MIAC – Page 12 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Twins Buy-Sell Decision Still Too Early

Posted on June 25, 2017June 25, 2017 by David Shama

A Sunday notes column with the Twins leading off:

The Twins are a surprise contender for the American League Central Division title, and this morning were only a half game out of first place. The turnaround from 2016 when Minnesota finished with a 59-103 record doesn’t predict, however, whether the front office will be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline July 31.

Club president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners on Friday it’s too early to determine what direction the franchise will go with its roster by the end of July, and even in August when MLB teams can still make moves through waiver deals. He made it clear that whatever course the club determines will be decided by Derek Falvey, the chief baseball officer who was hired last fall.

“We’ll try to do what’s best for our club,” St. Peter said. “I have great confidence in Derek Flavey to lead that decision making process. … It’s a little early to get into where we stand in that. Obviously our club has been competitive but it’s also obvious we have a lot of work to do.”

Falvey and others involved with the Twins leadership, including general manager Thad Levine, are taking a long-term view in rebuilding the franchise. While it’s a positive to be playing above .500 with a 38-34 record, the goal is to become a consistent winner that can deliver championships. The Twins have holes on their roster, including at times an alarming lack of quality pitching. The farm system only has a couple of prospects who will make top 100 lists of baseball’s most promising players.

“There are a lot of positives with this (current roster) group of players,” St. Peter commented. “That said, we’ve also seen challenges and we need to find ways to get better. I am optimistic that Derek is going to explore every avenue going forward, and not just in the short-term but probably more importantly over the long-term.”

On July 22 the Twins celebrate the 30th anniversary of their 1987 World Series championship team during a pregame ceremony at Target Field before Minnesota plays the Tigers. That Twins won the first world title by a Minnesota pro sports team since the 1954 Minneapolis Lakers were NBA champs.

The 1965 Twins were in the World Series, the 1981 North Stars reached the Stanley Cup Finals, and the Vikings lost four times in Super Bowls in the 1970s, but St. Peter said Upper Midwest sports fans are “eternally grateful to that group (the ’87 Twins) for actually bringing home a world championship.”

The ’87 team wasn’t a preseason favorite to reach the World Series. Part of the love affair for fans with that team was how they surprised most everyone with their success. “It’s by far, in my opinion, the most popular group-team in Minnesota sports history,” said St. Peter who expects many members of the team to be in Minneapolis for the reunion.

Earlier this year the Twins’ Eduardo Escobar represented the club in a cow milking contest against the Angels’ Blake Parker in Anaheim. St. Peter said a milking contest could be part of his franchise’s plans for next season and help celebrate agriculture.

Asked about potential Twins to participate, St. Peter identified Escobar and Chris Gimenez who he said was known as a “decent milker” while participating in cow milking with other clubs. Years ago the promotion was popular at Met Stadium.

It’s not believed (just kidding) cow milking skills or experience will be factors in determining the Twins’ roster coming out of spring training in 2018.

Longtime Wolves followers might wonder about the reported relationship between Jimmy Butler and coach Fred Hoiberg during the last two seasons in Chicago. Butler, the All-Star small forward traded to the Wolves last week, was apparently critical and challenging of Hoiberg’s coaching. Hoiberg, who played for the Wolves and worked for the organization years ago, is a terrific person and classy guy.

Westgate sports book moved the Wolves from 100-1 to 60-1 to win next year’s NBA title after the Minnesota-Chicago trade, according to a Friday online story by Todd Dewey for the Las Vegas Review–Journal. The Bulls’ odds went from 100-1 to 200-1.

Athlon Sports is celebrating 50 years since its inception and its Big Ten football magazine now on newsstands includes a feature ranking the 50 top college players dating back to 1967. Minneapolis’ Larry Fitzgerald Jr., the wide receiver who played at Pittsburgh, is No. 23. Former Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss, who scored at least one touchdown in each of his college games at Marshall, is No. 22. Running back Herschel Walker, who also played for the Vikings and won the Heisman Trophy while leading Georgia to the national championship, is No. 1 on the list.

Teddy Bridgewater’s rehabilitation of his knee is ongoing but optimism about his chances of playing quarterback again for the Vikings is more certain than several months ago.

Jennifer Hines, tournament director for the 3M Championship, is one of three women in the country directing PGA tournaments. Another director is Hines’ sister, Tracy West, with the Valspar Championship in Palm Harbor, Florida.

This year’s 3M Championship is July 31-August 6 at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine. Jack Nicklaus will be among the golf legends expected to play in a special event. Joe Durant won the tournament last year. Admission is free all week.

Creative Charters, the Stillwater-based fan tour company, is offering a package with more than football for the Gophers game on September 9 in Corvallis against Oregon State. The trip includes activities on the Oregon coast with fishing, whale watching, wine tasting and more. Details at Creativecharter.com.

The 29th annual Bruce Smith Golf Classic last Monday at Faribault Golf Club included former Gophers Seth Helgeson, Darrell Thompson and Ben Utecht. The fundraising event benefits Faribault schools and has generated about $225,000 over the years. It honors Bruce Smith, the Faribault native who won the 1941 Heisman Trophy playing for the Gophers.

Kaitlin Langer, who finished her senior season at St. Thomas as the D3Hoops.com Player of the Year, majored in real estate studies and is “affiliated with a RE/MAX office in Rosemount,” according to the latest issue of the University of St. Thomas magazine.

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MLB Finds Time Can Move Slow

Posted on May 21, 2017May 22, 2017 by David Shama

The view from here is the average time of a nine inning major league baseball game appears similar to the continual complaining about the 60,000 page federal tax code—not much seems to change.

Typical games last over three hours and some “marathons” push toward four hours or beyond. A review of this morning’s 11 box scores for nine inning games in the Star Tribune showed six lasting over three hours, and five under that total. All the three hour games were at least three hours and 20 minutes, with the longest game clocking in at 3:50. The times for the games under three hours were: 2:35, 2:52, 2:52, 2:56 and 2:58.

These times are typical of MLB games and there are days when games played in under three hours are minimal. Decades ago games weren’t so lengthy, with three hour affairs a rarity. Common were games that lasted around two hours and 30 minutes, or less.

Fans and owners have been wrestling with the problem of lengthy games for years. Back in 2010, Baseball Prospectus reported games lasted an average of 2:55, but by 2014 the average was 3:08. The next year MLB decided to enforce rules speeding up games and for the 2015 season the average came in at 2:56, according to an October 2015 A.P. story. The average before the All-Star Game was 2:53 but after the mid-season break the average was three hours.

In 2016 the average game was back to three hours, according to an October 15 article by the New York Times that credited Baseball-Reference.com. The Times story pointed out the Nationals-Dodgers five-game playoff series last fall averaged over four hours and there was an inning that lasted 66 minutes. Times writer Benjamin Hoffman noted that in 1919 the Giants and Phillies played a nine inning game in 51 minutes.

MLB seems to have periods of lacking willpower in enforcing rules to speed up games.

St. Paul Saints owner Mike Veeck told Sports Headliners three hours is the “magic” number to avoid. Veeck, known as one of baseball’s great marketers during a career that included front office assignments with the White Sox and Rays, spoke about ways to speed things up. He said there should be 90 seconds between innings (instead of two minutes or more). He also emphasized there needs to be enforcement of 20 seconds or less between pitches, and hitters can’t be allowed to fiddle away time by stepping out of the batter’s box.

“The umpires have to have more say on the field, and the owners have to back them up,” Veeck said.

Veeck suggested owners know they can sell a lot more popcorn and beer during a long game than a short one. There are also other revenue streams like team stores in stadiums that help line the pockets of owners.

While a captive audience for a long game can mean more cash for the home club, baseball runs the risk of alienating fans. Many fans find a long game boring. Baseball is a leisurely game to watch and while it can be relaxing at 2:30, it may become tedious when it’s an hour or more longer.

MLB teams play 81 home dates and the fan who wants to attend several games or more has to consider the time investment. Allow a couple of hours to go to and from a game, then add on nearly four hours at the ball park, and that becomes a hefty time investment for some folks to make several times per year.

“I think this is one instance where you have to absolutely do what’s right by the fans,” Veeck said. “If we are losing attention span, then we have to speed it up any way we can.”

Baseball should particularly fret about getting in front of younger generations with their limited attention spans. A new marketing tactic is that Facebook is partnering with MLB to broadcast 20 Friday night games this season.

Twins general manager Thad Levine thinks baseball can look at things to speed the game up like requiring a pitcher to face more than one batter in an inning. His suggestion is more than valid because often the No. 1 factor in making for long games is the parade of pitchers used over nine innings. Baseball purists won’t like it, and Levine didn’t offer it, but certainly another way to speed up the game would be to limit the total number of pitchers than can be used in an inning.

During a conversation with Sports Headliners Levine placed emphasis on the question of what baseball leaders can do to make games more “compelling,” not necessarily faster. He said the effectiveness of relief pitching often means outcomes of games are pretty much determined by the sixth inning or so. The depth and quality of bullpens frequently neutralizes offenses. Football and basketball have more late game drama and heroics.

Despite critics who insist baseball is too long and boring, the game remains popular. More than half of the 30 MLB teams are drawing 28,000 fans per game or more, with eight clubs attracting over 35,000, according to ESPN.com. Those attendance numbers could continue to climb as summer approaches, and also because MLB has a bumper crop of exciting players.

The star list is long, impressive and youthful led by the likes of superstar outfielders Mike Trout and Bryce Harper. “I think the game is in a terrific place right now in the sense that there is just such a slew of young, exciting players in the game,” Levine said.

The Twins don’t have a superstar but third baseman Miguel Sano, 24, might qualify some day. Sano is part of a Twins youth movement that shows promise on the field and for selling tickets for a franchise that has seen home attendance decline every season since 2010. Sano and centerfielder Byron Buxton, 23, were named this month to Keith Laws’ best under 25 list for ESPN.com. Pitcher Jose Berrios, 22, looks like he has star power, too.

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Lurtsema Predicts Teddy to Play in 2017

Posted on May 16, 2017May 16, 2017 by David Shama

Bob Lurtsema watched Teddy Bridgewater throw footballs last week and he predicts the Vikings quarterback, who missed all of the 2016 season because of a severe left knee injury, will soon be competing with Sam Bradford for the starting job.

“He’ll play in preseason,” Lurtsema told Sports Headliners. “He’s throwing sharp.”

Neither Bridgewater nor the Vikings have announced an official return to the field but Lurtsema, the well-known Vikings alum who remains close to the franchise, spoke confidently about a comeback for the 24-year-old who Minnesota drafted in 2014. When asked how Bridgewater’s knee is recovering, Lurtsema replied, “Very, very well.”

Before Bridgewater hurt the knee in a noncontact situation last summer, there was every confidence the former Louisville star was going to be the team’s starter and quarterback of the future. The knee injury was so severe, however, it cast doubt over Bridgewater’s short and long term future, with suggestions he might not ever play again.

The Vikings were forced to acquire the veteran Bradford late last summer. He not only learned the offense remarkably well on short notice but passed the football with amazing accuracy. His completion rate of 71.6 percent was even more impressive because of the injuries that devastated the offensive line. That percentage set an NFL single season record.

When asked about the Vikings’ likelihood to hold a competition in training camp this summer between Bridgewater and the 29-year-old Bradford, Lurtsema said, “Hell, yes.”

Who will win the job? Lurtsema said the selection will have everything to do with head coach Mike Zimmer and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur’s belief about who is better suited to run the style of offense they think best fits the club’s overall personnel. The quarterback who can best complement that offense and execute it gets the job, per Lurtsema.

When Lurtsema saw Bridgewater last week he expressed empathy concerning the knee injury and lengthy rehab. Bridgewater said injuries are part of the game and players can expect to get hurt. “I feel great now and things are going to be good,” Bridgewater told Lurtsema.

Worth Noting

The Vikings will open their regular season against former star running back Adrian Peterson who is now with the Saints. Coaches recently haven’t allowed the 32-year-old Peterson to have contact in preseason games. Lurtsema believes that is a mistake not getting the body ready for running the football and if Peterson follows the pattern as a Saint he will have minimal production against the Vikings in the season opener.

Lurtsema appeared at a Twin Cities Sabercats game last Saturday to sign autographs. The Sabercats are a semi-pro football team that won its 2017 opening game at North St. Paul Polar Field against a team from Iowa. The Sabercats have a playing roster of 53 and don’t receive compensation. Players range in age from 18 to their late 30s.

Bud Grant’s birthday is Saturday. The legendary former Vikings coach turns 90.

Sunday’s column about the 1967 Gophers Big Ten championship football team prompted emails from readers including former team student trainer Steve Nestor. Nestor remembered coach Murray Warmath used four different starting quarterbacks that season—Larry Carlson, Phil Hagen, Ray Stephens and Curtis Wilson. “Go figure! Has to be more than unique,” Nestor wrote regarding Minnesota’s last Big Ten title team that struggled to score points early in the season.

The column referenced the late John Williams who was a highly recruited fullback from Toledo coming out of high school and he was pursued by legendary coach Ohio State coach Woody Hayes. The coach hung up the phone on Williams when he heard the schoolboy star was going to Minnesota, according to emailer Steve Hunegs.

Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck told WCCO Radio “Sports Huddle” listeners on Sunday his preference is to name his starting quarterback the first week of practice in August. Senior redshirt Conor Rhoda and junior Demry Croft looked like the favorites for the job coming out of spring practices.

As the new head coach in January, Fleck inherited a program that excels academically and made vast improvements in recent years. Eligibility was a major issue when Jerry Kill became head coach in late 2010, and part of what the public doesn’t know about the academic turnaround is football department staff went to classes checking on the attendance of players.

The May 15-22 issue of Sports Illustrated has high praise for Jake Guentzel, the Penguins rookie forward who is the son of Gophers associate men’s hockey coach Mike Guentzel. Jake’s teammates include superstar center Sidney Crosby who has helped make the Penguins a favorite to win the 2017 Stanly Cup. “He’s just so smart,” Penguins assistant GM Bill Guerin said of Guentzel. “Jake thinks the game at a high enough level that he can keep up with Sid.”

Former Gopher Phil Kessel scored the lone goal last night in the Penguins’ 1-0 win over the Senators to tie that Stanley Cup series at 1-1.

The same issue of S.I. included NBA leaders this past season in hustle statistics like charges drawn, contested shots, deflections and loose balls recovered. Among the leaders in scrappiness was Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio whose 3.8 deflections per game tied John Wall of the Wizards for third best in the league. Robert Covington from the 76ers led all players in that category at 4.2.

The Star Tribune’s Sunday night online story about the Gophers softball team not being selected by the NCAA to host a regional playoff series was the most read article on the website. The Big Ten champions will be sent to Tuscaloosa, Alabama where play begins Friday and the field includes the SEC’s Alabama. The 54-3 Gophers were faulted for having zero wins against top 10 nationally ranked teams and only two versus top 25 programs. All 13 SEC softball teams made the NCAA Tournament and eight of the 16 hosts for regionals are from that conference.

The St. Paul Saints open their season Thursday night against Gary and are giving away 6,000 tams in recognition of the late Mary Tyler Moore whose 1970s TV show was factiously based in Minneapolis. A Minneapolis statue of Moore, who died earlier this year, depicts her famous tam toss from the TV show.

Saints owner Mike Veeck had a hip replacement 49 days ago and is moving well. He and the Saints are celebrating 25 seasons in St. Paul this year.

Minnesotan Michele Tafoya, the sideline reporter for NBC’s Sunday Night Football, impressed with her presentation to the CORES group last Thursday. The next program is September 14 when Matt Birk, the former Vikings center who now works for the NFL, speaks to CORES. Darrell Thompson, the Gophers all-time leading career rusher and now the team’s radio analyst for games, will speak on November 9. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

St. Thomas used four spring conference championships to win the 2016-2017 MIAC men’s and women’s all-sports title for the 10th consecutive year. It’s the 31st all-time title for the St. Thomas men and 26th for the women.

Target Center general manager Steve Mattson is leaving his position because of a family relocation to Seattle.

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