June 2006

« May 2006 | Main | July 2006 »

When You're Hot...

A little yarn from white-hot Twinsville...

I went to the game this afternoon, tried to get an interview with Joe Mauer, and ended up watching the game in the home plate press box off to the side, alone.

Tony Oliva was standing next to me in the aisle during the first inning.

Torii Hunter comes up with the bases loaded, and, noting Hunter's recent slump, a row of drunk twentysomething dudes turn their lonely eyes to Tony O.

"Hey, Tony! You should go hit for him."

Oliva stands there. Says nothing. Stares straight ahead. Then, in that lilting Cuba-groovy accent:

"He going to heet the next peetch for a grand slam."

Next pitch.

Grand slam.

The drunk dudes bow down to Tony O. I pump his hand, pat him on the back, and thank him. As he crows to anyone within earshot, "I called eet," I walk over and tell the Strib's beat writer what happened.

Twins 6, Dodgers 3.

Posted by Jim Walsh at June 28, 2006 3:55 PM | Comments (1)

 

Draft Day open thread

Filed under: Timberwolves

I've had some requests for an open thread on the Wolves' draft day speculation. I'll be attending tonight's draft and tomorrow's inevitable showcase press conference of the first-round pick (assuming they don't make a trade), both of which will be a part of a story in next Wednesday's paper. But anyone who wants to comment now on possible scenarios, and to chime in on who the team should or shouldn't take (or, after it happens, whether they made a smart choice or not) is welcome.

Posted by Britt Robson at June 28, 2006 1:51 PM | Comments (27)

 

Foul Tip: Cubbies come to town

Filed under: Twins

What a difference a month makes, or even a couple weeks, for that matter. Not long ago, it seemed that the Twins were destined for not just a total wash of a season, but to be the kind of lackluster team that never gels and offers dull outing after dull outing.

Well, the season is still a wash, but at least the Twins are worth watching again. The reason? Terry Ryan and Ron Gardenhire finally blinked.

And what they saw, of course, was a team with proven young talent--think of the obvious like Santana and Mauer--and a bunch of journeyman veterans who were holding the team back. More importantly, they saw that they had a whole lot more young talent being wasted on the bench or in Rochester.

Ryan and Gardy were faced with many "on-the-one-hand, on-the-other-hand" choices this spring, and it's amazing how many times they picked wrong. With the exception of Luis Castillo, all the vets they picked up in the off-season have been total busts.

Not everyone could have predicted Rondell White's cringe-worthy season, but nearly everyone knew Tony Batista was not even the immediate future at third. Everyone knew that Juan Castro was an aging glove who would never be a serious bat in the line-up. And most folks could guess that the ancient Ruben Sierra--despite all hopes to the contrary--would spend most of the season on the DL.

Hindsight, is of course ... well you know. But what's even more notable is that the Twins braintrust was seemingly unaware of the bright talent already available. The most obvious case: Remember when we were told that Liriano wasn't ready to be a big-league starter? If there's one thing to thank Kyle Lohse and Carlos Silva for, it's for sucking so profoundly that the Twinks eventually had to abandon their foolish handling of Liriano.

But there are other choices that should have been so obvious. Right field should have belonged to Cuddyer instead of Lew Ford all along. Jason Kubel should have been around to alternate with Shannon Stewart in left and at DH. (Oh, and paging Mr. Stewart--please take your time coming back, if you do at all.) And Jason Bartlett should have made the squad and been the everyday shortstop coming out of Fort Meyers.

Now that all of this has been settled, there's a real optimism and even joy in watching the current lineup. The one question mark that should be resolved this weekend with the home series against the Cubs: Terry Tiffee, if given the chance, will have a couple of key hits, and will inch ever so closer to the starting job at third.

You have to feel sorry for the Cubs: Any team that is willing to pay Jacque Jones $16 million over the next three years is to be pitied. But that said, Jones is having a surprisingly good year, and good for him.

Jones was a frustrating player to have on your team when he was a Twin--his penchant for swinging at everything low and inside, his petulance whenever he struck out doing exactly that, his insecurity and immaturity. But Patrick Reusse's column in the Strib today shows Jacque to ultimately be a decent guy, and a class act.

It doesn't make sense for Twins fans to boo A.J. Pierzynski when he comes to town: All he did when he was here was catch every day and hit .300. He didn't ask to be traded. And when he was, he became the piece in what is perhaps the most successful trade in local sports history. (The Twins got Nathan, Liriano and Bonser in that deal.)

Same can be said for Jones--if Twins fans boo him tonight, then we are surely the most uninformed fans in all of sport.

Posted by G.R. Anderson Jr. at June 23, 2006 3:08 PM | Comments (0)

 

Welcome Jason Bartlett

If Santana's 13K gem, combined with rookie Jason Kubel's walk-off grand slam in the 12th inning against the Bo Sox--and on a night when Twins-trashin' David Ortiz went 0-5 with three strikeouts, no less--wasn't enough to brighten my mood, this news certainly was.

Jason Bartlett, the Twins' prospective shortstop who's spent the last two years creaming pitchers in Triple-A ball, is finally on his way back to the bigs. Not only does this mean that the Twins have decided to quit using one of the league's worst all-around players (Juan Castro) as their everyday shortstop, but also that the great Tony Batista experiment is finally over. Does this give the Twins hope to contend this year? No, of course not. He's a rookie shortstop, after all, and even veterans at that position have a tough time providing offensive punch (although my own mother probably has more pop than Castro). But at least it proves that the Twins management isn't completely hell bent on fielding a losing team. And that's something.

Posted by Chuck Terhark at June 14, 2006 10:58 AM | Comments (2)

 

Foul tip: BoSox series preview

For all the talk about Joe Mauer--well-deserved, mind you--another steady bat in the Twins lineup has been overshadowed in recent weeks.

After being jerked around by Ron Gardenhire the last couple seasons--due to Gardy's onetime infatuation with Matthew LeCroy and ongoing delusions about Lew Ford--Michael Cuddyer has finally been given the chance to be a nearly every day player at a position where he's comfortable. Trouble is, it's about a season too late. Even so, Cuddyer has responded in kind.

First, it must be said that misgivings about Cuddyer in the field are unfounded. He's no third baseman, but he's a better-than-average outfielder with a strong arm. He's less likely to blunder out there than Ford.

But it's his bat that continues to impress: He just looks like a hitter out there. Gardenhire must have noticed this too, as he finally moved the fool-swingin' Torii Hunter down to the six hole and moved Cuddyer to the four spot.

A good move? Sure, at least statistically. Cuddyer has the better batting average and on-base percentage, .272 to .257 and .362 to .328. And Cuddyer's slugging percentage is much better, .538 to .417.

In fact, all indications are Cuddyer is having a break-out year. He has nine home runs already--his career high for a year is 12 in each of the last two seasons--and his RBI total is at 32, compared with a season best of 45 in 2004. He's ready to equal his career marks in less than half the games.

In fact, Cuddyer's homers and ribbies are comparable to Hunter's (nine HRs, 35 RBIs), even though he's played in 11 fewer games. His weak spot: He's struck out almost as many times as Hunter as well, 42 to 45.

That said, this series could be one where his consistency this season becomes apparent. Look for Cuddyer to make the difference in at least one Twins victory.

Speaking of Joe Mauer, was it any surprise he was named AL player of the week? "Mauer led all Major League hitters by batting .625 (15-24) with five doubles, four RBI and two stolen bases, and he also reached base safely four times in five consecutive games," the press release notes. "The St. Paul, Minnesota native raised his average 20 points last week to a Major League leading .386 for the season. This is the first career weekly award for Mauer."

The other contenders for player of the week were Ichiro of the Mariners, who hit .556 and scored six runs, and Cleveland's Victor Martinez (.458, 4 HR, 11 RBI)--good weeks that somehow pale in comparison.

Posted by G.R. Anderson Jr. at June 13, 2006 12:39 PM | Comments (1)

 

NBA Finals Preview: Dallas Uber Alles

Filed under: NBA

Shaquille O'Neal is one of my favorite players of all time. The guy is incredibly media-savvy--his interviews have made me laugh out loud more than any other athlete. On the court, he is Wilt Chamberlain plus championship hardware, the most unstoppable force in the game for a decade. Plus, I've got a soft spot for him because he made me look smart for loudly defending him back in the day when everyone wanted to rip him for never winning the big one and concentrating more on movies and rap than he did on hoops (absurd of course, but so it goes).

But as much as the heart goes to Shaq, my head says this is the year the Dallas Mavericks grab the trophy, in anywhere from five to seven games--we'll split the difference at six, but it really could go up or down from there, depending on a bevy of factors. Here's my take on the climax to the most consistently exciting NBA playoffs since they expanded the format.

Dallas has been playing better competition. The West is better than the East once again, and the Mavs' sweep of Memphis, whisker-thin pulse-pounding classic versus the Spurs, and slow wearing out of the Suns has been more impressive than Miami's stop-and-go besting of the Bulls, steamrolling of the Nets, and mercy killing of moribund Pistons.

The Wheeze factor favors the Mavs. Yes, the Heat significantly upgraded their perimeter D versus Flip's wilting Bad Boys, but the shots were still there to be drained if the vintage Billups and 'Sheed had bothered to show up. And Dallas has got a rich gumbo of pick-and-roll components. The 7-foot Dirk, who used to just be one of the two or three best pure shooters in the league, now drives with grit, dishes with aplomb, and draws fouls with up-fake j's and hell-bent for leather penetration. The JET, Jason Terry, cashes out the open jumpers he gets going to his right while rubbing his foe off the screen. There are the pumpkin-headed, sweet-shooting Stackhouse and the slashin' assassin, Josh Howard. There's Devon Harris, emerging from his Badger hole this postseason. Even defensive specialist Adrian Griffin, and his pull-up, funky, left-handed mid-range, conjuring memories of the Knicks' Dick Barnett from waay back in the day.

The Heat are in the Finals because Riles got them to care about defense. Shaq is showing harder on the p&r than I've ever seen him work. The most astonishing thing about D-Wade versus the Pistons wasn't the acrobatic layups but the perpetual motion static-cling he put on Rip Hamilton in the pivotal Heat victories. And who was that version of Antoine Walker, who actually played stare-at-his-jersey-and-move-your-feet defense with transformative diligence versus both the Nets and Pistons?

Despite all of these things AND the occasional vision of Gary Payton slipping back on The Glove, I still don't see how Miami can defend Dallas effectively in the half court, let alone transition. Because when Shaq shows, these smart Mavs are heading for the rim, and then, inevitably, the foul line. Because the static that Wade gums into the offensive rhythm of his opponents will either wane with Dallas's depth--if Stack's jumpers aren't falling, Terry's will be--or sap him of some of his own point production (and that's assuming he recovers from this tenacious flu). Because in his past-prime-time mode, Payton's A-Game on D soon suffocates his own wind as much as the one being Gloved. And 'Toine will discover that neither Nowitzki nor Howard are as fortuitious a matchup for him as a gimpy 'Sheed or an overextended Tayshaun Prince.

The theory of relativity favors Dallas slightly. There are a trio of stone-cold studs in this series, and all of them will be fairly unstoppable. Yes, the Mavs have some big boys in Dampier and Diop to toss at Shaq, but does anyone think that's sufficient? Yes, Howard one of the league's most pliably efficient defenders--Steve Nash is still having nightmares over the second half of Game Six--but Wade has dismantled the best-laid plans of every postseason opponent with his gumby-bodied treks from the arc to the hoop--even Howard will be lunched with a frequency that will surprise him. And yes, James Posey deserves his strong defensive rep and Udonis Haslem is sweat-equity personified, but Nowitzki is physically bigger than both of them, and opening trap doors into new facets of his overall game that will take more than inordinate will power to deter.

Put simply, Shaq, Wade, and Dirk will all compile plenty of highlight-reel moments. But how well will each one perform relative to the previous series in this postseason? I think Shaq will find himself in foul trouble at least two or three times this series. I expect him to punish Dampier and Diop whenever possible, but if he's saddled with fouls and he's not hitting his free throws when they inevitably send him to the line, that dominance won't be as often as the Heat needs to counter Dallas's depth. As for Wade, not only will he discover that Howard is stronger than Prince, but that the deep-roster Mavs will rotate on D with more consistent energy than the depleted Pistons could muster. Against San Antonio, Dallas pretty much allowed Duncan to go off by eschewing the automatic double-team; they may likewise pick their poison that way with the Heat, and variously let Shaq rumble and Wade scamper while sealing off other options.

At the other end, Riley's best option on Nowitzki is probably Haslem, but wily Avery Johnson is liable to run enough high pick-and-rolls to pull Haslem away from the basket and let Dallas have a field day with putbacks on the glass and drawing penetration fouls. New rules or no new rules, grabbing rebounds still matters a huge amount in the playoffs, and the Mavs have outrebounded their foe in every game of their three series thus far (unless Phoenix broke the string in Game Five). If I were Riley, I might see if Walker still has a little defensive magic in him, and go smaller, with Posey on Howard. In any case, Miami can't win without Shaq and/or Wade having a big night, but the Mavs can triumph without Nowitzki going off. Dallas just has a better supporting cast, and that eventually is going to make the differnce.

X factors, from Z to A.
When I think of the ways in which Miami wins this series, Alonzo Mourning is most prominent in the scenario. Zo is better than Dampier and Diop at both ends of the court, and if he's in his shot-blocking, intimidating groove, and his shot is falling to boot, Shaq's foul troubles and wretched free throw shooting will be mitigated, and the Diesel will be fresher too. I don't like to romanticize Zo's quest for a ring--he laid down when toiling for any noncontender these past few years. But now that he's this close, and with all he's overcome thus far, I have a feeling he might come up huge. Other potential X factors for Miami--meaning pleasant surprises--are Walker's defense, Jason Williams' court savvy and shot selection and accuracy from behind the three-point line, and, as always with Shaq, the referees interpreting contact in his favor.

For Dallas, there are many more possibilities, but Adrian Griffin is my sleeper pick for heroic duty. Already worn from Howard's dogging, Wade will pay a physical price for beating Griffin off the dribble, and at the other end, the Heat maybe should think twice about daring Griffin to beat them with his jumper as they double Dirk and the other shooters. If Griffin's confidence in his shot carries over from the Phoenix series, the Heat are in trouble. Finally, Dallas has gotten this far without Jason Terry finding his shooting zone for any extended period of time. Dude is due, and being guarded by Jason Williams helps pay the postage.

Posted by Britt Robson at June 7, 2006 11:44 PM | Comments (7)

 

« May 2006 | Main | July 2006 »