The Twins have the wrong kind of “circle it date” coming up: September 30.
That’s the first day after their 2013 schedule ends and a time to look back on another disappointing year. The team will finish with one of the worst records in MLB for a third consecutive season.
The offseason questions (again) will be what to do about all the losing?
There are mostly no easy answers and quick fixes. A talented group of minor league prospects needs more time in the farm system. The big league club’s loudest plea for help is starting pitching but it’s a monster problem demanding a rebuilt staff. The Twins’ standard approach in the past has been not to sign big buck, long term deals with free agent players—including free agent starting pitchers—so it will be interesting if management takes a new approach this winter.
Managers who finish in last place two consecutive seasons and then move up one spot in the standings during a third year are often asked to move on. But the Twins are a different breed of organization with DNA loyalty seldom seen in professional sports. It just might be that when the Twins decision makers gather in October the guy who decides whether Ron Gardenhire returns as manager is Gardenhire.
Another manager might strategize and energize the Twins to more wins but until the talent is upgraded, particularly the starting rotation, even a miracle worker like Joe Maddon of the Rays could only do so much. Changing managers, though, is one way for the organization to say the leadership on the field is part of a new start for the Twins.
The value of that approach could be more of a marketing tool than a baseball resource. Twins fans are restless and at least one ticket holder described the last few weeks of the season as a “death march.” The organization needs to show fans leadership is serious about rebuilding the franchise and winning. Placing Minnesota baseball legend Paul Molitor in the dugout as manager will fire up some of the team’s more passionate fans and ticket holders. At least in the minds of some fans and media, Molitor has been considered for awhile the most attractive replacement for Gardenhire.
There’s another Minnesota baseball legend who can do something to help the franchise at least take small steps toward a better future starting in 2014. Joe Mauer is the face of this team and the best paid employee in the history of a franchise that started operating here in 1961.
Mauer’s $23 million salary would make original Twins owner Calvin Griffith’s head spin. That kind of money could also provoke Calvin to say what he thought and if still alive he might tell Mauer: “Get your butt out to first base next spring.”
Yeah, we all know Joe loves to catch and the position is the “quarterback spot” on a baseball field. But on a team starved for run production, the Twins can no longer place an aging Mauer behind the plate where he’s another foul ball away from a concussion or sprained finger.
Every indication is the Twins will let Mauer, a three-time American League batting champion, continue catching next season. Mauer should reach a decision long before that and hold a news conference announcing his intent to play first base.
At first base Mauer would fill a position left open by the summer departure of Justin Morneau to the Pirates. Playing first base will be much easier on Mauer’s 31-year-old legs than squatting behind the plate. A revitalized and healthier Mauer at first base could be a small but significant improvement for the club.
It’s a change that Mauer should seize—an opportunity for the soft-spoken Minnesotan to increase his leadership role with the team and in the clubhouse. By doing so he sends a message to his teammates that playing first base isn’t his preference but this is a “team first” move.
It’s a move that among all the possibilities for a better Twins future seems the easiest to implement. We’ll see soon whether Mauer catches on.
Worth Noting
Josmil Pinto, the rookie catcher who would be a candidate to take over for Mauer next season if he moves to first base, is hitting .356 with two home runs and seven RBI in 45 at bats with the Twins.
Third baseman Trevor Plouffe, who might already feel the possibility of super prospect Miguel Sano taking his job in a year or two, has hit .324 in his last 10 games.
Since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970 the Vikings are tied with the Cowboys for the fourth most wins at home, 222. The Vikings, 0-2, play their first home game of the season on Sunday against the Browns, also 0-2.
Outside rookie linebacker Barkevious Mingo of the Browns has been turning heads. Sports Illustrated’s Peter King wrote that Mingo was the “best rookie I saw in camp this year” when the magazine published its September 2 NFL preview.
Writing for Cleveland.com (Cleveland Plain Dealer) Tom Reed said last Sunday that Mingo’s first regular season game left the Ravens “trying to find ways, legal and otherwise, to slow down the No. 6 overall pick in the NFL Draft.” Reed reported Mingo had a sack on his first snap, “deflected a Joe Flacco pass and drew two holding penalties in showcasing his speed and athleticism.”
Minnesota-based prep football authority Zach Johnson knows it’s too early to evaluate the Gophers 2014 recruiting class but he’s impressed with players who have verbally committed so far including Texas offensive lineman Connor Mayes, Washburn running back Jeff Jones and Chicago defensive tackle Steven Richardson.
Johnson said Mayes could have chosen many other college programs including those in Texas. Jones is the only four-star recruit among the six high school players Rivals.com lists as part of the 2014 Minnesota class. “Definitely one that everyone should be excited about if he sticks with that commitment,” Johnson told Sports Headliners about Jones.
Richardson is the only two-star recruit among the six verbal commitments, with four others labeled three-stars. Johnson said Richardson is “a little undersized at 5-11” but he likes the Mount Carmel High School lineman. “One of those guys who will just be a solid plug on the defensive line up the middle,” Johnson said.
The two FBS opponents the Gophers have defeated in nonconference games this season are a combined 1-5. UNLV (1-2) defeated Central Michigan last Saturday after losses to Minnesota and Arizona when the Rebels were outscored by 73 points. New Mexico State (0-3) has lost to Texas, Minnesota and UTEP by a total of 99 points.
Gophers coach Jerry Kill indicated yesterday running backs Donnell Kirkwood and Berkley Edwards have recovered enough to perhaps play in Saturday’s final nonconference game at TCF Bank Stadium against San Jose State. He wouldn’t say whether Philip Nelson (hamstring) or Mitch Leidner will start at quarterback. The guess here is if Nelson isn’t near 100 percent he won’t play unless Leidner is injured or plays ineffectively.
Columnist Phil Taylor writes in last week’s issue of Sports Illustrated that Jason Collins, who announced earlier this year he is gay, has not been offered a contract by a NBA team. Collins, a 34-year-old 7-foot center, has played for seven NBA teams including the Timberwolves. Although Collins is an aging player who will demand a higher salary than some other players, Taylor writes that it’s “impossible to ignore the obvious question” of whether sexual orientation is a reason NBA clubs aren’t interested. Taylor reports that Collins doesn’t think so.
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