Author: David Shama

The Twins need to “kick in the door” against the Yankees starting tonight in their American League Division Series.  And what “door” is that?

The door to that exclusive club where the smug Yankees reside, having won seven of the past nine playoff games between the two teams.  The Yankees also hold a combined 11-2 advantage over the Twins in regular season games the last two seasons.

The Twins probably will tell you they belong with baseball’s big boys, but they have to show us in this series that they’re door busters.  Despite a regular season record of 94-68 and a Central Division title, the doubts remain.

Two of the four teams in the AL playoffs come from the East Division.  Both the division champion Rays (96-66) and Yankees (95-67) slightly bested the Twins’ record, but what’s controversial is how the Twins performed in their own Central Division versus the East.  Playing against not so impressive Central opponents the Twins were 47-25 but in the East they were 15-21.

The Rays were 42-20 in the East, a division acknowledged as baseball’s best.  The Yankees were 38-34 in the division.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, likely to be chosen American League manager of the year, is 6-18 lifetime in playoff games directing the Twins.  In the past he didn’t have the talent to win his way to the World Series.  Does he now?

In the Twins’ favor is that neither the Yankees nor Rays are classic post-season powerhouses.  The Yankees, just like the Twins, have questionable starting pitching depth.  The Twins are deeper in the bullpen, although even at age 40 New York’s Mariano Rivera is a closer to envy.

In addition to pitching, fielding is critical to determining a winner.  Gardenhire said on his KSTP Radio show Sunday he planned to fill his final roster spots with players that give him defense and speed.

He also acknowledged it’s “no fun” to win the division and go home. The World Series is the goal.  “If we don’t get there, we didn’t get it done,” he said.

In their five game series with the Yankees, the Twins will need to show whether they’re ready for baseball’s biggest “room” later this month.  If they have the right stuff, better plan on winning tonight’s game and Thursday’s, both at Target Field in front of those baseball crazy Homer Hanky fans.  Without a 2-0 series lead going to Yankee Stadium on Saturday, the Twins kick on the door might look more like a glancing blow.

Test your Twins playoff trivia knowledge with the following two questions (answers in last section of column):

Who was the Twins starting pitcher in the game three and final playoff loss last year to the Yankees?  What Twins hitter drove in the most runs in the 1987 World Series against St. Louis?

In the last 20 seasons only twice (1991 and 1992) have the Twins won the regular season series against the Yankees.

The Yankees are the pick to win this year’s ALDS by six of 10 ESPN.com experts. https://espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs/2010/matchup/_/teams/yankees-twins

Twins left fielder Delmon Young hit three home runs in his last nine regular season games, totaling five in September-October.  Young finished the season with a career high 21 home runs, and had a .298 batting average and 112 RBI, best on the team.

Twins center fielder Denard Span told KSTP Radio on Sunday morning that the “sky’s the limit” for Young.  Span said on the air he believes Young can hit 30 home runs and compared his potential with Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera who may win the 2010 American League MVP award.

Stubhub.com was listing Champions Club tickets with seats near home plate for $2,500.00 each on Monday.

The Big Ten could have six basketball teams in the top 25 of polls during the early weeks of the season this fall.  “The Big Ten is as deep as it’s been in a decade,” said Shon Morris who is a Big Ten Network analyst.

Morris told Sports Headliners that Orono’s Jon Leuer, who will be a senior for Wisconsin, might be the conference’s preseason Big Ten Player of the Year.

Toby Gerhart has played minimally in three games and hasn’t been impressive, but an NFL source predicted to Sports Headliners that the Vikings rookie will be an outstanding pro running back.

Vikings All-Pro rusher Adrian Peterson reportedly will earn $10.72 million next season.  Back in the mid-1960’s a starting running back for the Vikings made about $6,000.00.

The Vikings play the Jets in New York on Monday night, facing a team that had four players included on the Sporting News Magazine list of the NFL’s top 100 players.  In its September 13 issue the publication included New York cornerback Darrelle Revis (No.7), center Nick Mangold (No. 50) offensive tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson (No. 62) and defensive tackle Kris Jenkins (No. 85).

The Vikings, with seven selections, have more players on the list than any franchise, followed by the Ravens and Steelers at six each.  https://shamasportsheadliners.com/Archives/September%2015,%202010.htm

The 3-1 Jets have only one turnover in four games.  “That’s huge,” Vikings coach Brad Childress said.  “They don’t put themselves in trouble.”

Childress talking about what he looks for when his team is coming off a bye week: “It’s important that they have a fresh attitude, fresh outlook and that they come out here and don’t forget everything they knew before the bye. …”

J Robinson, 64, served in Vietnam and has coached three national championship Gophers wrestling teams.  He formed a philosophy about life while serving with the 173^rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam and his beliefs are still entrenched.

“You gotta have a philosophy about life,” he said.  “You gotta have rules, and then those rules guide what you do.

“You make all your decisions based on those guidelines.  Rule No. 1 is understand who you work for.  If you’re in it for 90 percent, and they’re in it for 40 percent, you ain’t ever going over 40 percent.

“Rule No. 2 is understand who you’re against, or who the enemy is.  If they’re willing to fight for 25 years, and you’re only willing to fight for 24 years and 11 months, you’re going to lose.

“Rule No. 3 is let the other side dictate the rules and then play by them.  And rule No. 4 is don’t take any job where your decisions don’t control the outcome.”

Robinson draws a comparison between the Vietnam War and the fight in Afghanistan. “All the guys that went there (Vietnam) went for the right seasons, but the politicians stopped them,” he said.  “It’s the same thing that’s going on now.”

Robinson, who has been head wrestling coach at the University since 1986, includes striving for excellence on a daily basis as part of his philosophy.

A former Olympic wrestler, Robinson was also an assistant Olympic coach.  In addition to his national titles, his teams have won six Big Ten championships.

The Gophers, among the top rated teams in the country, open their schedule in Fargo on November 13 at the Bison Open.