Redmond sees Hernandez's value as a competitor, mentor

Mike Redmond, who caught Livan Hernandez in the minor leagues and then again with the Marlins in 1998 and 1999, believes the Twins' Opening Day pitcher is a winner.

Hernandez, who will face the Angels on Monday night in the sold-out game at the Metrodome, pitched well in his last spring start Wednesday. The 33-year-old righthander held the Rays to one run and four hits in six innings in a 4-2 Twins victory.

"I got a chance to catch him in AA, I think it was one of his first starts, when he came up," Redmond recalled. "The first pitch of the game was a curveball, and he threw it for a strike and I'll never forget it. I was like, 'Man, I can't believe this guy just flipped a curveball up there.' But I like Livo, man. I caught him in the big leagues in '98, '99, caught him a lot, and he's one of those guys that's going to give you 200 innings a year."

Redmond said Hernandez is a great competitor and could be a good mentor for an unproven pitching staff.

"I think he'll be good for our young pitchers, for a guy to look at as a veteran guy," Redmond said. "He knows how to pitch without [throwing] 96, 97 miles an hour. I think that will be good for us."

Redmond compared Hernandez to Cleveland pitcher Paul Byrd.

"He's ... a guy who goes out there and comes at you with some different arm angles but throws strikes and gets guys out," Redmond said. "He wasn't around for the 2003 World Series, but in '97 he was a workhorse, man. He was a big-game pitcher for them, and that's one thing that I'll always remember about him: He's never afraid. He's pitched in big games, pitched in the playoffs, pitched in the World Series, and guys like that have that type of experience.

Redmond is also optimistic about the Twins.

"I think the great thing about this team and the guys we have in this clubhouse is that we're going to go out there and we're going to prove people wrong," he said. "And people can talk about us, they can say really whatever they want, and it doesn't affect us either way."

McKinnie to remain Contrary to what I wrote earlier, it doesn't appear Vikings tackle Bryant McKinnie will be leaving the club despite being charged for his involvement in a brawl in Miami on Feb. 24. McKinnie has since pleaded not guilty to the four charges.

NFL clubs that have checked on McKinnie's availability have been told he will remain with the team. Of course, if somebody came to the Vikings with a fantastic offer, it might be different.

McKinnie could get some type of punishment from the NFL.

Jottings Gophers men's basketball coach Tubby Smith has spent a lot of time recently following the Ole Miss basketball team reaching the quarterfinals in the NIT because his son, Brian, is a senior guard on that team. ... There is a good chance Iowa State, Cleveland State and Cornell will be on the 2008-09 Gophers basketball schedule.

Gophers tight end Jack Simmons will miss all of spring practice after having an operation on a toe that gave him trouble last season. ... Kim Royston, the former Cretin-Derham Hall and Wisconsin safety, said the Badgers still won't release his scholarship to enable him to go to Minnesota. He could still enroll at Minnesota in the fall but could not receive a scholarship, according to Big Ten transfer rules. "I am going through an appeal process at the present time with the NCAA and I should know something in a week or so," he said. The Gophers still are Royston's top choice, but he said he has heard from Nebraska, Boston College, Iowa State and Missouri.

The Missouri baseball team, which is ranked second in the nation, is led by Rochester Mayo graduate Aaron Senne, who is hitting .342 and leads the Tigers with six home runs and 32 RBI. He was a 13th-round pick by the Twins in 2006. The Gophers beat Missouri 12-5 on Wednesday at the Metrodome.

Former Gophers center Ben Hamilton, who missed all last season with the Broncos because of postconcussion symptoms, is expected to be cleared so he can reclaim a starting offensive line position this season. "I've passed every test they have given me," Hamilton said. "[I just need] to talk to specialists and to be cleared by them. I know I'm good to go."

Eric Curry, a Twins vice president of corporate partnerships who also serves as a Division I college basketball referee, was one of the officials for last week's NCAA first-round game between Southern California and Kansas State in Omaha, won by the Wildcats 80-67. For conference play in January and February, Curry worked Mountain West, Big Sky and Big Ten games.

Frank Kara, the late director of athletic compliance at Minnesota, groomed four individuals who have gone to lead or work in other athletic compliance offices. They include J.T. Bruett, the current director at Minnesota; Steve Schofield at Northern Iowa; and Chris Rogers at Ohio State. Jay Larson, who has been Bruett's assistant at Minnesota, has accepted the compliance director job at San Diego State, under former Gophers associate athletic director Jeff Schemmel.

Bill Lester, who runs the Metrodome, said the Dome will host 54 small-college doubleheaders (108 games), 19 Gophers baseball games and assorted baseball practices in March, even though it had to be shut down for a week when the Supercross motorcycle races were held March 15.

Third baseman Corey Koskie is out of baseball because of postconcussion syndrome, and first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz and second baseman Luis Rivas made the Pirates' Opening Day roster. The remaining person of what was once thought of as the Twins' infield of the future, shortstop Cristian Guzman, had a great spring with the Nationals. He was hitting .412 at one time before finishing at .274, after missing most of last season because of a thumb injury.