Twins – Page 168 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

The Big Chill: Twins Early Schedule

Posted on March 24, 2014March 24, 2014 by David Shama

The Twins are scheduled to open their 2014 schedule a week from today in Chicago against the White Sox, and in news reports the weather could share headline space with the baseball as the teams work their way through a three-game series.

The frost line was being measured in feet—not inches—last week at the White Sox’s home field. Projected Chicago temperatures for this week are mostly in the 30s and 40s, according to Myforecast.com. Next Monday the forecast is for a high of 63 degrees under cloudy skies.

The Twins and White Sox aren’t scheduled a week from tomorrow but on April 2 they have a night game when the temperatures will likely be in the mid-40s to low-50s. Then the series concludes with a day game and the forecasted high is 45 degrees.

The Twins then head to Cleveland for a three-game weekend series including a Friday night game. The weekend forecast predicts the teams will be playing in temps mostly in the 40s, again according to Myforecast.com.

The Twins’ home opener is during the day on Monday, April 7 and the club will play outdoors at Target Field through Thursday, April 12. During that period the Twins have three night games scheduled.

Admittedly, this is an extremely cold spring in many northern U.S. cities, but it’s difficult to understand why teams like the Twins have to play the opening weeks of the season in cold locations including their own stadiums. There are four American League cities that typically have warm weather during the first weeks of April—Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Oakland. Two other AL cities, Toronto and St. Petersburg, have stadiums with roofs. Four others—Baltimore, Kansas City, New York and Seattle—are more likely to have warmer temps in early April than Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Minneapolis.

That makes 10 AL cities—a clear majority—with more favorable spring weather than five others including Minneapolis.

Twins president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners he expects Major League Baseball will look at future scheduling but also said, “Reality is teams have been playing northern outdoor baseball for 100 years.” The Twins have opened their schedules on the road in four of the last five years. “I think the Twins have been treated fairly,” he said.

St. Peter said probably all of baseball’s 30 teams would prefer to open their schedules on the road. By doing so a franchise has extra time to promote and sell tickets for the season opening home series.

Worth Noting

As the Twins finish their final days in spring training, St. Peter is hopeful for an improved roster including better starting pitching. After three consecutive 90-plus losing seasons, expectations are clear. “I fully expect us to be better in terms of wins,” he said.

The Twins announced this morning they have optioned right-handed pitchers Ryan Pressly and Michael Tonkin along with catcher Chris Herrmann to Triple-A Rochester. The Twins have also given right-handed pitcher Matt Guerrier his unconditional release. He is now a free agent.

The club has 29 players in camp: 13 pitchers, 3 catchers (one non-roster), 7 infielders (one non-roster) and 6 outfielders (one non-roster).

Former Twins pitcher Jim Kaat—one of baseball’s best broadcast analysts ever—is 75 but will work games again this year for the MLB Network.

The Gopher baseball team’s home opener is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon against Saint John’s from the MIAC, according to Gophersports.com.

The initial Final Four predictions of CBS TV analysts Seth Davis, Doug Gottlieb and Clark Kellogg are holding up but not perfect after last weekend’s opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. All their teams advanced expect Wichita State. Davis and Kellogg both picked Florida, Michigan State, Wichita State and Wisconsin for the Final Four. Gottlieb’s choices were Arizona, Florida, Louisville and Michigan State.

The Gophers women’s basketball team defeated SMU in a second round WNIT game last night at Williams Arena. Minnesota plays next on Thursday night at South Dakota State, a program the Gophers are 1-4 against historically.

The Gophers men’s team, winners in their second round NIT game against Saint Mary’s yesterday, will play Southern Mississippi tomorrow night at Williams Arena. The Golden Eagles, who defeated Missouri on the road last night, have won eight of their last nine games. The team is 29-6 this season and excels defensively holding opponents to 62.8 points per game. The winner of Wednesday night’s game advances to the semifinals of the NIT in New York on April 1.

Former Gopher guard Chip Armelin plays 13.7 minutes per game for the Golden Eagles and averages 4.9 points per game. He is making 50 percent of his free throws.

Sophomore forward Joey King scored a career high 18 points to lead Minnesota yesterday. King had scored 14 points each of his two previous games—the first time in his career as a Gopher having three consecutive double figures games.

Former Gopher forward Joe Coleman transferred to Saint Mary’s last summer and will be eligible next season to play for the Gaels.

New York University is offering an April 4-6 course on how to negotiate in business that will be taught by former Timberwolves executive David Kahn. Kahn is a 1993 NYU law school graduate.

The Bolder Options youth mentoring organization, headed by former Gophers running back Darrell Thompson, will hold a 20^th anniversary celebration event in the DQ Room at TFC Bank Stadium on May 15. The keynote speaker will be Gophers football coach Jerry Kill. More at Trainingforlifedinner.com.

The Vikings Adrian Peterson turned 29 last week. If Peterson can play another six seasons averaging about 1,000 yards per season he will threaten Walter Payton’s place as the NFL’s No. 2 all-time leading rusher. Payton rushed for 16,726 yards and Peterson now has 10,115. Emmitt Smith is No. 1 at 18,355 yards.

I didn’t find my name today when I read the Star Tribune’s page A2 list of famous birthdays. (I am disappointed but not too surprised).

Cheers.

Comments Welcome

Vikings Need to Draft QB for System

Posted on March 7, 2014March 7, 2014 by David Shama

Former Vikings defensive lineman Bob Lurtsema remains close to the team and has advice regarding the upcoming NFL Draft.

“With Norv Turner (offensive coordinator) you have got to draft a quarterback that fits his system. …Don’t draft the best available quarterback.”

Many college quarterback prospects are scramblers but taking one with the Vikings’ No. 8 pick in the first round of the May 8 draft might be a mistake. “That’s not what Turner wants,” Lurtsema told Sports Headliners. “Turner wants a guy who reads (situations) quick. Throws the ball like a bullet. There are certain things he wants because of the way he coaches.”

Lurtsema said it’s crucial for a franchise’s draft success to have the general manager, head coach and offensive coordinator on the “same page.” Will that be true of the Vikings on draft day with general manager Rick Spielman, new head coach Mike Zimmer and new offensive boss Turner?

“No idea,” Lurtsema said. “I sure hope so.”

The Vikings have devoted much of this century searching for a franchise quarterback. Daunte Culpepper’s success ended in 2004. Except for a couple of seasons with Brett Favre, it’s been pretty much trial and error with the Vikings while clubs like the Seahawks and 49ers found quick fixes when they changed head coaches.

Lurtsema said Turner, who has the reputation of being among the NFL’s best offensive minds, has to decide if he wants to make a commitment to Christian Ponder, currently the only quarterback signed for 2014, or to find another QB already in the league. If he does want to make such a commitment, the Vikings could draft a player other than a quarterback with their first choice on draft day.

Whatever the decision, Lurtsema is optimistic about Zimmer and Turner. He is convinced the club has upgraded its coaching talent. “Coaching is 60 to 65 percent (of success),” Lurtsema said. “I’ve told you that. I say it on TV. I say it to everybody.”

Lurtsema is excited about the offensive potential of next year’s team even without knowing the quarterback situation. Turner’s NFL experience includes head coaching and his resume documents high production offenses in previous employment. His mantra is a balanced offense and commitment to keeping defenses guessing. “He really mixes it up very well,” Lurtsema said.

Lurtsema was impressed with Zimmer soon after he was hired earlier this winter. “He (Zimmer) said he wants to give some guys a big, swift kick in the butt. …There wasn’t a lot of second effort a lot of the time (last season). You can tell second effort when they’re hauling their fanny.”

Coach Bud Grant won 11 championships with the Vikings. Lurtsema played for Grant and reveres him. “He (Zimmer) has a lot of Bud Grant in him,” Lurtsema said. “You know he’s the boss. If I was to deal with Zimmer (play for him) and make a couple of mistakes, he wouldn’t tell me about it. He’d cut me (from the team). That’s the part that sticks out. You don’t have to go up and cradle a lot of these spoiled athletes. They make the dumb mistakes—adios amigo.”

Worth Noting

Lurtsema likes the competitive attitude of Central Florida’s Blake Bortles and predicts he will be the first quarterback selected in the draft.

Derek Carr is a pocket passer and there’s been speculation the Fresno State quarterback could be available to the Vikings at No. 8. He fits the non-scrambler style Lurtsema said Turner wants to avoid for his system.

Joe Schmit will autograph copies of his new book, Silent Impact, a week from today starting at noon at Barnes & Noble downtown. The next day, March 15, the KSTP TV sportscaster will be at the Mall of America Sears Court starting at 1 p.m.

Schmit has written a lively, easy to read self-help book about how we impact others including non-verbal communication. The book’s cover jacket makes this point: “The words we say or don’t say, the things we do or don’t do, and the ways we react or don’t react can have a tremendous influence on those around us.”

Schmit has won 15 Emmys in his broadcast career but has faced challenges including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The disease is in remission and Schmit credits his attitude in battling the cancer.

Minnetonka High School alum Will Leer is competing in the 1500 meters for the U.S. track team at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Sopot, Poland. Leer, who excelled in track and cross country at Pomona College in California, is among the world’s elite runners in the mile, 1500 meters, and has advanced to the finals in Poland.

Leer is the nephew of former KSTP-TV reporter Robb Leer who is in the public relations business with Minneapolis-based Leer Communications & Consultants.

North Carolina coach Roy Williams is recruiting Hopkins sophomore guard Amir Coffey and attended the Royals-Eden Prairie section title game on Wednesday night.

Today 1980 Olympic hockey gold medalists Bill Baker, Steve Christoff, Dave Christian and Rob McClanahan will be at the Herb Brooks Foundation booth at the Let’s Play Hockey Expo in St. Paul’s RiverCentre. Baker, Christoff, Christian and McClanahan will be autographing commemorative hockey pucks that have inspirational Herb Brooks quotations. Baker is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., Christoff 11 a.m. to noon, Christian 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. and McClanahan 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

This weekend eight wrestlers who won titles last year will try to repeat as Big Ten champions including Minnesota’s Tony Nelson, Dylan Ness and Kevin Steinhaus. The Big Ten Wrestling Championships are tomorrow and Sunday at Wisconsin. Penn State has won four consecutive team titles but the Gophers are ranked No. 1 nationally in the USA Today/NWCA/AWN Division I Coaches Poll. Penn State is ranked No. 2, Iowa No. 3.

Hammond Stadium, the Twins spring training home in Fort Myers, is being renovated and changes include a walkway around the field providing fans with various views of the gameday action while enjoying more concession options. Minnesotan Rolf Bjelland praised the walkway in an e-mail and offered other comments after attending a recent game:

“Our arrival was effortless with good parking direction and very friendly parking attendants. There is ample parking and an oversupply of handicap parking. Walking from the parking lot to the stadium, one has the feeling of a county fair with wonderful colors, crowds of people and various outside vendors. …

“They now have two grass slopes for spectators—great for sunbathing and child play. The field looks like a carpeted checkerboard in green and the infield like a well-manicured golf bunker.”

Comments Welcome

U Women’s Team Needs Tourney Run

Posted on March 5, 2014March 5, 2014 by David Shama

Although apathy characterizes the attitude of many fans toward Gophers women’s basketball, there is anticipation and curiosity about the team that begins play in the Big Ten Tournament tomorrow night as the No. 6 seed.

Coach Pam Borton’s team finished 8-8 during the regular season, the program’s best showing since 2009 and the last year Minnesota was invited to the NCAA Tournament. The Gophers won six of their final eight league games, and a win over No. 11 seed Wisconsin tomorrow evening would almost certainly guarantee an NCAA invite. Minnesota is 19-11 overall and may qualify for the NCAA Tournament even if the Gophers can’t win a game in the conference tourney in Indianapolis.

But Borton and her team need to build momentum in the program by not only winning a couple of NCAA tourney games this month, but also earn major success in the future with plus-.500 Big Ten records. The program has faltered since the glory days of 2003, 2004 and 2005 when Minnesota played in the Sweet 16 twice and Final Four once. The Gophers were 6^th in the conference standings this season, certainly an improvement over the previous four years of 11^th, 9^th and two 8^th place finishes.

The Gophers averaged 9,800 fans per game in 2003-2004, and 9,200 and 8,329 the following seasons, ranking in the top five or six nationally for women’s college basketball attendance. The last three seasons the Gophers have averaged 2,835, 3,277 and 3,178 fans per game.

The Gophers can do better on the court and at the box office than the results of more recent seasons. The program has the potential to be a revenue producer for the athletic department and no doubt athletic director Norwood Teague wants to see home attendance more comparable with Big Ten leaders like Purdue and Michigan State who averaged 8,031 and 7,145 fans per game this season.

Teague’s reputation is that of a basketball authority. He hired nationally respected Shaka Smart as men’s coach at VCU. Last year he dismissed Tubby Smith as Gophers men’s coach and hired Richard Pitino who has impressed with his teaching skills while working with minimal talent compared to the Big Ten’s best teams.

Teague also hired Beth Goetz last year as his department’s senior women’s administrator. Before coming to the Gophers, Goetz was at Butler where she earned praise from Bulldogs’ renowned head basketball coach Brad Stevens. Her responsibilities at Minnesota include women’s basketball and it seems likely she will play a key role in evaluating Borton after this season.

Borton has been Minnesota’s head coach since 2002. The athletic department invested significantly in her despite struggles on the court and large financial losses with the program. (Example: a May 4, 2013 Star Tribune story reported a 2011-2012 “deficit of almost $2 million.”) Borton has received over $400,000 annually since the 2008-2009 season and at that time was in the top one-third of the Big Ten’s best paid women’s coaches. Her contract extends through the 2016 season.

Among the positives Goetz could mention in an evaluation of the coach are two of Borton’s best recruits ever, junior guard Rachel Banham who led the Big Ten in scoring at 23.3 points per game and freshman center Amanda Zahui B., the conference’s top rebounder at 11.5 per game. Both players were chosen all-Big Ten first team by the media. The media and coaches chose Zahui B. as Freshman of the Year.

If Banham and Zahui B. could lead the Gophers to a couple of wins in the Big Ten tournament and two more in the NCAA, the momentum going into next season will be noticeable and that apathy bandwagon would have fewer passengers.

Worth Noting

The Timberwolves, 30-29, wouldn’t earn a spot in the NBA Western Conference playoffs if the season ended now but Minnesota can’t be counted out. Starting tonight at Target Center against the Knicks (21-40), the Wolves face six opponents in the next seven games with records at least a half dozen wins under .500. Six of the games are at home for the Wolves who have a realistic chance to earn the eighth and final playoff spot before the season ends on April 16.

Another opportunity awaits later this month when the club has games at Dallas and Memphis, and home against Phoenix. The Mavericks, Grizzlies, Suns and Warriors are the teams most immediately ahead of the Wolves in playoff positioning.

The possibility of the Wolves earning a playoff spot this year and next is expected to have a lot to do with whether All-Star forward Kevin Love opts out of his contract in the 2015 offseason. In his five previous seasons in Minneapolis the team has yet to make the playoffs. Winning is something Love knew at UCLA and as a pro with the 2012 gold medal U.S. Olympic team.

Although the lure of playing for a better team (perhaps in a warm weather climate) is worth worrying about, Love could decide to stay here if the Wolves become a legitimate top 10 NBA team with more promise ahead. He might not find another point guard who sets him up better for open shots than Ricky Rubio. Also, don’t discount the relationship between Love and Flip Saunders, the team’s president of basketball operations who has made it a priority to develop rapport with the 25-year-old superstar.

Former Vikings coach Bud Grant will speak at the March 13 CORES luncheon at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington. Grant, who was one of the Gophers greatest athletes ever and played two seasons for the Minneapolis Lakers, coached 11 championship teams with the Vikings. Grant, who turns 87 on May 20, will have copies of his book, I Did It My Way, on sale at the luncheon. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans. Reservations (by March 10) for the lunch and program can be made by contacting dotsethj@comcast.net.

Grant’s buddy Sid Hartman, the Star Tribune columnist and WCCO Radio personality, will be 94 on March 15.

Defensive end Everson Griffen never won a starting job with the Vikings but figures to create some stir as a free agent because of his strong pass rushing skills.

No doubt former Gophers offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch, now the OC with the NFL’s Jags, has to be anticipating Jacksonville taking one of the top college quarterbacks with the No. 3 selection in the NFL Draft’s first round.

Former Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, in his first spring training camp with the Rockies, is hitless in two at bats.

Baseball America’s top 10 Twins prospects (in order) are Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Alex Meyer, Kohl Stewart, Jose Berrios, Eddie Rosario, Lewis Thorpe, Trevor May, Danny Santana and Jorge Polanco. Five of those prospects are pitchers including Thorpe who is among the least familiar names to some Twins fans. Thorpe, 18 and from Australia, signed with the Twins as an undrafted free agent last July. He led the Gulf Coast League in strikeouts with 64 in 44 innings pitched, starting eight games, relieving in four and compiling a 4-1 record with a 2.05 ERA.

FOX Sports 1, the nation’s new sports channel trying to rival ESPN, makes its major league baseball programming debut April 5 with a doubleheader that includes the Twins at Indians game. The other telecast will be the Giants at the Dodgers.

Former Vikings safety Darren Sharper, who faces multiple rape charges, has been fired by the NFL Network.

St. Olaf men’s basketball coach Dan Kosmoski, a former Gophers assistant, made his 20^th season memorable. The Oles are MIAC playoff champs for the first time in school history and advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament where they play Central College (Iowa) on Friday in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. St. Thomas, the team that lost to St. Olaf last weekend in the title playoff game, is also in the NCAA Tournament with a game on Friday against Augustana (Illinois) in Whitewater, Wisconsin.

St. Olaf’s Sam Daly and St. Thomas’ Courtney Pahl have won with the MIAC Elite 22 Award for men’s and women’s basketball. The elite 22 awards program recognizes MIAC athletes in various sports for high academic and athletic achievement. Daly, a senior with a 3.65 GPA, has a double-major in chemistry and psychology. Pahl, a sophomore with a 4.0 GPA, has a double-major in biochemistry and biology.

Comments Welcome