Twins – Page 160 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Mauer Critics Need to Accept Reality

Posted on August 15, 2014August 15, 2014 by David Shama

It’s time for the anti-Joe Mauer crowd to accept reality. Take a large chill pill and look at the truth.

Mauer is grossly overpaid at $23 million per season but don’t expect him to cut his own salary. Who does that?

The Twins gave him one of the richest contracts in baseball history in 2010 when he was fast-tracked for Cooperstown. Raise your hand if you thought it was a bad deal then? Nah. You probably didn’t and I didn’t either.

Back in 2009 Mauer was a superstar and Sports Illustrated cover guy. The thought of baseball’s best catcher—and the 2009 AL MVP—going to the Red Sox or Yankees made Twins fans puke. The Minnesota front office saw a three-time batting champion and hometown hero who needed to be the centerpiece in the new ballpark the club had invested millions of dollars in to build.

Nobody locally wanted to lose the 26-year-old box office magnet, and so Mauer received the most lucrative contract ever for a catcher. He and agent Ron Shapiro had mega leverage in the negotiations, and they capitalized with a $184 million contract that runs through 2018.

Mauer’s best years were before the new contract that was agreed to in 2010 and started in 2011. This season has been a disaster with puny offensive numbers that include a .276 average, three home runs and 30 RBI. The venom directed toward Mauer by critics is based on more than anemic 2014 production and the embarrassing salary. There is also his history of injuries with the latest career setback the strained oblique that caused him to miss games from July 2 until August 10.

Boo-birds rip Mauer for being hurt and out of the lineup so much over the years. It’s true he is hardly an Iron Man. If Mauer played in every remaining Twins game this season—hardly probable—his total for the year will be 122 out of 162 possible games. More likely this will be the third season in the last four that he has played in 120 games or less.

But get over the constant criticism about injures. Mauer is 31 and it’s obvious injuries and being out of the lineup is who he is.

By now we should all be pretty much authorities on Mauer who was moved from catcher to first baseman this season to lengthen his career after suffering a concussion in 2013. He is 6-foot-5 and weighs about 231 pounds—a big man who lacks home run power because his physical strength doesn’t match the physique. Also, he sends minimal balls over the fences because his batting style is to hit a lot of opposite field singles and doubles.

During the last five seasons, including this one, Mauer has 36 home runs—an average of 7.2 per year. During the same period he is averaging 53.4 RBI annually.

Get the point? Mauer isn’t and won’t be a home run man, although with better hitters in front of him in the batting order he could certainly produce more runs batted in. Moan if you will that in big league baseball a first baseman needs to be a power hitter when he makes the big bucks, but our guy is more likely to some day win a fourth batting title than hit 20 home runs. He does have a career .320 batting average and that’s better than some Cooperstown Hall of Famers. To his credit the career average is among the best in baseball since 1950, and often his on-base percentage has been outstanding.

The anti-Mauer crowd can also complain about Joe’s personality and perceived lack of clubhouse leadership. Mauer is soft-spoken and isn’t an assertive personality. You want a Torii Hunter in-your-face player in the clubhouse? Go get someone like that but don’t expect Mauer to be anybody but himself.

Critics who think about trading Mauer should know he isn’t likely to continue his career anywhere but in his home state. The Twins can’t trade Mauer without his approval, and maybe he could be tempted to join a club with realistic World Series ambitions. But this is home, with parents and other family here. This is where Mauer was married to local nurse Maddie Bisanz and the couple is raising their children in Minnesota.

If you wish, dream about the Twins having a season-ending meeting with Mauer where he agrees to train like never before in the offseason and emerge next spring as a home run hitter and clubhouse holler guy who tore up his contract in November so the Twins could use part of his old salary to sign expensive free agents.

I am not fantasizing that dream. But I do expect Mauer to hit better than .300 in a bounce back year in 2015 that could see him share time at first base with Kennys Vargas while the two also split the designated hitter role. Mauer will be 32 next May and maybe his body makes him an old 32 but the guess is he is far from done as a .300 hitter—and on a bad ballclub like the Twins that’s a major asset, and so, too, is having a good guy in the clubhouse who with more time will become a polished fielder at first base.

Part of the fans’ frustration with Mauer is driven by unhappiness with the team’s awful play for more than three seasons since winning the AL Central in 2010. It’s up to the front office to figure out how to finally make the Twins a winner again after four poor seasons. The club’s decision makers need to do that knowing Mauer’s rich salary can’t hold back the assignment and neither can his liabilities.

Mauer’s critics may want to back off him and direct full fire at the franchise’s leadership.

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U to Earn Praise with 8 Wins (Again)

Posted on August 13, 2014August 13, 2014 by David Shama

Mention the Gophers and their potential record in 2014 and be prepared to first hear the word schedule.

There is optimism about this year’s team being head coach Jerry Kill’s best in four seasons but the schedule is likely more difficult than in 2013. The Gophers were 8-5 last season, the program’s highest win total since the 10-3 in 2003.

“I would be happy if they won more than seven games,” said Darrell Thompson, the ex-Gopher who is the program’s all-time leading rusher and now analyzes the team on radio. “I think it’s going to be hard to win seven. If they won eight games this year I think it would be phenomenal. …”

Last year the Gophers had a pillow soft four-game nonconference schedule. There are three almost for sure nonleague wins this year but trouble could wait in Fort Worth on September 13 when the Gophers play TCU in what looks to be by far their most difficult game before the Big Ten season starts. Although the Horned Frogs were 4-8 last season, there are national forecasters who believe that the Big 12 team is slightly better than the Gophers.

In 2013 the Gophers played four top 25 teams, losing to Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin, but did defeat Nebraska. Minnesota also lost to much improved Iowa, and defeated Northwestern, a team that was highly regarded in the preseason. So the 2013 schedule, which included the Texas Bowl loss to Syracuse, was hardly a yawner for the Gophers and it remains to be seen if the 2014 lineup of opponents is better.

The addition of TCU to the schedule helps make the argument Minnesota will face a more difficult schedule in 2014. Then, too, the Gophers will play five top 30 programs based on preseason forecasts—Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State and Wisconsin. Only the Iowa and Ohio State games are at home. The end of the schedule requires a deep breath because in its last four games of the season Minnesota hosts the Hawkeyes and Buckeyes, then plays at Nebraska and Wisconsin.

Kill and the Gophers have ambitions that include competing for the Big Ten championship. Whether they are ready to do that in 2014 will be determined by several factors including if opponents with lofty expectations are for real. Even if they are, can they avoid key injuries? If the Gophers have better fortune in keeping high impact starters on the field than some opponents, that alone could help with an upset or two against favored Big Ten rivals.

Thompson said the Gophers need to consistently take advantage of opportunities in their big games such as turnovers and field position. “You capitalize, you win,” he said. “Otherwise it’s going to be a long year.”

What’s also paramount for success is making plays offensively. Winning teams are offensively efficient and also able to create explosive plays. Thompson believes the Gophers have sufficient talent to make that all a can-do. “We’ve got enough playmakers,” Thompson said.

In Big Ten games last season Minnesota’s defense ranked No. 5 giving up 23.5 points per game and there is optimism the unit will be better this fall. Offensively, though, Minnesota was eighth in rushing among 12 conference teams, No. 11 in total offense and last in passing, but Thompson and others expect improvement in 2014.

“I like the offensive line a lot,” Thompson said. “I think the running back corps is as strong as it’s been since the (Laurence) Maroney, (Marion) Barber era (early to mid-2000s). Maybe not quite the high end we had with those guys, but damn good backs. I like the quarterback and I like some of the backups.”

Redshirt tight end Maxx Williams might be the Big Ten’s best pass receiver at his position and Gophers fans could start worrying now whether he will eventually leave school early for the NFL Draft. Starting quarterback Mitch Leidner will also have a group of promising young wide receivers led by sophomores Donovhan Jones and Drew Wolitarsky and freshman Melvin Holland.

Senior running back David Cobb, who rushed for 1,202 yards last season, is backed up by experienced runners Donnell Kirkwood (senior) and Rodrick Williams (junior), and perhaps the team’s most explosive player, redshirt freshman Berkley Edwards who may see even more playing time at wide receiver.

In early practices this month the offense has struggled to score points including near the goal line. In the days ahead and leading up to the season opener at home August 28 against Eastern Illinois the Gophers will need to improve. “Our defense plays their tails off for us,” Cobb said. “When we get down in the red zone, we have to make those opportunities count.”

There is that word again—opportunities. Keep it in mind when thinking about that other word–schedule.

Worth Noting

Playing a major role, too, in the Gophers success will be the team’s punting, kickoffs and placekicking. During the early days of practice Kill was satisfied.

“That part is the least of our problems right now,” Kill said after Saturday’s scrimmage. “Sometimes it’s been a problem. I just hope that we do it on game day because…the talent’s there.”

Kill and staff will be thinking during the next three to four weeks about freshmen to be redshirted. Because of injuries, though, the complete list won’t be determined until the third or fourth game.

Among the freshmen likely to play the most minutes is defensive tackle Steven Richardson from Mount Carmel High School in Chicago. Richardson, generously listed at 6 feet, might have been too short for many major college recruiters but Kill trusts Mount Carmel coach and long-time contact Frank Lenti.

“Frank Lenti tells you someone can play, then he can play,” Kill said. “If he tells you I don’t know, you gotta wait, then you wait. …He’s never steered me wrong.”

Jordan lynch became a Heisman Trophy candidate playing for Northern Illinois after his career at Mount Carmel. Kill brought Lynch to Northern but had concerns about the quarterback’s potential. Lenti didn’t. “He chewed my tail end out and I believe he’s right on that one too,” Kill said.

The August 11 issue of Sports Illustrated is a celebration of the magazine’s 60th anniversary. Among the features is “The Best Years Ever” featuring five 12-month periods the magazine praised as “the most thrilling.” Among the choices is 1991, partially because S.I. said “the Twins won the greatest World Series ever.”

Aaron Hicks played in 48 games while batting .198 for the Twins this season before being demoted to AA New Britain. The center fielder hit .297 at New Britain in 43 games and was promoted recently to AAA Rochester where he is batting .235 in five games. With rookie Danny Santana’s future at shortstop and not center field for the Twins, there is still a window for the 24-year-old Hicks but it might be closing fast.

No doubt the Twins and all of major league baseball are watching the experiment of the independent Atlantic League that recently implemented rules changes to speed up games. Key changes include limiting the number of warmup pitches and issuing automatic intentional walks. Baseball could benefit too from having umpires enforce any existing rule that impacts the pace and length of games.

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Twins Trend: Home Box Office Decline

Posted on August 1, 2014August 1, 2014 by David Shama

As the Twins move toward the close of another disappointing season on the field, club officials are concerned about more than losing 90 games again. They wonder about next year’s Target Field attendance.

General manager Terry Ryan was on WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” last Sunday saying the Twins need to put a better “product” on the field. He expressed concern about losing the attention of fans like in the 1990s when home attendance slipped to averages of under 18,000 per game from 1995 thru 2000 with a low of 13,093.

After winning Central Division titles in 2009 and 2010, the Twins lost 99 games in 2011, then 96 each of the last two seasons. The 2014 club has a 48-59 record compared with 45-59 a year ago.

The Twins ended an embarrassing 3-7 homestand last Sunday when their problematic play included falling behind early in games. That was a characteristic of last year’s Twins and something club officials like team president Dave St. Peter wanted to see left in the past.

St. Peter was also a guest on WCCO’s “Sports Huddle” on Sunday and was asked if attendance could be a problem next season. “Any time you go through four straight challenging seasons it’s going to impact your business…it’s going to impact your ticket sales,” St. Peter answered. “We understand that. We’re going to need to re-establish, and frankly regain, that trust with our fan base and credibility.

“Ultimately at the end of the day that comes down to putting a team on the field that’s exciting and that fans want to come watch. We’ve had that going at times this year but never consistently enough, and then this homestand has been a struggle.

“It’s going to get better. There’s no doubt in my mind that the minor league system that we have today is going to produce a number of high quality players that are going to be a big part of turning this thing around. The question is when is that going to happen? I know our fans want and deserve it to happen sooner versus later.”

The Twins are averaging 28,267 fans per home game, according to Espn.com. That is fewer fans per game than the club averaged during its last season in the much disparaged Metrdome. In that final 2009 season at the dome the Twins averaged 29,466 fans per game. Then came the move to outdoor baseball and beautiful Target Field where attendance jumped to 39,798 in 2010 but has declined every year since with averages of 39,112, 34,512 and 30,588.

Going into this year the Twins had the luxury of renewing season ticket holders by offering the perk of priority for MLB All-Star Game seats. That won’t be on the table in 2015 and a season ticket base believed to total 18,000 at the most will likely decline. “From a season ticket perspective, I think it’s only reasonable to expect that they’ll probably suffer some level of decline,” a former sports executive with knowledge of the Twins operation told Sports Headliners.

The source, who has marketing expertise and didn’t want to be identified, predicts there is a bottom to how far attendance will fall. “I would be surprised if they went below 2 million fans (any time). What is great about Target Field (the environment and many amenities) will keep people coming out simply because of the experience of it all. Do they (fans) want to see a winner? Absolutely. Does winning make it easier to draw people to the ballpark? Of course it does.”

The Twins drew a Target Field low of 2,477,644 last year. The club’s last five seasons in the dome attendance was always 2 million or more, although from 1994 thru 2004 the Twins never hit the 2 million mark in home attendance.

This year’s attendance could total 200,000 or so less than last year, although the team does have attractive games remaining at Target Field against the Tigers and Angels with superstars Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout, and the Athletics who have the best record in baseball.

It doesn’t seem likely the Twins, lacking talent almost everywhere, will suddenly become such a gate attraction that fans can’t ignore them between now and when the season ends in late September. And the Twins know that declining attendance can impact other parts of the club’s business including corporate sponsorships, merchandise sales and concession revenues.

The source referred to earlier describes attendance as the “lifeblood of pro sports.” He added, “Everything else is built on the foundation of attendance.”

Whether the Twins can significantly improve their on-field product between now and next season will have everything to do with how many season ticket holder accounts are renewed, the total number of fans that are in the stands and whether fans tune in games on radio and TV. The source is a supporter of Jim Pohlad and said the Twins owner is frustrated with losing, and willing to spend money on players.

“The truth of the matter is Jim desperately wants to win,” the source said. “He does care very much about the team and its success. He’s a fan. He’s at virtually every game. I think the Pohlads truly do get a bum wrap sometimes that they’re cheap. The reality is that Jim trusts people inside the organization—always has—to do their jobs. If they (Twins executives) come to him and say, ‘We should sign this guy, he can help us,’ I have every belief that Jim would say, ‘Go for it.’ “

Worth Noting

It’s been a rough few months for Dick Jonckowski, the Shakopee-based sports emcee and Gophers public address announcer. In April he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and in June the basement in his home was heavily damaged by water. In early July he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and is receiving chemotherapy.

Jonckowski’s niece, Michelle Beisner, is married to Joe Buck, the Fox baseball play-by-play announcer, who invited Jonckowski to join him in the broadcast booth for the MLB All-Star Game in Minneapolis last month. Jonckowski couldn’t accept the invitation because he was in the hospital but Buck extended best wishes during the telecast.

Jonckowski told Sports Headliners his cancer is curable, and he appreciates the support he’s received from friends. “I’ve heard from people from all over the country,” Jonckowski said. “I should be fine.”

The basement at his house is being remodeled after the water damage and Jonckowski is planning to sell about 60 percent of his extensive sports memorabilia collection that for years has been kept at his home. He has about 80 boxes of memorabilia and likely will have a sale in late August.

No one has ever won the 3M Championship in consecutive years but 2013 champ Tom Pernice Jr. is optimistic he can change that. “My game is in a good place,” he told Sports Headliners yesterday. “My putting is in good shape and you need to putt well this week because you need to shoot low.”

Pernice said he is playing as well or better now than last year at this time. He finished tied for third in the recent Senior British Open, a tournament won by Bernhard Langer who will also be here for the 3M Championship that starts today and concludes on Sunday at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine. Langer has twice won the 3M.

Why hasn’t anyone won consecutively in the senior tour event here? “You know I have no idea,” Pernice said with a laugh. “Golf is really a funny game. Several players have won more than one time (but) it’s just the way it goes.”

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer after being asked yesterday to evaluate the coverage work of rookie linebacker Anthony Barr: “Coverage is great. He moves well. He’s got a good idea. Somebody was telling me that he takes copious notes in the meetings. He’s got pages and pages of them…so he’s very, very into trying to learn what we’re trying to do and teach.

“He’s got a lot of raw, athletic ability that helps in the coverage aspect of things. There’s times when he may pull off of somebody a little bit too soon…he’s got to do better at (that).”

The Jefferson Football Golf Classic is today at Dwan Golf Club in Bloomington. In 13 years the event has raised about $45,000 to assist 39 former Bloomington Jefferson High School football players with college expenses. Event organizers are Rich Bird, Dennis Kane, Stan Skjei and Larry Swartout.

Nate Hanson, the 27-year-old Chanhassen native and former Gopher, is a first baseman with the Twins AAA Red Wings farm club. He is hitting .247 with two home runs and 11 RBI in 77 at bats.

Josmil Pinto, who could well be the successor to Kurt Suzuki as the Twins starting catcher, needs work behind the plate and is only hitting .250 with five home runs and 18 RBI in 96 at bats with the Red Wings. Unlike Hanson, the 25-year old Pinto is on the Twins’ 40-man roster.

Writing for the July 30 Gopherillustrated.com, Ryan James reported that highly recruited DeLaSalle guard Jarvis Johnson lists Minnesota, Baylor, Michigan State, Maryland, UNLV, Wichita State, and Wisconsin as schools he has heard from the most this summer.

The Minnesota Senior Games begin today at the University of St. Thomas with about 1,500 athletes ages 50 and over participating. The games go through August 9 and events include 5k and 10k races, archery, badminton, basketball, billiards, bowling, cycling, disc golf, golf, horseshoes, pickleball, racquetball, shuffleboard, softball, swimming, table tennis, tennis, track and field and volleyball. Events will be held at sites in Bloomington, Eagan, Minneapolis and St. Paul. Athletes can qualify for the 2015 National Senior Games that will be held in Minnesota July 3-16.

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