Posted September 1, 2008    

• Denard Span

• Justin Morneau

• Tarvaris Jackson

• Tim Brewster

• John Gagliardi

Division Race Tests Young Twins 

Former Gopher football coach Lou Holtz likes to say the Lord gave us two eyes in the front of our head so we can see where we’re going instead of where we’ve been. That's a good approach for inexperienced Minnesota Twins players as they compete during the final four weeks of the season for a Central Division championship. 

Here’s the point: the team relies on 14 players with less than two full seasons of major league experience.  That’s a lot of on-the-job training for a ball club trying to win a championship, or at least qualify for the playoffs.   

Twins starting pitchers Scott Baker, 26, Nick Blackburn, 26, Kevin Slowey, 24, and Glen Perkins, 23, are all in their first full seasons of being in the rotation month after month.  Francisco Liriano, 24, the fifth starter, pitched most of the 2006 season for the Twins but didn’t finish it because of his famous left elbow injury. 

Left fielder Delmon Young, 22, had one full season in the majors with Tampa Bay before coming here.  Center fielder Carlos Gomez, 22, played in 58 games last year for the New York Mets prior to the trade that made him a Twin.  Right fielder Denard Span, 24, is a rookie.  So, too, is designated hitter Randy Ruiz, who is 30 and almost a minor league lifer.  

Second baseman Alexi Casilla, 24, played parts of the last two seasons with the Twins and also in the minor leagues. Third baseman Brian Buscher, 27, played briefly with the Twins last year, his first in the majors. Utility infielder Matt Tolbert, 26, is a rookie.  

Even designated hitter Jason Kubel, 26, and infielder Brendan Harris, 28, can only claim a full season each of prior experience, although both have been in and out of the major leagues over the last few years. 

The Twins have been surprising most everyone with their record all season and pursuit of first place in the Central Division.  But inexperience could be a problem for this team in the remaining weeks including the much anticipated home series against a more proven White Sox team at the Metrodome September 23-25.  

The Twins are a half game behind first place Chicago.  They have lost six of their last 10 games and start a three game series in Toronto tomorrow (Tuesday) night before coming home for the first time since August 20 to play a weekend series with Detroit.

    

 The Twins rely on more than a dozen players with less than two years of major league experience.

Francisco Liriano
Photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins
 
 

Worth Noting 

Twins fans have to be hoping for 2006 deja vu.  Not only was that the last time the franchise won the division, but Joe Mauer was the American League batting champion and Justin Morneau the league MVP.  Mauer, hitting .320, is third in the batting race now while Morneau is second in the AL in RBI with 108.   He’s been Mr. Indispensable again for the Twins, hitting .312 and leading the team with 21 home runs, making himself a contender for league MVP. 

Two years ago pitcher Johan Santana won 19 games for the Twins, including seven in August, September and early October.  Santana is up to his old ways now with the Mets, closing fast for a team that is leading the National League East by one game.  In his last 10 games he is 5-0 with a 2.24 ERA.  He’s 12-7 overall with a 2.70 ERA. 

Gulp!  Sports Illustrated pro football writer Peter King picks the Vikings to have a 13-3 regular season record and advance to the NFC championship game where they will lose to Philadelphia.  Of course, King wrote that before last week’s four game suspension of left tackle Bryant McKinney. 

The Vikings had seven players named to the Pro Bowl last year and added Pro Bowler Jared Allen in the off season, but they also have a journeyman left tackle replacement in Artie Hicks.  Then, too, Tarvaris Jackson missed two preseason games with an injured left knee, and that just prolonged the mystery of how he will play in his third NFL season.   

Super Bowl champ?  King picks New England. 

Chad Greenway, the Vikings’ third year linebacker, is a good bet to be the team’s most improved player in 2008. 

Subhub.com lists a ticket range of $49 to $6,000 for Monday night’s Vikings-Packers game in Green Bay.  Kickoff is 6 p.m.  

The Vikings and Buffalo Wild Wings are offering a grand prize drawing of a trip for two to the Green Bay game.  The Vikings will also have a promotional event from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday at the Mall of America that includes former and current players.  Appearing from 3 to 5 p.m. will be defensive linemen Jared Allen, Ray Edwards, Kevin Williams and Pat Williams.

  

Justin Morneau
Photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins

 Chad Greenway
 

Extra Innings 

The NFL’s personal conduct policy that can result in suspensions like that of the Vikings’ Bryant McKinney is applauded by those who are weary of misdeeds by football players and other athletes.   

ESPN reported on its telecast of last week’s South Carolina-North Carolina State football game that Mike Davis, a running back for the Gamecocks, was seen on a campus security monitor breaking into a team refrigerator last month.  Davis played in the game, although ESPN speculated he might be suspended for the Wofford game.  His college major?  Criminal justice. 

Gopher football coach Tim Brewster awarded one year scholarships last week to walk-on players including true freshman linebacker Mike Rallis of Edina who was impressive on kickoff coverage in Saturday night’s win over Northern Illinois.  Brewster said his son Nolan, a true freshman at Texas, played on special teams in the Longhorns’ 52-10 win over Florida Atlantic on Saturday.  The Gophers play the Owls on September 20 and Brewster will have insights on that team from his son and also his former boss at Texas, head coach Mack Brown.   

MIAC football teams begin play this week.  In the preseason coaches' poll Saint John’s is the favorite to win the MIAC title with Bethel receiving the second most votes, followed by Concordia, St. Thomas, St. Olaf, Augsburg, Gustavus Adolphus, Carleton and Hamline.

Saint John’s coach John Gagliardi has more MIAC coaching experience than all other conference coaches combined. Gagliardi, 81, has been coaching in the MIAC for 55 years while all the other coaches have a combined total of 46 years. 

Schools from the conference have advanced to at least the second round of the NCAA playoffs for the past 12 seasons.  Augsburg played in the second round in 1997, Concordia advanced to the second round in 2004 and 2005, Saint John’s in 1996, 1998-2003, 2005-2007 and Bethel in 2007. 

The Wild will participate in the 2008 NHL Centre I.C.E. Prospects Tournament in Traverse City, Michigan, September 13-17.  The Wild’s roster features 10 draft picks, including the team’s most recent first round draft choices, defenseman Tyler Cuma (2008, 23^rd overall) and center Colton Gillies (2007, 16^th overall).  Fans can visit www.wild.com for tournament updates from assistant general manager/player personnel Tom Thompson.

  

Tim Brewster

John Gagliardi