LATEST STORIES FROM COFFEYVILLE WHIRLWIND
The Force was With Him
Nothing is quite as exciting as a 5th birthday party. I know that from experience. It had been the hot topic of conversation ever since the Christmas presents were opened. His favorite part was the presents; but I was able to take just a tiny bit of joy from the fact that my son, having a million different party theme options, chose specifically to have a Star Wars party and was...
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19 days ago
Discuss
Astros
I lived in southern Texas for the first three years of my life, so the Houston Astros were my first baseball team (really my first favorite team of any kind). Though I still have a small connection, I abandoned them as my National League alternative around the same time they opened the bandbox they call a ballpark (for the record the Washington Nationals have taken the official title...
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20 days ago
Morris and the Hall
There has been plenty written about Jack Morris and the Hall of Fame over the past few weeks. While it’s not a slam dunk, indications are that Morris will be inducted in 2013.
On one hand, I’d like to see it, if for no other reason than to once again shine a light on what was the definitive baseball game of my childhood: Game 7 of the 1991 World Series. 10 innings. No...
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21 days ago
Saturday July 15, 1967
The 10th place Kansas City Athletics and the 2nd place Minnesota Twins had split the first two games of a three game series with a couple of 3-2 games at Metropolitan Stadium. Cal Ermer’s Twins came back from a 2-0 deficit in the first game on Thursday by scoring a run an inning in the 6th, 7th, and 8th; the first and last of which were solo home runs by Harmon Killebrew, who...
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26 days ago
Happy Birthday
Five years ago today Emily nudged me awake around 3 AM to tell me that her water broke and to ask that I help her get things ready to go the hospital. It took us roughly two minutes to get there (maybe I am remembering that wrong), but it turned out we didn’t have to be in such a rush. We spent the bulk of the morning and early afternoon alternating between taking laps around...
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27 days ago
The Perfect Season for a Break
It may have been fortuitous that I hit the blogging wall around this time last year. Writing about the 2011 Twins might have been enough to put a permanent end to my interest in writing about my favorite team. I didn’t have very high hopes for the Twins entering the season, but did not envision the train wreck that was the 2011 season.
As a postscript on the 2011 season I will...
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28 days ago
Ron Gardenhire 1987
via Aaron Gleeman, a glimpse into the past:
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February 23, 2011
1934: Rice signs with Cleveland
February 13, 1934
While Sam Rice’s playing career seemed to be winding down prior to the 1933 season, the long time Nat was looking to start has managing career. When Walter Johnson was dismissed as manager, Rice thought it might be his time. Clark Griffith went to the much younger Joe Cronin, however. Rice’s disappointment was likely exacerbated by the fact that he was...
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February 14, 2011
Wooden Shoes in the Hall
It has been written about at length, but at long last Bert Blyleven got the call from Cooperstown.
Over the past five years, there have been few questions in baseball circles that produce as much debate as Blyleven’s HOF case. It represents, in a way, the line between the traditional baseball press and the new breed of baseball bloggers (who may or may not be writing from mother...
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January 07, 2011
2003: Twins and Phillies Make a Deal
December 3, 2003
After winning their second consecutive AL Central title, the offseason priority for the Twins was, by many accounts, to make salary room in order to keep closer Eddie Guardado and left fielder Shannon Stewart. Among the players that became expendable was AJ Pierzynski, who was traded to San Francisco in what became Terry Ryan’s most famous trade.
A few weeks...
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December 03, 2010
A Truly Scary Development
Around the time the Twins were being swept out of the 2010 playoffs by the Yankees, I had drafted a post comparing the New York Yankees to a professional wrestling villain. It was surely a brilliant work of literature, but it didn’t meet the high editorial standards of CW, so it was relegated to the WordPress trash bin.
I was reminded of that post while updating myself on the...
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December 01, 2010
Manager of the Year
Tom Kelly was the American League’s Manager of the Year in 1991. It was his first (and only) MOY award; even though he probably turned in his best managing performance in 1988.
That season Kelly’s team finished a distant second to the Oakland A’s, led by MOY Tony LaRussa, who probably could have slept through the summer and still gotten 100 wins from one of the...
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November 19, 2010
Elmer Valo
When Elmer Valo joined the Washington Senators in 1959, he was already a veteran of 19 baseball seasons. Though he spent his first 15 seasons with the Philadelphia/Kansas City A’s, by the time he was signed as a free agent by the Nats in May of 1960 he had spent the previous five seasons playing for six different teams in seven different cities.
It seemed that his major league...
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November 16, 2010
Baseball In DC During WWII
Mark Hornbaker at Nationals Daily News posted some stories shared by George Case III (son of George Case, Jr. who played for the Nats from 1937-1945). It is well worth a read.
One of the stories is about Buddy Lewis:
Buddy Lewis, “flew the Hump” in a DC 3 during the war – my dad related an interesting story about Buddy – in 1943, Buddy stopped by Griffith...
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November 11, 2010
The Yearly Gold Glove Scam
Joe Mauer won his third gold glove yesterday. Also of note was the fact that Torii Hunter did not win the award for the first time in nine years – no small feat considering that he probably hasn’t deserved the award for the last five seasons.
That is about all the time and space I am willing to waste on an award that recognizes Derek Jeter as the best shortstop in the American League.
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November 10, 2010
A Dubious List
This Giants used to be third on this list, now they are at the bottom – meaning the Twins move up one more slot as a generation clings to its 1987 and 1991 memories.
Team – Year of Last World Series Win (or founding if no WS wins)
1. Chicago Cubs – 1908
2. Cleveland Indians – 1948
3. Texas Rangers – none (1961)
4. Houston Astros – none (1962)
5...
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November 03, 2010
Five Years and Counting
The White Sox were in the midst of a World Series run when I discovered blogspot five years ago. When it started, CW was a stop for an occasional baseball rant as I began my fascination with advanced baseball statistics. The first few posts involved some critiques of FOX’s World Series coverage and some interest in Bush’s nominee to replace Alan Greenspan at the Federal...
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October 29, 2010
1991: “The Twins are gonna win the World Series, the Twins have won it!”
2010: Unlike Game 6, I remember exactly where I watched Game 7. Sunday night was church night growing up, and that wouldn’t change for a silly baseball game (believe me, I tried). So, I missed the first few innings, but caught most of the game in the church basement with the rest of the lucky few who gathered for the service that night. I was in transit home when the game went...
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October 21, 2010
Postscript
By Saturday night it already seemed inevitable, so while I watched most of the game, I did so with zero expectations. More precisely, I watched with the expectation of a loss. It made for a less tense viewing experience, and by the time I bailed just before the seventh inning stretch, I had already moved on to next season.
Since that night, it has been quite easy to pick up some...
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October 12, 2010
There’s Really Not Much More to Say
“This is getting old” has become a comical understatement when it comes to the Twins and the Yankees in the postseason. The worst part is that the 2010 season is about to go down as just another Twins’ failure, despite the fact that they won 90+ games.
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October 08, 2010
Eavesdropping on the Umpires
As it turns out, Ron Darling is not the only one who can read lips. CW was able to pick up the entire conversation in the umpire huddle late in the ninth inning:
Ump 1: Now you’ve done it. Here I spend the entire night perfecting the inconsistent strike zone, the one where Yankee pitchers get generous corners while the other team has to hit dimes, and it all might be flushed...
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October 07, 2010
1925: “At no time did I lose possession of the ball”
Amidst all the “baseball in October” commercials I keep coming back to this moment that is not a huge part of the modern lore, but probably should be.
Saturday October 10, 1925
After splitting the first two games of the 1925 World Series, the Washington Nationals returned home to host Game 3 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Nats were ahead 4-3 heading into the top...
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October 06, 2010
Bring on the Yankees
Prevailing wisdom in baseball suggests there is some intangible quality that allows some players (and certain teams) to have success in big games. Lack of said clutchiness, they tell us, is what makes teams like the Twins struggle in October.
I don’t buy it. Never have.
No doubt it sounds bad that the Twins haven’t won a postseason series in eight years. In fact, they...
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October 05, 2010
2004: Santana Beats the Yankees
Sure, recent years have not supplied a lot of great post season moments to relive if you are a Twins fan. I have to go back six years to find some success. Here is what I wrote last year:
………
Tuesday October 5, 2004
The Twins, fresh off of their third consecutive AL Central title, opened up the 2004 playoffs with an ALDS game at Yankee Stadium.
Though the Yankees...
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October 04, 2010
Momentum
Since the World Cup ended in July, I have found myself watching more and more European Soccer. I’ve always enjoyed the international tournament every four years, but have usually completely ignored the sport outside of the World Cup. This time it’s different (I am actively seeking an EPL team to throw my support behind – I have it narrowed down but have yet to declare…)....
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September 30, 2010
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