Author: David Shama

Wild prospect Darcy Kuemper was named Western Hockey League Player of the Year and WHL Goaltender of the Year at the WHL awards ceremony in Calgary on Wednesday.  Past winners of the Player of the Year include NHL stars Cam Ward, Jarome Iginla and Joe Sakic.

Kuemper had a 42-12-5 record and led WHL goaltenders in every major statistical category including wins, goals against average (1.86), save percentage (.933) and shutouts (13).  His shutout total tied the WHL single season record.

The May 9 issue of Sporting News Magazine gives the Vikings the lowest grade for the NFL draft among NFC North teams.  The Vikings received a B, while the Lions had an A, and the Bears and Packers were graded A-.  Among the comments about division teams was this on the Vikings’ No. 1 pick, quarterback Christian Ponder: “It would be disastrous to start Ponder behind the current offensive line.”

This week’s issue of Sports Illustrated includes an article by Jim Trotter that said the selection of Ponder at No.12 “caused gasps around the league.”  Trotter wrote that scouts admire Ponder’s football smarts but question his arm strength and durability.

Brett Favre will presumably be throwing a football again in June, but not likely  warming up for an NFL season.  His website reports that a Favre football camp for youngsters will be held at the University of Southern Mississippi.  Camp revenue will be used for endowed scholarships at Southern Miss, Favre’s alma mater.

Talk of a boxing career by Vikings defensive end Ray Edwards isn’t all that surprising.  He’s known for being a free thinker and even reportedly had differences with the Purdue staff as a college player.  The lure of big money in heavyweight boxing stirred talk years ago of a Muhammad Ali versus Wilt Chamberlain fight, and Dallas lineman Ed (“Too Tall”) Jones had a brief fight career.

St. Thomas and Bethel are co-hosts for the MIAC Softball Playoffs beginning today on both campuses. St.Thomas, coached by John Tschida, enters the tournament as the top seed after winning the regular season championship with a 22-0 record and has a 27 game-winning streak. The Tommies have won every MIAC playoff championship since the tournament’s inception in 2004.

Chef Terry Goertzen from Canterbury Park appears on KARE 11 tomorrow at about 8:45 a.m. for a cooking segment with a Kentucky Derby theme.  Handicapper Kevin Gorg will be on Mark Rosen’s Ch. 4 Sunday night show to provide a derby recap.  The derby begins at 5:24 p.m. tomorrow and is televised by NBC.

Twins trivia answer: Junior Ortiz wore No. 0 during the 1990-91 seasons.

The Twins have won six of the last nine Central Division titles but that era of dominance could be changing.  And not just this year, but indefinitely.

The company line might be when the team has its ailing players healthy and back on the field the boys of summer will be their old selves.  But what remains to be proven is whether Joe Nathan, Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer and Jim Thome have seen their best days.

Right now you don’t have to be from the Chicken Little camp to shout: “The Sky is Falling.”  The Twins finished April with 16 losses, tied for the most in franchise history during that month.  They were frequently awful in every way: poor starting pitching, a bullpen that frequently collapsed, errors in the field, lousy base running, and miniscule offense featuring power and run outages.

The manager has been upset.  The players are angry and the fans livid.  This is not the “Twins way.”

But this is reality.  The Twins, who had lost six straight games and been swept in consecutive series against Tampa Bay and Kansas City, won last night in Chicago against the White Sox.  That improved Minnesota’s record to 10-18, but the club still has the fewest wins in the majors.

Nathan, 36, is trying to recover from Tommy John surgery and has been demoted from a prominent role in the bullpen.  His ERA is 10.00, a long way from his career ERA of 2.84.

Morneau, who turns 30 on May 15, is reportedly taking medication as he works on a comeback from last season’s concussion that disabled him for most of the summer.  He hasn’t been the old Morneau yet, struggling at bat and even at times in the field.  Morneauologists, aware of Justin’s multiple concussions during his athletic career, worry he’s one bad collision away from ending his days in the bigs.

Mauer, 27, should be in the prime of a Hall of Fame career but has been on the disabled list after starting the early weeks of the season with a viral infection and sore legs.  Many of his supporters want him removed from the physical toll of catching and placed in the outfield.

The 40-year-old Thome, who is also on the disabled list, is the power guy on a roster and in an entire organization that can’t hit home runs.  That’s a problem.  Thome, who is headed for the Hall of Fame, has to be healthy and produce numbers like last year’s 25 home runs to help the Twins.  He can’t play in the field and is a liability on the bases.

What the Twins have learned this spring is that when their star players falter, there’s minimal support from everyone else to keep the club winning.  The suspicion in the winter was the Twins had no ace among the staff and Francisco Liriano has often answered that question with a powerful yes.  The guy who manager Ron Gardenhire describes as sometimes “unhittable,” has struggled with his control and was very hittable as his 9.13 ERA going into last night’s no-hitter attests.  Liriano was wonderful last evening, but what’s next?

Brian Duensing and Scott Baker have been the best of the starters but collectively the group has lived up to the pre-assigned mediocre label.  The bullpen lost Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier and Jon Rauch during the off-season.  Their replacements haven’t offered much to cheer about although Glen Perkins has been effective in his transition from starter to relief pitcher.  Even closer Matt Capps often causes jitters, giving up a hit or two, and sometimes a run, in the ninth before finishing his business.

Outfielders Jason Kubel and Denard Span have produced a lot of the Twins’ minimal offense (last in the majors in runs scored with 86 and home runs, 13).  Kubel is hitting .350 and Span .283.

Those numbers look flashy compared to the production of Twins’ catchers Steve Holm and Drew Butera, and shortstop Alexi Casilla.  Holm is hitting .118 and Butera is batting .100.  Casilla, who has been unreliable in the field and at bat, is hitting .194.

The club’s awful start has been made more difficult by the fractured left fibula of rookie second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka and outfielder Delmon Young’s strained left oblique.  Both are on the disabled list.

All the injuries have left fans wondering why there are so many physical problems coming out of spring training and early in the season?  Just one of those years?  Or are there other factors in play?

What’s obvious is the Twins organization doesn’t have pitchers and other ball players in their farm system to help with the mess of this spring.  The frequent flyer miles are piling up in a hurry as the organization shuttles players back and forth between here and the Triple A farm team in Rochester, New York.

If the organization has talented reinforcements coming they must be mostly buried deep in the minor leagues.  Pitcher Kyle Gibson is a hoped for contributor at Rochester but might not be ready to help until next season.  Further down on the organization’s depth chart are potential saviors Miguel Sano, a 17-year-old infielder, and Max Kepler, the 18-year-old outfielder.

What’s frustrating to fans is the Twins have lost personnel during the last several years that could be helping the club.  Included are pitchers Matt Garza, now with the Cubs but a 15 game winner with Tampa Bay last year, and Phil Humber, a surprise contributor with the White Sox with his 3.06 ERA.  And who wouldn’t take Crain and a 0.75 ERA in his last 10 games for the White Sox?

A year ago the Twins looked overloaded at catcher with Wilson Ramos and Jose Morales.  Neither is here now with Ramos at Washington and Morales in Colorado.

Two years ago the Twins acquired shortstop Orlando Cabrera to help their Central Division title drive but they didn’t keep him after the 2009 season.  Now Cabrera is hitting near .300 in Cleveland.

Another vocal leader and veteran infielder, Orlando Hudson, was a contributor to the 2010 Central Division champions.  Now he’s starting at second base for San Diego and while he’s been struggling he looks okay compared to the Twins’ middle infielders.

Garza, Ramos, Cabrera and other ex-Twins could make a difference but Minnesota will have to rally without them.  Already 10 games back of first place Cleveland in the division, the Twins have to make up ground this month, not fall further behind.

But is this a team that now−or in the future−is able to contend even in the American League’s least talented division, the Central?