Joe Mauer – Page 24 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Ex-Twins Making All-Star Bids

Posted on June 14, 2013June 14, 2013 by David Shama

Joe Mauer could see five former Twins at next month’s All-Star Game at Citi Field in New York. Mauer, though, is likely to be the only current Twin in the July 16 game featuring the best players from the American and National Leagues.

Fans have Mauer as the leading vote recipient among catchers in the most recent results released by Major League Baseball while three former Twins are also popular. J.J. Hardy is first among AL shortstops, David Ortiz leads the designated hitters and Torii Hunter is third in balloting for outfielders. Counting the starting pitcher, eight position players and a designated hitter, the American League lineup in the 2013 All-Star Game could include four players, or 40 percent of the personnel, with Twins connections.

It’s up to the All-Star Game managers to choose the pitchers for their rosters and ex-Twins Joe Nathan and Jason Marquis look like possibilities for the AL and NL staffs. Nathan, who the Twins didn’t re-sign after the 2011 season, already has 20 saves for the Rangers and was chosen for the 2012 All-Star game. Marquis, who the Twins released last season, is 8-2 with the Padres and just one win behind the National League leaders.

When have so many Twins alums been All-Star candidates? Perhaps never, and that dates back to when the franchise started playing in Minneapolis-St. Paul in 1961. Players have more freedom to switch teams than years ago and the Twins have parted ways with a lot of guys because the organization was unwilling (or unable) to meet salary demands. But the club has made some poor personnel decisions, or just been unlucky with the development of some players who went elsewhere.

Hardy is one of the most distressing mistakes. The Twins traded Hardy to the Orioles in late 2010 for two minor league pitchers who did nothing for Minnesota. Hardy is among AL leaders in home runs with 13 and tops in double plays for shortstops with 47. Not only are the Twins still trying to fill the shortstop role but also in center field where Carlos Gomez, now a .300 hitter with power, once played for Minnesota before being traded to the Brewers to acquire Hardy.

When the 2013 season started there were 35 ex-Twins on MLB rosters, according to a April 13 story on Startribune.com. Most of them obviously won’t make the All-Star Game but some are producing the kind of numbers that could make a struggling Twins team coming off consecutive last place finishes in the AL Central a better club.

Among alums with the best hitting stats are Gomez and Michael Cuddyer with batting averages of .326 and .337. Even infielder Nick Punto, hitting .263 for the Dodgers, might be an upgrade as a leadoff hitter for the Twins. Pitchers Grant Balfour, Jesse Crain, Francisco Liriano and Pat Neshek have turned heads with their impressive ERAs. R.A. Dickey, although struggling this season, won the Cy Young award in 2012.

The Twins, of course, are looking to the future, not the past, while anticipating the development of hot young prospects in the minor leagues. Perhaps soon those prospects will be turning the franchise around but at this year’s All-Star Game some Twins fans could turn their heads away and wince after seeing who is on the field, or even while looking at the statistics of Twins alums.

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Morneau Faces Improbable Twins Future

Posted on June 5, 2013June 5, 2013 by David Shama

Even if Justin Morneau reverts to becoming a superstar slugger in the next four months it seems unlikely he will finish his career with the Twins. The club could even reach agreement with Morneau and another team to send the 32-year-old first baseman elsewhere this summer before the major league trading deadline.

Morneau, who reportedly can’t be traded without his approval, hit .324 with 31 home runs and 130 RBI in 2006 when he was the American League’s MVP. Since 2010 his rough times have included a concussion, troublesome back and wrist surgery. In 2010 he played in 81 games and then 69 the next season. After hitting .227 with four home runs in 2011, Morneau had a comeback performance last season although his numbers —.267 average, 19 home runs and 77 RBI — weren’t like his best years.

This season Morneau is hitting .291 but has only two home runs. His decline in power isn’t acceptable for a player who is finishing an $80 million deal this season, signed in 2008. Neither is his frequent absence from the lineup during the course of his six-year contract.

Morneau is a terrific teammate. He bleeds Twins colors and no doubt wants to play his entire big league career with this organization. Despite the loyalty, it’s rational to wonder whether Morneau really would accept a huge slash in compensation on his next contract with the Twins. Another big league club might offer more than what the Twins are willing to pay — whatever that figure is — and if the rival team just happens to have World Series potential that could entice Morneau elsewhere.

The Twins aren’t going to the World Series anytime soon and Morneau would like to be a world champion. The Twins also aren’t growing their payroll, reducing it about $18 million in 2013 and $13 million in 2012, according to the website Baseballprospectus.com that also lists individual compensation for players.

The Twins ownership wants a winning team but also is interested in the financial bottom line. Average home attendance in 2013 could be down for a fourth consecutive season. The organization’s marketing approach now is to emphasize entertainment more than winning. The front office knows the club performance has to be much better than the two consecutive last place Central Division finishes of 2011 and 2012 but is counting on rebuilding with minor league hotshots, not aging veterans like Morneau.

Among those hot prospects is 6-3, 220-pound Miguel Sano who struggles as a third baseman. He could be the Twins’ first baseman within a couple of seasons. And the truth is the organization is deep in potential first basemen including Chris Parmelee who mostly plays right field now.

Joe Mauer, 30, can play first base and is going to be catching fewer games in the future while needing some place else to play other than designated hitter. Ryan Doumit can also play first base and is a versatile player. Doumit is also a catcher and outfielder, and at 32 the same age as Morneau. He reportedly earns $3.5 million per season and has a contract that goes through next year.

Doumit is a better value to the Twins than Morneau. So too is 34-year-old outfielder Josh Willingham who reportedly earns $7 million per season through next year. On a power-poor roster, Willingham is a savior for the Twins, a real slugger who led the team in home runs with 35 last season and is tops this season with 10. He is another player with better value than Morneau.

Right now Morneau doesn’t have much negotiating leverage when it comes to a future contract with any team. Even if he soon shows the plate production of the old Morneau he’s probably too expensive for the Twins and their vision for the future. If Morneau approaches his production of last season, the Twins might offer $7 million for two years but that is a big cut in compensation — especially if another club is willing to boost his wallet and ego by offering more. Don’t count on the Twins sending a lot of money his way.

Worth Noting

The Twins will see their former center fielder, Denard Span, starting on Friday in Washington. Traded during the last off-season, Span is hitting .264 with no home runs and 15 RBI. Pitching prospect Alex Meyer who the Twins acquired in the trade is 3-3 with a 3.69 ERA for Double-A New Britain. He has struck out 73 batters in 61 innings.

The Twins won’t see Washington’s 21-year-old outfielder and phenom Bryce Harper who is on the 15-day disabled list. The second-year slugger has 12 home runs in 44 games.

Span’s successor in center field for the Twins, Aaron Hicks, leads American League rookies in runs (24), home runs (six) and RBI (19) despite having only a .175 batting average. He has sometimes been spectacular in the field.

Not only is Bud Grant on ESPN’s list of the 20 greatest NFL coaches of all-time but three others with Minnesota connections are included. At No. 20 is Tony Dungy who played quarterback for the Gophers and later was the Vikings’ defensive coordinator. Mike Shanahan, a former Gophers offensive coordinator, is No. 19 while Minneapolis North High School alum Sid Gillman is No. 18. Grant is No. 15 on a list that is still counting down the final seven names. A group of voters including Chris Berman, John Clayton, Mike Ditka, Herm Edwards, Mike Golic, Bill Polian and Rick Reilly cast ballots to determine the top 20 coaches in recognition of the late Vince Lombardi’s 100^th birthday.

Vikings wide receivers coach George Stewart on whether the team’s offense changes now that game-breaker Percy Harvin plays for the Seahawks: “I don’t think we change at all. Percy (was) a great talent here. We have guys. …We have a bigger athlete (than Percy) in Cordarrelle Patterson that can do the same kind of things. So I think we’ll be the same. We have some different wrinkles that we had a chance to evaluate during the course of the offseason so we’re not going to change much. We’re going to be a good football team, running the football obviously, and when it comes to the passing game I think we have a chance to excel in that area as well.”

The 2013 Sporting News College Football Preview, on newsstands now, predicts the Gophers will finish fifth in the Legends Division, one spot ahead of Iowa. The magazine projects the Gophers playing in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.

Former Gophers defensive coordinators now at other schools are David Gibbs at Houston, Greg Hudson at Purdue, Ted Roof at Georgia Tech and Everett Withers at Ohio State.

Rodney Williams, unlikely to make an NBA roster this fall, should consider the Harlem Globetrotters among his future options. The former Gopher not only has the athleticism and dunking ability to entertain crowds but also a pleasing personality and engaging smile.

Don Berry, who has won the Tapemark Charity Pro-Am a record six times, tees off at 1:10 p.m. Friday and 7:50 a.m. on Saturday at Southview Country Club. The men’s event begins Friday while the women’s event started yesterday. More at www.tapemarkgolf.org.

Radio personality Dark Star, who died June 1 of last year, has a race named after him now—the $50,000 Dark Star Cup at Canterbury Park this Saturday. Star was a former horse racing handicapper for the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press. He was a major promoter of Canterbury Park and is a member of the track’s Hall of Fame.

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Lengthy Twins Games Test Interest

Posted on May 20, 2013May 20, 2013 by David Shama

I am back in a familiar spring habit regarding the Twins who after a laborious day at Target Field yesterday have now lost five consecutive games. The first several games of the season I am locked in for all nine innings but by this time in May my interest borders on apathy.

Here’s the problem: not only are many games too dang long, but the Twins don’t win enough games and hit enough home runs (next to last in AL). Translation: if the action isn’t compelling, then a three to four hour time commitment is often too much for me.

Major League Baseball knows despite the solid popularity of its sport, lengthy games are a concern. Yeah, other entertainment like football and basketball have increased dramatically in game times over the years but baseball is more problematic because it’s a very deliberate endeavor and the season is the longest of any in American sports.

In the 1970s the average MLB game was two hours and 30 minutes, according to a July 27 story last year by Bleacherreport.com. The article said since 2007 the average has not fallen below two hours and 50 minutes. Twins games dating back to May 11 of this year have clocked in at 2:45, 2:55, 2:51, 2:44, 3:26, 3:24, 3:53 and yesterday’s 3:15 which was 6:15 if you count a three hour rain delay.

Now compare that with the game times for the 1965 World Series between the Twins and Dodgers. Four of those seven games were played in less than two hours and 16 minutes. The longest was two hours and 34 minutes.

Patrick Klinger was vice president of marketing for the Twins through last season and was asked about baseball’s slowdown. “Twins games used to start at 8 o’clock on week nights back in the 60s. Even when I was an intern with the Twins back in 1986, games started at 7:35. Now they start at 7. They take so long.”

What happened? Innings breaks are longer to allow more TV commercials to pitch products and services, but the game has changed, too. Years ago starting pitchers often finished the game, working all nine innings. Now baseball has become a parade of pitchers. Managers even change pitchers more than once in the same inning. Add to that meetings at the mound between the pitching coach, pitcher, catcher and infielders.

Pitchers also work at various paces, including slow and slower while hitters can be cautious about looking over the pitches thrown at them. Think about Joe Mauer who seldom swings at the first pitch. Hitters often review five or more pitches before the ball goes into play.

MLB doesn’t want games played at a leisurely pace. Umpires are instructed to do what they can to make sure games are played efficiently. MLB obviously knows games lasting beyond three hours are a time commitment problem for fans including those attending a week night game. And it’s more than a three hour commitment because fans sometimes arrive an hour or so before the game and travel time has to be added in as well.

“What we wanted to do (at Twins games) was to provide the very best entertainment experience possible,” Klinger said. “We wanted people coming back often. If there was a long game (that) kind of slogged along I am not sure that provided the best entertainment experience. Are those people going to be as likely to return?”

Klinger said more likely to bring back the fans is a “good, crisp well played game” lasting about two hours and 30 minutes. He suggested that template is likely to have fans saying, “You know what? That was a lot of fun. Let’s go back next week.”

Klinger wrote in an e-mail that technology at the ballpark has enhanced the entertainment experience and during long games made the trip to the stadium more fun for fans. “Technology…now allows for huge video replay boards and social media opportunities inside the ballpark. In addition, there is much greater attention being paid to pregame ceremonies, between innings entertainment and music. It’s all designed to improve the in-ballpark experience by keeping fans engaged when the action slows.”

Klinger said complaints from fans about the length of games weren’t that numerous when he was with the Twins. “We didn’t get a lot but it was something we were always concerned about because this is a society now that wants instant gratification,” Klinger said. “Baseball is a deliberate game, and people’s attention spans aren’t maybe what they once were. Too many other distractions. We wanted to keep the game moving along. … Keep them (fans) interested and not looking at their cell phones, doing other things.”

Of course it’s not just the fans who attend games that baseball wants to attract. Audience development means attracting new followers and turning casual followers into passionate fans. “If there were ways to move it along, make it a little bit more dynamic, I think we’d pick up some fans,” Klinger said. “Too many people just sit in the stands (not engaged), or they try to watch a game on television and they think that it’s just too deliberate, too slow for them.”

Even Klinger, still a baseball fan after leaving the Twins and starting his own consulting company, knows his baseball focus is sometimes challenged. “I find myself, frankly, sometimes sitting on my sofa flipping channels. It’s so easy now with the remote control in your hands and a hundred stations or more on your television. There’s a break in the action, or if things are just deliberate, it’s so easy to hit a button and you’re watching something else.

“To flip to something else and then maybe flip back. So staying focused for three, three and one-half hours on a game I think is a little bit harder than it used to be. There are just too many options.”

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