Twins – Page 103 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Sano Absence May Impact Division Race

Posted on March 20, 2019March 20, 2019 by David Shama

Enjoy a Wednesday notes column leading off with the Twins, and including basketball and football newsmakers.

The Twins start playing meaningful games next week when the regular season begins, and they are a popular pick to finish second in the mediocre AL Central Division. The more optimistic fans and media were thinking division title during the offseason, but now maybe less so with puzzling slugger Miguel Sano not expected in the lineup until May.

The Indians have won three consecutive division championships and while the roster doesn’t look as formidable as in the past, the club is anchored by probably baseball’s best starting staff. Those starters could lead the way to 90+ wins, while the Twins are a smart choice to win 80 to 85.

Sano told Sports Headliners a few years ago he might be capable of producing Miguel Cabrera type hitting numbers. “I can be better than Cabrera, I think,” he said in the summer of 2015. Sano, though, isn’t even close to matching the numbers of the future Tigers’ Hall of Famer. The Twins’ third baseman began his MLB career in 2014 and his play has been characterized as much by injuries as production at the plate.

The 6-foot-4 Sano, with a .199 batting average, didn’t even come close to hitting his weight (260) last season. He is out until possibly the time of his 26th birthday on May 11. Sano, whose latest problem is with his heel, tantalized the Twins in 2017 with his 28 home runs and 77 RBI. His presence in the lineup from the beginning of this season would have added confidence to those predicting a first Twins division championship since 2010.

It will be interesting to see how the Twins’ pitching staff develops including the late innings situation. Perhaps the club will not have an ace closer, instead using a few different relief pitchers in that role.

Minnesota’s regular season and home opener against the Indians will be played late afternoon on Thursday of next week, with Accuweather.com predicting a day time high of 56 degrees. The three-game series with the Indians also has scheduled day time dates at Target Field on March 30 and 31 when temps are predicted to be in the 40’s.

On opening day the club is giving away Twins puffer vests to the first 30,000 fans. Former Twin and AL MVP Justin Morneau will throw out the ceremonial first pitch, with Minneapolis song writer and performer Sean Tillman (aka Har Mar Superstar) singing the National Anthem.

As of this morning on the Twins’ ticket website, there were tickets available for the opener ranging in cost from $17 to $31.

There were rumors last week junior Gophers forward Michael Hurt will transfer to the college destination of his superstar brother Matthew Hurt, a senior at Rochester John Marshall. The possibility was mentioned to me months ago but I chose not to write about the speculation.

Michael would be eligible to play next season with his brother who has yet to announce his college choice, and could be destined to the NBA in another year via the 2020 league draft. Michael is a three-year reserve who this season is averaging 1.7 points per game and is 1 of 13 on three point field goal attempts. If he were to leave Minnesota, that presumably opens up a scholarship for the Gophers who have multiple roster needs for next season and should be shopping for junior college help.

Matthew, 6-foot-9, is so skilled he can excel at multiple positions. The bluebloods of college basketball, including Duke and North Carolina, would welcome the five-star recruit, and perhaps his brother—allowing the twosome to play one year together.

It will be a major surprise if Matthew isn’t announced as the state’s Mr. Basketball winner at the Timberwolves game on March 26. Hurt, who averaged about 37 points per game this season, won’t be in attendance because he will play among the nation’s elite players at the March 27 McDonald’s All-American Game in Atlanta.

A member of John Marshall’s varsity since eighth grade, Hurt has closed out his high school career never having played in the state tournament. Lakeville North has blocked Marshall’s path to the state tournament by winning seven consecutive times in the section finals.

Among the favorites to win the Class 4A Tournament this week is Hopkins with star center-power forward Zeke Nnjai. He is committed to Arizona for next season but if Wildcats coach Sean Miller leaves the program speculation will start about Nnjai’s college destination.

The Gophers, in search of a point guard all season, could have filled that opening two years ago by successfully recruiting Champlin Park’s McKinley Wright, who as a sophomore at Colorado has been named first team All-Pac-12. He also was an honorable mention choice for the league’s all-defensive team.

CBS lead sportscaster Jim Nantz, who will be here for the Minneapolis Final Four, gave a shout-out to 99-year-old Star Tribune columnist Sid Hartman on last Saturday’s telecast of the Minnesota-Michigan Big Ten Tournament game, and he told the listening audience he will speak to the Twin Cities Dunkers when he is town. The downtown-Minneapolis based Dunkers dates back to 1948 and Hartman has been a member since 1965.

Purdue, who the Gophers defeated twice in March, is an upset pick to make a run in the NCAA Tournament including a prediction by Seth Davis the Boilermakers will advance to the Minneapolis Final Four. Davis, the CBS in-studio college hoops analyst, is the son of Lanny Davis, the well-known lawyer and TV political commentator.

Steve Erban and Paul Dillion are among Gophers fans expected in Des Moines tomorrow for Minnesota’s NCAA Tournament game against Louisville. Erban emailed that the two are the only people who have seen every Gopher NCAA Tournament game dating back to 1989.

Gophers’ athletic director Mark Coyle said on the WCCO Radio Sports Huddle show last Sunday that about $130 million out of the $166 million targeted cost has been raised for the new Athlete’s Village on campus.

Gophers head football coach P.J. Fleck, new North Dakota State head coach Matt Entz, and former Vikings Matt Birk and Ben Leber are headline speakers at next week’s MFCA Football Clinic at the DoubleTree in St. Louis Park. More than 30 speakers and over 50 sessions are scheduled for the March 28-30 clinic. More at mnfootballcoaches.com

Karl-Anthony Towns had his 47th double-double of the season last night when he scored 26 points and got 21 rebounds in the Timberwolves’ loss to the Warriors at Target Center.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer hosts his first Mike Zimmer Golf Classic at Bearpath Golf and Country Club in Eden Prairie on Monday, May 13. The event is part of the Mike Zimmer Foundation. Hole sponsorships starting at a $1,000 are available. More at Mikezimmerfoundation.org.

Looks like Zimmer and GM Rick Spielman were right about quarterback Case Keenum who they let walk as a free agent last year. The Broncos, who signed Keenum in 2018, traded him to the Redskins earlier this month and now have turned to another veteran, Joe Flacco, as their quarterback leader. Keenum is with his fourth team in four years.

Ex-Gopher Phil Nelson, who received a lot of media and fan attention last month for a no-look pass, has completed 58.4 percent of his passes for 513 yards, and thrown three touchdown passes and three interceptions, quarterbacking the San Diego Fleet of the Alliance of American Football, according to noextrapoints.com.

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Fleck High on Gophers Offensive Line

Posted on March 8, 2019March 8, 2019 by David Shama

Enjoy a Friday notes column with information on football, basketball, hockey, media and wrestling newsmakers.

Third-year Golden Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck expects his offensive line to be among the better ones in the Big Ten next fall. Offensive line performance has often been an issue in the program’s recent past and Minnesota hasn’t had a center, guard or tackle chosen in the NFL Draft for 13 years.

The enthusiastic Fleck said the Gophers, who begin spring practice next Tuesday, could have “incredible line play in the making.” Minnesota has several offensive linemen with starting experience returning from a 7-6 team that closed the year winning two of its last three regular season games, and then won a bowl game by the largest margin in program history.

Fleck believes a top offensive line is “the name of the game” in the Big Ten Conference. He knows programs that win at a high level consistently have offensive lines that excel and produce top players.

“It’s a very, very physical conference,” Fleck said. “It’s a long season. It’s nine conference games. …It is a battle every single week, especially up front. If you can have bigger, stronger, more athletic, smarter (linemen), and you continue to develop that every single year, I think you’re going to have a lot of success.”

Fleck’s returnees include Connor Olson, a starting guard who could move to center and replace Jared Weyler who was a senior last fall. Fleck said it’s also not clear yet whether Blaise Andries, another starter last season, will end up at tackle or guard.

Fleck couldn’t talk about his offensive line without quickly discussing a tight end roster that is loaded with big bodies who are counted on to complement the blocking of the center, guards and tackles. The tight end group includes 6-foot-4 Jake Paulson, a starter last season, who has bulked up from 245 pounds to 270.

Minnesota has eight returning starters on offense and the competition at some positions will be intense. The running back roster, for example, will be one of the better such units in the country with returnees Shannon Brooks, Mohamed Ibrahim, Rodney Smith and Bryce Williams. Fleck said the foursome have already accounted for “6,500 yards and 52 touchdowns” during their careers at Minnesota.

“I would call that a lot of productivity coming back in the running back position,” the coach added.

Minnesota’s first practice open to the public will be March 15 starting at 4:45 p.m. The location has yet to be announced.

In Lindsay Whalen’s first season as Gopher women’s basketball coach, home attendance has increased from an average of 3,130 in 2017-18 to 5,738 in 2018-19. The regular season finale last Sunday against Michigan State had announced attendance of 7,707 and was the third largest home crowd of the season.

This has been a historical week in Minnesota for female play-by-play announcers on television, with Marney Gellner doing the Twins’ spring training game from Fort Myers Sunday, and Sloane Martin describing games Wednesday at the boys’ state high school hockey tournament in St. Paul. Never before in Minnesota have women done TV play-by-play for the Twins and the boys’ hockey tournament.

The Pioneer Press chose John Mayasich as the No. 1 all-time Minnesota prep hockey player in its recent series listing the 75 best ever. He had a great prep career at Eveleth High School and was a four-time All-American for the Gophers in 1952, 1953, 1954 and 1955. The newspaper named South St. Paul’s Phil Housley No. 2.

Best guess to win the “sweepstakes” to get Rochester John Marshall basketball superstar Matthew Hurt is Duke and its legendary coach Mike Krzyzweski, who in past years has landed Minnesotans Gary Trent Jr., and brothers Tre and Tyus Jones.

The Gophers’ chances? Slim to none, according to those who have followed the recruiting of Hurt.

Coach Richard Pitino’s Minnesota men’s basketball team closes its regular season at No. 24 Maryland tonight, after upsetting No. 11 ranked Purdue Tuesday at Williams Arena. A Minnesota win will be the first time since 1993 (excluding vacated seasons) that a Gopher team has won back-to-back games against ranked opponents.

Among those in attendance at Tuesday’s game was 1952-53 All-American Gopher guard Charley Mencel. He also played for the NBA Minneapolis Lakers, and is among the Gopher greats whose jerseys are displayed in the Williams Arena rafters.

At No. 1 Gable Steveson, the Apple Valley freshman with a 27-0 record, is Minnesota’s highest seeded wrestler as the Gophers go into Saturday and Sunday’s Big Ten Championships at Williams Arena, but others, of course, will be counted on to contribute. “We have 10 guys who can go out and score points,” coach Brandon Eggum said.

Shortstops can be the best athletes on their teams, so maybe the Twins don’t face a logjam for eventual playing time with incumbent Jorge Polanco and valued minor league prospects Nick Gordon, Royce Lewis, and Wander Javier.

It wouldn’t be surprising if a Fortune 500 CEO is hired to replace retiring Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany in June of 2020.

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Twins’ Cruz, Berrios on Top 100 List

Posted on March 1, 2019March 1, 2019 by David Shama

Enjoy a Friday notes column with a focus on the Minnesota Twins and Target Field.

Sports Illustrated ranks two Twins players among its top 100 players in Major League Baseball. The February 25 issue of the magazine lists the game’s best, and the publication has newly acquired outfielder and designated hitter Nelson Cruz at No. 65 and starting pitcher Jose Berrios at 95.

The Twins could come out of spring training as a consensus choice among oddsmakers and media to finish second in the American League Central Division behind the Cleveland Indians. Despite some offseason payroll trimming, the Indians may win a fourth consecutive division championship because their talent is still impressive.

Three Indians made the magazine’s top 10—shortstop Francisco Lindor at No. 4, third baseman Jose Ramirez, No. 5, and starting pitcher Corey Kluber, No. 9. The club’s starting staff also includes Trevor Bauer, No. 35, and Mike Clevinger, No. 73.

The Twins can’t match that pitching but if their staff produces some pleasant surprises, Minnesota looks like a run-scoring club. Bleacherreport.com said in an article this week that the Twins averaged a solid 4.6 runs per game last season, and additions like Cruz figure to make the offense even better.

Bleacherreport’s story focused on the playoff chances of all 30 MLB teams. The Indians came in at 70 percent, while the Twins were next among Central Division clubs with a 40 percent chance of qualifying for the postseason.

Sports Illlustrated’s rankings had Los Angeles Angels’ outfielder Mike Trout as the best player in the game. Aaron Hicks, the center fielder Twins GM Terry Ryan traded to the New York Yankees in 2015 for catcher John Ryan Murphy, is the No. 78 player in the game, per S.I.

The Twins have been trying to fill their center field void for years. Murphy has become an obscure player, most recently signing a reported one-year, $900,000 deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Hicks reportedly has a new seven year, $70 million contract with the Yankees.

In a telephone interview yesterday from spring training in Florida, Twins president Dave St. Peter predicted Cruz will become a “fan favorite,” perhaps similar to former Minnesota slugger Jim Thome. “He (Cruz) has been great,” St. Peter said about the six-time MLB All-Star who is known for his hitting and clubhouse leadership.

Berrios, 24, is a potential staff ace for the Twins who St. Peter admires for his talent and work ethic. “He works harder than any player on our team,” St. Peter said.

Regarding the Sports Illustrated article, St. Peter said Marwin Gonzalez “should be on the list.” The Twins signed the multi-positional free agent earlier this week after the switch-hitter hit 16 home runs and drove in 68 runs last season for the Astros while playing 76 games in the outfield, 39 at shortstop, 32 at second base, 24 at first base and three at third.

The Twins’ regular season opener, March 28 at Target Field, is close to a sellout, with a few thousand tickets remaining. The early opener was prompted by the presence of the April 6-8 Final Four in Minneapolis. Extensive field preparation begins in a couple weeks. “I will take 50 (degrees) and sunshine (for opening day),” St. Peter said.

About 28,000 tickets have been sold for the August 31 North Dakota State-Butler football game at Target Field, with capacity at over 38,000. NDSU is the defending Division I FCS national champion.

Target Field hosted a record Division III crowd of 37,355 in 2017 for the St. Thomas-Saint John’s football game. St. Peter said there are discussions about playing the November of 2021 Tommies-Johnnies football game at Target Field. Talks are ongoing, too, with the Minnesota Wild regarding an NHL Winter Classic at the downtown Minneapolis stadium.

Construction on the Minnesota United’s Allianz Field is complete, with a ribbon cutting scheduled for March 18 at the St. Paul stadium. The club reports the project generated more than 650,000 work hours, totaling over $46 million in wages, and that $167 million was awarded to companies located within 150 miles of Allianz Field.

Minnesota’s MLS team opens its regular season on Saturday (5 p.m. Twin Cities time) on the road against the Vancouver Whitecaps. The club has five new starters counting Slovakian Jan Gregus, 2017 MLS Defender of the Year Ike Opara, 2016 MLS Cup Champion Ozzie Alonso, Premier League goalie Vito Mannone and the only player from Madagascar in the league, Romain Metanire.

Coffey photo courtesy of Minnesota Athletic Communications

Amir Coffey is one of the Big Ten’s most versatile and skilled players. He will need to produce like he did last night (31 points, 12 rebounds in a must-win over lowly Northwestern) if the Gophers are to earn an NCAA Tournament invite. Minnesota entered the game as a projected last team entry in the tourney field of ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi.

Men’s regular season MIAC basketball champion St. Thomas is in the Division III NCAA Tournament and so, too, is the conference’s playoff title winner, Saint John’s. The Tommies (22-4) have a tourney opening game tonight in Lincoln, Nebraska versus Wisconsin-La Crosse (17-9). The Johnnies (23-3) are at home tonight against Northwestern-St. Paul (21-6).

Pat McKenzie, only the 15th head men’s basketball coach in 113 years at Saint John’s, speaks to the CORES lunch group Thursday, March 14 at the Bloomington Event Center (formerly the Knights of Columbus building), 1114 American Blvd. For reservations and other information, contact Jim Dotseth by Monday, March 11, dotsethj@comcast.net. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

Maybe Timberwolves starting point guard Jeff Teague has some Jimmy Butler in him. That was the view expressed yesterday by Mike Max on WCCO Radio who said it appears Teague plays in games when he wants to.

Butler, traded to the 76ers after his infamous start to the season with the Timberwolves, is one of the NBA’s better closers when his team creates isolation situations for him to score. The 76ers are among the NBA’s best clubs, partly because of Butler who will be a free agent after this season. He reportedly has given no assurances he will return to his new club.

New to major college hockey and ranked No. 12 nationally in the latest USCHO poll, Arizona State is in Minneapolis to play the Golden Gophers tonight and tomorrow evening at 3M Arena at Mariucci. The Gophers aren’t ranked in the 20-team poll but three schools from the state of Minnesota occupy top spots—St. Cloud State, No. 1; UMD, No. 3; and Minnesota State, No. 4.

Condolences to family and friends of “Bucky” Zimmerman, the former Gophers tennis player and Minneapolis attorney who died late last month. I knew “Bucky” and enjoyed his intellect, curiosity and easy-going manner. He was married to former WCCO TV anchor Pat Miles.

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