Monthly Archives: April 2010

La Russa loves to tinker

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One of the cool things about the game I watched in St. Louis on Monday between the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals is that there were at least four future Hall of Famers in it.

The first two aren’t easy to figure out. I’d be shocked if Atlanta’s Chipper Jones and St. Louis’ Albert Pujols aren’t enshrined on the first ballots after their careers are over.

The others aren’t players. Rather, they are Braves manager Bobby Cox (thanks, Shea, for reminding me) and Cards manager Tony La Russa.

Minnesota Twins fans - at least ones my age and older – know La Russa well from his time managing the Oakland A’s. The A’s during the late 1980s and early 1990s were the Twins’ biggest rival, with the Twins winning the AL West in 1987 and 1991, but coming up short to the A’s in 1988 and 1992.

La Russa, since having moved on the Cards, ranks third in career managerial wins, behind only Connie Mack and John McGraw. And it’s hard to believe that anyone could reach Mack or McGraw.

The 65-year-old La Russa and his longtime pitching coach, Dave Duncan, have been joined at the hip for most of the last three decades, with Duncan continuing to find ways to revive journeyman pitchers’ careers and La Russa finding new ways to manage a game.

Some accuse La Russa of over-managing. He’s often credited with bringing the bullpen’s left-handed specialist into mainstream managing.

And he was the first manager in decades to not bat his pitcher in the ninth spot of his batting order, something he continues to do on occasion.

I have to admit, I’ve never quite understood hitting the pitcher eighth. The rationale is, "It gives us two leadoff hitters when the order wraps around." But if the No. 9 hitter is good enough to be a leadoff hitter, why isn’t he hitting higher in the order?

What’s next? Bat the pitcher fifth, making the No. 9 hitter a second cleanup hitter? Imagine that conversation between manager and media.

But one thing that’s obvious is La Russa loves to manage. And sometimes it doesn’t work out. But he’s not afraid to try new things.

You can call it over-managing if you want. I simply will call it managing.

The Great American trip – Baseball, beer and BBQ

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I’m back from vacation. Well, not exactly, since my employer won’t see me until next week. But I am back in Fargo-Moorhead. And I must say, I’m quite flattered someone in my last post actually noticed I was gone. That has to be some sort of milestone for the blog. Thanks for your regular reading.

But back to the vacation. I spent the last five days in the Twin Cities, Kansas City and St. Louis, and making a tiny detour to Van Meter, Iowa, to check out the Bob Feller Museum.

Saturday – from the Twin Cities to Kansas City, Mo.

The trip really started on Saturday, with a couple of friends from high school joining me on the way to Kansas City for Sunday’s Twins-Royals game.

On the way Saturday, we stopped at Feller’s musem, which is nearly halfway between Minneapolis and Kansas City. Bob Feller and Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver were among those signing at Feller’s museum in that small Iowa town just off the interstate.

I already had Feller’s autograph on a baseball, which I got from a co-worker. But I had never met him and couldn’t pass up dropping the $25, going through his line and getting his John Hancock on a photo and shaking his hand. Pretty cool experience. I mean, here’s a guy who broke into the bigs in 1936. My grandpa was in like junior high at the time (well, they probably didn’t have junior high at the time, but you get the picture). Feller had a little story for everyone. He seemed in great spirits and pretty sharp for a 91-year-old guy. If I’m that with-it at age 51, I’ll be happy.

We met up with another former high school classmate in KC on Saturday night when we got into town and had dinner at the Jack Stack Barbecue. Doesn’t get more authentic than that. You may have had baked beans, but you haven’t enjoyed them thoroughly until you’ve been there.

Sunday – from KC to St. Louis, Mo., but a game first

The four of us went to the Royals-Twins game on Sunday at Kauffman Stadium. Absolutely outstanding ballpark, especially considering the era in which it was built. I know some renovations were done, but still, the footprint was there. I recommend checking out the KC Baseball Museum at the park. Very cool.

We had seats in the front row in left field in front of the fountains out there. Much easier to get cool seats when the home team isn’t drawing.

Game was close, but I sure am bad mojo for the Twins, who are now 0-3 in games I attend (counting the exhibition opener loss at Target Field). Ugh.

It’s amazing what 25 years without a playoff berth will do to baseball fans. We’re sitting in left field, which is where the Royals had Scott Podsednik stationed. A few fans are just riding Scotty Pods, who is hitting a league-leading .420 or something like that coming into the game. Geez! What do you want from the guy?

After that, we left our KC classmate behind, and the three of us headed to St. Louis.

Monday – St. Louis

Spent the whole day in St. Louis. We had tickets for the Braves-Cardinals game at Busch Stadium that night.

But before that, it was time to check out the town. Our hotel was at Union Station, which was really cool. Very old school, 19th-century feel to it. And it had a valet!

We were well within walking distance of Busch Stadium and the Arch, but we opened our morning by driving to the Budweiser Brewery. We passed up the free tour for the $25 one, which gave us greater access, a few gifts and free beer. It was worth the money.

After that, we walked around Union Station, where there are plenty of little shops to check out inside, including a Cardinals team clubhouse.

In the early afternoon, we took off for the Gateway Arch. Downtown St. Louis was great. It was nice to see how the city blended old with new.

And fitting right into that scheme was Busch Stadium. This is one of my favorite parks, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s in a baseball town like St. Louis. There was about 35,000 in attendance for the game that night.

We saw another one-run game, once again with the home team coming out on top. And it was nice to see Albert Pujols play in a game that wasn’t an exhibition, albeit at Target Field. This was a real game, and Pujols looked real good with a multi-hit effort.

Well, that’s about it. It was a fun trip. There’s a few photos below. I’ll try to write more about the trip in the coming days. Right now, though, some relaxing sounds pretty good after spending at least three hours in a car in five of the last six days. I might be in a walking mood tomorrow.

Bob Feller signing autographs at his museum in Van Meter, Iowa

Kauffman Stadium – Kansas City, Mo.

Busch Stadium – St. Louis, Mo.

Realignment, unalignment avoid tackling the problem

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It seems everyone has an idea about what Major League Baseball can do with the AL East.

Since it was first reported that an MLB committee has discussed floating realignment to help the Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays (on a long-term basis) compete, every baseball writer out there has chimed in with his/her thoughts.

Yahoo’s Jeff Passan has suggested unalignment, eliminating the divisions so all teams compete for four playoff spots in the American League and National League. I don’t like it, but I credit his creativity.

To come up with a solution, first we must figure out what the problem is. Is the problem that the Jays, O’s and Rays can’t compete, or is the problem that the Yankees are at an enormous competitive advantage?

As with most things, I’m sure it’s a bit of both. But the problem with baseball these days is that every single year, as SI’s Joe Posnanski writes, the Yankees are the favorites to win it all. Let’s face it: Every year, on paper, they have the best team.

To younger baseball fans, that seems normal. But — OK, I’m gonna say it — when I was a kid, there were years when the Jays had the best team on paper, or the A’s. Things weren’t always this way.

And as Posnanski points out, it doesn’t always translate in a Yankees title every year. That’s mostly due to the best teams rising to the top over 162 games, but the random results a five- or seven-game series can produce.

But the Yankees have made the playoffs every single year but one since the strike. That’s really incredible, when you think about it.

And what this leads to is that teams like the Jays, O’s and Rays are in constant rebuilding modes, hoping just one time to strike it rich, where a young group of talented players come up at the same time to give them a chance. That’s what the Rays got in 2008.

But while Tampa Bay is now considered the best-run franchise in the game, it’s doomed to deal with the pending free agency of stars like Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena after the season. The Rays had their two-year run, and then it’s back to the drawing board.

I think the Red Sox success is somewhat cyclical. As the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs have shown, a lot can go wrong despite spending that much money.

But the Yankees are a whole ‘nother animal. In 2009, they spent 50 percent MORE than anyone else except the Mets (the difference between those two was only 35 percent). They spend enough to buy their way out of mistakes. As famous as the Carl Pavano contract blunder was in the Bronx, it had little effect on their ability to success. Most other franchises would have been buried beneath a deal like that.

Ten years before 2009 – in 1999, the Yankees were the highest-spending team in the bigs, but it was just $7 million – or 9 percent – more than the Texas Rangers.

I’m not sure what – if anything – can be done about this. Unalignment would allow the Jays, O’s and Rays to compete, but it doesn’t do anything to bring the haves and have-nots together. It’s simply working around the problem.

And players and owners alike would never agree to a salary cap/salary floor combo. Players don’t want to be told how much they can make, and owners don’t want to be told what’s the minimum they can spend.

Maybe more time needs to pass before it can be determined if the Yankees financial wallop is cyclical too. But as Posnanski points out, the idea that other teams need to spend more is simply unreasonable.

Target Field isn’t only outdoor park dodging rain

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Minnesota Twins officials have to be thrilled that there hasn’t been a single rain delay or any other type of weather postponement so far, considering how unpredictable weather in the Upper Midwest can be in April.

And apparently, Target Field is just part of a larger trend. The Associated Press reports that there hasn’t been a single postponement of any kind this year.

There have been delays, of course, but no games postponed. That’s the longest stretch to open a season since 1985.

More good news too – special thanks to my brother for the heads-up – on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Larry David and HBO will do an eighth season of Curb, which will debut next year.

I could have seen David calling it quits on a high note, because this last season was outstanding. Jerry Seinfeld always said that "Seinfeld" needed to end while it was still good, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if Curb did that too.

But fortunately, fans of the show will get at least 10 more episodes of what I think is the best show on television.

Three-day NFL draft is too much

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I’m not a big fan of the NFL draft. Never have been.

In years past, you would never catch me planted on the couch for the better part of a Saturday to watch names announced at a podium. It’s just not captivating television, in my opinion. Of course, I’m curious, so every few hours I’ll check the Internet, but to actually watch the draft on TV, no thanks.

I swear it has nothing to do with my beloved Chicago Bears not having a first-round pick again.

And now, the NFL and ESPN have turned it into a three-day TV spectactular. Yahoo!

I really don’t understand the change. Seems to me you can’t possibly raise the ratings for the draft. There’s a certain hardcore football fan segment of the population that will watch it no matter what. But to think the casual fan will watch it on a Thursday night rather than The Office or whatever else is on … not going to happen.

As I mentioned, I’m a Bears fan, so without a first- or second-round pick this year, my interest is somewhere between slim and none.

I am curious to see who the Minnesota Vikings pick. You probably saw stripped across the top of today’s Forum that the Vikings signed Lito Sheppard. That alleviates some of their cornerback need.

Everyone is wondering, "Will they take Tim Tebow?"

No one knows, not even draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. I’d be surprised. At some point, the Vikings need to re-start their chase for the "quarterback of the future," but I’m not sure if this is the draft to do it.

Plus, I’m convinced Brett Favre will never retire, so they don’t need to get antsy with QBs just yet.

Roehl, Leivermann on radio today

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We have a couple of guests joining Kerry Collins and myself on "Sports Talk" from 1-2 p.m. on WDAY 970-AM today.

We’ll be talking to former NDSU running back Tyler Roehl, who was invited to attend Minnesota Vikings’ minicamp this month. Also joining us is Corey Leivermann of the Fargo Force. Leivermann suffered a concussion in Saturday’s playoff game and will miss the rest of the series.

To take part in the show, call 293-9000 or (800) 279-9329 or e-mail talk@wday.com.

Slowey sets tone for Twins on Tuesday

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Kevin Slowey posted a nice ERA in his first two games, but anyone who watched those starts would agree he was a bit shaky. On Tuesday, he had good stuff.

Slowey gave the Twins bullpen another break by pitching eight strong innings in a victory against Cleveland. The Twins were off Monday, meaning that unit should be well-rested for Wednesday’s game.

Slowey joins Francisco Liriano as question marks (Slowey not nearly as big of a question mark as Liriano, but coming off of wrist surgery he had something to prove) in the Twins rotation this season. Despite winning 10 games last year, Slowey looked nothing like the pitcher we saw in 2008. But with Slowey and his southpaw counterpart coming off strong starts, Twins fans can’t help but feel good about this team, though that can all change with a rocky outing from Liriano in Game 2 of the series.

I suppose I should provide the obligatory reminder that I’m a big fan of Slowey’s. I think guys that post K-to-BB rates as good as Slowey’s is can be counted on for productive big league careers.

The question on Wednesday will be what can Liriano do for an encore. He had a lot of people – himself included – thinking about 2006 after his last start, which saw him shut down the Boston Red Sox over seven innings.

If Liriano can put up a repeat performance against a pretty poor Cleveland offense, the Twins can secure an unthinkable fifth straight series victory to open the season.

Down on the farm

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An update on how some of the Minnesota Twins minor leaguers are doing so far:

  • Wilson Ramos, considered to be one of the best catching prospects in the game, hit his first home run of the season for Triple-A Rochester. He’s batting just .212 in eight games so far.
  • Jacque Jones carried his hot hitting from spring training into the start of the Triple-A season. In eight games, he’s hitting .292 with a homer.
  • Relief pitcher Anthony Slama continues to impress at Rochester, though he’s issued a few walks. Slama has allowed two runs on three hits in six innings this season, walking four but striking out 10. Rob Delaney has also done a nice job for the Red Wings bullpen.
  • Outfield prospect Ben Revere is hitting .214 with two steals in eight games for Double-A New Britain.
  • One of the organization’s top pitching prospects, David Bromberg has shined in his first two starts at New Britain, allowing one run on five hits in 11 innings with eight strikeouts.
  • Widely considered the team’s top prospect, outfielder Aaron Hicks is off to a 2-for-34 start for Class A Beloit in nine games. One of those hits is a homer.