Twins – Page 143 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

All Eyes on Twins’ Byron Buxton

Posted on March 28, 2016March 28, 2016 by David Shama

With a dismal trial run at the plate in 2015, Byron Buxton is on the spot this spring with the Twins.

The club is all but begging him to win the center field job left open by the offseason trade of Aaron Hicks to the Yankees for catcher John Ryan Murphy. As of yesterday, Buxton was hitting .225 with no home runs and three RBI in spring training. He has struck out 12 times in 40 at bats. That’s similar to his initial big league production last season and not acceptable for a much hyped athlete who the Twins chose with the second overall pick in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft.

The Twins have been struggling for years to fill the position Kirby Puckett and Torii Hunter turned into a franchise legacy. Buxton, then 21, arrived in Minneapolis last season with fielding and base running skills to make him a highlights regular on ESPN’s SportsCenter, but at the plate he often looked clueless. He struggled to make contact with the ball in his MLB debut year, frequently fooled by both fast balls and breaking pitches. In 129 at bats he hit .209 and struck out 44 times. He hit two home runs with six RBI.

Despite the disappointment of 2015, expectations remain high for Buxton. MLB.com placed him at No. 2 on its top 100 prospects list for 2016 and other authorities are also all in.

Buxton is even given a No. 47 ranking by Sports Illustrated in its March 7 article about the 50 MLB players with the most trade value (Twins right fielder Miguel Sano ranked No. 25 while the Angels’ Mike Trout topped the list).

SI wrote this about Buxton: “So ummm…mulligan? Buxton’s highly anticipated MLB debut was a bust.” The magazine said he has been “viewed by most as the best prospect in the game” and he could become an AL MVP candidate.

Health problems have slowed Buxton’s progress since the Twins signed him out of Appling County High School in Georgia. More injuries in 2016 will send the wrong signal about his future—and a worse indicator will be troubles at the plate. Yet this offseason Baseball America ranked Buxton the Twins’ best prospect in several categories including best hitter for average.

Buxton, who didn’t have enough at bats to expire his eligibility for American League Rookie of the Year in 2015, has a .301 lifetime minor league average. His stats include an impressive 2013 season when he hit .341 at Cedar Rapids and .326 with Fort Myers.

With his sensational fielding and base running skills, the Twins will drool over a Buxton who starts to approach .300 this year or next—and he better or the doubts about his hitting will be supported by facts.

Twins Notes

Miguel Sano (photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins).

The Twins open the regular season in Baltimore a week from today and Buxton could be one of six new faces in the lineup from a year ago. Others look like shortstop Eduardo Escobar, designated hitter Byung Ho Park, left fielder Eddie Rosario, pitcher Ervin Santana and right fielder Miguel Sano.

The Baltimore game will be one of 150 FOX Sports North will telecast during the regular season. ESPN will televise the Twins game at Oakland May 30 while FS1 will carry Twins games May 14 at Cleveland and June 4 in Minneapolis against the Rays.

The Twins will play their sold out home opener at Target Field on April 11 against the White Sox. Twins legend Rod Carew will throw the ceremonial first pitch. Carew, who suffered a major heart attack and subsequent surgery last year, awaits a possible heart transplant. In January the Twins and the Carew family launched the Heart of 29 campaign designed to assist the American Heart Association’s efforts to raise funds and build awareness of cardiovascular disease.

The Twins have opened their regular season on the road in five of the last seven years. Minnesota has lost seven consecutive opening games.

The Twins had a bad start last year at 1-6 but earned a comeback season under first-year manager Paul Molitor. The team’s 83-79 record was a big improvement over four consecutive previous seasons of 90-plus loss records.

Minnesota finished second in the AL Central Division behind the Royals who were 12-7 in the season series against the Twins. The Royals won the World Series and are the preseason pick by many authorities to win the Central again.

Four passionate baseball fans and Sports Headliners readers offered predictions about the Twins and other teams. Three of the four forecast an 85-77 record while the fourth person, Bill Robertson, e-mailed that Minnesota will win “two to four more games than in 2015.”

Tim Murray has the Twins finishing third in the division behind the Royals and Indians while the others project another second place finish. Joel Shama, the most optimistic crystal baller, wrote the Twins “will snag a wild card.” Everyone predicted the Royals will win the division again.

Here’s how one fan summed up the Twins: “They still lack a true ace of the starting rotation and the bullpen is very shaky. It should be fun watching their hitters do damage to once ‘un-homerable’ Target Field.”

The Cubs and Blue Jays are popular choices by the predictors to play in the World Series. The group split two-two on whether the Cubs or Jays will become baseball’s 2016 champion.

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Confidence No Problem for Miguel Sano

Posted on March 18, 2016March 18, 2016 by David Shama

What to know about Miguel Sano, the late Flip Saunders, and national championship pursuits tonight by the St. Thomas men’s basketball team and the University of Minnesota’s women’s hockey team. …

Sano has yet to play a full season in the majors but writers are learning the 22-year-old hitting phenom from the Dominican Republic is full of confidence. In July of last year he told Sports Headliners future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera is the best hitter he’s seen, and also said, “I can be better than Cabrera, I think.”

Sano spoke about what kind of batting numbers he could achieve in a full season in a March 8, 2016 article by Tom Verducci of Si.com. He told Verducci, “I don’t know, but if I stay healthy I feel like I have a chance to be something like the MVP and win the Triple Crown, and I can be on the All-Star team.”

In 80 games and 279 at bats last season Sano had a .269 average, with 18 home runs and 52 RBI. Sano obviously believes those are numbers he can build on this season and during his career.

Twins president Dave St. Peter views the young slugger’s confidence as a positive. “He obviously has a long way to go to get to his full potential but he’s a talented player,” St. Peter told Sports Headliners. “He has all the attributes on the field that you would expect out of some of the better players in the game, in terms of being able to hit for power and command of the strike zone.

“I think getting back on the field defensively is going to be important for him in terms of his career. We certainly thought that was a critical thing in the offseason to move him into a position (on the field). …We’re counting on him to take that next step. We’re hopeful he’s going to be a positive force for our club for a long, long time.”

Sano, a third baseman and shortstop in the minor leagues, was mostly a designated hitter for the Twins last season. In spring training he’s learning to play right field and that’s a process. “The best thing is he’s had a great attitude about it and he’s attacked it,” St. Peter said. “He’s been a good student, asking questions, learning from mistakes. I think having Torii Hunter (retired Twins right fielder and now an instructor) in camp the first couple weeks was a huge benefit to Miguel.”

Sano is 6-4, 262-pounds but St. Peter said there are no concerns about running down balls in the outfield. “He runs fine. Running isn’t going to be the issue for him. It’s going to be how long it’s going to take for him to master (outfield) routes and play those balls that are hit right at him. We want to make sure that we give him time for the transition, but we’re optimistic that he is going to be fine in right field.”

St. Peter believes Sano can become exceptional in the field. “We think the athleticism is there for him to be a very good outfielder. The only thing holding him back is inexperience.” …

Saunders died a few days before the Timberwolves started the 2015-2016 season but the impact of his personnel decisions is evident this winter. Owner Glen Taylor hired Saunders about three years ago to turn around a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2004. In a short time Saunders rebuilt the roster with young talent that has yet to win consistently, but the club shows promise of eventually making deep runs in the NBA playoffs.

Only point guard Ricky Rubio and center Nikola Pekovic remain from the team’s 20-man training camp roster in the fall of 2012. Six players remain from the 15-man roster the Wolves had opening the 2014-2015 season. In addition to Rubio and Pekovic, those players are Gorgui Dieng, Zach LaVine, Shabazz Muhammad and Andrew Wiggins.

As president of basketball operations in May of 2013, Saunders inherited Rubio and Pekovic. This season the Wolves’ starting lineup has often consisted of Rubio and LaVine at guards, Dieng and Wiggins at forwards, and Karl-Anthony Towns (drafted last June) at center. Muhammad, a forward, plays major minutes off the bench.

Jim Dutcher said Saunders, who played and coached for him with the Gophers, could see potential in players that others missed. “…His ability to foresee what a player could be, not what he was necessarily at the time,” Dutcher said.

Flip Saunders (Photo courtesy of Timberwolves).

In Saunders’ first NBA draft he made a trade with the Jazz that allowed the Wolves to acquire both Dieng and Muhammad. He got two No. 1 draft choices by sending his initial first round pick, Trey Burke of Michigan, to Utah. Dieng didn’t have eye-catching scoring numbers in college but at power forward for the Wolves he makes contributions the subtle observer doesn’t always see. Muhammad’s flashy talent was obvious at UCLA but some experts doubted his character. Dutcher said Saunders believed with maturity and the right coaching Muhammad could help the Wolves.

LaVine was a one-and-done freshman at UCLA in 2013-2014 and Saunders liked what he saw. “Probably biggest one (of Saunders’ personnel moves) was LaVine, a nonstarter in college and he takes him with their No. 1 choice because he could see his athletic ability,” Dutcher said. “He could say, ‘Hey, if we can refine his game, this kid is going to be a player.’ ”

After Saunders’ first year or so with the Wolves it became apparent All-Star forward Kevin Love didn’t want to be part of the franchise long-term. Saunders negotiated a deal in the summer of 2014 with the Cavs sending Love to Cleveland and bringing Wiggins to Minneapolis. Wiggins had been the overall No. 1 NBA draft choice earlier in 2014 and in his first season with the Wolves became NBA Rookie of the Year.

Dutcher believes Saunders’ easiest move was acquiring Towns. Known for their awful luck in the draft lottery, the Wolves finally won the NBA’s No. 1 overall pick last year. Dutcher believes it was “pretty easy” to take Towns instead of Jahlil Okafor, another big man hyped before the draft and eventually taken third overall by the Sixers. He refers to Towns as the “cornerstone” of Minnesota’s youthful team. “He is a high character kid who is only going to get better,” Dutcher said.

The Wolves’ record is a dismal 22-46 but there is too much young talent not to dramatically improve that record during the next couple of seasons. Saunders, who was diagnosed with cancer last year and saw his health quickly deteriorate, died at age 60. Dutcher said his friend’s efforts with the Wolves “were finally about to be rewarded.”

More importantly, Dutcher said, Saunders’ death is for the many people who loved him a “tragedy that is hard to deal with.” …

Salem, Virginia is about a three hour drive from the campus of Christopher Newport in Newport News, Virginia. St. Thomas coach John Tauer knows CNU will have a supportive crowd when the two teams play in a Division III Final Four semifinal game tonight in Salem.

Tauer, though, didn’t seem concerned earlier this week when talking to Sports Headliners. The Tommies advanced to the Final Four last Saturday in Rock Island, Illinois where Augustana, a physically imposing team and ranked No. 1 in Division III, had a home court advantage.

“Their crowd was as wild as any one that I’ve ever seen,” Tauer said. “Our guys certainly rose to the challenge. You can worry about all those factors in a national tournament. The reality is I am much more concerned trying to get our guys ready, and prepared to play an outstanding team. The crowd is the crowd. That’s fun for everybody but the reality is what’s going on inside the court is what we try to focus on.”

The Tommies (28-3) and CNU (30-1) play tonight at 6:30 p.m. (central daylight) after the semifinal game between Benedictine (31-0) and Amherst (25-6). The winners play for the national championship Saturday night. Tonight’s games are streamed live on NCCA.com. The championship game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.

Tauer, who has a 126-22 record in five years as the Tommies’ head coach, is now in his fourth Final Four. He played in one final, was an assistant coach on the UST national title team of 2011 and was head coach for the Tommies in the 2013 Final Four.

Last year’s team was 24-4 and its wins included a victory over eventual national champion UW-Stevens Point. With four of his top six players returning, Tauer knew his team could have another high success season. The Tommies not only have talent but experience with four of their major contributors being seniors.

This week Tauer was named West Region Coach of the Year by D3Hoops.com. Senior center Ryan Saarela (second team) and senior forward Taylor Montero (third team) were named All-Region.

Both players are Minnesotans, as are all but one of the 17 players on the roster. Tauer said the talent pool of Minnesota high school basketball is impressive and that’s a reason why he stays close to home in recruiting. Logistics and budget are factors too. “I don’t have a private jet (for recruiting),” he said. …

The Gophers women’s hockey team (33-4-1) plays the Badgers (35-3-1) for a sixth time this season when the two teams meet tonight starting at 6 p.m. (central daylight) in a national semifinal Frozen Four game in Durham, N.H. The Badgers have won three games, the Gophers two this season, and the winner tonight advances to the NCAA national title game Sunday that begins at 1 p.m.

The defending national champion Gophers are in their fourth consecutive Frozen Four. Minnesota is trying to win its seventh national championship and third back-to-back title.

The other Frozen Four teams are Boston College (39-0) and Clarkson (30-4-5). The two semifinal games and Sunday’s title game will be streamed live on NCAA.com.

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All Bets on Regarding Twins Finish

Posted on March 4, 2016March 4, 2016 by David Shama

Twins president Dave St. Peter believes the American League Central will be so competitive that even the 2015 World Series champion Royals could finish last in the division this season. “I don’t think there is any doubt that every team is probably capable of winning it (the division title), and every team is probably capable of finishing in last as well,” St. Peter told Sports Headliners by telephone from Florida.

The Twins jumped from a 70-92 record in 2014 to 83-79 last year. That record gave Minnesota a second place finish in the division behind the Royals (95-67). The hope St. Peter has now is the club will continue its improvement in 2016 and reach the playoffs.

Unlike last year, the Twins will have starting pitcher Ervin Santana and young slugger Miguel Sano on the roster for the entire season. The overall personnel, including the addition of South Korean DH Byung Ho Park, could be the best in years. “We believe we can compete for a division championship, “St. Peter said.

A lot of baseball authorities, though, think the Royals will repeat as division champs, and there are minimal predictions the Twins will finish first. The Twins were listed No. 22 among 30 MLB teams in a ranking of MLB teams by the February 15 issue of Sports Illustrated. Minnesota’s Central Division rivals all had higher rankings, with the White Sox No. 17, Tigers 16 and Royals 10.

Don’t expect the team’s won-lost record in spring training to be a precursor of regular season success or failure. At the top of the team’s goals is to have its best players available when the season opens in Baltimore April 4. “We want to make sure we maintain the health of our team,” St. Peter said. “So far so good.”

Look for Sano, Park and center fielder Byron Buxton to log a lot of playing time in spring training. Sano is adjusting to a new position, right field. Park, playing in America for the first time, is acclimating to the highest level of baseball. The team’s center field job is vacant and the speedy Buxton has been anointed as the regular for awhile but must prove he can hit big league pitching.

Among the Twins’ best prospects is outfielder Max Kepler, the 23-year-old native of Germany who probably isn’t ready yet for the big league. St. Peter, though, said he will be surprised if at some point this season Kepler doesn’t play for the Twins. “We have high hopes for him,” St. Peter said.

Twins legend Rod Carew, who could find out this summer if he can have a heart transplant, is in spring training with the team and assisting daily with hitting instruction. Carew will be with the club in Fort Myers through March 15. “He is working hard,” St. Peter said. “He feels great.”

With American and Cuban relations becoming friendlier, the Twins may be fortunate to have a special connection on that baseball crazy island. Cuban native and Twins legend Tony Oliva has a brother in Cuba who is prominently involved with baseball. Decades ago the Twins were aggressive in signing Cuban players including Oliva and Zoilo Versalles who was the AL MVP in 1965. Oliva regularly visits Cuba to see family members.

St. Peter said tickets remain for the team’s home opener on April 11 against the White Sox. He expects a sellout to be announced later this month.

Worth Noting

The Minneapolis City Council votes March 18 to approve details for renovation of city-owned Target Center. A $130 million renovation funded mostly by the city and Timberwolves is expected to move ahead with work starting in May, including enhancements to most of the Target Center suites, and installation of a new scoreboard. Next spring and summer the building will be closed for events, including Lynx games, so that more thorough renovation can be done.

Look for an announcement later this year on where the Lynx will play in 2017 while Target Center is being renovated.

Vikings Head coach Mike Zimmer and family are starting the Mike Zimmer Foundation to honor his deceased wife Vikki who died in 2009. The foundation’s mission is to better the lives of children including through learning about healthy, active lifestyles.

The Gophers’ football offense had its struggles last season and finished 13th in the Big Ten in scoring offense at 22.5 points per game. Minnesota coach Tracy Claeys was asked Monday what the strengths of the offense will be. “Wide receiver; we should be awfully good and…tailback pretty good. I would argue tight end wise we can be as good as anybody. I think everything is a strength on offense. If we get our offensive line straightened out, then I think we’ll score a lot more points than we did this last year.”

The Gophers hold their Pro Day on Monday for players who have used up their eligibilities. Pro football evaluators are expected to look at these players from last year’s Gophers team: Brian Bobek, Briean Boddy-Calhoun, De’Vondre Campbell, Theiren Cockran, Antonio Johnson, KJ Maye, Peter Mortell, Eric Murray, Miles Thomas and Rodrick Williams. Pro Day will be held at the Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex and is closed to the public.

The Capital Club, featuring local sports figures as speakers, hosts Claeys April 13 at Town & Country Club in St. Paul. For more information about membership, contact Patrick Klinger, Patrick@thebrandenhancementgroup.com.

Over 100 people at the club listened to former North Stars player and executive Lou Nanne earlier this week. He had the audience laughing with his many stories. Nanne, who started doing TV analysis 52 years ago at the boys high school hockey tournaments, is working the Class AA games this year. He told Sports Headliners the most challenging experience over the years has been monitoring emotions when his son Marty, and grandsons Tyler and Louie, played in the tournament.

MIAC men’s basketball regular season champ St. Thomas hosts a four team opening weekend NCAA Division III tournament this Friday and Saturday. The 24-3 nationally- ranked Tommies are the only program in the country with 11 consecutive conference titles, 11 straight NCAA appearances, and 11 consecutive 20-plus win seasons.

The Tommies will play Iowa Conference playoff champion Central College of Pella, Iowa (19-9) starting at 8 p.m. Friday in Schoenecker Arena. The 5:30 p.m. game matches UW-Oshkosh (18-9) against Elmhurst (Ill.) (21-6). The winners meet Saturday at 7 p.m. for advancement to the Division III Sweet 16.

Waseca’s four overtime 103-100 boys basketball win over Marshall last night is drawing lots of media attention today including online from the Washington Post. The game will long be remembered as a Minnesota prep classic.

Author Patrick Mader said about 1,000 copies have been sold of his book “Minnesota Gold: Conversations with Northland Athletes Competing on the World Stage.” Mader, whose book came out last October, profiles 57 Minnesotans, including past Olympians, and details their lives and accomplishments. More at Patrickmader.com.

The Minnesota Wild, looking better in recent days for its playoff drive, are in Buffalo tomorrow afternoon. The Wild is 6-2-2 in its last 10 games against the Sabres. A year ago January, Minnesota goalie Devan Dubnyk shutout the Sabres 7-0—the largest margin of victory in Wild franchise history.

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