Author: David Shama

Former Gopher Travis Busch, who is transferring to Colorado State, tore his right ACL playing summer basketball recently and will have surgery in Minneapolis next Tuesday.  He told Sports Headliners recovery time could be four and one-half to six months.  His goal is to play for the Rams by January.

Minnesotans Tom Lehman and Tim Herron are far down the PGA money list for 2009.  Lehman is 127^th with $399,587 and Herron 141^st at $317,958, according to www.golfweek.com.  Lehman has been given an exemption to play in the PGA Championship at Hazeltine but Herron is trying to play his way into the tournament.  Minnesotan Cam Beckman is 96^th in the standings with $620,036 in earnings on the tour and expected to play in the tournament.  Lehman has also been playing on the Champions Tour this year.

Casey Blake, with the Dodgers, and Garrett Atkins, from the Rockies, were mentioned as possible third basemen for the Twins before Crede was signed.  Blake is hitting .285 with 12 home runs and 55 RBI.  Atkins is hitting only .229 with six home runs and 28 RBI.

Jon Gruden was an assistant coach with Green Bay before he later won the Super Bowl as head coach of Tampa Bay.  In his book, “Do You Love Football?,” Gruden recalls how the Packers gave up a first round draft choice in a 1992 trade with Atlanta to bring unknown quarterback Brett Favre to Green Bay.

Gruden wrote: “I drove to the airport to pick up Brett.  I couldn’t believe how loose—and I do mean l-o-o-s-e—he was for a young guy who had just been traded for a first round draft pick.  He felt no pressure, no responsibility.  None.  Zero.  I think the first question he asked was, ‘Do they have any fried okra around here?’  I think the second thing he wanted to know was where he could get a beer.”

Vikings coach Brad Childress and Gophers coach Tim Brewster are both vacationing in Naples, Florida this week.  The two, along with their wives, have spent time together in Florida, Brewster said.

The Wild announced its schedule this week and among the “circle it” dates is October 30 when Marian Gaborik comes to town with his new team, the New York Rangers.  Former Wild coach Jacques Lemaire has his New Jersey team at the Xcel Energy Center on January 2.

It can’t hurt the Twins’ pursuit of a new contract for Minnesota native Joe Mauer if they improve their personnel but a source speaking on condition of anonymity told Sports Headliners that won’t be a deal breaker.  “He’ll sign here for anything reasonable,” the source said.

His heart may belong to Minnesota despite speculation that he might receive a 10 year, $160 million contract after 2011 to play elsewhere.  The Twins are likely to start working on a new contract with Mauer and his agent Ron Shapiro after this season.  Other clubs will have to wait until Mauer’s existing contract expires after the 2010 season.

The 26-year-old Mauer, who has won two batting titles and is moving toward a third, is one of baseball’s most attractive talents not only for his once in a generation hitting but also his ability to catch including handling pitchers and throwing out base runners.  While some superstars can be demanding, Mauer is shy and easy going.

The source said Mauer won’t become so frustrated with the Twins that he will try to tell ownership and management how to run the ball club.  The Twins, who have a 45-44 record after 89 games, haven’t played in a World Series since 1991, although they have won four Central Division titles this decade (the last in 2006).

The Twins are a team that’s formidable enough to win the mediocre Central after finishing just a game back last year.  But they need a few talented acquisitions to thump chests with the big boys of baseball (see their 6-19 record against the AL East).

General manager Bill Smith and others who make the personnel decisions need to improve the starting and relief pitching, plus find a couple better bats at the bottom of the order.  Give them credit during the off season for bringing in free agent third baseman Joe Crede who has hit 14 home runs so far.

But there are other holes to fill.  And wouldn’t it be something if in 2011 the needs list started with catcher?

Talk about inaccurate predictions.  Before the season Sporting News Magazine predicted the Twins’ Francisco Liriano will win the 2009 Cy Young award. The 25-year-old left-hander has struggled to keep his spot in the team’s so-so starting rotation.

At the All-Star game break, Liriano is 4-9 with a 4.47 ERA.  He’s walked 46 batters      in 102 innings, the most on the staff by 17.  Kevin Slowey, who is 10-3, has pitched 11.1 fewer innings but given up 31 fewer walks.

Learning to pitch with smarts, including throwing the ball over the plate, is still on the former phenom’s to-do list.  Liriano isn’t the same pitcher physically he was before major arm surgery but based on a comeback season last year, including a strong August, a better performance was expected in 2009.

Liriano was brilliant in 2006 before injuring his arm.  During that partial season he was 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA.  But even last year there was rumor of Minnesota trading him and that has to be considered a possibility, particularly to a National league team where if he did become a standout he wouldn’t be facing the American League Twins on a regular basis.

The Twins are only four games out of first place in the Central Division.  There’s been frequent complaining about the team’s relief pitching and anemic hitting at the bottom of the order, but the starting pitching will probably be the most important factor in how the Twins finish.

Not only has Liriano disappointed but so, too, has starter Scott Baker who received a new four year contract before the season.  Baker’s numbers are 7-7 with a 5.43 ERA.  His performance, like Liriano, has at times frustrated manager Ron Gardenhire and pitching coach Rick Anderson.

Twins starters Slowey, Nick Blackburn and Glen Perkins have records of 10-3, 8-4 and 4-5.  Their respective ERA’s are 4.86, 3.06 and 4.71.  Those three have graded out better than Baker and Liriano, neither one of whom needs to pitch like a Cy Young winner, just a lot better to move the Twins to a Central Division title.