst last night. With the score tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the eighth, he loaded the bases and then hit a batter. I really can't think of a worse way to go down. ugh.

Re: Nationals

You're right, Rooster. I've heard a lot of talk about expecting the Nationals to be in last place. And they may be there by the end of the season, but I'm so pleased they've had such a good start. It's a great way to make a first impression and gain some fans.

Dave who?

This is what I love about the Twins - I turned on the game this afternoon and this guy named Dave Gassner is on the mound. Who on earth is he; where did he come from, and why is he our starting pitcher? The outcome of the game is still in question, but he left with a lead after the 6th - 3 hits, 2 runs (only 1 earned), 1 SO, 1 BB, and a 1.50 ERA. Not bad for a Major League debut!

The Twins have such a deep organization that this happens all the time. I'm often stumbling across guys in the box scores that I've never heard of. They almost all pass themselves off very creditably, too.

244 batters

That's how many batters Johan has faced without giving up a home run. (!!!) Last night he had a rough game, which included giving up 2 back-to-back homers. In spite of that, he battled through, striking out 10 and getting the win.

No one could be a greater fan of Mr. Santana than I, but I'm getting a wee bit tired of the media's overhype. Yes, he is phenomenal, but I'm sorry people, he is eventually going to lose! The hyperbole of MLB is a bit much:

Amazingly, Santana has already matched his win total from the first two months of 2004. These are the types of numbers that could dance in one's head a while. But Santana gave it little thought.
"Last year is last year. It's over with," said Santana.
All winter, writers wondered how Santana would top his 20-6 2004 season. He suggested 21-6 or 20-5. But at the rate he's on now, how would 34-0 sound? "Well, 35 man," Santana said.

I love Santana's cool - how are you going to top it? Oh, maybe 20-5. :)

A Great and Glorious Game

My brother and I love baseball - we love to watch it, listen to it, read about it, talk about it, and write about it. We both have our own blogs, The Banty Rooster and The Radley Porch, but we don't want baseball to dominate them. So we have created Criminal Changeup, where baseball is our sole topic. . . Join us for discussion of the Minnesota Twins and the Philadelphia Phillies. There will probably also be a lot of gloating about Johan Santana, whose changeup is indeed...criminal.