Golden Gophers – Page 229 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Twins See Catcher Castro as ‘Framer’

Posted on April 4, 2017April 4, 2017 by David Shama

Among the terms heard in Major League Baseball these days is “framing pitches.” Twins fans likely will hear the phrase used a lot this season when media talk about catcher Jason Castro.

The 29-year-old was acquired during the offseason with the hope he can help a struggling pitching staff. Castro’s skill for “framing” is supposed to help Twins pitchers receive more called strikes from umpires. He has a knack for positioning his glove so pitches look more like strikes.

Castro was the Astros regular catcher the four previous seasons, and he gained a reputation for his glove work framing pitches and being among the best in the majors at his craft. “He is one of those ones near the top of the list,” said former big leaguer Roy Smalley, now a Twins TV analyst. “That can be really, really significant when you think about how important counts are to hitters.

“For example, on a 1-1 pitch it’s a huge deal what the umpire calls on a close pitch, whether it’s 2-1, or 1-2. Huge difference on a 2-1 pitch whether it goes to 3-1, or 2-2. Those kinds of things happen five or six times in a ballgame. It can mean the difference between winning or losing a ballgame.”

Castro, signed as a free agent, replaces last year’s starting catcher Kurt Suzuki who the Twins apparently didn’t want back. That’s a savvy move, according to an online story Sunday by Sports Illustrated. The article said analysis from Baseball Prospectus showed Castro was third in the majors (+16 runs) in framing pitches last season, while Suzuki was seven runs below average. For the past three seasons Castro is a plus 37, Suzuki a minus 32, the story said. That translates to 2.3 more wins per season.

Castro, who hit .210 last year, had two hits and two RBI in yesterday’s 7-1 season opening win against the Royals at Target Field. He also helped starting pitcher Ervin Santana hold the Royals to one run on two hits.

In his last 10 starts at Target Field, Santana is 5-3 with a 2.42 ERA.

Worth Noting

The Gophers baseball team opens its 2017 Siebert Field schedule tonight in a 6:30 p.m. game against North Dakota State. The Gophers and head coach John Anderson are 18-8 overall and 6-0 in Big Ten games. Sports Headliners reader Steve Hunegs notes that while the Gophers have had three different head football coaches in the last three years, Minnesota’s baseball program has three since 1948.

A Gophers athletic department source emailed that the 2017 salary pool for football assistant coaches is $3.1 million, compared with about $2.9 million last year. The top paid assistants are offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca and defensive coordinator Robb Smith, who each earn $700,000. P.J. Fleck, who was named head coach January 6, reportedly makes $3.5 million and is the highest paid Gophers football coach ever.

Newly signed Vikings reserve quarterback Case Keenum was a teammate of Minnesota starter Sam Bradford when the two played for the Rams in St. Louis in 2014.

Legendary ex-Vikings coach Bud Grant, who turns 90 on May 20, holds his annual garage sale at his Bloomington home May 17-19. “This will be his latest, last garage sale,” son Mike Grant told Sports Headliners with a smile.

Area resident and Sun Country executive Eric Curry didn’t officiate last night’s NCAA title game between North Carolina and Gonzaga, but he had another busy basketball season working games in various parts of the country. Curry’s assignments included the Armed Forces Classic at Pearl Harbor, the Mountain West Conference championship game and three rounds in the NCAA Tournament. He estimates flying more than 100,000 miles over a five month stretch.

Minnesota philanthropist Wayne Kostroski will help debut Taste of the Master Chefs in Augusta, Georgia on Friday. Kostroski, of course, is founder of Taste of the NFL (“the party with a purpose”) that has raised millions to fight hunger in the United States. The new event in the hometown of the Masters Golf Tournament will benefit the Salvation Army of Augusta.

“…My incentive has been that with all of the high-end parties and corporate hospitality during Masters week, I did not see one event that was geared to provide dollars and/or relief to local families in the Augusta area,” Kostroski wrote in an email.

Former Gophers football coach Lou Holtz is an avid golfer and has been a member of Augusta National Golf Club for almost 15 years. Holtz turned 80 in January and still plays the legendary course.

Holtz, who once was an assistant coach at Ohio State, joins Nike founder Phil Knight as guest coaches April 15 for the Buckeyes annual spring football game.

Michele Tafoya, the sideline reporter on NBC TV’s Sunday Night Football who lives in suburban Minneapolis, speaks to the CORES lunch group Thursday, May 11 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington, 1114 American Blvd. More information is available by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotseth@comcast.net.

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Gophers Fleck Eyes Stadium Expansion

Posted on April 2, 2017April 2, 2017 by David Shama

You have to give P.J. Fleck credit for ambition and vision. The new Gophers football coach hasn’t even completed the team’s spring practice schedule, but last Friday night he was talking about expanding the seating capacity of TCF Bank Stadium.

The dynamic 36-year-old arrived in Minneapolis January 6 after four years as head coach at Western Michigan, and he started pointing the program toward eventual Big Ten and (yes) even national championships. On Friday evening he stood in front of a packed room at the DoubleTree Hotel in St. Louis Park and spoke about creating a lot more ticket buyers at TCF Bank Stadium.

“You see, we have 55,000 seats in our stadium, but my plan already three years down the road is to expand it to 85,000,” Fleck told an audience of high school and youth football coaches.

Fleck wants to grow his program’s budget and referenced a “certain rival” who has $40 million more in budget than the Gophers. How to catch up?

“(Add) 30,000 more seats,” Fleck said. “But to be able to do that we have to connect people who don’t even like football.”

At the Minnesota Football Coaches Clinic Fleck didn’t talk Xs and Os. Instead the message was often about “culture,” or connecting with people inside and outside his program. He hinted at aggressive marketing efforts for Gophers football coming this spring and summer.

Part of the messaging will be to convince the public, even those who don’t care much about football, that the Gophers enrich the quality of life in the state with what they do both on and off the field (think community service)—and are worthy of support including on Saturday afternoons at TCF Bank Stadium. “Our program is about two things. Serving and giving. That’s it,” Fleck told the audience.

When speaking about budgets, Fleck didn’t say who that “certain rival” is but it could likely be Wisconsin. The Badgers draw sellout crowds of more than 80,000 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. There is no doubt behind the scenes Fleck is taking dead aim on the Badgers who turned around their program in both results and support in the 1990s. Wisconsin has won 13 consecutive games against Minnesota.

Fleck, who years ago started a bucket list that included becoming a Big Ten coach, is full of energy and ideas. He concedes his dynamo style and lofty ambitions aren’t for all, but some authorities think Fleck deserves a place among America’s most promising young coaches.

“I’ve got a good feeling about him taking this job,” Duke coach David Cutcliffe told the coaches Friday night at the clinic, which is an annual project of the Minnesota Football Coaches Association. Cutcliffe is 62 and old enough to be Fleck’s dad, but he knows the young coach’s story at Western Michigan where in four years he took the Broncos from 1-11 to 13-1, and built a fan base never seen before in Kalamazoo.

Fleck received a standing ovation when he stepped to the podium Friday night and then he reached out to his audience. His talking points included praise for the work of the state’s prep coaches. He acknowledged there are many resources to make Gophers football elite but said, “…If we didn’t have the (quality) high school coaches we have in the state of Minnesota, I would not have taken the job. I recruited this area. I remember it vividly.”

Fleck referred to himself as a young “schmuck” when he was recruiting as a member of the Northern Illinois staff and Minnetonka High School coach Dave Nelson showed him the kindness of inviting him into the Nelson home. That made a lasting impression on Fleck and he acknowledged Nelson, the MFCA Hall of Fame coach who was seated in the audience.

Many coaches in attendance at the DoubleTree are admirers of former Gophers head coach Jerry Kill. “Jerry Kill saved my career,” Fleck said. “I was let go when (Northern Illinois head coach) Joe Novak retired. Jerry Kill retained me. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Jerry Kill.”

Worth Noting

MFCA executive director Ron Stolski said there were over 1,700 attendees at the clinic—the ninth consecutive year attendance has increased.

Totino-Grace’s Jeff Ferguson was recognized as the MFCA’s Man of the Year. His Eagles won the 6A state title last year. In 15 seasons as head coach of the Eagles his record is 173-21, with eight state titles in classes 4A, 5A and 6A.

Clinic speakers included North Dakota State head coach Chris Klieman and several assistants. Bison defensive coordinator Matt Entz told Sports Headliners that 40 percent of the NDSU players are Minnesotans.

Stolski will speak at the Bison spring football clinic on Friday. The Brainerd coach’s talk is titled “A Coach’s Journey: Lessons Learned in Six Decades on the Field.”

The clinic’s keynote speaker will be Jon Gruden, the former NFL head coach and now an ESPN football analyst.

The Twins announced this afternoon they have placed left-handed pitcher Glen Perkins on the 60-day disabled list with a left posterior shoulder strain. They have also selected the contract of catcher Chris Gimenez and optioned first baseman Kennys Vargas to Triple-A Rochester. Minnesota’s roster is now set at 25 with 13 pitchers, two catchers, five infielders and five outfielders.

Rick Stelmaszek, the longest tenured coach in Twins history with 32 seasons through 2002, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at tomorrow’s Twins regular season opener at Target Field. Minneapolis rapper Dessa will sing the National Anthem, accompanied by a brass quintet from the Minnesota Orchestra.

World War II vet Henry “Hank” Langevin, 94, will raise the American Flag. He was born in St. Paul in 1922 and enlisted in the Army in 1941. He trained for two years to be a paratrooper and later as a glider. He fought in the Battle of Sicily and the Battle of the Bulge.

An online story in last Thursday’s Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that per the Westgate and Station Casino sports books, the Twins’ odds of winning the World Series are 100-1, with only four other MLB clubs facing longer odds. The Twins’ predicted win total is 74.

A week ago today the Gophers basketball team held its season-ending banquet on the floor of Williams Arena for the first time ever. “It was absolutely fabulous,” said former Gopher Al Nuness who attended. “I can’t figure out why we never had it there before. Everybody was just mesmerized.”

Minnesota native and Kings coach Dave Joerger talking about the Timberwolves who haven’t made the playoffs since 2004: “I think the future is very, very bright. This is a team that will be in the playoffs next year. …Nothing but the best is in front of them.”

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Fleck, Gophers on New Recruiting Track

Posted on March 29, 2017March 29, 2017 by David Shama

It’s early in the 2018 recruiting process but coach P.J. Fleck has Gophers’ football recruiting headed in a new direction. High school players from the class of 2018 can’t sign National Letters of Intent with Minnesota or other schools until next February, but they can make verbal commitments. An early look at Minnesota’s commitments list offers a contrast with what fans saw during the Jerry Kill–Tracy Claeys era from 2011-2016.

Fleck, who left Western Michigan in early January to become head coach of the Gophers, has verbal commitments from seven high school players so far—a total that exceeds what many Power Five conference programs have. A year ago on this date the Gophers didn’t have a single commitment, an indication of the aggressive recruiting by Fleck and his assistants.

In past years Minnesota pursued and often signed players who were two and three star players. Frequently the Gophers’ competition for recruits in past years came from the “have-nots” of college football—schools like Ball State, Colorado State or Louisiana Tech.

Contrast that with players Fleck has commitments from so far. Collectively they have impressed various football recruiting authorities, and Minnesota’s 2018 class has a No. 15 national composite ranking by 247Sports. If by Signing Day next February Fleck can hold anything near that No. 15 spot, it will be a big difference from Minnesota’s No. 56 composite ranking of its 2017 class.

“The expectation from his staff is to have a top 25 recruiting class in 2018 and that’s something that hasn’t happened here in a long time,” said Ryan Burns, the recruiting authority from GopherIllustrated.com.

Fleck and his assistants are chasing and in some instances gaining commitments from players who have offers from prominent football schools like Michigan State and Oklahoma. Among those who have verbally committed is Chicago defensive tackle Elijah Teague who earlier this year said he wanted to be a Gopher.

“He (Fleck) has arguably the best defensive tackle in Illinois coming here,” Burns said. “He had quite the offer list from Oklahoma, South Carolina—anywhere and everywhere he wanted to go—and it wasn’t even March yet.”

Burns said a recruiting expert who covers Ohio preps believes Gophers commit Brennan Armstrong is the best class of 2018 quarterback in the Buckeye state. The Gophers made Armstrong a recruiting priority and got to him early, according to Burns. “They got him to campus and they were able to seal the deal,” he added.

Jaylen Mayfield, a prize offensive tackle from Grand Rapids, Michigan, initially made a verbal commitment to Minnesota, but now has backed off after recently being pursued by the Michigan Wolverines. “That’s going to be an interesting battle for P.J.,” Burns said before Mayfield de-committed. “A Michigan kid, a Grand Rapids kid, (who) gets an Ann Arbor offer. Someone I don’t know that he (Fleck) is going to be able to hang on to. But he’s a very athletic kid that they need on the offensive line.”

The early recruiting success by Fleck and his assistants didn’t sneak up on Burns. “I am not surprised at all,” Burns said. “I knew that when P.J. took over at Minnesota that there was going to be a bump in the recruiting rankings. It’s what his M.O. had been at Western Michigan.

“He had the top rated recruiting class, according to Scout.com, all four years he was in the MAC (Mid-American Conference), and it showed. His first year he went 1-11. His final year he ends up going 13-1, so it’s a correlation between if you’re higher in the recruiting rankings. …”

The 36-year-old Fleck and his extroverted personality received a lot of attention at Western Michigan. National media, including Sports Illustrated, wrote about his energy and passion as he rebuilt the Broncos. Western Michigan was 13-0 last season before losing in the Cotton Bowl to Wisconsin, 24-16.

At Minnesota, Fleck and his staff have many more resources than at their former home in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The “sales kit” includes the Big Ten brand, a unique college town in Minneapolis, varied academic offerings at the University of Minnesota, post-graduate job opportunities in the metro area including with Fortune 500 companies, new playing and training facilities, and the chance to sign on with a program that Fleck claims is going places.

“As long as P.J. Fleck is going to be here, people are going to be interested because he is so unique in the college football scene,” Burns said. “He’s so young. He’s got a lot of things to sell with his energy, including playing time with the number of positions they’re going to have to replace here at Minnesota in the near future. …”

Fleck inherits a roster that both now and next season has depth issues. The depth problem is partially caused by missed recruiting opportunities in the past. But it is further impacted by players leaving under Fleck whose style can cause attrition.

Fleck’s intense ways and warp-speed culture, including frenzied practices, aren’t for everyone. He said the other day that in his second year at Western Michigan “close to 21 players” left his program and during spring football he had only about 40 players participating in drills. Yet, Fleck insisted that eventually he will build two-deep quality at various positions with the Gophers.

“There’s always going to be people that leave the program,” Fleck said. “There’s (also) always going to be people that love it and stay. It’s just so different (his football environment) and so new. …We gotta get our numbers up (at Minnesota) over the next few years.”

Fleck had about 150 high school juniors watching practice last Saturday. Burns said there is so much interest in the Gophers that high school players from faraway states like Georgia are paying their own expenses to check out the Minnesota football program. Burns added it’s all part of an intense recruiting plan where Fleck will target having all his 2018 recruits verbally committed prior to the opening game on August 31 against Buffalo.

Burns estimated about 75 percent of high school players who originally make a verbal commitment to a school actually keep their pledge and sign National Letters of Intent. He thinks Fleck’s percentage at Minnesota could turn out to be 90 percent. “He does a very good job of keeping his verbals,” Burns said. “Once you buy into P.J. Fleck, he is going to make sure he does everything in his power to keep you there.”

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