Sid Hartman: Childress has eyes on entire picture

One reason Vikings coach Brad Childress might not call all the plays this season is because he believes it is his responsibility to know exactly what is developing on the sidelines during the games.

"As a head coach or as a CEO, you're in charge of offense, defense, special teams, the whole deal; so, you need to make sure you keep vision on the whole thing as the game goes on. I just need to make sure I have a great feel for that during the game," Childress said.

Childress called all the plays in his first season as Vikings coach, but he has hinted he might spread out the duties this year. "I think the safe answer would be to tell you, we're going to call them all together, but we're not going to say, 'Who called that one? Who called that one? Who called that one?' " he said. "It's always a collaborative effort."

However, Childress said he is never going to be far way from calling plays. And why should he? He is not going to change because of the critics.

"Yeah that's the fun of the game. I'm never going to be very far away from it," he said.

"I mean why would Andy Reid [the Eagles coach and Childress' former boss] give it up? It's not that he's very far away from it either. It gives you a little different perspective and one of the things that you're able to do then instead of having your head down on the ground, or on the card."

Childress, who was the offensive coordinator at Wisconsin under Barry Alvarez before joining Philadelphia, said Alvarez (a former defensive coordinator) called maybe two plays the whole time he was there.

"One of the things he used to say to me was, 'Brad, run this play one time,' " Childress said of Alvarez. "He used to be able to look at the personnel and say, 'Hey, Chill, this corner down here, he can't hang with Lee DeRamus, throw the ball deep on this guy.'

"So, then you're able to have that interaction with your defensive staff and with your special teams and that type of thing as opposed to trying to figure out what's going on the next series."

I have been around more football coaches than any of the so-called media experts. I knew Childress before he got here and have gotten to know him better than anybody in the media since he became Vikings coach. I am convinced he is a winner, and the results will show this season when the Vikings compete with the best. There has been almost a 70 percent turnover in personnel since he got here. And all those changes will pay off.

James positive

Vikings defensive end Erasmus James, who sat out last season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee in Week 2 against the Panthers, might not play in the preseason, but the 2005 first-round draft choice from Wisconsin is confident he will be going full speed once the regular season comes around.

James had a second operation in February to remove scar tissue and he said he has "been running a lot, been doing a lot of explosive stuff, so it is coming good."

While there is a good chance James might wind up on the physically unable to perform list, James said at a recent meeting with Dr. Richard Steadman, he was told, "I can do as much as they want me to do. So it is pretty up to them.

"I think it's going to come down to the wire to what they want me to do and how they want to proceed. They really want me to take it slow, because there's no need for me to come back in training camp if they don't think I'm ready."

Jottings

Twins shortstop Jason Bartlett, who went 2-for-4 with a home run and a big eighth-inning single in Saturday's 5-2 victory over the Angels, now has hit safely in 29 of 35 games since June 10. During his recent stretch he was hitting .305 (43-for-141) with five doubles, 29 runs and 12 stolen bases. He now has 19 multihit games this season.

It doesn't appear that the Twins will make a deal to help their offense until they know for sure the status of outfielder Rondell White. White, on the disabled list since early April, went 1-for-2 for the Gulf Coast Twins on Saturday.

Michael Cuddyer, who is sidelined because a sprained thumb, said he expects to be out for only the minimum two weeks. "They want me to keep it in this soft cast for six straight days, and then after that we'll see where we are," the Twins right fielder said. "If it's feeling pretty good, then I'll get back out there and hit and stuff. ... I don't really like missing games too much, you know, I spent the early part of my career as a role player and on the bench, so I don't want to be back on there. So, it's tough for me."

Darnell McDonald, called up by the Twins to replace Cuddyer on the roster, came to the organization in a trade with Washington last month. He said he never got a chance with the Nationals. "I've been in this organization about two or three weeks and get a call to the big leagues. So, it's exciting, I just want to take advantage of the opportunity they've given me here," McDonald said. Of the Nationals, he said: "I went to big league camp with them, I wouldn't say I really got an opportunity to do anything. ... I realize that everything happens for a reason and I'm glad to be over here with Minnesota. I've been playing nine years and I've never been in a trade. So, it was a first for me."

Twins outfielder Jason Kubel had successive three hit games Thursday and Friday. "He's kind of changed a little bit of his theory, using the whole field, driving the ball towards the middle of the field," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "It looks like he's a little more confident in seeing [the ball] the last couple days, and that's what he needs to do."

Former Twins pitcher J.C. Durbin, now with the Phillies, has a 2.53 ERA in July, giving up nine hits and eight walks in 102/3 innings. He earned his first major league victory Tuesday, getting a start and giving up only one run in six innings against the Dodgers. ... Former Concordia (Moorhead) athlete Chris Coste is hitting .344 for the Phillies. ... Former Twins righthander Grant Balfour, who hadn't pitched in the big leagues since 2004, was recalled by the Brewers this week but gave up five runs in 22/3 innings.

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. and on Podcast twice a week at www.startribune.com/sidcast. shartman@startribune.com