Author: David Shama

The Gophers baseball team opens its Big Ten Conference season tomorrow at Indiana and coach John Anderson knows that almost for sure this is his last spring with a junior center fielder whose athleticism sometimes amazes him.  Eric Decker likely will pass up his final baseball season in 2010, by then having chosen a pro baseball or football career.

The Gophers, 13-6 in non-conference games and ranked No. 25 nationally by Baseball America, have a roster mostly of players who even coming out of high school were pre-determined to play for Anderson.  Not so with Decker, though.  He had played baseball for Rocori High, basketball too, but football was the sport he made all-state and produced a football scholarship to Minnesota.

Decker was a football redshirt in fall 2005 as a freshman and didn’t play for Anderson in 2006 or 2007.  Last year, his first college baseball season, Decker hit .329 with three home runs, 28 RBI and nine stolen bases. This season his numbers are: .333, one home run, five RBI and five stolen bases.

The football resume is so far more impressive.  Last season he was a consensus first team All-Big Ten Conference selection and one of 10 finalists for the Biletnikoff award recognizing the leading receiver in the nation.  He was named honorable mention All-American by SI.com.  He led the Big Ten in receptions and receiving yards per game for all games.  Decker’s 84 receptions broke his own school record, and his 1,074 yards were the second-highest in school history.

Decker, though, has not only missed a couple seasons of college baseball but he hasn’t played the sport in the summer when players further develop.  Anderson sees more than numbers when he thinks about Decker as a baseball player.  The coach thinks about Decker’s ability and potential.

Anderson was asked earlier this month how good Decker can be and whether his center fielder should choose a career in football or baseball.  He answered: “I am not going to tell Eric what to do because it’s his life and his career. …He looks like a major league baseball player in a uniform.  He’s a tremendous athlete.  He’s a left-left guy which is a premium in baseball. A left handed hitter, left handed thrower, center fielder.

“They rate the players based on their tools.  There’s five basic tools, running, throwing, hitting, fielding and then power.  I would say right now he’s probably got three skills that I would rate as major league skills.  His running, his throwing, and his ability to hit for average. That’s a pretty good place to start. …

“But it’s going to take some time for him to develop his skill set, especially his hitting to play at the major league level.  So it’s probably going to take him two or three years of minor league baseball to climb that ladder, to get more experience playing the game.  He hasn’t played since high school.  He doesn’t play in the summer.  We only get him during the season.  We don’t get a chance to train him. …

“I am amazed how quickly he picks things up because of his athleticism. I think, to me, he projects to have a chance to play in the big leagues.  He’s probably in the (pro)football world a middle of the road type of player, just because of his physical size, his running speed compared to others.  Not saying he couldn’t play (and) be a possession receiver in the right offense in the NFL.  Probably a punt returner, kickoff returner kind of guy, but you’re one injury away from your career being over very quickly.  He got beat up physically this last year in the football season.  I think that’s worn on him a little bit.”

Decker was drafted in the 38th round by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft, becoming only the third Gopher since 1966 to letter in football and be selected in the MLB draft.  Anderson said Decker is now listed among the top 100 prospects in college baseball.

Congratulations to Larry Fitzgerald Sr. who won $103,000 last week playing poker at Running Aces Harness Park.

With less than two weeks until the regular season opener, the impression is the Twins will use the early part of the season to determine who can help in the bullpen.  The eighth inning role looks iffy and that’s a pretty good term for the whole roster of relief pitchers except closer Joe Nathan.

The Twins optioned Luke Hughes to their Triple-A Rochester farm club earlier this week but he’s a prospect to follow with interest.  The Twins have an ongoing need for infielders who can hit for power and the 24-year-old right handed hitter had 18 home runs in 99 minor league games last year.  He hit over .400 for the Twins in spring training.

Speculation has the NBA in financial trouble and possibly one day stopping play but commissioner David Stern told the Washington Post it won’t happen.  Stern said there might have to be changes in the league’s labor contract that expires in two years, https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/09/AR2009030902903.html

The five finalists for the Mr. Basketball award are Mike Bruesewitz, Henry Sibley; Raymond Cowels, Hopkins; Sam Dower, Osseo; Jordair Jett, St. Bernard’s; and Royce White, Hopkins.  Mr. Basketball chair Ken Lien said in a news release on Tuesday the winner will be announced within “two weeks.”

Former Minnesota Lynx staffer Bryant Pfeiffer is senior director of team services for Major League Soccer in New York.  The league has a new franchise in Seattle and recently announced expansion franchises for Vancouver and Portland.  What criteria does the league look for when considering an expansion franchise?  “Key criteria right now for a prospective market would be a dynamic ownership group, soccer specific stadium solution and 40 million expansion fee to join league,” Pfeiffer said via e-mail to Sports Headliners.

What’s his view of the Minneapolis area?  “Definitely an interesting market when you factor in some of (the) professional soccer history and very strong youth soccer numbers,” Pfeiffer wrote.

Soccer history here includes the Minnesota Kicks of the 1970s and the present day Minnesota Thunder, a member of the United Soccer Leagues who relocated last year from St. Paul to the National Sports Center in Blaine.

The Wild plays its second-ever NBC national game on Sunday, April 5 at Detroit in a telecast that begins at 11:30 a.m. Minnesota time.  The telecast will be in high definition and seen locally on KARE 11.  The Wild will also make eight national appearances on VERSUS this season, tied for the most in the NHL, including a home game on Tuesday, April 7 against Dallas.

Tubby Smith’s statements about his future as Minnesota’s basketball coach satisfy Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi.  During an interview with Sports Headliners on Saturday, Maturi also said that if Smith does leave it will probably not be because of compensation, and that the athletic department wants to build a new practice facility “sooner rather than later” but the planning and approval process is just developing.

Smith’s job status is speculated about locally and nationally almost daily.  A former national championship coach at Kentucky who is under contract at Minnesota and has finished two seasons here, Smith’s name has been rumored with job vacancies this year at multiple schools, the latest being Virginia.  Smith has coaching and personal ties to the state of Virginia but has said repeatedly he’s “happy” at Minnesota.

Charlottesville TV station WVIR quoted Smith last Wednesday on its Website as saying: “I have a job, I have a great job. We’re enjoying Minnesota. We have no reason to be looking at anything else, and we’re very happy where we are. It’s flattering sometimes but it can be a distraction. It’s good to be wanted, but it’s more important to be needed. I feel like I’m not only wanted at Minnesota, but needed there as well.”

That statement, or a similar one, may not satisfy someone who wants Smith, 57, to say Minnesota will be his last coaching job.   “He’s made the statement that he’s happy at Minnesota and is going to stay, and I believe that,” Maturi said.   “We’ve made the statement that we’re ecstatic to have him here and we’re going to do everything we can to keep him. ..”

Maturi said he will never instruct his coaches regarding statements in these circumstances.  Could Smith make even a stronger statement?  “What stronger statement can you make?  That’s not for me to do,” Maturi said. “Tubby and I have spoken.  I think he’s happy at Minnesota.  I think he believes he can be successful at Minnesota.  I think he believes that we’re committed and that we have kept our word in what we’re going to do. ..”

When Smith was hired Maturi said there was discussion about a new practice facility, the kind many powerful basketball programs already have.  Such a facility is both of practical use and a resource to impress recruits.  Maturi said there’s no decision yet where such a facility will be and how much it will cost.  “To say it’s green lighted would be not fair to the process but to say that we’re committed to getting this done would be accurate,”  he said.

It’s believed another school could offer Smith salary and other incentives totaling $3 million or more.  At Minnesota, Smith’s total package can pay him more than $2 million and for this year his guaranteed compensation is $1,775,000.  Maturi doesn’t think Smith will leave for more money but that if the coach felt a lack of commitment and support he would.  Potentially that could include frustration with facilities, recruiting budgets and staff salaries, but Maturi didn’t say these are presently issues.

The University has a salary freeze and even in better times the financially challenged athletic department isn’t believed to be in position for a bidding war against the richest of schools to keep its basketball and football coaches.  “We have to be sensitive to all of the economy,” Maturi said.  “We have to be sensitive to all of the University and I think coach Smith understands that.”