Pity party?? We can worry about the possible loss of soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Marian Gaborik and fret about the other stars from local teams who already left town, or we can take a deep breath and realize there’s still a lot of talent in these parts. We’ve said adios to Johan Santana, Torii Hunter, Randy Moss and Kevin Garnett, but say hello to the following gentlemen:
Joe Mauer has won two American League batting titles in the last three years. There are baseball people who say Mauer, 25, is the first player they’ll take if building a team. Local radio host Dan Barreiro refers to the Twins’ catcher as “Baby Jesus.” Just leave it at superstar.
Justin Morneau won the AL MVP award two seasons ago and was a contender this year. Morneau has driven in 130, 111 and 129 runs the last three seasons and is a steady fielder at first base. The power hungry Twins are nowhere without their star slugger who led the team in home runs with 23 and won baseball’s Home Run derby in July.
Watch the Metrodome crowd rise to its feet and holler when Joe Nathan is closing out another game for the Twins. He has 219 saves during five seasons with the Twins and played a major role in the team winning two Central Division titles. Fans love a sure thing and no star in this town is probably more consistent than the Twins’ No. 1 relief pitcher.
Already the most explosive running back in Vikings’ history, Adrian Peterson finished second in the NFL in rushing last season and is in the same spot so far this year. The second year wonder from Oklahoma is one of those unique individuals who is a potential touchdown maker every time he touches the ball. Peterson is on track to move from stardom to superstardom and possibly end his career with more than 14,000 rushing yards, placing him among the top pro rushers of all time.
There might be a better defensive tackle in the NFL than the Vikings’ Kevin Williams but he’s sure on the short list. No way did the Vikings stay No. 1 against the run last year and and rank third this season without Williams. The annual all-pro had four sacks in the Detroit game a week ago Sunday and has six for the year.
Gotta like new Vikings’ defensive end Jared Allen. He led the NFL in sacks last year with Kansas City and arrived here with a can-do attitude. He’s fun to watch on most every play, anticipating how fast he can arrive at the quarterback and use his 6-6 height and long reach to knock down the ball. He has five sacks in seven games.