twins/mlb
Joe Christensen, the Star Tribune's national baseball reporter, has covered the big leagues since 1998. A Faribault native, he graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1996. Before working for the Star Tribune, he spent three years covering the Orioles for the Baltimore Sun. He also covered the Padres and Dodgers for newspapers in Southern California. He'll share his thoughts here on the Twins and all things baseball.
Posts about Target Field
Twins have no plans to add trees or change Target Field's dimensions for 2013
Posted by: Joe Christensen Updated: October 18, 2012 - 9:17 AM
The Twins have no plans to change the outfield wall dimensions (distance or height) for the 2013 season, and there will be no change to the batter's eye, such as the addition of trees, team president Dave St. Peter said today in an e-mail to reporters.
This would fall under the non-news news category. So many people ask the Twins these questions that St. Peter felt compelled to answer definitively.
The Twins had black spruce trees behind the center field wall when Target Field opened in 2010, but hitters complained that they had trouble seeing, so those trees were removed and replanted. After going 94-68 in 2010, the Twins have finished with the worst record in the American League each of the past two seasons.
Target Field was one of the toughest places for hitters to hit a home run in 2010, but by last season, it was middle of the pack.
"Like all aspects of Target Field, the Twins will continue to engage in regular review and study of playability issues such as these," St. Peter said in the e-mail. "It remains our goal to ensure the best possible facility for our fans, players and staff."
A walk down memory lane with Tony O.
Posted by: Joe Christensen Updated: October 12, 2012 - 2:12 PMWith the regular season winding down, and Miguel Cabrera closing in on baseball’s first Triple Crown in 45 years, I saw Tony Oliva at Target Field and asked the Twins legend what he remembers about that magical season for Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.
“Forget about ‘67,” Oliva said, with a chuckle. “What about ‘66?”
“I don’t want to hear about ‘67,” Oliva said. “I put that out of my brain when we lost. We went to Boston to win one game, and we lost both.”
Yes, this was Boston’s Impossible Dream. One of the most famous pennant races in baseball history. Four teams slugging it out through the late summer -- Twins, Red Sox, Tigers and White Sox. The Twins entered a season-ending two-game series at Fenway Park, needing just one win, but Yastrzemski helped give Boston a sweep and the American League pennant.
Yastrzemski batted .326 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI. Harmon Killebrew also hit 44 home runs, but Yaz still gets credit for the Triple Crown.
“I think that was one of those dream years, when everything went perfect,” Oliva said.
But what about ‘66? Baseball had a Triple Crown winner that year, too, when Baltimore’s Frank Robinson batted .316 with 49 and 122 RBI.
Robinson ran away with the home run title (Killebrew was second with 39) and RBI title (Killebrew was second with 110). The biggest obstacle between Robinson and the Triple Crown was Tony O., who was a two-time reigning AL batting champ after batting .323 as a rookie in ‘64 and .321 in helping the Twins win the pennant in ‘65.
A check on Baseball-Reference.com, shows that Oliva went 4-for-4 on Sept. 11, in an 11-6 win over Robinson’s Orioles at Met Stadium. Oliva was batting .320, and Robinson was at .313 with three weeks remaining.
Oliva, now 74, said he got into a fender bender and suffered whiplash sometime right around then. Though he didn’t miss a game, his success waned. He finished the year batting .307 and tipped his hat to Robinson, the league’s MVP.
“Cabrera reminds me of Frank Robinson because Robinson was a righthanded hitter, and if you pitched him away, he could hit it out of the ballpark to right field,” Oliva said. “Cabrera is a dangerous hitter like that because you can’t pitch him inside or outside.”
No doubt, and looking back, you realize that facing Tony O. was no picnic for an opposing pitcher, either.
Twins notes: Pascual, Hrbek, Pavano, Span
Posted by: Joe Christensen Updated: January 27, 2012 - 2:01 PMHere's some quick notes off today's Twins media luncheon:
* Camilo Pascual has been elected to the Twins Hall of Fame, team president Dave St. Peter announced.
* Also, the Twins plan to unveil another statue this year at Target Field, this one of Kent Hrbek. It will be outside Gate 14.
* St. Peter said there are no plans to change the batter's eye at Target Field this year -- in other words, the trees aren't coming back -- but he said the team will continue to discuss ways to make that big black wall look better.
* Manager Ron Gardenhire confirmed that Carl Pavano will be the Opening Day starter, on April 6 at Baltimore, with Scott Baker slated for the home opener, April 9 against Albert Pujols and the Angels.
* Denard Span said he feels the best he's felt, physically, in two years. He wants to play center field but is open to moving to a corner if that's best for the team. But to hear Gardenhire talk, this won't be an issue.
"[Span's] going to lead off and be my center fielder," Gardenhire said. "That’s my expectations. If somebody were to tell me that he’s not able to do that, then we’d have to ad lib. But if Denard comes in healthy, then he’s my center fielder, there’s no questions to me about that."
Twins sending mixed messages about their 2012 payroll
Posted by: Joe Christensen Updated: November 8, 2011 - 2:39 PMLast week, in an interview with Patrick Reusse and Phil Mackey on 1500ESPN, Twins president Dave St. Peter said the team’s 2012 payroll “will end up at the end of the day being relatively comparable [to last season].”
Just so we’re all clear moving forward, the Twins official 25-man Opening Day payroll was $113 million. According to insiders, the team wound up spending closer to $118 million by season’s end, even with the money saved on the Delmon Young and Jim Thome trades. Keep in mind, players collect their salaries on the DL, and their replacements cost money. It adds up, even when the replacements are making the major league minimum ($414,000).
When interim GM Terry Ryan was asked about next year’s payroll on Monday, he said, “I think our payroll is going to be south of where we were last year.”
How far south?
“What was it last year?” Ryan said.
A reporter answered that it was $115 million, a common estimate.
“I don’t know if that’s accurate, but I think it’s going to be somewhere around $100 [million],” Ryan said.
Ryan downplayed the importance of payroll in determining a team’s success, and we all know he won four division titles with significantly less in his first tenure as GM.
St. Peter has a slightly different view
I caught up with St. Peter after the press conference and asked him about Ryan’s $100 million comment.
“Terry and I, frankly, have not had one discussion about our payroll for next year,” St. Peter said. “He’s been privy to it because nothing has changed from what we had been telling Bill [Smith]. ... I think it can be a fluid number. I’m hoping we can find a way to inch it forward."
"I think it’s also important what Terry said: Nobody here has ever viewed payroll as the end-all," St. Peter added. "Frankly, whether it’s $100 million, $95 million, $105 million, I think we can be successful next year. That’s certainly the belief that we have.”
The Twins are trying to draw a line. The Opening Day payroll jumped from $71 million in 2007 -- the final year of Ryan’s first GM tenure -- to $113 million last season. Obviously the jump was made easier because they appear to be printing money at Target Field, but that doesn’t mean they’ll continue to increase spending.
St. Peter told Reusse and Mackey that last season’s payroll was “frankly, north of where I wanted it to be, or where we thought it should be relative to our percentages of revenue. But we made a decision, obviously, to try to bring back [Carl] Pavano, bring back [Jim] Thome, and I don’t think anybody here regrets that. I think we thought they were the right decisions at the time.”
Big difference in revenue sharing
On the radio, St. Peter also gave a clear answer to a question many of us have had: How has the team’s revenue sharing picture changed since it left the Metrodome? St. Peter said the Twins were collecting about $20 million in revenue sharing money in their final years at the Dome. After a one-year grace period that teams get when they move into a new ballpark, the Twins paid $10 million into the revenue sharing pot this year.
That’s a $30 million swing, when comparing the Twins revenues in 2009 and 2011.
Bottom line
Ryan knows Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau will combine to make $38 million next year (and again in 2013). It’s going to be tough to fill 23 other roster spots for $62 million. By our calculations, even if the Twins let all four of their free agents leave -- Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, Joe Nathan and Matt Capps -- the Twins would still pay $83 million to return the rest of the club for next year.
* Here's how we got to that $83 million number. They've cut some of the players listed from this late-September chart, but the numbers won't change much.
Maybe Ryan has a few tricks up his sleeve -- such as trading away Pavano, Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker or another medium-salaried player -- but the hunch here is the Opening Day payroll will land closer to $110 million. Every team sets a budget and then builds in flexibility so money can be spent if the right opportunity arises.
Maybe the Twins wanted to send a message: The gravy train is over. Yes, they’ve handed out some bloated contracts in recent years (to Mauer, Morneau, Baker, Nick Blackburn, Denard Span and Tsuyoshi Nishioka) but under Ryan, they intend to squeeze value out of every dollar spent.
Top offseason priorities for Twins? Smith lists pitching, backup catcher and shortstop
Posted by: Joe Christensen Updated: October 4, 2011 - 8:48 PMTwins president Dave St. Peter and general manager Bill Smith took questions from their season ticket holders in a conference call tonight and there were several interesting answers.
Smith said he expects the big league coaching staff to return and that it's unlikely the Twins will try to re-sign Jim Thome. St. Peter said the dimensions at Target Field will not change heading into 2012.
Smith said even if the Twins don't pick up Joe Nathan's club option for 2012, they're interested in keeping him.
Asked about some of the fundamental lapses, Smith said it might be time for the team's minor-league managers to start pulling players from games if they throw to the wrong base or don't run out a ground ball.
Asked about the top offseason priority, Smith said it's tough to pick one because there's a long list.
"We need a [starting pitcher]," Smith said. "We’re looking for that starting pitcher because we might have a starting pitcher or two that we want to put in the bullpen.
"We need to upgrade the bullpen, there’s no question. We’re looking for that backup catcher that can provide a little bit more offense. We’ve gotta figure out shortstop, and that may involve going out and getting another shortstop. We’ve got [Alexi] Casilla, we’ve got [Trevor] Plouffe, we’ve got [Tsuyoshi] Nishioka, we’ve gotta find somebody that can be a stable, starting everyday shortstop."
My favorite part came when a caller named Ann from Eagan asked, "I want to invest in a new jersey? Would it be safe to buy a Michael Cuddyer jersey?"
Smith said, "It will always be safe to buy a Michael Cuddyer jersey because whether he is with the Twins or any other club, Michael Cuddyer’s one of the great representatives, certainly, in my 30 years in baseball and my 26 years with the Twins. He’s one of my favorite players that I’ve ever been around, so a Michael Cuddyer jersey for me is always going to have value.
"We hope to re-sign him. We’ve had some talks, but again, he’s a free agent, and players earn that right, and he has that right to listen to us and listen to the other 29 clubs. And again, our hope is that Michael Cuddyer finishes his career in the Twins organization."
I'll have more on this for tonight's first editions.
Mauer knows his commercial work has added to the backlash
Posted by: Joe Christensen Updated: September 13, 2011 - 11:01 AMKANSAS CITY, MO. -- Before every game at Target Field, a video game commercial runs with Joe Mauer at the controller, using his own likeness to smash an impressive home run onto Target Plaza.
In reality, Mauer hasn’t homered at Target Field all season. He’s hit just one homer there since the ballpark opened last year.
This season, Mauer has missed 66 of his team's 146 games, but whether he plays or not, fans keep seeing him on commercials, sweating profusely in sports-drink ads, singing in a Minnesota tourism spot, mimicking Troy Polamalu in a shampoo ad.
Late last month, Mauer missed six games with a neck injury. During that absence, a local fitness company launched an ad campaign that plays off the catcher’s wholesomeness. It includes the line, “Any time Joe Mauer hits a single, an angel gets its wings.”
When I spoke to Mauer for this story about the criticism he’s faced this season, we talked about his work as a pitch man. It’s caused some backlash, including some within his own clubhouse, with some grumbling that he seems more focused on making commercials than keeping himself on the field.
But all the ads were shot last offseason. Mauer said the time he spent shooting all the ones that have runs this year combined to take about one week of his time. The companies are told that Mauer has a conditioning program that he needs to follow, so arrangements are made for his workouts.
“It’s funny, you see the commercials, and because I’ve done things for Sony and Gatorade, I mean, they play them over and over, and it might seem like I’m spending a lot of time with them,” Mauer said. “But fans and people are frustrated [with his season], and they see that, and it’s just kind of like another thing. So I understand where it’s coming from, but I guess it’s good they know how little time it really takes.”
Mauer is under contract to shoot more commercials this winter, but again, he doesn’t plan to let it interrupt his offseason workout plan. It's imperative for him to come to spring training stronger, and he knows it. I asked him if he thought about cutting back on the ads.
“I don’t think I’m going to take on anything else,” Mauer said with a knowing chuckle. “Obviously, there’s some things I’ve tried, and some things I won’t do. There’s things that I tried and liked. but obviously, I know what my job is, and that’s what comes first and foremost.”
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