Should the Minnesota Twins strengthen their roster?

Following are opinions from Mille Lacs County Times  editor-sports editor Gary Larson, reporter Luther Dorr and former Times intern Logan Marxhausen who’s now on the sports staff at the St. Cloud State University Chronicle. Note: This feature is written on Monday each week.
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•Question: On Monday, ESPN baseball commentator/writer Buster Olney reported the Minnesota Twins may be in talks with the Seattle Mariners to obtain veteran pitcher Cliff Lee. Do the Twins need to strengthen their present roster that much?
-Dorr: Lee is a very good pitcher and I imagine any manager in the Major Leagues would be glad to have him on the roster. And there is little doubt that the Twins would be a stronger team with Lee taking a turn every five days. If the Twins really are pursuing Lee (ESPN has had a number of reports that turned out to be of little substance), that means that Nick Blackburn or Kevin Slowey would be out of a starting job, assuming that Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker and innings-eater Carl Pavano would be kept in the rotation. Two things come to mind: Do you risk upsetting the apple cart by dropping Slowey or Blackburn from the rotation, and is the amount of money to be paid Lee a consideration? If the team’s management can figure out those two considerations, having Lee would likely enhance the team’s chances to win their division.

-Marxhausen: It certainly does depend on what the Twins would be giving up for the veteran pitcher. When it comes to pitching, the Twins need a helping hand that could push the pitching rotation to become better in every aspect. When 33-year-old Carl Pavano joined the team, the pitching staff gained a touch of experience and maturity. If 31-year-old Cliff Lee joined the team, they could move Blackburn or Slowey into the bullpen or have them fight for the last spot in the rotation and cause a competitive atmosphere to emerge. The Twins do need to look at their roster and see if they believe that this team can get past the Yankees in the playoffs. If not, which I do not think it can at the moment, they need to try and find the answers to their issues and fix them. Pitching is at the top of the list of issues that the Twins need to improve or fix.

-Larson: As Olney mentioned in his report, the Twins are a logical choice to be interested in Lee because THEY NEED TO FIND SOMEONE WHO CAN BEAT THE YANKEES! Lee did that twice for Philadelphia in last fall’s World Series. A move to acquire Lee should be done sooner rather than later to allow him to get comfortable with the Twins. With Detroit and Chicago presently surging, acquiring Lee, or another veteran hurler, would certainly give the Twins an edge over the Tigers and White Sox in the Central Division race. A trade would be costly and Seattle might want Kevin Slowey AND Nick Blackburn in the deal but maybe the Twins would be able to snatch some bench help from the Mariners.

That said, a deal for Lee probably won’t happen. With a healthy J.J. Hardy and Orlando Hudson, the Twins should stay in the race. But, then comes the playoffs, with those nasty Yankees a possibility in the first round. And, we know how that always turns out.
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•Question: Minnesota Vikings Coach Brad Childress publicly criticized star running back Adrian Peterson for missing a recent Vikings mini camp. Reportedly, Peterson was involved in activities, including a parade, tied in with Adrian Peterson Day in his hometown of Palestine, Texas. Childress has given quarterback Brett Favre a huge pass on many things so far, including a good portion of training camp and any mini camps. Has Childress set a double standard? Should pro coaches/managers treat their “stars” differently than other members of the team?

-Dorr: By letting Favre do whatever he wants you’ve opened the door to others, especially a star such as Peterson, deciding they can miss a few days here and there. It definitely is a double standard, although maybe most players on the team don’t have a problem with that if the player or players in question can produce. Each coach or general manager has to decide for themselves whether or not it’s worth it to  allow a double standard. Besides, who cares about such things in June?

-Marxhausen:  Last time I checked Favre and Peterson both are stars of the Viking organization. There is a difference in age between the two. Childress probably relates to Favre a little more due to the damage that Favre’s body has taken and maybe the fragility is a little more extensive then AP. Favre didn’t sign a contract until late into training camp and Peterson has been under contract, so as for last season’s training camps, Favre waited out as long as possible. With age, Favre understands how to be prepared for the beginning of the season and how to compose himself throughout the season, being past his physical prime. Peterson still has to hone his skills and prepare himself for the upcoming season. Childress is mostly at fault in this double standard, but he is the head coach and his way is the “law” for the team. I just hope his hypocritical coaching doesn’t affect relationships between players and personnel and cause a stir on the team.

-Larson: Yes, pro coaches/managers do, and should, treat their stars differently. That won’t work, and shouldn’t happen, on the high school and college levels. But, the stars are the ones who control pro coaches’ success or failure, and ultimately, the length of their contracts. Some stars don’t abuse their status and some do. Childress received a contract extension after the Vikings’ fast start last season, which was due to the leadership and contributions of Favre, who Childress catered to and courted prior to and after his signing.

So, to take Peterson to task in the media wasn’t a good idea. The mini camps and short sessions are beneficial to rookies and free agents but not a lot of value for veterans. If coaches don’t know what Peterson can do at this point, get new coaches. There is concern by coaches and fans about Peterson’s fumbles the past couple of seasons. A bigger concern should be an offensive line that allows Peterson to run into a stone wall on three out of four of his carries.
With a zillion assistant coaches able to run things at the mini camp, Childress should’ve hopped a quick flight to Palestine and sat alongside Peterson in the parade. And, the event isn’t all about riding in a parade. Peterson meets with the town’s prep athletes to discuss sports on and off the field and does other things for the community.

Maybe, there’s more to the story than a missed mini camp. Some writers have wondered if Peterson is seeking a new contract. I guess we’ll soon find out.
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•Question: The Minnesota Twins are currently negotiating radio broadcast rights, with several Twin Cities stations interested in carrying the Twins. KSTP-AM (1500) has carried Twins games since 2007, snatching the rights from the Good Neighbor, WCCO-AM (830), which had the rights since the Twins began in 1961. KFAN-AM (1130) and KHTC-FM (96.3), a station owned by the Pohlad family, are apparently also in  mix. What’s your preference?

-Dorr: Note to the Twins: Please, please get back to WCCO so we can listen to the games without static. The Twins did their fans a disservice by switching to KSTP three years ago. Here I am 50 miles away from where the home games are being played and quite often the reception is terrible, whether on a car radio, a small radio or a console radio. It’s obvious the Twins did not have fans in mind when they made the switch. For those of us who listened to games on WCCO for more than 50 years, sometimes two or three states away (or even farther) at night, having the games on KSTP has been a nightmare. Why would you have the games on a station that many people can’t pick up? It’s a no-brainer to go back to WCCO.

-Marxhausen:  I grew up only listening to the Twins on WCCO when I had to resort to radio instead of TV or when I needed an update while driving. The switch to KSTP-AM was difficult at first, but then after a couple of trial and error studies with the radio, I figured out where I needed to go to listen to the Twins. I prefer any radio commentary to that of TV’s Dick Bremer and Bert Blyleven. If both radio and TV were synched without any delays, then I would mute the TV and listen to the smooth, descriptive detail of the radio announcers. I would prefer an AM radio station to have the rights to Twins baseball because that is what I associate AM radio with. My preference would be WCCO or KSTP-AM if that stays possible.

-Larson: WCCO is “Minnesota’s radio station.” While I don’t care for many of the changes the station has undergone in recent years, it’s still the station people look to for news, weather and sports. When heading out of the Twin Cities and reaching Princeton, KSTP has already started to fade on my car radio. Sure, I can switch to FM and often pick up the Twins games on stations at Pine City and Aitkin, but that’s a bother. WCCO comes in clear whether I’m in Milaca, Brainerd or Bemidji.
Baseball lends itself better to radio than any other sport and a great tradition of announcers have allowed us to picture its plays crystal clear in our minds while we’re driving, fishing, camping, working or in our easy chair. Those descriptions should come to us on the clearest station possible. And, that’s WCCO. And, dog gone it, let’s get the Vikings back on WCCO, too.
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Tags: Gary Larson