Author: David Shama

Rick Anderson has been as surprised as the rest of us.  The Twins’ rebuilt starting pitching staff has been a major contributor to the team contending for a second Central Division title in three years.

Anderson, the Twins pitching coach, was asked by Sports Headliners if before the season he foresaw the success of a staff that has mostly consisted of Scott Baker, 26, Nick Blackburn, 26, Kevin Slowey, 24, and Glen Perkins, 23, who collectively had won 21 total games prior to 2008 (17 by Baker).  Anderson answered: “If I said yes, I’d be lying, but you know they’re all talented. …”

Earlier this month the Twins added to the starting pitching youth movement, recalling Francisco Liriano, 25, from Triple A Rochester. Gone from a year ago to other teams are starters Johan Santana, Carlos Silva and Matt Garza, with Boof Bonser demoted to the bullpen.  None of the new group, except for probably Baker, was counted on as a sure starter prior to the season.  But even Baker was worth losing a little sleep over since his record prior to this season with the Twins was 17-20 and in three prior seasons he had split his time between Rochester and Minnesota.

Anderson is impressed that even when his young pitchers have bad outings this season, they come back and pitch better.  He said youngsters can press and try too hard when things don’t go well, but his group doesn’t stay down for long.

What does Anderson stress with them?  “Everything is a positive,” he said.  “You have a rough outing and you talk about went wrong, but you always end on the good things.  And the good things, you build them up even higher than they are.  But you always stay positive.  You never let them get down.  You never let them beat themselves up. …”

The starting staff has no playoff experience but could participate in post-season play this year.  Anderson said he will stress calmness, and, of course, a positive approach in the playoffs.

There he is again.  This time cover boy James Laurinaitis is one of three Ohio State Buckeyes on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s college football preview issue.  The former Wayzata High School linebacker and other Minnesota stars that chose to leave the state to play college football elsewhere are an unpleasant reminder of a Gopher football program that long ago went haywire.

Laurinaitis is the latest poster boy for the Gopher problem.  When he finishes his career at Ohio State after this season he will be a three-time All-American.  That’s extraordinary but he was so good even as a sophomore that he won the Nagurski Award as the nation’s best defensive player and last season earned the Butkus Award given annually to America’s best linebacker.  Although his chances are minimal because of the position he plays, Laurinaitis is even considered a possibility to win college football’s ultimate individual prize, the Heisman Trophy.

Earlier this year two of Minnesota’s top three in-state recruits, wide receiver Michael Floyd of Cretin-Derham Hall and tackle Willie Mobley of Eden Prairie, chose to leave the state to play college football at Notre Dame and Ohio State.  Only Champlin Park linebacker Sam Maresh signed with the Gophers and his football future is uncertain now because of recent heart surgery.

In the 2008 NFL draft, John Carlson of Litchfield was drafted as a tight end by Seattle on the second round.  Trevor Laws of Apple Valley was chosen as a defensive tackle, going to Philadelphia in the second round.  Carlson and Laws played collegiately at Notre Dame.

Go back a few years and you can find standout players like tight end Dominique Byrd who played at Breck before attending national powerhouse Southern California where he was a starter. Chris Weinke, another former Cretin-Derham Hall player, became a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback at Florida State in 2000.

Tim Brewster’s critics scorched him for turning in a 1-11 record last season but I can’t remember any of them pointing out the sub-par talent pool left behind by the previous coaching staff.   Attracting talented high school football players from various parts of the country to Minnesota has been and remains a challenge, but even more difficult to accept is that for years now the Gophers have lost their pull in signing up the very best players from the state, the kids who can choose most any school to attend.

Until that changes, the Gopher program will under achieve.  For Exhibit A to support that statement, look east to Wisconsin where the Badgers have built a program with a nice mix of local and national standouts.  Premium high school players are about as rare in Dairyland as they are in the state of 10,000 lakes but when they surface, the Badgers get them to Madison.

The Wisconsin program, once more dreadful than the Gophers, was resurrected in the early 1990s and has been gaining momentum since.  January 1 bowl games are routine and wins over Ohio State and Michigan fall under the category of possible, not impossible.  This year Wisconsin is predicted to be a top 15 team and the most likely school to take the Big Ten Conference title away from Ohio State.

The Badger offense showcases the nation’s best tight end, Travis Beckum from Milwaukee.  Two years ago the offense was built around offensive tackle Joe Thomas from suburban Milwaukee , a player who was the third pick in the 2007 NFL draft.

The Badgers keep the great ones home while we watch our locals become cover boys in other uniforms.  I will wager more than a pound of premium cheese that Brewster, the best recruiting head coach the Gophers have ever had, changes the paradigm and with it the Gopher program.

KARE 11 had the top rating among U.S. markets during Olympic programming from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Monday of this week, according to a station official.   Minneapolis’ 27.5 rating bested second place Salt Lake City at 26.9.  (A rating point is a percentage of households watching a particular program.)

Former Twins’ starter Carlos Silva, now with Seattle, starts tonight in the Metrodome against his old team and he has eye-catching numbers: a 4-13 record with a 5.93 ERA.

After winning two of three games against the Yankees earlier this week, the Twins are now 25-8 at home since June 1, 41-22 for the season.

Twins left fielder Delmon Young hit home runs on Tuesday and Wednesday, making it the first time in his three-year major league career that he’s homered in consecutive games.  He’s hit all of his seven home runs this season since June 1 (stats from that date through August 14 include a .315 average and 37 RBI).  He has six RBI in his last two games.

Murray’s restaurant co-owner Tim Murray and five friends are on their annual baseball trip this weekend.  They will see games in Yankee Stadium (closing after this season) today and tomorrow, then visit Nationals Park, the Washington Nationals’ new stadium that opened last spring.

Paul Giel, the grandson of the late Gopher athletic director and All-American athlete by the same name, will attend Wabash Valley College after starring as a center fielder for Minnetonka High School, according to John Sherman, sports editor for the Sun Current.  Sherman said Wabash, located in Mt. Carmel, Illinois, is a junior college that had five players chosen earlier this year in the major league baseball draft.

Beyond the Sports Huddle, Dave Mona’s new book, will be sold at the WCCO Radio booth at the State Fair and is available in local bookstores.  Mona said that Amazon.com reported earlier in the week that Beyond the Sports Huddle was the top selling Minnesota book.

Jim Holden will be talking about his new book, Tennis in the Northland, beginning at about 7:35 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday) on WCCO Radio with Charlie Boone.  The former Northfield tennis coach has written a comprehensive history of boys’ high school tennis in Minnesota.  From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow, Holden will be autographing books at the Sectional USTA League Tournament at the Baseline Tennis Center on the University of Minnesota campus.  https://www.jim-holden.com/

Edina Country Club tennis pro Greg Wicklund, a former Gopher from Roosevelt High School, writes a popular news and names column for Tennis Life magazine, the USTA publication.  Wicklund has been writing that type of column in local publications for about 15 years and also is a teaching pro for Lifetime Fitness.  A history major at Minnesota, Wicklund took some journalism classes and thought about a career in the profession.