It will be interesting to see what Twins player payroll budgets look like in future years now that Carl Pohlad’s sons own the team and revenues will increase at Target Field.
Probably no Twins player was more pleased with the trade that sent center fielder Carlos Gomez to Milwaukee than Denard Span. Last season he saw playing time in right, center and left field but in 2010 will take over in center where he’s more than comfortable. Among the offensive woes of Gomez was not only his .229 batting average, but his on-base percentage of .287 ranked among the lowest in the American League.
The Angels Torii Hunter, who was the Twins center fielder through the 2007 season, won his first Silver Slugger award last week. The Silver Slugger awards are determined by a vote of coaches and managers to determine the best offensive performers at each position in the American and National Leagues. Twins catcher Joe Mauer is a three time winner.
Vikings coach Brad Childress on whether his 8-1 team improved yesterday: “On the left hand side of the (win-loss) column that goes from seven to eight, yes.”
The Vikings placed emphasis on improved tackling leading up to the Detroit game. Linebacker Chad Greenway talked about the importance of that basic fundamental: “You can really take away the big play if you tackle well. It’s always something we’ll continue to work on, but if we do – which I know we will – we’ll continue to get better as we go through the second half (of the season).”
Forbes.com has the Wild, owned by Craig Leipold, valued at $221 million and ranked 11th among NHL teams. Nashville, the franchise Leipold once owned, is valued at $164 million and ranked 23rd. https://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/31/nhl08_NHL-Team-Valuations_Rank.html.
The early season success of hard working Gophers senior forward Tony Lucia has earned the admiration of knowledgeable hockey followers. Lucia leads the Gophers in points with 11.