Author: David Shama

After a stumbling start this spring, the Twins have at times played the best baseball in the major leagues.  The Twins were four games under .500 and 12.5 games behind the Central Division leading Detroit Tigers on May 27.  Earlier this week the Twins had the best record in major league baseball dating back to June 8, 51 wins, 20 losses. 

The Twins won division championships three of the last four years.  With a nucleus of star players who are all 27 years old or younger, the likelihood of similar success is almost certain if ownership can keep these players under contract and surround them with productive support players. 

All of this is according to plan, manager Ron Gardenhire said.  Some clubs are willing to go in cycles, building and rebuilding.  Not the Twins.  “The one thing we have always talked about is just maintaining and getting better and better,” Gardenhire said.  “And now we have a good corps of players.  If we can keep surrounding them with good young players coming through our system and not having to force the issue we ought to be pretty good for awhile. …” 

With a young team including key players who have come to Minnesota from the farm system during the season, the expectation could have been that a championship season was in the future, but Gardenhire and the Twins expect to win now.   

Building for a World Series champion?  “No doubt.  That’s our ultimate goal and it’s not out of our minds this year believe me. …Right now we think we have a very good ball club.” 

Gardenhire said the new stadium, scheduled to open in 2010, will generate increased revenues, hopefully allowing ownership to pay the large future contracts that Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Francisco Liriano,Johan Santana and perhaps others will command.  With a current payroll of about $62 million, the Twins are far below the mega spending of some other teams and the budget that will be needed to satisfy their stars or super stars. 

 “I think the new stadium is going to be huge,” Gardenhire said. “It’s going to really help revenue out with our ball club and we will be able to keep a lot of these players.”

Quarterback Brad Johnson and tight end Jermaine Wiggins talked earlier this week about the contrasting defenses of the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins.   The Cowboys were expected to provide a “vanilla” look in the Vikings’ final pre-season game last night while the Redskins’ defense is capable of the “exotic” in the NFL regular season opener for both teams on Monday, September 11. 

Regarding the Cowboys’ defense, Johnson said, “They are about as vanilla as you can get, but they’ve been stopping people.  They‘ve only played probably three different coverages.” 

The Redskins?  “They do a lot of things,” Wiggins said.  “They have a lot of exotic blitzes.  They like to change it up so they definitely have a good defense.  They have always been up there in top 10 total defenses so we know that we will have a good game on our hands.”

Whatever defenses the Vikings face, they will take on the challenge without super stars Randy Moss and Daunte Culpepper.  Still, Wiggins, who has led the team in receptions the last two seasons, is optimistic about the offense.   

“You don’t need an identifiable super star to win championships,” Wiggins said.  “Obviously, if you look at a team like New England that won a bunch of Super Bowls they didn’t have no real super star.  … Give me a team of good players (rather) than a team of one great super star.  That’s the main thing.  Just guys going out there and doing their jobs.”

Bucky Zimmerman, former Gopher tennis player and prominent local lawyer, will marry media personality Pat Miles on October 8 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  The couple first met in Minneapolis in 1978 and their interests include a passion for golf. 

Miles said she and Zimmerman are “about nine handicaps.” They both love golf, Miles said, and play as much as they can.  Her home courses are Spring Hill Golf Club in Long Lake (Michael Jordan is a member) and Minikahda in Minneapolis.  “They are like children (to me),” Miles said.  “I just can’t let go of either.” 

Miles recently gave up her WCCO Radio show, but after years in the media business, including as a popular local TV anchor, she is still making commercials and is available as a substitute host on WCCO.  Zimmerman has a successful Minneapolis law firm, Zimmerman and Reed. 

Miles said the couple will split time between Minneapolis and Arizona after they are married.