Opinions and notes on the Twins, Gophers, Timberwolves and Vikings:
Don’t look for the Twins to panic their way into trades before the major league trading deadline on July 31. At 8.5 games out of first place in the Central Division it’s too early to give up on the season and perhaps dump unwelcome payroll.
But it requires a lot of optimism to believe the Twins beleaguered starting pitching can put the club back into the division race. How different the starting rotation would look if the Twins hadn’t given up on successful starters R.A. Dickey, Kyle Lohse and Matt Garza.
Dickey leads the National League in wins with 11. The Mets right-hander saw his 44.2 innings streak of not giving up an earned run end on Sunday against the Yankees. His knuckleball is among the most difficult in baseball to hit.
The Cardinals’ Lohse, like Dickey, has an ERA under 3.00, and wouldn’t the Twins love to have a starter who has walked only 17 batters in 102 innings. Garza has won only three games with the lowly Cubs but he’s an innings eater and still is under 30 years old. The last four seasons Garza has exceeded or been near 200 innings pitched.
The Twins have used 10 different starting pitchers this season. The inability of starters to often pitch more than a few innings has made the bullpen among the busiest in baseball. Relief pitchers including newcomers like Jared Burton have been effective but the Twins don’t have a dominant closer. Don’t look now but former Twins closer Joe Nathan, 37, has a 1.99 ERA in his first season with The Rangers.
Except for a series against the Rangers July 6-8, the Twins face only division rivals between now and the July 9-12 All-Star break. After the White Sox series that ends today, the Twins play the Royals and Tigers. A good result during the next two weeks in the five-team division race would be moving ahead of the fourth place Royals who are 3.5 games in front of the Twins. The Twins are 9-11 so far this season against division rivals.
Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe was hitting .138 with one home run and two RBIs on May 16. Now he is batting .242 and has a c0-team leading 15 home runs along with 27 RBI.
Plouffe is hitting a home run once in every 12.1 at bats. That’s pretty impressive by historical baseball standards. Mark McGwire, baseball’s all-time leader, homered every 10.6 at bats and Babe Ruth hit a home run every 11.8.
Plouffe’s resurgence seems to mystify just about everyone including him. He could be experiencing a once in a lifetime streak, or perhaps proving he can take his place among the better home run hitters in the American League.
The 26-year-old right handed batting Plouffe, who has power to all fields, never hit more than 15 home runs during a single season in the minor leagues. This is the third year he’s been with the Twins but he’s never had more than 286 at bats in a single season.
Twins outfielder Josh Willingham also has 15 home runs but has 251 plate appearances compared with Plouffe’s 182.
Twins fan Jim Dotseth said pitcher Francisco Liriano has been chewing gum during his last six starts and in that period Liriano has compiled a 2.41 ERA. Liriano’s record is 2-2 in those games including a win over the White Sox on Monday night. Maybe the gum relaxes Liriano, or improves concentration.
Twins rookie Tyler Robertson made his debut last night becoming only the eighth relief pitcher in major league history to strike out the side in order in the first inning pitched, according to Baseball-Reference.
Gophers basketball director of operations Joe Esposito told Sports Headliners yesterday that star senior forward Trevor Mbakwe, who is recovering from a torn right ACL, might be ready for contact and scrimmaging within 30 days. “He looks good,” Esposito said.
Timberwolves president of basketball operations David Kahn doesn’t lack for confidence or willingness to make changes. It was not surprising yesterday to see the Wolves trade their first round pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft for Rockets small forward Chase Budinger. Now starting his fourth season with the Wolves, this is Kahn’s first assignment in the NBA as a basketball boss and he still faces scrutiny about his effectiveness.
Wolves owner Glen Taylor is 71 and has owned the team since 1995. The next 12 months could be a smart time to shop the franchise. The Wolves have two potential super stars in Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio, a proven winner in coach Rick Adelman, and Target Center financing is in place for major renovation. Then, too, the NBA’s labor agreement with its players was solidified last year.
How potentially popular is Rubio? With Rubio’s flashy playing style and off-court charisma his popularity ceiling will be limited only by how well he plays and how many games the Wolves win in the next half dozen years. He has the potential to approach the popularity of the late Kirby Puckett, the Twins World Series hero.
Newspaper and radio journalist Larry Fitzgerald Sr. emailed that he was the “only Twin Cities reporter to cover the NBA Finals.”
What would have happened to the Vikings franchise if agreement hadn’t been reached on a new stadium? I believe club owners wouldn’t have moved the team but sources have told Sports Headliners ownership might have sold the franchise to an investor who would have relocated the Vikings.
Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier was asked recently if his relationship with unhappy wide receiver Percy Harvin is as good as a month ago: “We still have a good relationship. There will always be things you have to work through. I think that will always be the case with players and coaches. There is a line there always but I think we have a good relationship.”
Frazier said Christian Ponder is the team’s No. 1 quarterback and Joe Webb is the backup as training camp and preseason games approach. “We’re going into it with Christian being our starting quarterback,” Frazier said. “If something were to happen to Christian because of injury, we feel like we have a capable backup in Joe but there is no competition as to what Joe has to do to beat out Christian. Christian, it’s his job. …”
Ponder said last week as the team closed its minicamp that he is planning vacation time in Hilton Head, South Carolina and Disney World in Orlando.
Among those being inducted into the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Hall of Fame on July 11 in St. Cloud will be Dave Meisner from Winona State. Known as “Mouse” during his playing days, the 5-8 Meisner left Winona Sate as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,658 points. He was all-conference as a junior and senior. He scored 47 points in one game, still the second best individual game total in school history.
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