Hartman: Pohlads eager for Twins turnaround

The Twins' losing records the past three seasons — 66-96 the past two seasons and 63-99 in 2011 — have been tough on team owner Jim Pohlad and his family, and there's no doubt Jim was more involved this year in baseball matters to sign a number of free agents.

And General Manager Terry Ryan is being encouraged to do even more, especially if he can find some offense to improve the Twins' run production.

When Pohlad was asked if he would like to have some more signings before spring training and if Ryan has the financial freedom to keep looking, he pointed out that at times it's not simply about money but instead about draft picks.

"I would like to have more," he said. "Terry would like to have more. I mean, yeah, leeway is one thing, having the players out there and their signability is a whole other thing."

Pohlad wants to put a winner on the field and is willing to spend whatever is necessary, but if the Twins were to sign one of the top free-agent position players available — Nelson Cruz, Kendrys Morales or Stephen Drew — they would have to forfeit a draft pick, because those three players turned down qualifying offers from their old teams.

"Some of those players that are still out there, you're reluctant to give up the draft choices," Pohlad said. "And you're seeing that a lot of teams are reluctant to give up draft choices for those guys, too.

"Teams seem to be really valuing what comes through their farm system and less in free agency than their used to be."

Yes, Pohlad is concerned about attendance taking a dive if the Twins don't regain the form they had when they were winning one division after another, including going 94-68 in 2010 when Target Field opened.

Some people have been critical of the Pohlads because, despite their wealth, they haven't spent money to sign some of the great free agents available. Well, all Ryan has to do is recommend the signing of a player, and if it is a reasonable situation the Pohlads will write the checks.

The Pohlads are just as eager to have a winning team as the most rabid Twins fans are, and the family will do what it can to turn things around.

The Gophers men's basketball team visits Nebraska on Sunday, and there's a number of connections between the two teams.

The first assistant Richard Pitino hired when he got the Gophers job was Ben Johnson, who was an assistant under Tim Miles at Nebraska last season. Johnson played for the Gophers from 2002 to '04 after transferring from Northwestern.

Give Johnson some credit for the Gophers' success to date. He should be a factor Sunday because of the knowledge he has from coaching under Miles last season.

As for Miles, he was the coach at Southwest Minnesota State from 1997 to 2001 before moving to Division I, first at North Dakota State and then at Colorado State. In 1 ½ seasons at Nebraska, Miles has had a tough time turning things around.

Many people thought the Cornhuskers had gotten some momentum when they beat No. 17 Ohio State 68-61 on Monday night, but Miles ripped his team's execution in a 58-54 loss on Thursday at Penn State, when Nebraska led by three with two minutes to go.

"It was just an embarrassment … just a lack of execution and the decision-making that went into those plays," he said on his postgame radio show. "It was just too bad, because we had done enough to even put ourselves in position for a tight win."

A victory by the Gophers will put them at 5-3 in the Big Ten and with the next three games being Northwestern at home, at Purdue and Indiana at home, there is a chance they could be 8-3 in the conference, a record they haven't had for ages.

They still are investigating what type of heated field will be available for $2.3 million and what additional areas will need to have heating installed, and they are working on the concession layouts.

Sid's Jottings