Twins – Page 44 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Vikings Great, Until They Are not

Posted on October 9, 2022October 9, 2022 by David Shama

Who are these Minnesota Vikings?

They looked like the 2009 version of the Purple in the first half today, making almost all the right moves while taking a 21-3 lead over the then hapless Bears from Chicago. But the now 2-3 Bears made adjustments after trailing 21-10 at halftime and forced a close game before the Vikings won 29-22 at U.S. Bank Stadium.

These Bears aren’t the legendary “Monsters of the Midway.” In fact they probably are the worst team Minnesota has played this season while rolling to a 4-1 record and sole possession of first place tonight in the NFC North.

Living up to their reputation, the Bears started their initial possession in the first quarter with a delay of game. Hard to duplicate that even in Pop Warner ball. But give them credit for rallying in the second half before screwing up again. Trailing 29-22, Bears receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette declined to duck out of bounds in the closing moments of the fourth quarter and stop the clock. Much criticized Minnesota cornerback Cam Dantzler made the play of his young career by stripping Marsette of the football and ending Chicago’s hopes.

This was supposed to be a verdict day on how good the Vikings are. They started by scoring a knockout. Quarterback Kirk Cousins set a franchise record by completing 17 consecutive passes in the first half. Wide Receiver Justin Jefferson had 10 catches for 138 yards. Dalvin Cook ran for two scores.

The third touchdown of the first half came on a flip pass from Cousins of one-yard to reserve receiver Jalen Reagor. The score was set up on a drive that included Jefferson throwing across the field to Dalvin Cook on a 23-yard reception.

The creativity of the first half had a Vikings historian wondering how soon it will be before head coach and play caller Kevin O’Connell will be anointed the franchise’s greatest offensive mastermind ever. It was O’Connell, a week after his punter completed a pass for a first down, that devised schemes allowing Jefferson room to catch passes despite being one of the NFL’s most targeted playmakers.

The unflappable new Vikings coach is Mr. Popular in Purple Nation. He stands in contrast to his predecessor, Mike Zimmer, who often looked dour and had a disconnect with Cousins. Now Cousins seems reborn under the new administration. He even used his legs to run for the winning touchdown today before throwing to Jefferson for a two-point conversion making the score 29-22. Often targeted by critics for not delivering enough results, he has quarterbacked Minnesota to three consecutive wins and fourth quarter comebacks in two of the last three games.

The Vikings are following the NFL trend of playing games not decided until the closing minutes. Their success has been a surprise, partially because the schedule hasn’t been overly imposing. They caught Aaron Rodgers with a new band of receivers in their opening game and won. Across the pond in London last week, the Saints were playing without their top quarterback and running back, factors helping Minnesota to another win.

More good fortune may await. Next Sunday the Vikings play the Dolphins who because of injuries were down to their third string quarterback today. Yes, the Vikings may not emerge as a great team this fall, but so far they seem to be in the right place at the right time. Just ask Marsette, the former Viking, who turned his first reception with the Bears into a costly boo-boo.

Worth Noting

St. Paul native and Cretin-Derham Hall alum Patrick Markley takes over as North Oaks Golf Club general manager October 17. He has worked at various private golf clubs accros the country and most recently was head professional at Barton Hills Country Club in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Luis Arraez had a $2,125,000 one-year deal to play for the Twins this season. The 2022 American League batting champ was paid less in base salary than 15 other rostered players including Miguel Sano at $9,250,000 and Emilio Pagan, $2,300,000, per Spotrac.com.

With promising young outfield talent like Forest Lake’s Matt Wallner, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Twins move on in the offseason from veteran right fielder Max Kepler who made $6,750,000, according to Spotrac. Wallner, 24, is the Twins Minor League Player of the Year, after hitting 277 with 27 home runs and an OPS of .953.

Other developments in the offseason could be a new pitching coach (with interim Pete Maki staying with the organization) and changes in strength and conditioning personnel after an injury-riddled season.

The Twins finished the season with a 78-84 record. The prediction here last summer was 76-86.

Home attendance was under 2 million for the third time in the last four seasons (dating back to 2018 and not including the pandemic year of 2020). Minnesota finished No. 9 among AL franchises with Target Field attendance of 1,801,128.

Forbes reported MLB attendance was down almost 6 percent from the 2019 season prior to the pandemic. With an exciting team that won the Central Division title the Twins drew 2,294,152 fans at home.

University of Minnesota alum and Redwood Falls native Craig Thompson, who has been head of the Mountain West Conference for nearly 24 years, will resign as commissioner effective December 31.

Word is out Colorado State, one of that league’s more competitive teams, will come to Minneapolis October 22 for a private scrimmage against Ben Johnson’s Gophers in Williams Arena. Minnesota native Niko Medved, a former Gopher student-manager under Clem Haskins, has won 20 games or more the last three seasons at Colorado State.

Former Gophers guard Jamal Mashburn Jr., playing for ex-Minnesota coach Richard Pitino at New Mexico, will be a favorite to be first team all-Mountain West next winter. He was a third teamer last season.

Lindy’s college basketball magazine predicts New Mexico will have a so-so season but picks Long Beach State, led by former Gopher coach Dan Monson, will win the Big West Conference. Monson has been coaching at Long Beach since he was fired by the Gophers during the 2006-2007 season. His record with the Beach is 237-242.

When UCLA joins the Big Ten in 2024, the Bruins will bring with them 11 national championships in men’s basketball. Big Ten teams collectively have won 10.

St. Thomas, in its second season of Division I football, is tied with Valparaiso for first place at 2-0 in the Pioneer League. The Tommies defeated Davidson 27-16 yesterday.

Mark Haugejorde, the project manager of Tepetonka, is the latest guest on “Behind the Game.” He talks with co-hosts Patrick Klinger and Bill Robertson about the new high-end golf club being built near New London- Spicer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SU9dA9T1rxI

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Twins Plan ‘Deep Dive’ on 2022 Season

Posted on October 4, 2022October 4, 2022 by David Shama

The Twins (77-83) end their 2022 schedule tomorrow with a meaningless game in Chicago against the White Sox. It’s an ending to the season many in the fanbase will prefer not to remember, but the Pohlad ownership and club president Dave St. Peter don’t have that option.

The Twins were tied with the Guardians for first place in the AL Central Division on September 4. By September 25 the local boys of summer were 12 games behind. The Guardians, with the youngest team in baseball, will win the division about 13 games ahead of Minnesota.

The Twins held first place for 108 days in a division referred to as the weakest in MLB. They had an impressive spring, particularly in May with an 18-12 record that month and a five-game lead in the division. It looked like the franchise that had been last in the Central in 2021 (73-89 record) might be headed toward a finish at the top.

But a stunning number of injuries and missed games, and underwhelming performances by players including poor fundamentals at times, collapsed those championship and playoff hopes. Sports Headliners asked St. Peter what he and ownership are feeling during the last days of the season.

Dave St. Peter (photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins)

“The word I’d use is disappointing,” he said. “Largely because of the start we got off to and the work we had done, because we think our club—the opening day lineup and how we opened the season—we were poised to have not just a good season but potentially a great season.”

St. Peter and others in the organization accept their responsibilities to learn from this season. “…I can assure you there’s (going to be) a level of self-examination, self-reflection. No aspect of our operation is immune from being reviewed in terms of how we can get better. We’ve done that every year here, whether we had a good year or bad year but particularly when you have a year like we’ve had.

“We have an obligation to our fan base and to our ownership to do deep dives into (things) organizationally. Are there things that we can do to be better? I’m not ready to identify really what those things are yet but I’m optimistic there will be learnings from this, and we’ll get better and we’ll move forward.”

The club will enter the offseason with the same baseball department leadership (front office executives Derek Falvey and Thad Levine) but changes deeper in the organization could be in play. “Derek Falvey is coming back as our president of baseball operations. Thad Levine is coming back as our general manager,” St. Peter said. “We believe in those guys. When you look at the entirety of their body of work, I think they’ve done a great job here.

“They certainly are well respected across our game. I know that based on the conversations I have with other people, other owners, club presidents—and just the sheer number of people that have been plucked from our organization the last five to six years suggests that we’re doing a lot of things right.

“So, I’m optimistic that we have the right leadership in place. But yeah, to answer your question, there will be some changes. I suspect there will be every year…and some of those things are going to be visible to the public; others won’t be, but ultimately…it’s kind of TBD and what those changes will be.”

Falvey announced awhile ago that manager Rocco Baldelli will return next season. St. Peter is also supportive of Baldelli (2019 AL Manager of the Year) but he added that evaluation of the manager’s staff is ongoing.

The Twins’ lost pitching coach Wes Johnson during the season when he decided to return to college coaching. Bullpen pitching coach Pete Maki was elevated to Johnson’s spot. “I think Pete Maki has done a really good job in a really difficult circumstance being thrust into that role midseason,” St. Peter said.

With the season all but over, Spotrac.com reports the Twins have placed an American League-high 32 players on the injured list and have a AL-high 2,344 days missed. How can the Twins be more fortunate in the future? “Yeah, I’ve spent a lot of time in church praying,” St. Peter joked.

No doubt bad luck played a role in sidelining pitchers and position players for short and long durations. But scrutiny will come this offseason with input sought from not only the baseball department but also medical, strength and conditioning experts.

“So, you know that’s something you take a look at,” St. Peter said. “Some of that’s (bad) luck but I don’t think anybody here is suggesting that there aren’t some things we can figure out a way to do better, and ultimately I am confident that will happen.”

The Twins have studied how to keep their players healthy in the past, too. St. Peter points out the 2019 Central Division champion Twins were in large part a healthy group that rolled through the season. Still, he wants to know if in late 2022 management can take even more of a holistic approach to identify ways to prevent injuries, treat ailments more effectively and shorten recovery time while recognizing that every player and circumstance is different.

St. Peter also discussed under performance by the team while declining to identify specific players. He acknowledged the often-maligned bullpen woes fans know cost the team too many wins. Then he talked about the dry spells in scoring runs. For the season the Twins have outscored opponents by eight runs.

“I think offensively we underperformed a lot of the year, and clearly not having your core lineup on the field, particularly over the second half (of the season) had a huge impact on that,” St. Peter said. “Offensively, we need to find ways to generate more runs, and I think that will be a focus of the offseason, whether it’s the incumbent guys coming back, or changes made to our roster aimed at delivering more offense.”

The core that St. Peter refers to includes three rookies who made outstanding MLB debuts. Starting pitcher Joe Ryan, closer Jhoan Duran and first baseman-third baseman-DH Jose Miranda. “I think those three guys have helped us immensely. I can’t imagine where we would be without them.”

Those three are under Twins control for next season, as are other important players such as position players Luis Arraez, Byron Buxton, Jorge Polanco and starting pitcher Kenta Maeda, but a contract decision looms with star shortstop Carlos Correa who can choose this fall to opt for free agency. St. Peter believes Correa, who the Twins acquired last March, likes the organization and community.

The Twins value how gifted a talent Correa is in the field, at the plate and as a leader in the clubhouse. “He knows how we feel about him, and we’ll see where it goes,” St. Peter said.

St. Peter mentioned three players who could see time at shortstop next season if the opportunity is there. Royce Lewis, Austin Martin and Brooks Lee are high on potential but collectively only Lewis has limited MLB experience.

“Those would be the three guys after Correa,” St. Peter said. “Now it’s also possible we would choose to go to the free agent market and sign somebody. The hope here is that Carlos Correa is playing shortstop for the Twins.”

While Correa is special, Buxton, 28, is the heart and soul of a relatively young team that could become a playoff contender if a lot of things break right next year. Buxton, the often-injured slugger (led the team in home runs with 28) and a superb center fielder, played in only 92 games this season and just once in his eight-year career has he topped that total.

St. Peter is hopeful, though, Buxton can play in 30 or so more games in 2023. St. Peter’s optimistic outlook for next year is also buoyed by the depth he sees among position players and starting pitching. Collectively he calls it deeper than the Twins have had in a long time.

St. Peter foresees an ongoing commitment from ownership to win. He said the payroll of $140 million this year was the biggest in franchise history and he doesn’t see the Pohlads backing off their willingness to spend money.

It will be an active offseason for Falvey and Levine, both of whom St. Peter believes don’t get enough credit for what he describes as their creativity and aggressiveness in making deals, and willingness to take risks.

“It’s easy to criticize those things that don’t work out at the end of the day, but we were criticized for years for being too passive, for not signing free agents, for not making trades, and Derek and Thad have done everything but that. They view every year as an opportunity and I think they’ll be aggressive going into the offseason, uncovering every rock and stone just to make sure they’re doing everything they can to put us in the best possible position to win.”

The offseason St. Peter can envision has potential trades and free agent signings, and combined with the existing core of players and high potential prospects in the system, will shape a Minnesota team that goes into spring training “very capable of winning the American League Central, (and) hopefully advancing to the postseason and doing some damage there.”

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Vikings Take a Liking to London

Posted on October 2, 2022October 2, 2022 by David Shama

Jolly good, Vikings.

The Purple beat the Saints today, 28-25, in London. At least for Vikings fans who travelled to the game, kicker Greg Joseph is now more popular in England than fish and chips.

Joseph booted five field goals including the game winner from 47-yards in the closing minutes. Playing where soccer is known as football, the Vikings and Saints did their part in showing off the foot in the American game. Saints’ kicker Wil Lutz missed a 61-yard field goal attempt as time ran out, attempting to send the game into overtime at 28-28.

Minnesota, now 3-1 in 2022, won for the third time during the regular season in London. Playing in the 100^th NFL international game (preseason and regular season games), the Vikings have a liking for London.

On the first quarter opening drive, running back Alexander Mattison ran 15 yards on a pass reception for a touchdown to put the Vikings ahead 7-0. It looked like he celebrated by simulating a sip of tea from an imaginary cup.

Wide receiver Adam Thielen, who had eight receptions for 72 yards, had Ted Lasso’s name on his shoes. The cast from the award-winning comedy show (Ted is an American football coach hired to lead a British soccer club) attended the game.

Justin Jefferson image courtesy of Minnesota Vikings

Thielen’s running mate at WR, Justin Jefferson, had his best game since the opener against the Packers. In London he had a big fourth quarter catch and then a run from scrimmage that gave the Vikings a 28-25 lead (Joseph missed the extra point). He had 10 receptions for 147 yards.

The Saints, playing without three of their best offensive players, hung around in the game despite costly errors and penalties. Two Saints fumbles led to Joseph field goals, and New Orleans was penalized 10 times for 102 yards.

The Vikings, who led after every quarter, found themselves in a 25-25 tie after Lutz kicked a 60-yard field goal with 1:51 to play. “This team always just wants the next opt (opportunity),” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said on KFAN Radio after the game.

Joseph delivered it and tonight Vikings fans can eat fish and chips, and guzzle warm beer.

Worth Noting

O’Connell said on the radio rookie safety Lewis Cine has a badly fractured left ankle and will remain in London for medical care while the team flies home.

What was learned from the Gophers’ 20-10 loss to Purdue Saturday? When the offense doesn’t execute and is without All-American tailback Mo Ibrahim, points are scarce because this team isn’t deep in talented playmakers.

Minnesota is 0-30 in its last 30 games when behind by 10 points or more, per ESPN. The Gophers trailed Purdue 10-0 after the first quarter before going on to lose their first game of the season.

Big Ten home teams keep all the ticket revenues for their home football games so Saturday’s near sellout for the Gophers was a big payday. Contrary to rumor, the Athletic Department had no plans to offer special last minute ticket discounts to the public.

Gophers’ basketball coach Ben Johnson and his staff are facing high expectations to gain a commitment from highly recruited 7-1 center Dennis Evans from Riverside, California. The Gophers are considered a favorite to land Evans. He visited Minnesota over the weekend and the skilled shot blocker is not only a top 40 recruit but shows NBA potential. Before Saturday’s football game Evans, accompanied by assistant coach Dave Thorson, walked on the stadium field and heard cheers from the student section.

Conversation started awhile ago that freshman forward Pharrel Payne from Cottage Grove will have pro scouts following him. At 6-9, 230, Payne is already a strong, physical player.

The Gopher basketball program, criticized in the past for not recruiting the state of Minnesota, has nine Minnesotans on the roster including sure starters Jamison Battle from Robbinsdale and Dawson Garcia from Savage. Both forwards are proven scorers with Battle and Garcia candidates for All-Big Ten honors.

Johnson said Luke Loewe, a senior starting combo guard on the team last season from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, is pursuing a pro bass fishing career. He also said Payton Willis, the starting point guard on last season’s team, is playing professionally in Israel.

Minnesota AD Mark Coyle told Sports Headliners volleyball looks on track to become a revenue program, joining a small number of other U programs that help to fund the 21-sports Athletic Department. Minnesota, averaging 4,709 fans at home, ranks fourth in the country behind Wisconsin, Nebraska and Hawaii.

New baseball hall of famer Tony Oliva speaks to the Capital Club October 11 at Mendakota Country Club. He will be interviewed by the radio voice of the Twins, Cory Provus. More information is available from Patrick Klinger, patrick@agilemarketingco.com

Twins president Dave St. Peter and friends annually attend a popular out of state college football game. The trip this fall will be to Auburn and a matchup against the Tigers and Texas A&M on November 12. Last year’s trip was to Seattle and the majestic setting of Husky Stadium on Lake Washington.

Target Field has been the site of college football in the past and St. Peter is “optimistic over time we will play football again here” but nothing is scheduled for the foreseeable future.

Target Field will have new video displays next season including replacement of the main board in left field. The new video board will be among the largest in MLB.

Tom Swain, the 101-year-old whose successful career included being the Gophers ticket manager, is now an Honorary Lifetime Member of the Twin Cities Dunkers. The Lilydale resident has been a member of Dunkers since 1960.

Nostalgia note: it was 67 years ago last week (September 28) that the Minneapolis Millers played the final game ever at Nicollet Park, located on Nicollet Ave. near Lake Street. The Millers, who defeated the Rochester Red Wings to win the Junior World Series, would play the next year, 1956, in the new Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington.

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