formerly33

Spoiler alert!! Kansas City has a shutout going vs. the Yanks in the 5th!

Luke Westphal pitched 1.1 innings in relief for the Miracle this afternoon, replacing Kohl Stewart in the 6th. He pitched a perfect 6th with 2 strikeouts and a groundout, but in the 7th he walked a batter, struck out the next, and then allowed two singles before being replaced by Brian Gilbert; one of those batters went on to score, raising Westphal's ERA to 4.71. However, the Fort Myers Miracle are currently leading the Jupiter Hammerheads 5-3 in the 8th.

Ugh, what now?

I can't resist any longer, lol. No-hitter alert! Atlanta Braves RHP Shelby Miller has no-hit the Marlins through 8 innings.

Better be careful before someone on your list dies when you're in town. You'll suddenly be top suspect on the FBI list.

Ran into this today and was reminded of the link you posted. I think it would have been far more respectful to just bury the man. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ted-williams-frozen-in-two-pieces/ Death is a fact of life, and in my opinion, you're just going to prolong the grieving process by forcing yourself to live in a constant state of denial. There are some instances where people just need to accept things for what they are.

Douglas James Baxendale, right-handed starting pitcher for the Chattanooga Lookouts, was selected with the 310th overall pick by the Minnesota Twins in the 10th round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Arkansas. Born in Arkadelphia, Arkansas on December 8th, 1990, the 24-year-old is currently listed as 6'2" and 190 lb. on his MILB player profile page. D.J. Baxendale went to Sylvan Hills High School in Sherwood, Arkansas and committed to the University of Arkansas after graduating from high school in 2009. He started out his collegiate career from the bullpen, picking up 7 saves with an ERA of 3.58 and striking out 44 while walking just 18 in 60.1 innings as a freshman, but the following year he started 12 of 19 games and went 10-2 with an ERA of 1.58, striking out 77 and walking 21 in 85.1 innings. D.J. Baxendale pitching for the Razorbacks (6/24/11) | photo by knowltont via Flickr In his junior year in 2012, Baxendale was named a preseason All-American and the preseason Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year. In his final season with the Razorbacks, he went 8-5 with a 3.11 ERA and led his team in starts (20), innings pitched (107), and strikeouts (96). Leading up to the draft, he was selected as the 25th-best player in college baseball by College Baseball Daily and was ranked as the 85th-best draft prospect in 2012 by Baseball America. Here is an interview with D.J. early on in the 2012 Razorbacks season. Baxendale's scouting report as found on Live Draft Tracker reads: "While Ryne Stanek, who missed being a Draft-eligible sophomore by a week, has been Arkansas' Friday starter this season, Baxendale has served as a perfect bookend, taking the ball on Sundays. The right-hander is more pitchability than pure stuff, with an average fastball and two average breaking balls he throws for strikes and mixes well. His fastball will top out at around 91-92 mph. When he keeps it down in the strike zone, it has pretty good sink and tail. Baxendale's slider is the better of the two secondary pitches, more of a sweeping breaking ball than one with hard bite. The curve is average and a bit slurvy, making one wonder if it might make sense for him to focus on one breaking ball in the future. He commands the ball well, moving it in and out and keeping hitters guessing. Baxendale's poise and competitiveness allow his stuff to play up, and while he certainly won't be among the first tier of college pitchers to go off the board, he's a solid advanced arm that could move quickly through a Minor League system." Minor League Career After being drafted by the Twins, D.J. Baxendale was sent to Elizabethton, where he dominated hitters from the bullpen, hurling just 7.2 innings in relief and striking out 16 with a 0.00 ERA before being promoted to Beloit, where he continued to pitch well, picking up 2 saves in 11 outings, striking out 15, and walking 1, with an ERA of 1.64 (0.96 on the year). The following spring training he had a brilliant performance in which he struck out eight of the nine batters he faced (including #1 prospect Byron Buxton), throwing only one called ball. The Tenth Inning Stretch, a blog dedicated to covering the Twins' minor leagues, wrote of the outing, "This was one of the single most dominating pitching performances I have ever seen at any level of play. It was as if a major leaguer was pitching against Rookie league kids." Baxendale started out the following year at Class A Advanced team Fort Myers Miracle, where he continued his phenomenal pitching performance, going 7-0 in 9 starts, posting a 1.10 ERA, and striking out 48 in 57.1 innings pitched. Here is a video of Baxendale pitching on May 17th, 2013 vs. the Charlotte Stone Crabs. Baxendale went 7.0 innings, striking out 3 and walking 2, and the Miracle won 8-0. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r--WUxJK45I Here is a link to an interview he did with the Miracle Insider Show prior to being called up to the Class AA New Britain Rock Cats on May 26th, just over a week after the outing shown in the video. At AA, Baxendale's ERA skyrocketed to 5.63 (3.90 on the year) in his 16 starts at that level, and he posted a 5-7 mark, striking out 64 and walking 22. Though he did struggle a bit, he still managed to lead all the Twins' minor leaguers in wins that year. D.J. Baxendale pitching in spring training (3/28/14) | photo by Bryan Green via Flickr Unfortunately, however, his struggle continued the following year. He pitched for the Rookie level GCL Twins, A+ Fort Myers Miracle, and AA New Britain Rock Cats, picking up 4 wins and 7 losses and posting a 5.48 ERA with 63 strikeouts and 19 walks in 90.1 innings pitched on the year. D.J. Baxendale tosses a complete game vs. the Dunedin Blue Jays - Fort Myers won 3-1 (7/13/14) | photo by Bryan Green via Flickr Baxendale has shown great improvement this year on Class AA Chattanooga Lookouts; so far he has started 7 games, posting a 1.96 ERA with 36 strikeouts and 13 walks in 41.1 innings and picking up 3 wins and 0 losses. D.J. Baxendale pitching for Chattanooga (4/24/15) | photo by Go BrAAves via Flickr Looking to the Future Baxendale has four pitches: a low 90's fastball with good sink and movement, an above average curveball, a slider, and a plus changeup. The most positive thing about it all is that he possesses the ability to throw any of these pitches in any given count for a strike. It is true that he has struggled in the past, but I think that he has a bright future for the Twins. Though he will most likely not be an ace, he has solid stuff, and it's going to be fun to watch him as he continues his journey through the minors. Twitter: @Dbax24

Aw heck, don't worry. She spelled his name wrong and had me all confused. We were both talking about two totally different scenarios and were wondering what on earth the other meant. But I think it was all in good humor.

And Riverbrian is STILL set to get his little prediction right...just for more grins and giggles... Here's the proof.

Wow. Sano. Check that one out!

I'll take D.J. Baxendale, even though he does not wear #33, he was not drafted in the 33rd round, and, thankfully, he is not 33 years old. I suppose you won't let me adopt Stu Cliburn, but if nobody objects, I'll take him too.

AND Perk got his save #100!!!

It just occurred to me that the Twins are ahead of the leader of the NL East. Isn't the AL Central HOT?!

Let me guess: you weren't following the game any closer than what came into your TDGT feed.

Somehow I find this one to be more appropriate to this game's thread: http://helentrue.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/thumbs-up.gif

BALLGAME!!!

No.

Must you, Perk?

And we're not talking about Eddie, either...for those who wonder.

Luck.

It was the thread of wisdom, it was the thread of foolishness, and it should be mandatory curriculum for K-12.

Blaine....sigh.

Buxton.