Bullpen

Time for a QB switch at 'U'

After being sure three weeks ago that MarQueis Gray was the right choice as the Gophers starting quarterback, I’m now just as sure that he isn’t the man for the job.

Gray has proven in four weeks as the starter that he is not Division I ready as a passer. If you’re going to play Big Ten football, you’d better be able to do a lot more as a quarterback than run with the football and occasional nail 10-yard throws. You’ve also got to complete passes down the field, something Gray has shown no ability to consistently do.

Gray needs to have the starting QB duties taken from him and handed to freshman Max Shortell, who is much more of a prototype passer.

That’s not to say that the ultra-athletic and big (6-foot-4, 240 pounds) Gray should no longer have a significant role on this team. The way the 1-3 Gophers are struggling, you could stick a stud athlete like Gray at virtually any position except quarterback, and it would be an upgrade.

The best place for him, though, is where he played last year, wide receiver. That’s also the place where he has at least an outside shot to be a future NFL player (he’s got no shot at quarterback). With Gray on one side of the field and NFL candidate DJon McKnight on the other, the Gophers would have one of the better 1-2 receiving combinations in the Big Ten. True freshman Shortell’s life as the starting QB would also be made significantly easier.

Shortell’s promise and Gray’s struggles at quarterback aren’t the only reason to move Gray. Another is that the Gophers have recruited a quarterback from Mankato West, Philip Nelson, who is loaded with potential. It just might be that he could contend next year for a starting spot.

Moving Gray from QB to receiver allows the Gophers coaches to assess two players at quarterback next year, instead of three. And it gives those two quarterbacks a fantastic target to throw to, Gray.

— Pat Ruff

Not exactly Ted Williams

Jose Reyes won the National League batting title Wednesday, but not everyone likes how he handled the final day of the season.

(Contrast that to Ted Williams, who was hitting .400 with a doubleheader on the final day of the 1941 season — 70 years ago to the day on Wednesday. He refused to sit out, went 6-for-8 for the day and posted a .406 mark that is the last time anyone hit .400 for a full season.)

Here is a column on this year's situation from McClatchy News Services.

By Todd Rosiak

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MILWAUKEE — As if there weren't enough storylines heading into the Milwaukee Brewers' regular-season finale, the neck-and-neck race between Ryan Braun and the New York Mets' Jose Reyes for the National League batting title took a strange twist earlier Wednesday.

Reyes entered his final game leading Braun, .336 to .335, and collected a hit in his first at-bat in the afternoon against the visiting Cincinnati Reds.

That's where the story took a right-hand turn into controversy.

Reyes' hit came on a bunt he dropped down the third-base line, which upped his average to .337. The shortstop then left the game in what turned out to be a pre-arranged move between Reyes and Mets manager Terry Collins, prompting boos from some Mets fans.

"We talked this morning," Collins said. "Jose, when he came in, I asked him how he wanted to go about this. I wanted to take him out at the appropriate time. He said if he got a hit his first time up, he'd like to come out.

"I said, 'You know, I want you to win this thing.' He said, 'That's what I want to do.' So it was decided then."

Braun saw his quest to become the Brewers' first batting champion fall short two at-bats into the Brewers' 7-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates and left-hander Jeff Locke, who was making just his fourth big-league start.

Needing to go 3 for 3 or 3 for 4 in order to overtake Reyes, Braun grounded out to third in his first at-bat and to shortstop in his second against Locke to quickly end any mystery. He finished the game 0 for 4 to close the season at a career-best .332.

"I'm a little disappointed, of course," Braun said afterward. "But the chances of going 3 for 4 obviously weren't likely. At the same time, I have no regrets. I don't look back and regret that I would have done anything differently.

"I've always said as long as I put my work in, as long as I prepare myself, I have no control over the results. Second place in the batting race is not a bad thing."

Braun wound up as the fifth player in team history to finish second in batting average, joining George Scott in 1973 (.336), Cecil Cooper in 1980 (.352), Yount in 1982 and Paul Molitor in 1987 (.353).

He also became the fourth Milwaukee player to finish with a .300 batting average, 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in. Ben Oglivie in 1980, Cooper in 1982 and John Jaha in 1996 were the others.

The Brewers winning their franchise-record 96th game and clinching home-field advantage for the divisional round of the playoffs superseded individual achievements for Braun, anyway.

"That was far more meaningful," he said. "I've said that the whole time; I've meant it. It's extremely challenging, extremely difficult to get to the post season. By far, it's been my top priority. It's made it really easy to not think about what's going on, not focus on some of the personal things I've had going on."

Reyes pulling himself out of the game is something players have done on the final day in previous seasons in order to preserve their lead. Others have sat out entirely.

Brewers Hall of Famer Robin Yount fell victim that that tactic on the final day of the 1982 season.

Kansas City's Willie Wilson sat to protect his .332 average, while Yount went 4 for 5 with two home runs but was hit by a pitch in his final plate appearance to finish at .331. Of much bigger concern to Yount, though, was the fact the Brewers won in Baltimore to win the American League East title.

But Reyes' bunt on Wednesday added another layer to the controversy, as some would argue that bunting with a title on the line is a cheap way to get on base.

Reyes, for his part, made no apologies for how he handled the situation.

"I don't care what people say," Reyes said. "Last year I played seven innings, and in the seventh inning I came out of the game — the last game. I don't care what people think. I was happy."

Reyes also said he was planning a party at his home in the evening to watch Braun and, ostensibly, root against him.

Braun, who didn't see Reyes' at-bat but was informed of the outcome with a flurry of phone calls and text messages, was nothing but gracious when asked about Reyes prior to the game.

"I don't think it really matters about what the ethics of it are," Braun said earlier Wednesday. "I respect whatever decision he decided to make. Ultimately he left the door open for me.

"If he had stayed in the game and gotten multiple hits, it may have not been a possibility at all. I'm not really here to judge him."

Braun also had no problem with Reyes laying down a bunt.

"That's a part of his game," Braun said. "I can't fault him for that. That's what he does. He's fast, he's an exciting player, and I bet he's gotten plenty of bunt hits this year. I don't think it's anything out of the ordinary, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that."

While Braun lost the batting race, he still figures to be the odds-on favorite to clinch the NL's most valuable player award.

Teammate Prince Fielder, Arizona's Justin Upton and Los Angeles' Matt Kemp figure to be Braun's primary competition.

More on the Twins

My Wednesday column in print offers a postmortem on the Twins' dreadful 2011 season.

Here are some things that I couldn't fit into that piece:

• Salary issues loom for the Twins. They are committed to Joe Mauer, of course ($23 million), Justin Morneau ($14 million), three starting pitchers (Carl Pavano for $8.5 M, Scott Baker for $6.5 M and Nick Blackburn for $4.75 M) and Denard Span and Tsuyoshi Nishioka for $3M each. That's about $63 million for seven roster spots; as recently as 2009, the entire team payroll wasn't much more than that. Even if ownership goes with a payroll near the reported $104 million of this year, that doesn't leave much room for new acquisitions. If the decision in the offseason is to slash payroll and build for the future, it would appear what you see in 2011 is basically what you get in 2012 for a Twins roster.
• The team has an option for next year on Joe Nathan for $12.5 million. If they don't exercise it, they have to pay a $2 million buyout, so the question is really whether to pay Nathan $10.5 million to stay. If they don't, someone else might. Otherwise, they'll have to hope Nathan will take less to stay here.
• Glen Perkins as closer? He thrived on the change of roles to setup guy this year, showing more velocity than he did as a starter. The question — as with most closers — is more about mental makeup than "stuff." This makes the most sense if the team bolsters the starting rotation with an acquisition, then moves Duensing to the bullpen, where maybe he can do in 2012 what Perkins did in 2011.
• Eligible for arbitration: Liriano, Slowey, Casilla, Perkins, Repko, Mijares, Tolbert and Hoey. One would guess most of those will not be tendered an offer. No doubt arbitration will net Liriano   more than the $4.3 M he got this year; will the Twins then set out to trade him?
• Danny Valencia is a key for next year and beyond. His fielding and hitting dropped compared with his rookie season, but he looks to me like he could be a pretty good player, and has shown signs of a knack for clutch hitting.
• As for young players, what do you think of Ben Revere? I love the speed and how he chases down fly balls, but there were several items on the minus side: poor arm, prone to errors, doesn't walk much, zero power. Except for the errors, these were all things that seem to have been true in his minor league days, so how much better will he get?
• The trade of (basically) catching prospect Wilson Ramos for closer Matt Capps in July of 2010 has proven disastrous. Capps crashed this season while the Twins sure could have used Ramos (who had 15 HRs, 52 RBIs and a .267 average for Washington this season) when Mauer caught only 52 games (and Drew Butera and Rene Rivera hit a combined .150 as Mauer's fill-ins).
• A pretty good case can be made for standing pat (shedding a few obvious incompetents or bad attitudes) and hoping for fewer injuries next year. But maybe the Twins' problems are just a reflection of a trend.
• Wonder what starting pitchers are poised to be free agents? Here's a list: the asterisks mean their clubs hold options and they might not become available:
• Mark Buehrle CWS
• Chris Carpenter STL *
  Bruce Chen KC
  Aaron Cook COL *
  Kyle Davies KC
  Ryan Dempster CHC *
  Justin Duchscherer OAK
  Zach Duke ARI *
  Jeff Francis KC
  Freddy Garcia NYY
  Jon Garland LAD *
  Aaron Harang SD
  Rich Harden OAK
  Livan Hernandez WAS
  Edwin Jackson CWS
  Kenshin Kawakami ATL
  Scott Kazmir LAA
  Hiroki Kuroda LAD
  Rodrigo Lopez CHC
  Paul Maholm PIT
  John Maine COL
  Jason Marquis WAS
  Kevin Millwood NYY
  Scott Olsen PIT *
  Roy Oswalt PHI *
  Brad Penny DET
  Oliver Perez NYM
  Joel Pineiro LAA
  CC Sabathia NYY (may opt out)
  Carlos Silva NYY
  Javier Vazquez FLA
  Adam Wainwright STL *
  Tim Wakefield BOS
  Chien-Ming Wang WAS
  Brandon Webb ARI
  C.J. Wilson TEX
  Chris Young NYM

 — Craig Swalboski

Surprise: Wolves got it right with Adelman

The Timberwolves and their wacky general manager David Kahn appear to have finally gotten one right with the hiring of new coach Rick Adelman.

Adelman is regarded by many as a future Hall of Fame coach, which puts him light years ahead of anyone else who’s coached this franchise. And yes, that includes Flip Saunders, who’s struggled at every stop he’s been since being fired by the Wolves during the latter stages of the Kevin Garnett era.

Adelman has won virtually everywhere he’s gone. Yes, most of his coaching jobs have been with franchises rich with talent. Still, Adelman always seems to get the most out of that talent.

His most impressive coaching job might have been his last one, directing the Houston Rockets. This was a franchise that was rocked with injuries to its two best players, Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, during Adelman’s stay there. Still, in four years with the franchise, Adelman still compiled a record of 193-135, the highest winning percentage in franchise history. Adelman’s former players talk of him being the best coach they’ve ever been associated with.

Now, he gets the Wolves. The Wolves, who have been the laughingstock of the league ever since Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics in 2007.

He gets a Wolves franchise that almost everyone agrees has a goofy generally manager who is in over his head, Kahn. And he gets a Wolves team that had the fewest wins in the NBA last year.

But he also gets one that most agree is not void of talent — which, along with a boatload of money he's receiving — is likely why he accepted the job. It is young talent, to be sure. But there are no doubt some intriguing pieces, led by all-star forward/center Kevin Love, and fellow youngsters Derrick Williams, Wesley Johnson, Ricky Rubio and Michael Beasley.

Adelman likes to play a fast-paced, flowing style on offense, which would suit this athletic crew well. He also is known as a better-than-average defensive coach, which this stop-nobody team aches for most of all.

It will be interesting to see what he can get done in Minnesota. It’s been a long time since anybody has been able to get anything done coaching this franchise. Maybe, just maybe, this is the start of much better days and seasons ahead. At least Adelman provides hope for that.

— Pat Ruff

Pavano's history of injuries and his present of reliability

Our Tuesday print edition didn't have enough room for all of the McClatchy News Service piece on Carl Pavano. So here's the rest of the piece by John Shipley of the Pioneer Press:

Pavano has missed time because of injuries dating to his days as a minor league prospect in the Boston organization, when he was diagnosed with tendinitis in his elbow and shoulder. In 2000, his first full major league season (with Montreal), he had the first of three elbow surgeries. But it wasn’t until he signed a four-year, $40 million deal with the New York Yankees after the 2004 season that his injury problems overwhelmed his career.
In four seasons, he made only 14 starts for the Yankees because of a variety of ailments that included broken ribs suffered in a car accident and a concussion caused by a line drive to the head. He had rotator cuff problems and had two elbow surgeries, the second one a Tommy John procedure.
After four years as a New York media punch line, Pavano was eager to prove he could again pitch the way he did in 2003-04, when he was a combined 30-21 with a 3.61 ERA in two seasons with Florida, helping the Marlins win the World Series in 2003.
And it wasn’t just a matter of reputation, he said.
“It wasn’t just a question mark for New York and the organization, it was a question mark for me — because it was a reality and it was a fact,” he said. “I got injured a lot, which kept me off the field, which kept me from doing my job, which was making starts every five days and filling up innings.
“That kind of defines a starting pitcher, the ability to make your starts and fill out innings.”
Since signing a one-year, $1.5 million deal with Cleveland before the 2009 season, Pavano has been one of the major league’s most reliable starters, pitching 613 1/3 innings and making 94 starts. He enters tonight’s game with 193.0 innings pitched in 2011, within one good outing of reaching one of his season goals of 200 innings.
“You’ve got to understand, when your starters are going deep into games, and your bullpen’s rested, it’s a domino effect,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “The starter’s out there, and there’s less maneuvering going on because he has got the ball and he’s going deep into the game.
“As our starters kind of scuffled, that’s when our bullpen started getting beat up, too. It was a domino.”
Only three times this season has Pavano failed to get out of the fifth inning, and only once since the end of April, though that hasn’t always spelled victory. All pitchers rely on defense, Gardenhire pointed out, but few rely on it more than Pavano, a groundball pitcher who throws strikes.
Pavano acknowledges that has, at times, frustrated him, but no more so than his own failings. A 13-year starter with a remarkable memory for past at-bats, he confessed to not entirely understanding why he has often been ineffective this season.
Hence the damaged property in the dugout. Gardenhire said he doesn’t mind a player showing emotion — “it shows he cares” — but the outbursts earned Pavano a lecture from his fiancee, Alissa. Still, Pavano said, they did the trick.
“There’s obviously more mature ways to respond to it,” he said, “but the way I did it felt really good at the time.”

Hop on the Lynx bandwagon

Maybe it's time to hop on the Minnesota Lynx bandwagon; it's probably not too late.

After all, all the other "big-time'' sports in Minnesota, shall we say, stink. At least this weekend they did.

Let's see, the Vikings lost at San Diego (39 passing yards?), the Twins were swept in a weekend series at Detroit and not only were the Gophers upset by New Mexico State, they saw their coach collapse on the sideline after suffering a seizure.

That said, all the Minnesota Lynx do is win. Sunday they closed out the WNBA regular season with a 96-90 win at Phoenix.

They own the best record in the WNBA (27-7) and have the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs starting Friday against San Antonio.

"Loserville Minnesota?''

Well, let's go Lynx.

— Paul Christian

 

 

Wild statement on Lokomotiv Yaroslavl tragedy

The Minnesota Wild released a statement on Wednesday regarding the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl tragedy that claimed the life of former Wild player, Pavol Demitra:

"The Minnesota Wild organization joins the rest of the hockey world in mourning the tragedy involving the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey club. Pavol Demitra was a valuable member of our team for two seasons and helped the Wild claim its first-ever Northwest Division title in 2008. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Demitra family as well as all of the families that lost loved ones today."

— Minnesota Wild

 

Gray is still Gophers' best option at QB

The Gophers football team showed promise and heart in its 19-17 loss at No. 25 ranked USC Saturday. It’s easy to be excited about Minnesota’s new football hire, Jerry Kill. The Gophers — after getting vastly outplayed in the first half — vastly outplayed home team USC after that. They actually had a chance to win the game in the final minute, which tells you lots about this hiring of Kill. His players don’t give up, and they play with purpose and a plan. It’s also easy to get excited about Gophers backup freshman quarterback Max Shortell. After MarQueis Gray went down with cramps in the fourth quarter, Shortell took over and was terrific until finally throwing a game-ending interception. But don’t get too excited about Shortell. This is still — and needs to be — Gray’s team. Yes, Gray had a lousy start to the game, with misplaced passes and a fumble (that Minnesota recovered). But the star athlete got better and better as the game wore on. Gray got comfortable and showed that he can complete passes. And one thing that Gray can do infinitely better than Shortell is also run with the football. We got a few glimpses of that Saturday, and will get a whole bunch more of them as the season rolls on if Minnesota keeps its wits about it and sticks with the 6-foot-4, 245-pound speedster. It’s nice to have a quality backup at quarterback. That’s what Shortell provides Minnesota. But unless Gray doesn’t continue to improve as a thrower, as he did through Saturday’s game, Shortell needs to remain the backup. Gray is a rare athletic talent. He needs to run this show. — Pat Ruff

President's speech and the NFL

It was announced on Wednesday that President Barack Obama will speak to Congress to unveil his economic agenda next Thursday night, the same night as the Green Bay Packers host the New Orleans Saints at Lambeau Field in the NFL season opener.

Not good time, but the White House promised that the speech would be completed in time for the 7:30 p.m. kickoff. 

Which is very good news; President Obama's favorable poll numbers are declining and wouldn't be helped at all had he decided to tackle the Packers-Saints game head on.

Obviously, fixing the economy should take precedence over any or all football games but this is the NFL and it is the opener and it is an intriguing game.  

NBC is televising the game and we still don't how the network will handle the pregame festivities. The NFL and NBC are planning a kickoff concert and other annual pregame activities to mark the opening of the season.

One source indicated that both Obama's speech and the football game would be made available to NBC affiliates across the country which means, each station can make a decision on which one to televise — speech or the pregame. 

Pretend you are a TV station manager? What would you do?

— Paul Christian