Vikings – Page 113 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

GM Levine Says Twins Can Play Better

Posted on May 19, 2019May 19, 2019 by David Shama

The Minnesota Twins finished last season with a disappointing record of 78-84 after playing in the postseason in 2017. During the past offseason, front office decision makers Derek Falvey and Thad Levine reshaped the club’s roster, and shook up the managerial and coaching leadership.

The performance so far of the hometown team has been stunning.

The Twins have key personnel who were on the roster last season, but three quarters of the usual infield lineup and multiple pitchers, particularly in the bullpen, are newcomers. Collectively, along with manager Rocco Baldelli and his staff, they have made the Twins’ performance one of the success stories in big league baseball this spring. As of this morning the Twins had compiled the second best record in MLB at 30-15 and a .667 winning percentage, just behind the 31-15 Astros.

Minnesota is 5.5 games ahead of second place Cleveland in the Central Division. The Twins have been in first place since April 21. In March-April their record was 17-10 versus 9-15 in 2018. So far in May the Twins are 13-5 (compared with 13-15 for that entire month a year ago), and the club is on a five-game winning streak including an 18-4 win over the Mariners last night in Seattle when Minnesota led 10-0 after three innings behind five home runs.

Consistency? The team is 15-8 at home and 15-7 on the road. The Twins have a winning record against opponents from the AL Central, East and West divisions.

Before the season started there were plenty of predictors who thought the Twins were a division contender, with the most optimistic hinting Minnesota might play something like 18 games over .500 and finish with a 90-72 record. However, that was an extreme outlook, and now the team is already 15 games over .500 with slightly more than 25 percent of the schedule having been played.

No one should crown the Twins the best club in the majors yet, but this does look like a coming out party where Minnesota just might be among baseball’s royalty by season’s end. Everyone likes what they have seen including Levine, the club’s impressive and intellectual general manager. He admits to the team exceeding expectations.

“I think when you look at the record we have, it’s hard not to say that this is a little bit further along than what we expected,” Levine told Sports Headliners Wednesday. “But when you look at the performance of the team, I think there is another level this team can reach. So in saying that, I don’t think this is necessarily that far exceeding expectations.

“I think (before the season) we thought very highly of this group of individuals and certainly what they could do collectively. I think the best baseball this team has is ahead of them, not behind them. … I think the future is very bright for the Minnesota Twins.”

Levine clearly likes the potential of his team, but dreams can get derailed by injuries and last week the Twins put two of their more productive offensive players on the 10-day disabled list. Catcher Mitch Garver is off to the best start of his MLB career with nine home runs but now is on the DL. DH Nelson Cruz, who joined the Twins last offseason, went on the DL having hit more home runs than anyone in the big leagues since 2014. His bat and leadership have helped fuel a long ball trend that seems likely to result in a franchise season record of more than 225 home runs this season.

Miguel Sano (photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins).

The Twins are also counting on their stingy pitching—four starters have won four games or more and five core relievers have ERA’s at 2.00 or less— and depth of positional players to keep them winning. Miguel Sano, as recently as two years ago viewed as the slugging centerpiece of the team, just rejoined the Twins after missing the first 40 games. Sano can play third base, first base and DH. He is part of a versatile and mostly under age 30 roster that includes players who can man multiple infield and outfield positions. They have performed well at bat and also with team defense. The club’s fielding percentage is among the better ones in baseball at .985.

Worth Noting

Twins home attendance will be surging between Memorial Day and Labor Day, with club president Dave St. Peter telling Sports Headliners: “…I think you’re going to see huge crowds here at the ballpark night after night.”

It looks like Vikings first round draft choice Garrett Bradbury will take over as the team’s starting center. Pat Elflein will move to guard. “He (Elflein) is a much better guard than center,” former Viking Pete Bercich told the CORES lunch group earlier this month.

Bercich, a radio gameday analyst for the Vikings, also said veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph is “not a very good blocker.” Rudolph could see his starting position go to rookie Irv Smith Jr. if he is traded or cut from the roster because of salary cap challenges.

Bercich played at Notre Dame for legendary (and flamboyant) coach Lou Holtz. Bercich said Holtz needed a strawberry shake at halftime of Notre Dame games “so he could get his sugar.”

Word is when Holtz coached the Golden Gophers he also ordered milkshakes during games.

CORES emcee and well-known public address announcer Dick Jonckowski ordered the printing of another 500 copies of his 2018 book It’s All About Me, Dick Jonckowski: A Minnesota Treasure.

Former Gophers football coach Jerry Kill, now athletic director at Southern Illinois, has landed the largest corporate naming rights agreement in school history. The 10-year deal will offer up to $10 million in the renaming of SIU Arena to the Banterra Center (Banterra Bank).

The Golden Gophers softball team can win the Minneapolis Regional today and continue to impress in the NCAA Tournament. So far this weekend Amber Fiser has pitched 15 innings, allowing five hits and one earned run, while striking out 20 and walking three batters.

WCCO Radio Sports Huddle co-host Dave Mona, along with his wife Linda Mona, are promoting their 10th and final Camden’s Concert. Popular country western singer and song writer Suzy Bogguss will entertain. Tickets are on sale now for the July 16th event at the Hopkins Center for the Arts. More at Hopkinsartscenter.com. Money raised from the concert helps research to find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis.

The annual Karl-Anthony Towns ProCamp will be July 18 and 19 at Providence Academy in Plymouth. The camp is open to boys and girls of all skill levels in grades 1-12. Participants will learn fundamentals and interact with the Minnesota Timberwolves star center, according to a team news release.

Former Gophers golfer and New York Times best selling author Harvey Mackay quotes this Arabic proverb in his syndicated newspaper column last week: “Write the wrongs that are done to you in sand, but write the good things that happen to you on a piece of marble. Let go of all emotions such as resentment and retaliation, which diminish you, and hold onto the emotions, such as gratitude and joy, which increase you.”

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Taylor: Interim Coach Has to Sell Himself

Posted on May 6, 2019May 6, 2019 by David Shama

In an interview today, owner Glen Taylor said it will be up to new president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas to decide if Ryan Saunders has the interim tag removed from his title as the Minnesota Timberwolves head coach.

Taylor is an admirer of Saunders but said he isn’t telling Rosas who should be the team’s head coach for next season. “He’s got to sit down with Ryan,” Taylor said following a news conference at Target Center where Rosas was introduced as the franchise’s new basketball boss.

Does Saunders have to sell himself? “Sure, he does,” Taylor said. “That’s part of his job, but I am positive Ryan knows what he wants to do, and he will do a good job. So we’ll see how it works out.”

Saunders, 33, is the NBA’s youngest head coach and was promoted to his interim status in January when Tom Thibodeau was fired. Although he had never been a head coach before, he impressed Taylor despite the team not making the playoffs.

“I think that Ryan did a great job based upon the circumstances that he was given,” Taylor said. “It’s hard to really measure him when you have so many of his guys that were injured and stuff.

“But I still watched how he substituted, brought players in, got the most out of some of our young guys and did some really positive things. I haven’t changed in my thinking, and now we’ll see what others think.”

Taylor said that during the interview process Rosas asked what he saw in Saunders. But Taylor didn’t try to prejudice the decision Rosas will need to make in the coming weeks about who his coach will be.

The Wolves missed the playoffs this spring after qualifying for the postseason in 2018 for the first time since 2004. Taylor believes in the personnel already in place. “I haven’t changed my mind. I think we have the talent.

“What he (Rosas) talked about is something I just really believe in too. We’ve got to develop our own players, our draft choices. We’ve got to get those guys to play better.

“I think that’s what he’s got to talk to the coach (about). What plays do you set up? What styles do you do to utilize the skills of your players? …

Taylor said the goal of building a world class organization is shared by Rosas who worked for 17 years in the successful Rockets organization and gained a variety of experiences including as executive vice president of basketball operations. The ultimate goal for the Wolves is an NBA title for an organization that began play in 1989 and has never reached the league finals. “I think we have selected a leader that can take us there,” Taylor said of the 40-year-old Rosas.

Worth Noting

Rosas’ wife Susana said the couple, who have been married almost 16 years, met in high school in Houston. “When we met he told me he wanted to be the president …(of a) team. We were 15 years old and I thought he was trying to impress me,” Susana said. “Lo and behold…here we are today. We’re very thankful and blessed.”

It’s a solid bet the Vikings and the metro area will host their first NFL Draft within seven to 10 years. Club officials are interested, but probably have to wait awhile for the NFL’s blessing after Minneapolis hosted the 2018 Super Bowl. The city of Nashville estimates more than 500,000 fans attended Draft activities last month.

While there is speculation the Vikings want to restructure tight end Kyle Rudolph’s contract to better the club’s payroll—or even trade him—he does remain a superb pass catcher. He and rookie tight end Irv Smith could sometimes be on the field together. The Vikings might line up the athletic Smith in the slot while using two tight ends, and have Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs on the flanks.

The 29-year-old Rudolph isn’t known as an elite blocker, but Smith was praised for that skill in college at Alabama. Smith said, “I don’t want to be classified as a receiving tight end. I want to be classified as a complete tight end.”

Kyle Kilgore, the rookie free agent defensive end trying out with the Vikings, describes his four years at Division III Bethel as the best of his life. He told Sports Headliners he was taught at Bethel that you either become a “horse,” or a “jackass.”

“That place is chock full of horses,” the East Ridge alum said. “It’s rich soil. I can say I’ve grown as a man in those four years. All the brothers that I have on that football team forcing me to be better every day. Kind of the coolest thing.”

Kilgore’s Bethel teammate, safety Dawson Brown, is a free agent with the Atlanta Falcons. He played high school football at Becker.

Brown and Kilgore have been training together since the Royals season ended at the East Metro location of ETS Performance. ETS is run by Ryan Englebert who trained Thielen after his senior year of college.

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Wolves Roster Reshuffling Seems Likely

Posted on May 2, 2019May 8, 2019 by David Shama

Enjoy a Thursday notes column on Timberwolves, Twins, Gophers and Vikings newsmakers.

The hiring of new president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas is likely to reshape the roster for next season but perhaps won’t dramatically change the coaching staff. Rosas is a disciple of analytics and three-point shooting advocate as practiced by the Houston Rockets for whom he has worked as a front office executive.

The Wolves attempted 2,357 three point shots last season, the fifth fewest of the NBA’s 30 teams, per Basketball-reference.com. The roster doesn’t have much in the way of three-point marksmen, although center Karl-Anthony Towns is among the better shooting big men in the league.

The expected emphasis on three-point shooting could impact decisions on free agent guards Derrick Rose and Tyus Jones. Neither is known for his three-point game and Jones has struggled with field goal accuracy.

The Rockets have been one of the NBA’s most successful teams in recent years and have done it with a foundation of three-point shooting. Last season the Rockets attempted the most three-point shots in the league (3,721) and were the only club with more three-point shots than two point attempts, per basketball-reference.com.

Interim head coach Ryan Saunders told Sports Headliners awhile ago he is interested in playing an up-tempo style. That seems in his favor as word is awaited on whether Rosas will make him the permanent coach. The Rockets try to get the basketball up the floor quickly and they look for open space to shoot three-pointers.

Saunders’ willingness to communicate and learn also is in his favor for staying on with the Wolves where owner Glen Taylor has expressed his liking for the league’s youngest coach. With Rosas’ input, the assistant coaching staff could certainly change.

Rosas’ hiring is a reminder of how absent this organization has been in making elite personnel moves since its inception 30 years ago. The franchise’s futility (one playoff appearance since 2004 and never a Western Conference championship) is tied to not having an extraordinary talent evaluator leading the basketball front office. While it’s no easy task to hire a talent-finding savant, it can be done—with the Golden State Warriors organization a showcase example.

The Warriors are the favorites to advance through the playoffs and win a fourth NBA title in five years. Their stars include forward-center Draymond Green who was a second round draft choice. Point guard Steph Curry, a perennial league MVP, was available to the Wolves in the 2009 NBA Draft but instead Minnesota chose Jonny Flynn who washed out early in his NBA Career.

The San Antonio Spurs have made the playoffs for 22 consecutive years behind the leadership of general manager R.C. Buford and head coach Gregg Popovich. Their cagey personnel moves include finding future hall of famers and international players Tony Parker (late first round) and Manu Ginobili (late second). They also prioritized Kawhi Leonard, making a trade to choose him in the middle of the first round. After Leonard became one of the top five players in the NBA he decided last year he wanted to move on. In a single offseason Buford and Popovich rebuilt the roster and starting lineup with no-names and surprisingly got the Spurs into this spring’s playoffs.

Wolves fans can only hope the new basketball boss will be special at recognizing talent that others undervalue, or perhaps don’t even recognize.

The Gophers’ Amir Coffey needs to impress at the NBA G League Elite Camp, a three-day tryout for NBA Draft hopefuls in Chicago May 12-14. Those who impress enough will be invited to the NBA Draft Combine (also in Chicago) May 14-19. The Gopher junior wing has until 5 p.m. on June 10 to withdraw his name for the June 20 NBA Draft and still retain eligibility to play for Minnesota next season.

The Twins, leading the AL Central with a 18-10 record, have defeated four former Cy Young pitchers this season, Jake Arrieta, Jacob deGrom, Corey Kluber and Justin Verlander.

Jim Kaat will offer game analysis along with play-by-play partner Dick Bremer on the Fox Sports North telecasts of the Twins-Yankees weekend games in New York. Kaat’s insights have for years made him one of the best analysts ever to work big league baseball telecasts.

Twins general manager Thad Levine is impressed with the work of first-season pitching coach Wes Johnson who since last year has transitioned from the University of Arkansas to the major leagues. Levine refers to Johnson as a “tireless worker” who will partner with pitchers to find strategies and approaches that work.

Rob Fornasiere, the ex-assistant head coach for Gophers baseball who retired last year, misses the relationships he had. “One thing I don’t miss are the cold (spring) games,” he said.

Fornasiere has formed his own company with endeavors that include evaluations of other college baseball programs, mostly on the Division II and III levels.

Brandon Zylstra, the New London-Spicer alum who joined the Vikings as a wide receiver last year, gives free autographs from 11 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 11 at HQ at Eden Prairie Center.

Next Monday is the deadline for reservations to attend the Thursday, May 9 CORES luncheon featuring Pete Bercich at the Bloomington Event Center, 1114 American Blvd. The former Viking linebacker is a game analyst on radio for his former team, and he is also head football coach at Hill-Murray. For reservations and other information, contact Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net.

Expectations are that the Vikings-Chiefs game will create extra buzz in Kansas City on November 3 because this is the 50th anniversary of the Vikings and Chiefs teams who advanced to the 1970 Super Bowl. That 23-7 Chiefs win was the last between the NFL and AFL.

Golden Gophers football historian Doug Addison points out it was 50 years ago this year that Judge Dickson had a prestigious White House Fellowship. Dickson, now retired from a long career as a lawyer for IBM, was a prominent halfback on Minnesota’s 1960 national championship team.

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