Winter Caravan Update – Day 4

First Stop, Fairabault, MN We left Marshall early in the morning and made a long
drive to Fairabault.  We got there about 11am and our first visit was a restuarant.
These types of stops are usually a bit of a cluster, and this was just that.  The
room was not set up for a good visit and because of our time constraints we didn’t
have time for autographs.  That disappointed a lot of fans.  But we had a decent
program, and this is where we picked up newcomer J. J. Hardy.  Bert and Denard
left us for the Twins Cities and the Annual Diamond Awards dinner.  Bert actually
skipped the Diamond Awards Dinner and subbed for Harmon Killebrew at a dinner in
Red Wing.  Harmon had to beg off Winter Caravan and TwinsFest because of gall
bladder surgery.

Second Stop, Owatanna, MN Again we visited a Plaza Moreno Restuarant.  Twins
Spanish Broadcasters, Alphonso Hernandez and Miguel Ramos joined us and helped
out with the program.  We showed the video on the TV screens and then took a
complimentary lunch to a school visit.  We were at Lincoln Elementary and the visit
was just great.  TC the Bear stole the show, as he normally does, but JJ and Jeff
(Manship) did a great job too.  TC does a “Bear” dance that is hilarious and the kids
and teachers just loved it.  Then we do a quiz with the students and teachers and
that was a big hit.  Lots of fun at Lincoln Elementary.

Third (and final) Stop, Rochester, MN This was our night meeting and we had over
400.  There are lots of great fans in Rochester.  One lady was introduced and she
has seen every Twins opener since 1961 when the Twins played their first-ever game
at Metropolitan Stadium.  The video broke down but they fixed it and showed it
after the event.  This was JJ’s first night event and he did a very nice job.  Looks
like JJ is going to fit in very nicely with the Twins.  Our bus ride home was rather
un-eventful.  We stopped at Michael’s and got dinners to go and we ate on the bus
on the way home.  I put my head on the pillow at 10:45PM and got a good night’s
rest.

Now it’s on to TwinsFest and weekend of fun and talking baseball with the Twins ]
fans.  I acutally started the day (today) with a Dunker’s Breakfast with Joe Nathan,
Jason Kubel, and Dave St. Peter.  There were lots of questions about the Twins.  Joe
and Jason did a nice job.

Can’t wait to get back to Florida.  My four block walk from the hotel to the Dunker’s
Breakfast was made with a temp of -4.  Ouch!

“Touch ‘em All,

John Gordon

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Hi Twins fans. We are trudging on, and have just one more day to go and we will be back home in the Twins Cities getting ready for TwinsFest. Here are the highlights from Day 3.

First Stop, Watertown, South Dakota….This trip didn’t start out all that well. Our bus driver, Jack, got mixed up between Watertown, MN and Watertown, SD, and it wasn’t until he asked why he couldn’t find the school stop we were supposed to be at on his GPS that we all discovered he was going the wrong way!! Once we got straightened out we arrived at the Mellette Elementary School in Watertown, SD and enjoyed a typical good school visit.

Second Stop, Montevideo, MN…..This was a lunch stop and we staged a short program at the VFW Hall. It took awhile to get the crowd going, but once we did we have a lively baseball discussion. The event was sponsored by our radio affiliate, KMGM-FM. After this visit we started our trek to Marshall, MN.

Third Stop, Marshall, MN…..This was our night stop and it turned out to be very successful. About 400 showed up to the Southwest Minesota State University gym, and after the showing of the video we had a lively discussion taking questions from the audience. For the first time we had to answer a question about Mark McGuire and his steriod use. Bert handled the answer just fine. One of the traditions of Winter Caravan is to go out to dinner after the night stop. Even it is a late dinner, almost always everyone in the travelling party attends. We went to Hitching Post restuarant in Marshall and man did they ever have good ribs. The best I have ever tasted. The owner is originally from Apple Valley and we hit it off with him. This is a time where we review the day and there are usually a lot of laughs. There’s always a good story from the autograph table.

Our last day is Thursday and Bert and Denard are going back to the Twin Cities and we will pick up one of the new Twins, JJ Hardy for our stops. Should be fun.

“Touch ‘em All,”

John Gordon

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Hi Twins fans.  Well we survived the cold weather and made it thru Day Two of the Winter Caravan without any trouble.  It wasn’t easy though.

Stop One, Madelia, MN …..After a brief delay we departed Mankato and treked our way to Madelia to visit a Mexican restuarant, the Plaza Mereno.  They are one of the sponsors for our spanish radio broadcasts and we did a "meet and greet" with about 50 fans.  Alphonso Hernandez, one of the Twins spanish broadcasters, emceed the event and it was nice to mix with the folks.

Stop Two, Windom, MN …..Next we visited a Hardee’s in Windom where we did another "meet and greet" with Twins fans.  KDOM Radio, our affiliate in Windom hosted and they were doing a live broadcast from one of the corners of the restuarant.  Melissa and Jeannie treated themselves to a chocolate milkshake, and just as were leaving I picked up an Orange Creme shake.  Nice treats.  All of us did interviews with the radio station and I thought KDOM did a nice job of hosting.

Stop Three, Worthington, MN ….Here we did a school stop and it was really a good one.  They had about 1000 students, most kindergarden to fifth grade, and TC the Bear stole the show.  He did his famous dance and the kids loved it.  We did a Twins Quiz with Bert, Jeff, and Denard and the teachers and students chipped in and everyone had a fun time.  Our school visits his year have really been good.  Before we left the school we all had our blood pressures taken by the school nurse.  Wendy, the nurse, gave us all a passing grade.

Stop Four, Luverne, MN ….This was our first nursing home visit of the Tour, and it was a Veteran’s Home in Luverne.  Bert stole the show in this one.  The elderly really love Bert and he was a big hit.  We visited almost every resident, talking with them and signing autographs.  We didn’t spend a whole lot of time at the home, but the visit was most appreciated by the residents and we left with a real good feeling.

Stop Five, Sioux Falls, SD ….Wow, wow, wow.  What a stop.  They opened up the Augustana College Gym for our night meeting, fed everyone a hot dog and it was free!  So 1200 showed up.  We had a great meeting, but as you can imagine the autograph sitting was a bit long.  The Twins promise everyone that they will get an autograph at the night meeting, and I have to admit to you it was a tough grind for Bert, Denard, and Jeff to sign that many autographs.  They had writer’s cramp after the evening was over!!  Needless to say after our late night dinner, we all hit the sack after a long day and night of Twins Winter Caravan.

Up next for Day Three, stops at Watertown, SD, Montevideo, MN, and finally Marshall at night.  Another busy day ahead.

"Touch ‘em All,"

John Gordon

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Minnesota Twins Winter Caravan Diary

It was pretty much an uneventuful day, simply because we had a lot of weather problems. It was day one, and our crew consister of Twins television announcer Bert Blyleven, Twins players, Denard Span and Jeff Manship, TC the Bear, Twins Public Affairs Assistant, Melissa Therrien, Fox Sports North Account Executive, Jeannie Edhlund, Director of Game Presentation and Broadcasting, Andy Price, and our bus driver, Jack Hemelgarn.  What a crew.

The weather was just terrible. Lots of snow and wind and driving conditions that were very hazardous. Our school visit in New Prague was cut short, simply because the school had a two hour delay. We did have a great crowd and the students were very enthusiastic. As always, TC the Bear was a big hit. We were supposed to do two more school visits but both were canceled because of weather. So we just "trucked" on to Mankata and hung out until our night meeting. We gathered around 5:15 and went to the Cato Ballroom and to our surprise over 400 were in attendance. That was a surprise because we heard that the roads were closed all around the Mankato area. Our program was well received and Jeff, Bert and Denard really did a good job. They are really fun to work with. Oh, I almost forgot, we visited the radio station in New Prague, KCHK, and did some liners and mixed with the crowd. On the way out of the station, Jeff Manship took a spill and when he got on the bus his backside was all covered with snow! Easily the highlight of the day! After the night meeting in Mankato, we had a nice dinner and discussed the events of the day. We were in agreement that the Twins fans are really excited about the Twins playing their 2010 season in the new Target Field and can’t wait to see a game in the new stadium. My head the pillow right at midnight, trying to get enough sleep for the busy Tuesday schedule.

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Hi Twins Fans!

Now that the 2009 season is over I compiled a list of what I thought were the Top Ten moments for the Twins.  You may agree or disagree, but the Top Ten Moments come from me watching the Twins during the entire 2009 season.  I think all of us will agree that it was a very thrilling season for the Twins.  Excluding the final "play-in game," or the 163rd game of the season, I will chronicle the Top Ten in the next few weeks, counting down from number 10 to number 1.  Already I wrote of the number 10 moment, Ron Gardenhire winning his 700th game as the Twins Manager, just as he was concluding his 8th season as "skipper" of the Twins.

#9  TWINS MAKE MID-SEASON AND LATE SEASON ACQUISITIONS IN THEIR BID TO WIN THE CENTRAL DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP … After spinning their wheels for the first four months of the season, the Twins made some very interesting and productive moves to see if the new players couldn’t "jump start" the team to a better than .500 record and make a bid to pass the Tigers and White Sox and win the division.  And "jump start" the moves did for the Twins, as the acquisition of SS Orlando Cabrera  proved to be a terrific trade.  The Twins traded a minor league infielder, Tyler Ladendorf for Cabrera and immediately Cabrera was installed as the Twins everyday shortstop.  Cabrera became an instant hit with his teammates, the fans, and the organization.  He ended up playing in a combined 160 games with Oakland and Minnesota and was a sparkplug in the Twins surge to the Division Title.  Just a week later the Twins made another trade, acquiring P Carl Pavano from the Cleveland Indians for minor league pitcher, Yohan Pino.  Pavano stepped into the Twins starting rotation, made 12 starts and was a five game winner (four losses).  In his first start vs the Tigers in Detroit, Pavano pitched 7 shutout innings and pitched the Twins to a big win.  Pavano, much like Cabrera, became a team leader, and was amazingly effective in helping some of the Twins young pitchers, starters and relievers.  Lastly the Twins made one more move.  The Kansas City Royals designated RP Ron Mahay for assignment, and the Twins picked up his contract.  The southpaw fit right into the bullpen mix, and was a key reliever down the stretch.  Mahay appeared in 16 games and pitched to a low 2.00 ERA.  There’s no question the Twins made some risky moves to improve the team in the final two months of the season, and all of the moves paid off in the Twins bid to win the Central Divsion.

Next up is highlight number 8 and it has a lot to do with the Twins "power surge" in the ‘09 season.

"Touch ‘em All,"

John Gordon

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Hi Twins fans,

Well here we are winding down the 2009 season, and I put together a series of Top Ten Highlights of the year.  You might disagree with the order (that’s fine), and you might have another thought or two of a highlight I missed.  I welcome your feedback.

#10  RON GARDENHIRE WINS HIS 700th GAME ….When the Twins logged their 78th win this season, Twins Skipper, Ron Gardenhire won his 700th victory as Twins Manager.  Only Tom Kelly has won more (1140) and in just his 8th year at the helm of the Twins, "Gardy" is well on his way to at least 1000 wins and perhaps many more.  Gardy is averaging close to 90 wins a season, and not yet 52, the Twins skipper should reach 1000 wins in the next couple of years.  More important and perhaps more impressive is Gardy’s track record of Central Division Championships.  Already he has won 4 and he is on the cusp of winning his 5th in 2009.  Quite an accompolishment for Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire.  Seven-hundred wins and just shy of eight years of skippering the Twins.

Be sure to visit JohnGordonBaseball.com in the coming days to see my complete list of the Top Ten Highlights of 2009.
Touch’em All!

John Gordon

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Hey Twins Fans!

It’s been awhile since we had a post so let’s get back into it!

As the Twins wrap up their August, let’s take a look at the AL Central matchups and see if we can determine which teams have the most favorable remaining schedule and which have a tough road ahead.  Here were go:

THE REMAINING GAMES IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST: The White Sox end the month on the road (at Minnesota) while the Twins and Tigers end the month at home.  The Tigers play four at home (all 4 vs TB) while the Twins have three at home vs Chicago.  Advantage Minnesota and Detroit, but both the Tigers and Twins are playing against playoff bidding teams.  So it’s just a slight advantage.

WHAT ABOUT SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER? Nobody has a big advantage here.  The White Sox play 15 at home and 15 on the road, and the Tigers play 17 at home and 15 on the road.  The Twins play more on the road, 17 than at
home, 14.  So perhaps a slight advantage to the Tigers and White Sox.

GAMES VS TEAMS OVER .500: Here is where there is a hugh advantage to the Tigers.  They play just 7 games vs
teams playing better than .500 baseball in their final 32.  The Twins have just 10 games, while the White Sox will play
20 games with teams over .500 in their final 30 games.  ****this includes games this weekend, August 28-31****

GAMES VS TEAMS UNDER .500: Conversely the advantage goes to the Tigers again.  Twenty-nine of the Tigers 36 games will be against the inferior teams.  And the Twins have twenty-two games vs the "bad" teams.  Only the White Sox, with 15 games vs the "bad" teams are at a disadvantage.  I would caution the Tigers and the Twins.  Sometimes it’s harder to beat the "bad" teams (they have little to play for) than it is to beat the "good" teams.

GAMES VS THE YANKEES AND RED SOX (and LOS ANGELES ANGELS): If you consider the Yankees, Red Sox, and Angels to be the three best, and most do, the Tigers and Twins get off the easiest.  Neither the Twins or Tigers have games left with those three teams.  Only the White Sox do, and Ozzie Guillen’s team has four left with Boston (at home), three left with the Yankees (this weekend) and three left with the Angels (out there in September).  A big disadvantage for the White Sox.

GAMES LEFT WITH EACH OTHER: This is where, in my opinion, the Central Division champ is going to be determined. If you consider it an advantage to play the teams you have to beat to win the Division, then the Twins have the advantage.  They play the White Sox and Tigers both home and away, and they have 6 games left with Chicago, and 7 games left with Detroit.  The White Sox and Tigers will play each other 6 times (home and away).  At the end, the Tigers and the White Sox play at Detroit, while the Twins will be closing out the Metrodome with a three game series with Kansas City.

With all of that said, let’s play out the games and I think it is going to be very interesting to see who wins out.  All I
can say is, "keep rooting for the Twins."

"Touch ‘em All,"

John Gordon

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Hi Twins Fans.  Welcome to the second half of the season.  It looks like the Twins, Tigers and White Sox are going to go right down to the wire to decide the Central Division Champion.  Will the Twins win the title?  Well, that’s a good question that will be answered probably in the final week of the season.  The Twins close out the season with a 10 game road trip, starting in Chicago.  Then the Twins travel to Kansas City for a three game trip, and finally close out the 10 game "roadie" with a four game series vs. the Detroit Tigers.  I think we will all agree that the title could be decided in those final 10 games.  The Twins finally close out the regular season with a three game series versus Kansas City, and that series will have a lot of meaning, the final three regular season games in the Metrodome before the Twins move into their new home, Target Field, in 2010.

But that final two weeks of the regular season is a long way away, and now the Twins have to concentrate on a tough ten game road trip to Texas, Oakland and Anaheim to play the Los Angeles Angels.  The Rangers and Angels are the top two teams in the West, and the Athletics, although in last place in the West, always seem to battle the Twins hard.  The Twins and A’s split a four game series in June and the Twins were fortunate to come out with two wins.

What’s the key for the Twins in the second half?  For me it’s going to be starting pitching.  Nick Blackburn has been the Twins best pitcher and there’s no reason to believe he won’t continue to be the Twins best starter in the second half.  Now the question marks come.  Will Glen Perkins be more consistent than he was in the first half?  Scott Baker has won 5 of his last 6 decisions, but some of the wins have been shaky.  Will Baker emerge as the Twins number one starter like many expected him to be at the beginning of the year?  And what about Francisco Liriano?  As yet, the Twins lefty hasn’t won three decisions in a row and his ERA is still above 5.00.  Liriano needs to be more consistent.  And lastly, there’s Kevin Slowey.  Yes, he’s the Twins winningest pitcher (10 wins), but now he’s on the disabled list and who knows if his right wrist injury is going to keep him on the shelf and for how long?  The Twins need Slowey and hopefully he will be able to rejoin the starting rotation when the Twins return home on the 27th of July to face the Chicago White Sox.  Meanwhile the Twins will plug in Anthony Swarzak, the rookie righthander who is up for the second time from Rochester.

No matter, the second half is going to be fun, and let’s hope the Twins can hang in there and make a run at the Tigers (and beat out the White Sox) in the final two and a half months of the season.

Touch’em All!

John Gordon

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Hi Twins Fans!  Well, to no ones surprise, the Twins have three players on the All Star team.  C Joe Mauer, 1B Justin Morneau , and RP Joe Nathan will be in St. Louis next week to represent the American League.  Mauer was voted in by the fans, Morneau was selected by his peers, actually elected by his peers, and Nathan was named as one of the 5 relief pitchers picked by AL manager, Joe Madden.  All three players are very deserving.

Mauer is now being tabbed as the best catcher in the game, and I don’t think anyone would disagree with that statement.  Morneau is having a super ‘09 season, and his recent surge has vaulted him back into the Triple Crown race.  He’s listed in the top five in batting average, home runs, and RBI.  And Nathan is arguably the best closer in the game.  Yes, I know that Brian Fuentes has more saves, and Mariano Rivera is 22 for 23 in save chances, but I can’t imagine that anyone is pitching better than Nathan in a closing role.  Joe has 16 consecutive saves and has been absolutely "lights out" in his recent appearances.  Twins fans get ready!  You are going to see Mauer, Morneau and Nathan on the AL All Star squad for many years to come!

In closing, some Twins fans are a bit upset that Kevin Slowey was not named to the team.  First of all, Slowey probably took himself out of the running when he was placed on the disabled list with a strained right wrist.  He wouldn’t have been able to pitch.  Secondly, Slowey didn’t pitch well down the stretch when Madden was watching closely what pitchers to choose.  And thirdly, though Slowey was tied for the AL leadership in wins, he was probably a "bubble" selection.  If Slowy had been healthy, my guess is that Madden would have had to choose between Boston’s Tim Wakefield, Detroit’s Edwin Jackson, and Slowey.  And with only two of the three being named, Slowey might have missed out.

Let’s hope the three Twins players, Mauer, Morneau and Nathan, contribute to an American League win.  After all, the Twins want to have home field advantage come World Series rolls time.

Touch’em All!

John Gordon

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Hi Twins Fans!  Awhile ago I voted for the American and National League All Star teams.  Now here are my selections for the AL pitching staff.  Assuming that AL All Star Manager, Joe Madden will name a 12 man pitching staff, it looks like my selections will narrow down to 6 starters and 6 closers.  The starters are pretty much locks, and the same for the closers.  Toronto’s Roy Halladay headlines the staff.  He was the first pitcher in the AL to 10 wins and after a brief respite, he is back in action.  I would expect he will be the starting pitcher for the AL in St. Louis.  The other starters include Boston’s Josh Beckett, Justin Verlander of the Tigers, Kansas City’s Zack Greinke, Seattle’s Felix Hernandez, and Kevin Millwood from the Rangers.  Some starters on the bubble include Chicago’s Mark Buehrle, Edwin Jackson from the Tigers, Boston’s Tim Wakefield and Joe Saunders and Jered Weaver of the Angels.

Now here are my closer choices.  Certainly Joe Nathan.  Not to take anything away from Brian Fuentes of the Angels (he leads the Majors in saves), but for me, Joe Nathan is the best closer in the game right now.  Along with Nathan and Fuentes, Mariano Rivera is a lock (he just saved his 500th game).  Bobby Jenks from the White Sox will make it, as will Jonathan Papelbohn.  That leaves room for one more pitcher to be named to the team.  Kevin Slowey was a bubble candidate but unfortunately his recent struggles and injury will remove him from All Star consideration.

Touch’em All!

John Gordon

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