Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Monday, July 10, 2017 No
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Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Monday, July 10, 2017 No comeback this time: Orioles overpower Twins 11-5. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 1 Souhan: Fans haven't responded to these Twins like they did in 2001. Star Tribune (Souhan) p. 2 Zack Granite makes fans, Twins take notice of him right away. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 3 Miguel Sano has a simple goal at Home Run Derby: win. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 4 Twins prospect Nick Gordon helps U.S. team to victory in Futures Game. Star Tribune (Miller) p. 5 Twins, Wolves try going old with Bartolo Colon, Jamal Crawford ple goal at Home Run Derby: win. Star Tribune (Rand) p. 6 Twins defense is looking a little sloppy these days, other notes. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 6 Twins hitting coach James Rowson has three connections in home run derby. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 7 Nick Gordon reunites with youth teammates at All-Star Futures Game. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 8 Twins, ‘might not do much’ at the trade deadline, Molitor says. Pioneer Press (Graff) p. 9 Brian Murphy: Backpedaling Twins need to set sale for the future. Pioneer Press (Murphy) p.10 Sano to slug in 1st Derby (7 CT on ESPN). MLB (Bollinger) p. 11 World of talent wows Miami in Futures Game. MLB (Kramer & Macklin) p. 12 Twins' momentum halted after early rally. MLB (Bollinger & Jackson) p. 12 Sunday's best: Garver hits three homers in win for Rochester. MLB (Boor) p. 13 Berrios takes on Astros in second-half opener. MLB (Jackson) p. 13 Twins ‘not enamored’ with trade market for rental players, will target value for 2018 and beyond. ESPN 1500 (Wetmore) p. 14 Twins GM Thad Levine suggests MLB trade deadline can’t be a popularity contest. ESPN 1500 (Wetmore) p. 15 Twins end first half with home loss, series split against Orioles. Associated Press p. 15 Bartolo Colon is with the Twins and the Mets aren’t happy at all. SB Nation (Bell) p. 17 No comeback this time: Orioles overpower Twins 11-5 La Velle E. Neal lll | Star Tribune | July 10, 2017 The Twins should be pleased that they finished with a winning homestand, only their second of the year and first since their season-opening three-game sweep of Kansas City. But they aren’t proud of their last two games against a Baltimore team with the worst ERA in the American League. That included Sunday’s 11-5 defeat as Kyle Gibson fell apart — twice in one game — and the offense stopped being a threat after the second inning. The Twins went 4-3 at Target Field this past week but failed to enter the All-Star break with any momentum. Perhaps the break comes at the right time for a team that has completed a stretch of 21 games in 20 days and will visit the AL’s best team, the Houston Astros, once the break is over. “Our record, with the last couple of losses, is a little disappointing of a way to go into the break,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “I think there were times where we could have spurted a little bit, take advantage of momentum and some things we were doing pretty well. “That being said, if you look back at the beginning — to be where we are — that would be encouraging.” At 45-43, the Twins reach the All-Star break a competitive, yet flawed, team with a young core that has upside. It was all on display at Target Field. Gibson was once projected to be a stalwart in the rotation, but he finds himself on the back end of the starting five because of games like Sunday. He walked the first batter of the game, Seth Smith, on four pitches. Three batters later, Adam Jones belted a three-run homer estimated at 444 feet, giving Baltimore a 3-0 lead. The Orioles pushed the score to 5-0 in the second when Caleb Joseph, at the end of a 12-pitch at bat, hit an RBI double and then scored on Smith’s single. “Against teams like that, who are swinging the bat well and have a lot of good hitters,” Gibson said, “you have to locate a little better in the zone.” Orioles righthander Ubaldo Jimenez loaded the bases in the second with a hit batter and two walks. Brian Dozier walked to force in a run, Robbie Grossman hit a two-run single and Max Kepler hit a RBI double to right. The Twins were within 5-4, and it looked like they had the Orioles right where they wanted them, after rallying from six-run and five-run deficits to beat them earlier this season. But Jimenez stopped walking or hitting Twins batters. He ended up pitching five innings, giving up four runs, four hits and four walks. Gibson posted scoreless innings in the third and fourth, but he gave up another home run to Jones in the fifth then a single to Mark Trumbo before he was pulled. In four-plus innings, Gibson was charged with seven earned runs. Baltimore scored four runs in the fifth to take a 9-4 lead before adding two in the eighth. “We have been back and forth on Kyle, good days, bad days,” Molitor said. “I thought the leadoff walks really hurt him.” Most Twins players and coaches scattered after the game for four days off before they reconvene in Texas on Friday. Molitor hoped they take their mind off the game while away — but regain their focus to take on an Astros team that demolished the Twins in three games at Target Field in May and beat Toronto 19-1 on Sunday for their 60th victory of the season. The Twins gave up at least 10 runs for the 12th time in 88 games. “We all know we have a tough opponent right out of the gate,” Molitor said. “They kind of put an exclamation point on their first half [Sunday]. I saw they missed an extra point or something.” Souhan: Fans haven't responded to these Twins like they did in 2001 Jim Souhan | Star Tribune | July 10, 2017 The 2001 Twins followed eight consecutive losing seasons in one of baseball’s worst ballparks with an 85-victory season in which they did not make the playoffs. They became one of the most beloved teams in franchise history. The 2017 Twins are following six mostly poor seasons in one of baseball’s best ballparks with a season that could produce 80-some victories and, perhaps, a playoff berth. Their 11-5 loss to Baltimore on Sunday completed a seven-game homestand in which they drew 30,000 fans just once. Which is strange, if you compare the teams. Both filled the roster with talented young position players. Both sent three players to the All-Star Game. Both relied on an ace — Brad Radke then, Ervin Santana now — who relied more on savvy than stuff. Both featured an Everyman closer — Eddie Guardado took over the job in the second half of the ’01 season; Brandon Kintzler has become an All-Star in this one. Both made dramatic improvements in the field over their predecessors. Torii Hunter in 2001 emerged as a brilliant center fielder but he has nothing on this year’s Byron Buxton with the glove. In fact, the 2017 Twins may be more impressive in a few ways. Miguel Sano is a more impactful player and hits the ball farther than anyone on the 2001 squad. Santana has a better ERA than any of the 2001 starters. Target Field is far superior to the Dome. So why was the 2001 team so much more popular? There are a number of factors at work here. 2 In the late ’90s, the Twins were not hated for their ineptitude. They were ignored. They were a low-revenue team playing in a lousy park. When they were bad, Minnesotans spent summer nights outdoors. Fans were not invested emotionally or financially in the Dome. The Twins’ collapse this decade followed 10 years of competitiveness and the construction of a publicly funded ballpark. Fans expected the latter to ensure continuation of the former. They felt they were owed victories, as taxpayers. The 2001 team was such an upstart that nobody on the roster was making much money. They weren’t just young; they were inexpensive. You could imagine them bunking together. The 2017 team features Joe Mauer, who is making $23 million to be a below-average first baseman, and pitchers Phil Hughes and Glen Perkins, who will make almost $20 million combined this year to do little. Marketing rarely works in sports, where the scoreboard and standings tell all, but in 2001 the Twins launched their “Get To Know ’Em” campaign. It worked because the Twins won early and because fans wanted to know more about an anonymous group. That campaign wouldn’t work for the 2017 Twins. We have been writing about Sano and Buxton for years. Santana is in his third year here. Essentially the same group of players contributed to the Twins’ single-season resurgence in 2015. There is a language barrier to consider. The 2001 Twins were a debate team with bats. Hunter, Doug Mientkiewicz, Guardado, LaTroy Hawkins, Jacque Jones and A.J. Pierzynski spoke eloquently about reviving the franchise. The 2017 Twins’ best player is Sano, who is likeable but speaks English as a second language. This is not a criticism. He speaks far better English than I speak Spanish. But this is not a team that writes its own stories.