Joe Mauer, who won the American League batting title with a .347 average in 2006, will try to win the championship again this year for grandfather Jake Mauer.  “He said, ‘I’ll try to get it for you a second time, grandpa, this year.’  I said, ‘That’s all I want to hear,’” Jake told Sports Headliners on Monday.

The two Mauers are close and have spent time together since Joe was a baby.  Jake started instructing Joe on how to hit when he was a pre-schooler and still gives his opinion.

Jake claims earlier this year the Twins organization was filling Joe’s ears with advice about positioning the bat, pulling the ball and hitting home runs.  Jake said Joe was confused but now his approach is like the past when he built a career average of .313 in three-plus major league seasons.  “He’s back in the groove, I’ll tell you that,” Jake said.

Mauer has hit safely in 15 of his last 16 games. He’s hitting .429 in his last 10 games and last night had the Twins’ only hit against Gavin Floyd in a 7-1 loss to Chicago. He is third in the American League with a .337 batting average.

Injuries have been part of his big league career including last season when he played in only 109 games after appearing in 140 the year before.  Last season he hit seven home runs with 60 RBI and his average slipped to .293.  He had 13 home runs and 84 RBI in 2006.

Is Joe healthy now? “You know he’s very healthy, and I’ve got to say if he stays healthy, there’s no question he will be another Ted Williams,” Jake said.  “I know he will. …”

Williams, a Jake Mauer favorite, is considered by some baseball authorities to be the greatest hitter of all-time.  He was the last major leaguer to hit over .400, batting .406 in 1941.  Williams’ career average was .344 and he hit 521 home runs.

The Mauer critics talk about his modest home run totals.  He has 35 home runs in three-plus seasons, with a career high of 13 in 2006, and zero this year. Jake predicts that when Joe is 27 or 28 years old (he just turned 25) he will hit 30 per season.  This year Jake predicts 15 home runs.

Joe is passionate about remaining a catcher.  He enjoys the role of being so involved with the game while in the field.  And some think he’s baseball’s best at what he does.

He has two errors in his last 157 games as the team’s starting catcher. So far this season he has just one error.

That’s pretty much perfect play and just about the way Jake looks at his grandson.

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Every good organization has a succession plan.  Looks like the Vikings may have one with the drafting of sixth round pick John Sullivan, 23-year-old center from Notre Dame.  Matt Birk, 31, made the Pro Bowl for the sixth time last winter, but he’s in the last year of his contract and not participating in volunteer training activities this spring.

Birk and the Vikings may work out a contract that keeps him here for several more seasons.  He’s a popular local figure, a St. Paul native who owns two Twin Cities restaurants and has played his entire NFL career with the Vikings after being drafted on the sixth round in 1998.  Birk’s skills and image have been assets to the Vikings.

Whatever Birk’s longevity with the Vikings, his name looks like it will be associated with Sullivan who is considered a solid prospect and potential backup or replacement.  Being around Birk is something Sullivan is looking forward to.

“…Any time I have a question, I certainly won’t be afraid to ask him,” Sullivan said.  “I am sure there’s a ton of stuff that he knows about the game of football, especially playing on this level that I have never been exposed to and I plan on taking advantage of that resource.”

What questions will he ask?  Sullivan said examples could be why Birk chose a certain offensive line call, or used a specific footwork.

Sullivan also said he’s already been watching plays involving Birk and techniques that the Vikings use.  Sullivan has had questions for offensive line coaches Pat Morris and Jim Huber, but has other questions to ask Birk.

Sullivan is already an admirer of the man he may one day replace.  “He’s a very physical player,” Sullivan said. “He’s seems to be very smart.  He’s in the right place at the right time.  It’s not by accident.”

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Vikings vice president of sales and marketing Steve LaCroix wrote via e-mail on Monday that “several hundred” new season tickets have been sold since late April.

Coach Tim Brewster said the Gophers are recruiting a national list of highly regarded high school tailbacks for their class of 2009 and plan to sign two of them to letters of intent.

An athletic department official wouldn’t confirm that the Gophers will be on the road at Syracuse to open the 2009 football season.

When isn’t Carlos Gomez entertaining? The 22-year-old Gomez has even entertained while biting his nails playing center field.  Gomez, with track speed, has 13 stolen bases, and is tied for the most in the American League with Ichiro Suzuki of Seattle.

The Twins started a streak of 20 straight days without a break with their game last night against the White Sox in Chicago.  Then the Twins play 13 more consecutive dates without a day off.

Coach Amos Magee told Sports Headliners earlier this week that the Montreal team coming to Griffin Stadium for a game on Saturday night against his Thunder might have the largest player payroll in the USL.  While Magee didn’t specify dollar figures, Sports Headliners guesstimates that USL team payrolls range from low to high six figures.

Magee said the Thunder had the lowest payroll in the league last year but probably will be about average in the 11 team USL this season. “The payroll is almost twice as much as last year,” he said.

With a roster of about two-thirds new players, the Thunder is still learning to play together.  Minnesota, 2-1 on the season, has only scored three goals but it doesn’t surprise Magee.  “I always find that creative scoring and goal scoring is one of the last things to come with a new group,” he said.

Montreal, 2-2 on the season, has played all of its games on the road so far because a new home stadium is being completed.

St. Thomas is likely to draw a lot of attention at the 2008 MIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships Friday and Saturday at the Klas Center on Hamline’s campus.  St. Thomas will be the favorite in the women’s events.  The Tommies have already won conference titles in women’s cross country and indoor track and field.  St. Thomas (2008 indoor champions) and Saint John’s (2007 outdoor champions) will be men’s favorites. Championship events will begin on Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m.

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