TWIN’S MINOR LEAGUE UPDATE

Some quick notes from down on the farm…

*Piggybacking off my story about Luke Hughes, the Twins are apparently picking the right guys out of Australia. All joking aside, there are obviously some pretty good ballplayers that are making their mark, including Liam Hendriks, also from Perth, who is off to a very impressive start for the Twin’s Class A affiliate, Beloit. In four starts, the 21-year old right-hander has 26 strikeouts in 22 innings pitched, including a 0.41 ERA and allowing just one run on seven hits and two walks. Sounds like we may be hearing from this undrafted free-agent as the season progresses.

*The slow-starting Aaron Hicks, the top prospect in all of the Twins minor league system, has caught fire over the past 10 games, batting .514 (19-37) with three home runs, five stolen bases and 10 walks. He is now hitting .299 on the season. So much for relying on April stats. Just goes to show that you need to have a bigger sample size than one month to determine who the real players are.

*Twins 2009 first-round draft pick Kyle Gibson, a consensus top-10 draft pick before suffering a stress fracture in his forearm, gave Twins fans a glimpse of the future last night. The 22-year old right-hander tossed a one-hitter for the Class A Fort Myers Miracle, all with only 91 pitches. He walked one and hit one, as well as allowing an apparently cheap infield hit over a dominating performance in which he faced the minimum 27 batters. Gibson is now 2-1 with a 1.76 ERA in five starts, including a 2-0 record with a 1.00 ERA and 22 strikeouts since his opening night performance. Looks like he may be finding his way into the Twins rotation sooner rather than later.

G'Day for Hughes, Thomas

So here's a little food for thought...

In the Minnesota Twin's 11-6 loss to Detroit last night, 3rd baseman Luke Hughes homered to right in his first at-bat as a big leaguer. Seems special enought on its own right? Well, just to give you an idea, here is a headline from his hometown of Perth, Australia:

"Perth baseballer Luke Hughes smacks home run in MBL"

Unfortunately for Hughes, his fellow Aussies think he's playing in the Major Baseball League. Or maybe the Major Bowling League. Wait a minute, we have it! It's the Major Beer League!

All would be fair guesses, as sports in the land of kangaroos seemingly focus around suds, odd-shaped footballs, and short-shorts. Forgive our friends for their lack of baseball knowledge, as the sport is backpage material in a country dominated by Footy, Paul Newman, and Foster's (which this author has sampled on occasion, only to be dissapointed that hair didn't immediately spring up from his chest).

But hold on just a second. Here's something else for you to chew on:

The winning pitcher in last night's epic Twins collapse, was a guy by the name of Brad Thomas. Wait, haven't us Minnesotan's heard that name before? Yeah, we have. Thomas was a high draft choice who never panned out and ended up losing himself somewhere in the South Pacific (Korea to be exact). Coincidence? Maybe. But now think about this:

The last Australian to make his MLB, err, MBL debut (sorry, too many Foster's) was ANOTHER former Twin and fellow Aussie, Trent Oeltjen, who also homered in his first game with the Arizona Diamondbacks last year.

So what the hell is going on in the baseball universe? Why all of the sudden are a bunch of Minor League journeyman contributing significantly at the Major League level? Have the baseball Gods shifted their source of talent East? Forget the Dominican Republic or Venezuela, at this rate if I'm the Twins, I'm signing anyone from Australia that can hold a bat in their hand.

The game of baseball has always been strange and you know what, after last night, good for Australia. Maybe next season we will see a crop of talent pop up from somewhere near the Holy Land. Better yet, maybe a bunch of Scots from the Isle of Skye sauced up on Laphroaig and deep-fried Mars bars will inexplicably make it to the Big's and start stealing 6 bases a game. Who knows!

It just goes to show that anything can happen in the MBL, sorry, the MLB.

Fran-tastic

That was easy.

Late in spring training, the Twin's front office had toyed with the idea of using Francisco Liriano as the team's closer when Super Joe Nathan went down for the season with a torn elbow ligament. After witnessing the self-destruction of the Franchise over the course of the 2009 season, the Twins actually had a legitimate argument for making the move.

Oh how things can change.

Liriano went 8 innings Tuesday night against a potent Detroit lineup that had been terrorizing teams over the past week. He struck out 10, gave up 4 hits, and never seemed to lose his composure. With the win, Liriano now sits at 3-0 on the year, sporting an anemic 0.93 ERA with 27 SO, .180 BAA and .97 WHIP.

His fastball has been hovering around 93-94 MPH, depending on which gun is being used, and has topped out around 96 at times during the young season. The slider is breaking around 84-86, giving him a nice differential of around 10 MPH. More importantly, he hasn't fallen in love with the slider and has been able to get the ground ball when he needs it.

I was skeptical in saying Liriano was back in his 2006 form, but after tonight there is simply no question. He IS back. If you don't believe me, maybe his 23 scoreless innings will shut you up. This guy has always had the potential to be one of the greats in the league and ultimately, the major change has not come in his arm: It's been between his ears.

He LOOKS like he's going to dominate every time he takes to the rubber and with the Twins entering the season as the only team in the AL Central without a true #1, he has clearly changed the status quo.

The Twins now have their guy, the one who the team knows will win when he takes the ball. With Detroit's inability to make any routine play in the field, Kansas City's lack of major league talent and Chicago's meltdown of a lineup, the Twins may well just run away with this thing. It's still too early to tell, but if all indications are true, it's more likely than not.

The "Franchise" is back. Minneapolis will be rocking this summer...

Young Begins to Grow Old

Standing in the batting cage at the Lee County Sports Complex in early March, 24-year old Twin's outfielder Delmon Young could only smile. On this cool, sunny morning in Ft. Myers, Florida, the one time #1 overall pick was producing a sound with every batted ball that even made fellow teammate Justin Morneau laugh.

"Where some guys see that trade and they go, 'OK I can relax,'" Morneau said. "It's made him work even harder to give them the confidence to put him out there every day. He feels he's got something to prove. He's very motivated, and that's good."

Having secured the starting left-field spot with a combination of the trade that sent Carlos Gomez to Milwaukee and a rigoruous offseason that featured a 35 pound drop in weight, Young entered the season in much better condition than last year.

That's because before spring training began in 2009, Young was dealt the news we all fear and hope never touches our own lives. His mother, Bonnie Young, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Young attempted to play the season while still phoning her every day, but eventually, the stress took its toll.

"If I had a bad day and I'd call home and she wasn't feeling well and I wasn't playing, it was just, 'Ugh. I have to come here and watch nine innings,'" Young said. "Then if she was feeling bad and I felt I wasn't playing good, it was like, 'Let's just try to win this game.' And even if I was feeling good, it was just 'Let's win this game so I could get home to call her.'"

On May 18th, just a little over a month into the season, Bonnie passed away at the age of 53. As a 23-year old, I can't imagine my life without my mother, or my father for that matter. Now put on top of that extremely high expectations and pressure to perform, all while playing 162 baseball games in a grueling 5 month stretch. There must not, no, CANNOT be time to grieve.

Young hit just .239 with one homer in his first 32 games, and batted .266 with three homers over 192 at-bats in the first half of the season. Still, he finished the season hitting .284 with 12 home runs and 60 RBIs in 108 games, mostly due to a strong finish in September.

After being swept by the Yankees after one of the most memorable games in Twin's history (163), Young returned home to begin the grieving process.

"His job was baseball, and he had to be away," manager Ron Gardenhire said of early last season, when Bonnie found out the news. "The only time he got to talk to her was on the phone. He went through an awful lot with that. You know what, he came back from that, and he worked really hard in the second half. He has grown as a person, and he has grown as a player. He has become a fantastic teammate. He has worked really hard this winter to come in here in shape and ready to go.

"I'm proud of him. I'm happy for him, and I'm proud of him."

But there was one area the Twin's were happy Young hadn't grown in the offseason: His wasteline. Young, in the Twin's program at 6-foot-3 and 202 pounds, said he weighed as much as 239 pounds last season. He said he recently weighed in at 207 pounds, which made Gardenhire wonder if he had been through a "shrink machine."

I can personally attest to that. This winter, at the Twin'sFest in January, Young arrived at Gastof's Pub in northeast Minneapolis, only to show up without anyone swarming for autographs. Not that I thought much about a Delmon Young autograph at that point, but it took me three looks before I believed it was him. Then, not more than a month and a half later, I saw him again in the batting cages in Fort Myers and he was even slimmer.

Standing next to the cage with my Dad, we listened as the sound he produced as he made contact was a sound that made your smile light up. This guy looked athletic. For once, it looked as if he may be able to finally catch me, should I make off with a possesion of his.

Currently, Young is sporting a .245 average with 2 home runs, 9 RBI's, .276 OBP and .434 Slugging %. Not great when you glance quickly, but he has smoked some balls that have been right at people. He still manages a few too many first-pitch swings and makes the occasional bone-head play in left, but overall his play has been far greater than last season.

Given his age and high-potential, the Twin's are hoping he can manage his late-season push in the fall of 2009. More importantly, Young has finally found the peace he has long been looking for.

"I don't think people realize how young I am, because I've been up since '06," Young said. "It's a learning curve. They say that you go from 24 to 26 and get to 27, you can have a breakout year. I'm hoping I can break out at 24."

"I just want to do whatever I can to help us get to the playoffs," he said. "If your team gets to the playoffs, and your team somehow gets a ring, that means you had a good year. If you go out and put up big numbers, and your team's not winning, it doesn't mean anything."

For Young, the game of baseball has a new meaning. If you look close enough this summer, Morneau won't be smiling alone...

Taking a lesson from the kids...

Tiger Woods. Ben Roethlisberger. Have you heard those two names lately on the front page of your local sports section?

How about Brad Stevens? Or Ndamokungh Suh?

I'm guessing you've probably heard more about the first two than the latter.

Let me give you a little background about our friends Mr. Stevens and Mr. Suh. One is the baby-faced, overnight millionaire who successfully guided his powerhouse of a basketball program (Butler?!) to within an inch of a national championship. The other, a ferocious animal soon to be the number two overall draft pick in this weekend's upcoming NFL draft.

Both share something that Mr. Woods and Mr. Roethlisberger lack: Character.

Stevens easily could have rode the coattails of his team's Cinderella tournament run straight into the cash bath of college basketball coaching jobs. Offers were flying off the table minutes after his team's heroic loss to Duke in the final seconds of a true instant classic. Stevens, as expected by those close to him, never lost focus of his values nor his belief in his purpose. Sticking to his four core beliefs, he managed to keep grounded and ultimately signed a 12-year extension at Butler, ensuring his spot in every hard-working Americans heart.

That's because Stevens himself had quite the road to the final four. After graduating from Depauw University in 1999 with a degree in economics, Stevens took a promising job working in the marketing department at Pharmaceutical manufacturer, Eli Lilly, headquartered in Indianapolis. It was a good job--good. But Stevens had his sites set on his dream job, coaching basketball. So he quit working at Eli Lilly and found a volunteer position in Butler's basketball office.

Talk about a leap of faith. The man took a part time job working at Applebee's and lived in a friend's basement. No pride here, the stuff of which failure is designed to relieve us. He was prepared to do whatever it took to succeed. And succeed he did.

Not so different from the man poised to make his millions in about 6 days. Ndamokungh Suh, the consensus number two pick in the upcoming NFL draft, announced this weekend at his alma-mater's annual spring game that he would be donating $2.6 million to the University of Nebraska.

Now mind you this is from a kid who hasn't even been drafted! Undoubtedly, this kid's heart is as pure as our fearless baby-faced basketball whiz-kid's. In an age where money is everything and unproven 21 year-olds are breaking to the bank with more financial security than Roger Goodell, this sets the ship in the other direction. This wasn't a publicity stunt, aimed at luring more attention on himself than already exists, but rather a true "payback" for the university that groomed Suh to be the man he is today. Countless hours of stairsteps and hang cleans turned the machine into a MACHINE. As much as the university will benefit from this benevolent act by Suh, the NFL will benefit far greater, as they will be employing a true Lionheart.

Two men, two different stories, one common theme. In an age where idols once so highly regarded are failing to keep themselves out of the headlines for the WRONG reasons, two kids are showing how real idols live. Is it fair to even label any athlete today as a role model? Someone your kids should look up to?

After hearing the stories of Stevens and Suh, parents can rest easy tonight. There is still hope.

A "Phil" Good Moment

Karma...it was alive and well this past weekend at Augusta.

While one man celebrated an emotional victory in the arms of his cancer-stricken wife, another pieced together his pride and once-invincible image as he sluggishly crawled home to his multi-million dollar den. In case you forgot, I'm talking about Phil Mickelson. Yes, the same guy that couldn't resist that delicious treat on Monday. I'm talking about the man who went 207 yards, between two trees, over water, and into sports history.

All of this with a 6-iron!

I'm sure in time, he will look back and say that his shot on 15 was the highlight of the week, that nothing compared to sticking it from a nearly impossible position.

Maybe. But for now, the memory that will (and rightfully should) stick out, is the image on the 18th green. As his beautiful wife Amy approached him, stricken with cancer and barely able to stand, the waterworks started.

"This is way beyond golf," said caddy Jim "Bones" Mackay, who's been with Mickelson for 19 years. "This is about a guy who loves his wife. This is about a guy who had a really hard year. Twenty years from now, nothing will compare with this. This is his greatest win, by far. Because of Amy, because of his mom, everything. God bless all those women that go through what Amy and Phil's mom have gone through. Because I've seen it and it ain't easy."

His wife was clearly still hurting, so she wasn't able to come to the golf course, but it was close enough. The story is that Mickelson would take his oldest, Sophie, to a local coffee shop and play chess for an hour. Mickelson came through that door each night after his round like it was Christmas morning. It must have been a warm welcome, for someone who has spent the last year coming home alone while playing in tournaments. I couldn't imagine what that's like. Come to think of it, either could Tiger.

There is no doubt the Mickelson family will never forget this, this beautiful Georgia evening, where everything went Phil's way.

Contrast that with Woods, who spent the week being his old self: Sprayed swear words and cold interviews. His fourth place finish is revealing, proving that the playing field is leveling. Now all that needs work is his personality.

Hopefully Woods can take a few lessons from this weekend, maybe even sit back and watch as the man who has been his toughest competition leaves with his beautiful, caring wife by his side. Most likely, Woods will get back on track and win big. Heck, he'll probably shatter Nicklaus' records. But for one day, the nice guy finished first.

Truly a feel, err, "Phil" good moment.

Target Field and the Father/Son relationship

On a baseball field in the waning hours one summer day, a man named John Kinsella asked a question to his son, Ray. Walking off the field into a mysterious and infinite wall of corn, he turned, sun shining on his back and asked his son:

"Is this heaven"

Ray laughed and replied:

"It's Iowa"

Not to take anything away from the great state of Iowa, but heaven may have taken the interstate north.

The Minnesota Twins, an organization reduced to 28 years of gloomy, dreary indoor baseball, finally has its Taj Mahal: Target Field.

I was one of the many Minnesotans who saw the inaugural game from the luxury of my couch, yet I couldn't help but salivate at the image my HD TV was displaying in front of me. Shadows, sunshine, trees, real grass...all right in front of my eyes.

It really didn't matter that the Twins beat the Boston Red Sox yesterday. The real victory came with the first pitch. Baseball has been played outdoors for over 100 years. The game was meant to be played under all elements, with the sounds and sights of young and old echoing through every corner of the field. More importantly, generations of young fans will get to experience baseball in the form it was meant to be played.

I can't help but think of my nephew, who doesn't even know who Joe Mauer is. Only 1 1/2 years old, he struts around my brother's house proudly displaying his new Mauer jersey. He may not even know what baseball is, or even who I am. But what I see in him is something so many young kids were not lucky enough to experience: A true, outdoor ballgame.

Those of us that were lucky enough to experience a game with their father will know what i'm talking about. There is something magical about an outdoor ballgame with Dad that can draw you together, regardless if it's Dad with his newborn son or Dad with the man his son became. Seeing only the perspective I had as a kid growing up, I knew how special that bond was. Baseball grew up with me and was there at every stage in my relationship with my father. There were the Tee-Ball days with dad coaching, youth tournaments with him cheering me on, and words of encouragement through the challenges of Legion ball. This connection didn't just exist when I was on the field, it was present from the stands as well. Wrigley field, ballparks out east, minor league trips down the Mississippi, and finally this past spring, the true birth of the baseball season...spring training. Baseball has been there in every stage of my relationship with my father.

I've been through a lot of ups and downs lately, with life challenging me in more ways than one. I've had great days and I've had some pretty low days. But thinking about my life, I've realized how baseball keeps pulling me back, reminding me of where I came from. It's been there for me through my 23 years and is sure to be there when I become a father, if I'm fortunate enough. I can't help but think of how many conversations took place with a game of catch in the backyard. Those conversations, whether booming with life or quiet as the night, resonate to me today.

What true baseball fans in Minnesota now have is a reminder, a true reminder of what baseball is all about. As much as this new stadium will draw people to its vast new offerings, it will equally draw fathers and sons to their backyards, to share the things I was so fortunate to have. It's true, the one constant throughout my father's life and mine has been Baseball. It was there in the early stages of our lives and will be there in the end.


Is there a heaven? Oh yeah. It's the place where dreams come true. Maybe this is heaven...

Power Surge

This is not the Minnesota Twins team that us Mid-Westerners are used to. The surprise is not that they sit atop the AL Central with a 3-1 record, or even that they took 3 out of 4 games at Anaheim, who is clearly not the team they historically have been. What is shocking is how the Twins are winning these games.

Nine home runs in four games. Let me repeat that. Nine home runs in four games. That puts them on pace to hit 364.5 home runs this year (with the half home-run being called back with instant replay). Six of the nine home runs have been hit by the 6-9 hitters in the lineup (crazy statistical fate or just a coincidence?).

Thursday nights damage was done by Jim Thome, Brendan Harris, and Delmon Young. Both Thome and Harris are bench players. Delmon had two home runs through JULY last year. The one important thing to take from this series is not just how well the Twins played, but how much pressure their lineup puts on the opposing team's lineup. It was quite clear that the Angel's hitters, knowing full-well they need to score some runs to be competitive, were tightening up. I think it needs to be said that our lineup put as much pressure on the Angels as our starting pitching. And this is all without a productive Denard Span and a mediocre Orlando Hudson (who went 2 for 5 Thursday mind you).

This production is sure to slow, but is a good indication of what this team can do. With a late arrival in Chicago, the Twins will absolutely need to rely on a strong start from the Franchise to get through the night.

If not, i'm sure someone at the bottom of the order could help out.

Big Four and More

TWINS:

*Not enough space to write here. Between two exhibition games at the BEAUTIFUL Target Stadium and an up-and-down start to the season, baseball is underway and the summer is near! A few thoughts from the first few games:

-Delmon Young, possible resurgence? Two games is way too early to determine if this is his year, but it was a hell of a way to start the season. Considering every time he does something well everyone starts to label him as the next big thing, I’m going to reserve judgement on him until May/June.

-Mauer/Morneau/Hardy. Three big home runs last night against a pretty good starter in Joe Saunders. If Hardy can give ANY amount of production from the 8 hole with above average defense could make the difference this season offensively. One has to believe O-Dog will get it together, so 1-8 this lineup is POTENT.

-Pitching woes. Save an all-around solid performance by Blackburn, Duensing, Guerrier and Rauch last night, the pitching has looked, well, NERVOUS. “Big Spot” Scott looked about as comfortable as a first date out there and Jose Mijares wasn’t much better. I do believe Mijares will straighten himself out, but Baker may end up on the DL with a strained neck if he keeps laying cookies over the heart of the plate to opposing team’s cleanup hitters.

-New Uniforms. Solid. I can’t decide if the Twins were looking to go throwback with these uni’s or what they were thinking. Regardless, they look good. Can’t wait to see the cream one’s make their debut next week.

Last note about the Twins, they are currently accepting applications for part-time tour guides at Target Field…could be a unique career opportunity for those of you caught in a corporate hurricane with a clear sight of Cube in your path.


VIKINGS:

*Brett Favre is a Grandpa!!! Looks like he’ll have to order another purple jersey for the start of the season (let’s hope). With the big intra-division trade of Donavon McNabb to the Washington Redskins, it appears that Favre’s mind is made up. There is no way the Vikings would have let that deal pass if Favre wouldn’t have given them the go. It appears the whispers around ESPN are putting the Vikings in the driver’s seat for a late round cornerback, followed by a likely quarterback choice in the second to third round. Dan LeFevour anyone???


WILD:

*Well, the state of hockey will once again go without a playoff team in St. Paul. For a true hockey fan, it doesn’t get more frustrating than this, although the young talent brought in at the end of the season (Casey Wellman, Nate Prosser, Justin Faulk) provided a little glimpse into the future of the organization. I will be interested to see what moves the front office makes regarding the team’s SEVERE lack of depth at center.


TIMBERWOLVES:

*The streak is done!!! I think we may have to keep the puppies out of the conversation UNTIL the NBA draft comes around….maybe Gordon Hayword will be available late in the first round…bring on the magic touch!


GOPHERS:

*As predicted, Tubby isn’t headed anywhere soon. Contract talk is at full force and this is a GREAT thing for the university. The program needs Tubby for recruiting purposes. Give the man a practice facility and some recruits that don’t dip their hands in the cookie jar and the Goph’s will be flying high next season. News out of Gopher Nation has troubled Freshman forward Royce White looking to get things going on a return to basketball. Normally I would write this off and say get lost, but looking at the crowd he was traveling with, it may be worth giving him a shot with some new surroundings.

*Dean Blais signed an extension at Nebraska-Omaha. Still will be behind the bench for the U in 2011-2012.