Nothing smooths over off-season mistakes in the NFL quite like the misfortunes and bumblings of the local MLB team. When that team is the Minnesota Twins, even a questionable draft at one of the more critical junctures in the NFL team's history, seems acceptable.
For many years, this site has attempted to hold the Vikings organization accountable for its on- and off-the-field exploits, suggested moves and changes, critiqued moves, and applauded the relatively sparse moments due such credit. The rationale for this approach is simple--most, if not all, of the local media covering the Vikings are too heavily invested in the enterprise to do anything other than cheerlead. Even when the Vikings stand as one of the few, if not only, teams to select a bona fide starter at a position of need for 2011, the vast majority of those covering the Vikings have fallen back on the tired cliche, lifted this year from the mouth of Vikings' Director of Pro Personnel, Rick Spielman, that "we need to wait 3-4 years to assess this draft." That's a convenient excuse for all who produce suspect results and not very comforting either for fans or team veterans who do not have 3-4 years to wait.
Similar unquestioning coverage allows the Minnesota Twins to hide behind a thin veneer masking the teams annual problems. This year, with the team facing non-division rivals right out of the gate and much-improved division rivals shortly thereafter, the Twins have struggled. They have struggled to pitch, hit, field, run bases, and, yes, to coach and assess talent.
The current wisdom by the paid media, allowed only after the Twins stopped contending that "if this were an NFL season we'd still be in the first half of game one," is that the players on the field--read, the players with small contracts--are the problem. To be certain, Alexi Casilla and any relief pitcher previously considered only for a mop-up role in other MLB stops, are a tremendous part of the problem. But so, too, have been virtually all other players on the team.
Whether Morneau is making the Bad News Bears look professional in a botched run-down play, Denard Span is being picked off of first yet again, Michael Cuddyer is overthrowing the cut-off and launching one over the catcher's head, Sal Butera is creating a new Butera-zone (.100 BA), Francisco Liriano cannot find the strike zone, yet again, or players are routinely injured to the point that they are unable to play for long stretches at a time, the players on the current version of the Twins certainly bear much of the burden for the team's awful play.
That awful play, however, is really only different in marginal kind to the type of play long exhibited by the Twins. Since Ron Gardenhire took over for Tom Kelly, the Twins have "prided" themselves on playing Twins' baseball. Ostensibly, that meant moving the runners into scoring position, making efficient use of the hit and run, driving in runners from second and third with less than two out, working the opposing pitcher, leading the league in fielding (factoring in chances), hitting the cut-off, reading pitchers and pitch counts, and being accountable or being gone.
Under Gardenhire's watch the slide immediately began. Although the Twins have qualified for several post-seasons under Gardenhire, they have done so almost exclusively due to the weakness of the remainder of the division. With Kansas City, Detroit, and Cleveland re-joining the ranks of major league teams, the Twins no longer can pad a .400 non-division record with a .700 division record and make it into the playoffs.
The reason the Twins are in this predicament is not just because the current players cannot get the job done, however, but also because the current manager either does not preach or does not properly teach the fundamentals of baseball, and the current over-his-head General Manager, Billy Smith, does not know how to assess talent.
Despite the highest payroll in team history, the Twins are on pace to finish the season last of all MLB teams. Without an injection of speed at all outfield spots, MLB capable players up the middle (catcher, short, second, pitcher), a semblance of a starting pitching staff that includes at least one true number one starter and one true number two, better base running, and, generally, vastly improved fundamentals, the Twins face their current predicament not only for the remainder of this season, but also for the next several seasons.
What needs to go? That's the easy question. The Twins need a center fielder who can hit and cover ground, freeing up Denard Span to move to a corner position--preferably to Cuddyer's after-trade position. They also need a shortstop and second-baseman who have range, can field, and can hit above .225 with at least one of the two having some slugging power; the team had this last season, but felt they could improve on what they had by offering what they did this season. Clearly, along with the trades of Johan Santana, Wilson Ramos, and Jose Morales, and the permitted departures of Matt Guerrier and Jesse Crain, the decision represents yet another coup for Smith.
This suggests that, in addition to several players that they are likely to obtain only in off-season free-agency, the Twins need also consider hiring a competent front office person to allow Smith to devote more time to mastering the art of proper tie-tying and suit-sizing. And maybe it's time to recall Tom Kelly or check on the status of Phil Roof, or anyone whose mind-set is not characterized by the philosophy that the number two spot in the lineup is the place to hide a weak bat.
Though the Vikings are coming off a 6-10 season with the strong possibility, absent some substantial free-agent acquisitions, of failing to return to the playoffs in 2011, they can at least lay claim, however faint the title may be, to being the best run "professional" sports franchise in the market. At least they have that going for them. For that, they owe a strong debt of gratitude to the Twins being who we thought they were.
Up Next: Assuming Free-Agency...
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
Sunday, May 01, 2011
Candies and Nuts for Eternal Optimists
When a team leaves a draft with its most ardent supporters--i.e., its Director of Pro Personnel and head coach--mustering little more than the usual self-congratulations, qualified with the statement that "we won't know until 3-4 years from now how this draft pans out," there is little reason for jubilation among the fan base. Nor is there much reason for excitement, even granting the Vikings' most optimistic self(serving)-evaluations of their draft, given what the Vikings did not accomplish in the draft.
For the record, with the number twelve pick in the draft, the Vikings, needing four to five offensive linemen, a defensive end, an interior defensive lineman, a cornerback, a safety, a legitimate number two running back, a safety, and possibly a wide-receiver, selected a rookie quarterback whom head coach Leslie Frazier contends will compete with Joe Webb for the starting quarterback spot in 2011.
I've noted before the absurdity of this contention. There is zero point to selecting Christian Ponder at twelve if he is not regarded as an immediate starter or at least better than what is essentially a seasoned rookie in Webb. If Webb, at nearly the same point in his career as Ponder, truly enters camp on equal footing with Ponder, as a viable candidate for starting quarterback, there was no reason to draft Ponder.
Most alarming, however, is the signal that Ponder's selection sends to the numerous quality veterans on the Vikings' current roster. Drafting Ponder means that the Vikings either are willing to embark on the process of breaking an unseasoned rookie quarterback at the expense of the remainder of the careers of such players as Antoine Winfield, Jared Allen, Adrian Peterson, Kevin Williams, and, possibly, Pat Williams, or that the Vikings intend to pick up a veteran quarterback to start at quarterback in 2011. If the answer is the former, the Vikings may as well trade off as many valuable pieces as they can and truly begin the "rebuilding process."
If the answer is the latter, then, of course, drafting Ponder was an utter waste of a high, first-round draft pick, as, by the Vikings' own admission, they do not yet know what they have in Ponder and it really doesn't matter anyway.
Even if Ponder succeeds as the franchise quarterback that the Vikings must believe him to be taking him with the number twelve pick in the draft and committing to him number twelve pick dollars on his first contract, and even if Ponder is able to start this season, the pick makes no sense not just because the Vikings already had Joe Webb as the quarterback to groom, but, more significantly, because the Vikings failed to shore up their most glaring weakness, the five positions along the offensive line--the positions that protect the quarterback.
Although Minnesota selected offensive linemen late in the draft, there is no reason to believe that any of those linemen will be any better this year than what the Vikings put on the field in 2010. That means that, even if the newly drafted, late-round linemen succeed in wresting away a starting spot from Bryant McKinnie, Steve Hutchinson, John Sullivan, Anthony Herrera, or Phil Loadholt, the result probably will be no better than similar to last year's pathetic performance by the line. For a rookie quarterback, that's a recipe for a short career--either as a result of injury or as a consequence of shock, the kind that ended Joey Harrington's starting career.
There is some hope in this draft, however. At least if one is an eternal optimist. That hope rests in the fact that the Vikings have at least settled on a quarterback, added another blocking tight end who can also catch the ball, and found some bigger bodies ostensibly to compete for positions on the offensive line. And the team drafted yet another late-round safety, either confirming their own assessment of Madieu Williams and Tyrell Johnson or offering yet another excuse for an outdated defensive scheme.
If the Vikings found even one starter for the offensive line, found a capable starter in Ponder, can move Webb to receiver where he immediately flourishes, have a replacement for Pat Williams, found someone who can put pressure on the (opposing) quarterback, and identified a safety (or scheme) that results in improvements over last year's secondary, the Vikings might be able to compete with the much improved Detroit Lions, the already talented, yet also improved, Green Bay Packers, and the also improved Bears.
But as other teams in the NFC North and NFC clearly upgraded their talent in this year's draft, the Vikings were content, even intent, on selecting a group of players with only one even remotely "sure thing." And that player, former Notre Dame tight end Kyle Rudolph, plays a position where the Vikings arguably already had their greatest depth.
Asked to explain Rudolph's selection, Rick Spielman stated that the team was drafting the "best available player" at that point in the draft and that Rudolph fit that characterization. Why the Vikings were not selecting the best available player early in the first round of the draft, when there were at least five players that arguably fit that bill and fit a critical team need, even ahead of quarterback, was neither asked nor answered.
Up Next: Vikings Need to Make Big Moves in Free Agency, Assuming There is Any Meaningful Free Agency.
For the record, with the number twelve pick in the draft, the Vikings, needing four to five offensive linemen, a defensive end, an interior defensive lineman, a cornerback, a safety, a legitimate number two running back, a safety, and possibly a wide-receiver, selected a rookie quarterback whom head coach Leslie Frazier contends will compete with Joe Webb for the starting quarterback spot in 2011.
I've noted before the absurdity of this contention. There is zero point to selecting Christian Ponder at twelve if he is not regarded as an immediate starter or at least better than what is essentially a seasoned rookie in Webb. If Webb, at nearly the same point in his career as Ponder, truly enters camp on equal footing with Ponder, as a viable candidate for starting quarterback, there was no reason to draft Ponder.
Most alarming, however, is the signal that Ponder's selection sends to the numerous quality veterans on the Vikings' current roster. Drafting Ponder means that the Vikings either are willing to embark on the process of breaking an unseasoned rookie quarterback at the expense of the remainder of the careers of such players as Antoine Winfield, Jared Allen, Adrian Peterson, Kevin Williams, and, possibly, Pat Williams, or that the Vikings intend to pick up a veteran quarterback to start at quarterback in 2011. If the answer is the former, the Vikings may as well trade off as many valuable pieces as they can and truly begin the "rebuilding process."
If the answer is the latter, then, of course, drafting Ponder was an utter waste of a high, first-round draft pick, as, by the Vikings' own admission, they do not yet know what they have in Ponder and it really doesn't matter anyway.
Even if Ponder succeeds as the franchise quarterback that the Vikings must believe him to be taking him with the number twelve pick in the draft and committing to him number twelve pick dollars on his first contract, and even if Ponder is able to start this season, the pick makes no sense not just because the Vikings already had Joe Webb as the quarterback to groom, but, more significantly, because the Vikings failed to shore up their most glaring weakness, the five positions along the offensive line--the positions that protect the quarterback.
Although Minnesota selected offensive linemen late in the draft, there is no reason to believe that any of those linemen will be any better this year than what the Vikings put on the field in 2010. That means that, even if the newly drafted, late-round linemen succeed in wresting away a starting spot from Bryant McKinnie, Steve Hutchinson, John Sullivan, Anthony Herrera, or Phil Loadholt, the result probably will be no better than similar to last year's pathetic performance by the line. For a rookie quarterback, that's a recipe for a short career--either as a result of injury or as a consequence of shock, the kind that ended Joey Harrington's starting career.
There is some hope in this draft, however. At least if one is an eternal optimist. That hope rests in the fact that the Vikings have at least settled on a quarterback, added another blocking tight end who can also catch the ball, and found some bigger bodies ostensibly to compete for positions on the offensive line. And the team drafted yet another late-round safety, either confirming their own assessment of Madieu Williams and Tyrell Johnson or offering yet another excuse for an outdated defensive scheme.
If the Vikings found even one starter for the offensive line, found a capable starter in Ponder, can move Webb to receiver where he immediately flourishes, have a replacement for Pat Williams, found someone who can put pressure on the (opposing) quarterback, and identified a safety (or scheme) that results in improvements over last year's secondary, the Vikings might be able to compete with the much improved Detroit Lions, the already talented, yet also improved, Green Bay Packers, and the also improved Bears.
But as other teams in the NFC North and NFC clearly upgraded their talent in this year's draft, the Vikings were content, even intent, on selecting a group of players with only one even remotely "sure thing." And that player, former Notre Dame tight end Kyle Rudolph, plays a position where the Vikings arguably already had their greatest depth.
Asked to explain Rudolph's selection, Rick Spielman stated that the team was drafting the "best available player" at that point in the draft and that Rudolph fit that characterization. Why the Vikings were not selecting the best available player early in the first round of the draft, when there were at least five players that arguably fit that bill and fit a critical team need, even ahead of quarterback, was neither asked nor answered.
Up Next: Vikings Need to Make Big Moves in Free Agency, Assuming There is Any Meaningful Free Agency.
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