Twins – Page 121 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Twins Win Tonight Won’t Surprise

Posted on October 3, 2017October 3, 2017 by David Shama

A Tuesday notes column, with analysis and reporting on the Twins, Vikings and Gophers.

The Twins have been surprising both supporters and critics all season. They could do more of that tonight in their American League Wild Card game against the Yankees in New York.

While fans and oddsmakers understandably dwell on the Yankees superior overall personnel, few will argue the underdog can win in a one-game playoff to determine who advances in the postseason. For that to happen tonight, the Twins most probable path to victory is a dominant performance by starting pitcher Ervin Santana.

Close to ideal will be six or seven innings from Santana, with him yielding a run or two at most. Twins hitters need to produce at least a few runs in the game’s early or middle innings. What Minnesota wants to avoid is playing from behind and facing the Yankees superb bullpen.

Look for the Twins to strategically be prepared. This season it seems like the organization has improved its advance scouting including the use of metrics. Maybe that hasn’t translated into more victories during the regular season against the Yankees (New York was 4-2 versus Minnesota) but it could pay off tonight. There are so many subtleties in baseball that might impact the outcome of a game. Things like how to position fielders, or strategic pitching to a batter with two strikes.

This Twins team has told the baseball world all season “don’t sleep on us.” Critics buried them before the season started and during the summer when the club’s decision makers dumped All-Star closer Brandon Kintzler on July 31. If there was a Minnesota postseason bandwagon back then it was pretty empty, but the last two months of the season the Twins played some of their best baseball.

During the month of August the Twins were 20-10 and hit .280 as a team. The overall ERA was 3.78. The club had some big wins in September too but was 0-3 against the Yankees. Last Sunday the Twins finished a turnaround year where they won 26 games more, and lost 26 fewer, than in 2016.

The Twins made believers out of their fans and media. Whatever happens tonight is another positive in a successful year. And if you’re looking for a good omen consider this, the 1987 World Series champion Twins went 85-77 during the regular season, just like the 2017 club.

Mike Zimmer is in his fourth season as head coach of the Vikings and the ultimate goal is to play in next February’s Minneapolis Super Bowl. The odds are against that happening because of injuries to quarterback Sam Bradford and running back Dalvin Cook that are limiting the Vikings offense, but it would be ironic if Zimmer could win the Super Bowl like his mentor Bill Parcells did in his fourth season as Giants head coach.

The Giants won the 1986 Super Bowl, defeating the Broncos. Later when Parcells was coaching the Cowboys, Zimmer was his defensive coordinator. He worked four seasons for Parcells who usually texts the Vikings head coach after games.

“I have a book…of things he told me to remember as a head coach,” Zimmer said. “He talked a lot about field position. He talked about doing your job the right way, preparation and making players accountable and things like that.”

The Vikings are 2-2 after four games and their record characterizes the parity of the NFL. After four weeks the 4-0 Chiefs are the league’s only undefeated team. The opportunities most immediately ahead for the Vikings are winning in Chicago next Monday night against an inferior 1-3 Bears team, and then playing consecutive home games against the Packers and Ravens before visiting London and facing one of the league’s worst teams, the Browns.

No definitive news on whether Bradford’s troublesome knee allows him to play against the Bears after missing the last three games. Bradford excels under pressure from defenses, even setting an NFL single season record for completion percentage (71.6) last season despite playing behind a leaky offensive line. Profootballfocus.com reports that backup Case Keenum was “4-of-11 for 63 yards while under pressure” in Minnesota’s 14-7 loss to the Lions last Sunday.

Eden Prairie coach Mike Grant told Sports Headliners yesterday that Benny Sapp III, who is out for the season because of meniscus surgery on his left knee, should be recovered by late this year, but not in time to play for the Eagles. Sapp, who has also had two ACL surgeries on the same knee, is verbally committed to the Gophers as part of their 2018 recruiting class.

The loss of Sapp, a playmaker at cornerback and receiver for Grant, is unfortunate but the 5-0 Eagles could still win the 6A state title. Among their interesting standouts is running back Solo Falaniko who rushed for 187 yards last week against Maple Grove. Falaniko missed practice time this summer when he returned to his native Samoa after the death of his grandfather.

The Gophers’ fragile path to enough wins for bowl eligibility took a hit with their loss to Maryland last Saturday. Minnesota, 3-1 and 0-1 in Big Ten games, probably can’t withstand another defeat this Saturday in a winnable game against Purdue. Here is how Sports Headliners ranks the Gophers, Boilermakers and the other 12 Big Ten football teams starting with the West Division:

1.Wisconsin (4-0, 1-0). Badgers are good but are playing Charmin-soft nonconference and league schedules.

2. Iowa (3-2, 0-2). Hawkeyes have elite defense but struggle to score against quality opponents.

3. Nebraska (3-2, 2-0). Unpredictable Cornhuskers will answer more questions at home Saturday against Wisconsin.

4. Northwestern (2-2, 0-1). The Wildcats have gone from West Division title dark horse to the Big Ten’s most disappointing team but don’t discount the possibility of a mid-season comeback.

5. Purdue (2-2, 0-1). The best new coach in the Big Ten might be Purdue’s Jeff Brohm who took over a horrible program and has impressed in losses to nationally ranked Louisville and Michigan.

6. Minnesota (3-1, 0-1). Yup, P.J. Fleck, maybe not Brohm, could prove to be the league’s best newcomer in 2017, and he can boost his resume with a win Saturday at Purdue.

7. Illinois (2-2, 0-1). Year two in the Lovie Smith coaching experiment and he receives no vote of confidence from this keyboard.

East Division

1.Michigan (4-0, 1-0). It’s Harbaugh time in Ann Arbor, with the Wolverines probably winning their first conference title under “coach Khaki” this fall.

2. Ohio State (4-1, 2-0). Yes, the Buckeyes are loaded with talent but lost a few too many players to the NFL last spring.

3. Penn State (5-0, 2-0). Defending Big Ten champs get upset at Northwestern on Saturday. (Maybe).

4. Michigan State (3-1, 1-0). The college football world knew the Spartans and feisty coach Mak Dantonio weren’t going to have another 3-9 season.

5. Maryland (3-1, 1-0)). The Terps have an athletic roster and road wins at Texas and Minnesota.

6. Indiana (2-2, 0-2). IU used to be all about offense, and now the strength is more on defense, but Hoosiers still don’t have the balance and personnel to contend in the East.

7. Rutgers (1-4, 0-2). Offensive coordinator Jerry Kill coached in the press box for the first time last Saturday but the hapless Scarlet Knights lost 56-0 to Buckeyes.

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Twins Don’t Need a Billy Martin Fiasco

Posted on October 1, 2017October 1, 2017 by David Shama

Paul Molitor will soon know if the Twins want him back as manager. If the decision is no, the news will be received with a lot of criticism and cussing from fans and media—creating the most negative response about a Twins manager change since Billy Martin was fired following the 1969 season.

Molitor is among the favorites to win the American League Manager of the Year award because he has helped his team to the postseason after the 2016 Twins were among baseball’s worst clubs with a 59-103 record. He and his staff showed their collective baseball IQ’s in guiding a group most baseball experts didn’t think had any chance of making the postseason and couldn’t even finish with a near .500 record.

Molitor and staff almost constantly, out of necessity, shuffled the pitching staff while showing patience with starters, relievers and also position players. Their leadership contributed to a team characterized by its will and perseverance. The Twins go into the final day of the regular season today with an 84-77 record and a Wild Card position entitling them to a one-game playoff on Tuesday night against the Yankees in New York.

Yet Derek Falvey and Thad Levine, the organization’s top baseball decision makers who joined the organization last fall, are choosing to wait until later this month to decide Molitor’s fate. The 61-year-old Molitor, who also led the Twins to surprising success in 2015 with an 83-79 record, has likely been bothered by the situation regarding his future, but publicly he has not complained.

The prevailing attitude among fans and media is Molitor has accomplished too much for Falvey and Levine to not renew the Minnesota native, who is the only active MLB manager who made the Hall of Fame as a player. It may be that Falvey and Levine needed to see this kind of work by Molitor in 2017 to retain him. Also, new leadership often wants “their own guy.”

Falvey and Levine have already made changes in the organization, letting go scouts and minor league manager Doug Mientkiewicz, a popular former Twins player and leader. Such moves have contributed to the anxiety of whether Molitor, a long time local hero dating back to his days at Cretin-Derham Hall and with the Gophers, returns as manager in 2018.

Dave Mona has followed the Twins since the franchise moved to Minneapolis-St. Paul from Washington D.C. in 1961. The WCCO Radio talk show host has, of course, wondered about Molitor’s future.

“At one time I was 50-50 but I am more like 90-10 right now that I think he will be back,” Mona told Sports Headliners. “There remains the chance that he won’t. It’s not a popularity contest. Obviously there was something about Doug Mientkiewicz that the new management didn’t see was consistent with the way they want to go.

“Then there have been other changes in the organization, (and) there is more rumored. These guys (Falvey and Levine) certainly have the option, without management interference, to go whatever direction they think is best for the long-term interest for the Twins.”

A decision not to retain Molitor will stir up controversy this fall and next winter. Such an announcement will not only create bad feelings among fans and media, but could cost the organization ticket sales, and impact business-to-business relationships and revenues.

The negativity, though, would diminish with time as spring training approached. If the Twins qualify for the postseason again next year, the anger and hurt over a Molitor dismissal could be all but forgotten.

Certainly the decision to not renew Molitor wouldn’t create the toxic results of the Martin termination. Martin, who had a fiery and highly publicized career as a player with the Yankees, quickly became a Minnesota fan favorite when he joined the Twins as a coach on the 1965 team that won the American League pennant.

Martin got his first MLB managing job in 1969 when the Twins hired him, and it was a move applauded by Minnesota fans. He took over a club that was 79-83 the previous season but the cocky and bold Martin was going to will and strategize the Twins to better results.

Martin led the Twins to a 97-65 record and his team won the newly formed American League West Division. Along the way he delighted fans but also alienated people including front office executive Howard Fox, a close confidant of owner Calvin Griffith.

Mona had a closer look at the Twins soap opera than most because he was the Twins beat writer for the Minneapolis Tribune. “Billy and Howard just got to the point they couldn’t even be in the same bus together,” Mona said. “The hostility between the two of them was just palpable.”

The Twins were swept in a five-game American League championship series by the Orioles. Mona recalled Griffith being irritated with Martin’s choice of a Twins starter in the series. It was probably part of a long list of grievances held by the Twins owner, who could be cranky just like Martin. The postseason decision was made to fire Martin.

Griffith didn’t anticipate the firestorm of criticism from the move. “They totally misjudged the affection that the fans had for Martin,” Mona said. “There was something in him that resonated with fans and I think he cultivated that. When they (ownership) ignored that I think fans took it personally, and felt it was a shot at them because they had made it known that they supported Billy.”

New Twins manager Bill Rigney led the Twins to a 98-64 record and another division title in 1970. The Orioles again took care of the Twins in the playoffs, winning 3-0. Twins home attendance fell by almost 90,000 to 1,261,887 in 1970, and only two more times before 1984 did annual totals exceed 1 million fans.

The Twins players who won those division titles in 1969 and 1970 deteriorated and the farm system was failing. Griffith’s teams of the 1970s were mediocre. A lot of fans remained bitter for years over the firing of Martin who ranks with the franchise’s best managers ever, a list that begins with two-time World Series winner Tom Kelly.

Molitor may not belong in that company yet, but the Twins don’t need to cut his career short in 2017. If they do, it will be the most controversial manager termination since 1969.

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Twins Need Dominant Santana in NY

Posted on September 26, 2017September 26, 2017 by David Shama

To most of the baseball world, the Twins look like a “just happy to be here” team going into next Tuesday’s anticipated playoff game against the Yankees in New York. The Twins have lost four of six to the Yankees this season, have an inferior overall record (82-74 versus 87-69), and a roster of key players who are young and inexperienced.

Max Kepler (photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins).

In a one-game playoff young Twins hitters Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco and Eddie Rosario could nervously be chasing pitches they shouldn’t be offering at. Add Miguel Sano, if healthy enough to play, to that list. None of those players have ever been in a Major League postseason game and their inexperience might lead to mistakes in the field and on the bases, too.

It appears all but certain the Twins and Yankees will be the American League’s two wild card entrants. For Minnesota to reverse the disaster of postseason failures against the Yankees in 2003, 2004, 2009 and 2010, the Twins will almost certainly need a special performance from their expected starting pitcher, 34-year-old Ervin Santana.

Santana’s anticipated schedule has him starting Thursday against the Indians, then resting and preparing for the Yankees. His experience and skills give the Twins a chance in their playoff game. A win this Thursday will be his 17th of the season and set a career high. He goes into the game with a career-best 3.36 ERA.

Santana, who is among the American League leaders in wins, is paid to have big seasons like 2017 when he was honored with a place on the AL All-Star roster. He has postseason experience and earns $13.5 million annually, according to Cot’s baseball contracts.

The club’s best paid player, $23 million a year Joe Mauer, is also a veteran presence and has played in nine playoff games. He is hitting over .300 for the first time since 2013 and has committed only two errors at first base.

Royals’ first baseman Eric Hosmer hasthree errors, and has started 37 more games than Mauer. Hosmer is the favorite to win the AL Gold Glove award for first basemen.

Worth Noting

After the Vikings’ 34-17 win over the Bucs Sunday, Profootballfocus.com gave its five highest grades among Minnesota players to quarterback Case Keenum, wide receiver Adam Thielen, offensive tackle Mike Remmers, wide receiver Stefon Diggs, and cornerback Trae Waynes. The website said Keenum, substituting for the injured Sam Bradford, “had the game of his life as he torched the Bucs secondary up and down the field.”

Sam Bradford (photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings)

With Bradford sidelined with a knee injury, the 2-1 Vikings only have three offensive starters who were regulars on last season’s team—Diggs, Thielen and tight end Kyle Rudolph. Yet the Vikings rank second in the NFL in total offense at 400.3 yards per game, trailing the Patriots at 440.7.

Marcus Sherels, the former Gopher and Rochester, Minnesota native, turns 30 on Saturday. He has developed an impressive career with the Vikings as a punt returner and reserve cornerback. Sherels, acquired by the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2010, holds the team career record for most touchdowns returning punts (five).

The Cowboys were the only NFL team worth $2 billion five years ago but now all but five franchises are at that level and more, according to a September 18 Forbes.com article. Forbes released its annual valuations of the league’s 32 teams including the Cowboys valued at $4.8 billion. The league average is $2.5 billion and the Vikings are valued at $2.4 billion.

Ticket prices range from $35 to $140 for Saturday’s Gophers-Maryland game at TCF Bank Stadium. For the Nebraska game November 11, prices start at $90 and go up to $235, while the range for Wisconsin two weeks later is $80 to $210.

Former Gophers Nick Rallis and Adam Weber are working in the football programs at Wake Forest and UCLA respectively.

Former Minnesota Mr. Football J.D. Spielman, now a redshirt freshman and wide receiver at Nebraska, had his first college touchdown reception last Saturday in a win over Rutgers. Spielman also has a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown this season.

Saint John’s and St. Thomas resume their football rivalry in Collegeville next year on October 13. The Tommies will host the Johnnies October 19, 2019, presumably at O’Shaughnessy Stadium in St. Paul but don’t be surprised if talks surface regarding another site after Saint John’s and St. Thomas drew a Division III record crowd at Target Field of 37,355 last Saturday.

Will the Johnnies consider hosting the game at a large neutral site stadium like St. Thomas did this year? “I can guarantee we’ll always play at (our) Clemens Stadium,” Saint John’s athletic director Bob Alpers told Sports Headliners.

Alpers is also the Johnnies golf coach and his team was playing in the Twin Cities Classic on Saturday so he missed the historic football game.

The Division III game last Saturday had a larger attendance than 28 FBS games including home crowds for Maryland and top 20 ranked Washington State. A St. Thomas spokesman also said there were “17,000 hits” on the school website’s streaming the game. A typical Tommies game might have 1,000 to 1,500 hits, while the previous all-time high in hits for a St. Thomas football game was 9,000 last year in a playoff game against UW-Oshkosh.

The WNBA Finals involving Glen Taylor’s Lynx will cause him to miss the Timberwolves team flight to China. Taylor told Sports Headliners he and wife Becky will fly to China after the finals that continue tonight with Game Two at Williams Arena against the Sparks and could go through October 4. The Wolves, who Taylor also owns, will play exhibition games in China starting October 5.

Taylor will participate in an NBA meeting while in China. He owns printing and software businesses in the country.

Taylor said the installation of temporary air conditioning at Williams Arena for the finals will cost about $1 million, and because the expenditure wasn’t budgeted for the Lynx franchise might not make a profit this year. “It won’t help, that’s for sure,” said Taylor who approved the expenditure for the benefit of players and fans.

Taylor remains friends with former Timberwolves head coach Rick Adelman who is retired and spending time with family. Adelman’s son, David Adelman, who used to work for the Wolves, is an assistant with the Nuggets.

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