Rob's Roundup

The Minnesota Twins are in the middle of another disappointing season as the calendar turned to September. Sitting at a mark of 61-78, the team hopes to avoid another 90 loss season by having a strong finish to the 2014 campaign. However, a couple of rookies in particular are looking like the building blocks to an eventual postseason run in the coming years. 

Danny Santana and Kennys Vargas may not have started the season in bigs, but these two rookies are making cases to not leave the majors anytime soon. Santana is batting .316 through his first 326 major league at-bats. In only 81 games this year, the rookie has become the Twins' everyday leadoff man, something Minnesota has searched for the last couple of years. His speed and ability to work deep into counts has given the team a spark at the beginning of the lineup. 

If Santana is lighting, Vargas has to be thunder. The 275 pound first baseman/designated hitter has accumulated six homers and 31 RBI in just 32 games. Vargas has quickly made himself a staple in the Twins' lineup batting cleanup. This is a small sample size, but the Puerto Rican native is batting .319 through 135 at-bats. 

The Minnesota Twins are currently eight games below the .500 mark and last place in the American League Central Division. With just over a week left until the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline, the Twins may be selling once again. They have struggled offensively with runners in scoring position and have not had a strong pitching rotation despite adding Ricky Nolasco and Phil Hughes in the offseason. After being swept at home by the Tampa Bay Rays, the Twins need to play well and find a way to show the front office they can contend this year. 

If the struggles continue, a couple of names that may be on the move are Josh Willingham and Kendrys Morales. Both of these players are two veterans who have been around the game for a while. They are two power hitters that will likely draw attention from teams searching for some extra pop in a lineup. Willingham is only batting .217 on the year with 9 home runs. Morales is hitting just .240 but has shown improvement over the past couple weeks. He is a .277 career lifetime hitter in the big leagues with 103 career home runs in eight seasons. 

Both of these players may be gone by the deadline, but Morales seems like the candidate who will draw more attention from teams in the playoff hunt. A surprising trade possibility could include second baseman Brian Dozier. Even though Dozier has been a highlight reel on defense and produced well offensively despite only batting .234, he could be a piece that draws attention from the San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees or Toronto Blue Jays. All these teams could use help at second base, and the low batting average should not discourage teams from inquiring about Dozier as he has hit 18 home runs thus far in the 2014 campaign. 

Reinart Bros. Well Drilling from Robert Clark on Vimeo.

Joe Mauer isn't in the starting lineup tonight against the Cleveland Indians as he nurses a back injury. After coming out of the game yesterday, Mauer reportedly had muscle spasms in his back. The 31-year-old first baseman has two home runs this year and is batting at a .296 clip. The Twins will miss his bat in a lineup without Josh Willingham or Oswaldo Arcia. Hopefully this injury doesn't turn into anything more than just back spasms as the Minnesota Twins try to get healthy.

In the 48th installment of the Super Bowl, Broncos and Seahawks. The long awaited matchup between the top two teams in football comes to an end tonight. Peyton Manning goes after his second championship while the Seahawks try to take their place atop the NFL. 

You probably are expecting this game to come down to the offense of the Broncos and the defense of the Seahawks, but this game is much more complicated than that. The return of Percy Harvin to the offense and special teams gives Seattle a dynamic weapon taking some pressure off talented running back, Marshawn Lynch.  The Seahawks offense has to play well tonight and Russell Wilson must keep the chains moving to keep Manning off the field.  

Flipping the coin, the Broncos defense has played well against the run and can be opportunistic. Even with Von Miller out, Denver will challenge Wilson to deliver the football from the pocket and cut down his ability to extend plays. The Broncos have defended inside runs well all year but will have their hands full with Lynch. 

The Minnesota Twins announced today that prospects Alex Meyer, Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton have all been invited to Spring Training. Buxton may be another year out from joining the big league club, but Meyer and Sano will probably have a chance to make an impact for the Twins sometime in 2014. This may be a rebuilding year for a team that is offensively inconsistent and has a retooled pitching rotation.

The success, or lack thereof, in the coming year determines whether a couple of these young men see time in a big league uniform. If Trevor Plouffe struggles to bounce back from a disappointing 2013, Sano will have a chance to take over at third base. Meyer could join the club if the new look pitching rotation falters. Phil Hughes and Mike Pelfrey are two free agent signings that may not pan out the way Minnesota wants, but there is no question these two have the potential to give the Twins 200 plus innings with strikeout stuff. Byron Buxton likely makes his big league debut in 2015 after he makes stops at AA New Britain and AAA Rochester. 

One man I think is slated for a breakout year is outfielder Oswaldo Arcia. This guy has tremendous power and the ball flies off his bat, but he has to cut down on the strikeouts. With some major league experience under his belt, I expect him to make the necessary adjustments and be someone the Twins can count on in the middle of their lineup. Aaron Hicks did not see the success Arcia had in his rookie year, and he probably starts the season off in Rochester. The trades of Denard Span and Ben Revere before the start of the 2013 season forced the Twins to bring up Hicks early from New Britain. Without the experience in Rochester, Hicks struggled at the plate. His play defensively is sound as he can make all the throws and can cover more ground than your average center fielder. He rewarded fans everywhere with spectacular plays including taking a home run away from former Twins center fielder Carlos Gomez. 

The Minnesota Twins enter 2014 with a revamped pitching rotation after three straight seasons of 90 plus losses.  Minnesota has shown they are committed to improving with the acquisitions of Ricky Nolasco, Phil Hughes and Mike Pelfrey.

Hughes and Pelfrey look to bounce back after disappointing seasons in 2013 while Nolsasco tries to build on a solid season playing for the Marlins and Dodgers. Even though Hughes had one of his worst years as a pro, he is one guy I have always thought just needed a change of scenery. I also think Target Field is the perfect place for a fly ball pitcher like Hughes. He also brings strikeouts, something we have not seen much of from Twins starters. Nolasco brings veteran leadership and is an innings eater. He is very durable and will give the Twins more quality starts than they have been accustomed to in the past. Pelfrey has to pitch better than he did last year, and this is a make or break year for him. He pitched better in the second half, but Minnesota needs him to pitch 200 plus innings and give them a chance to win. Too many times Pelfrey has hurt himself with a big inning, and he has to do a better job of pitching deep into ball games.

Offensively, Minnesota has to improve by creating more RBI chances. I expect them to be more aggressive on the base paths and steal more than they did in 2013. They could also use more home runs, and I fully expect Oswaldo Arcia to have a breakout year in 2014. Brian Dozier showed the ability to drive the ball out of the park last year, and Minnesota may call up power hitting third baseman Miguel Sano sometime this summer.

The Minnesota Vikings had a forgettable 2013 season after playing in the playoffs the year before.  Leslie Frazier is gone, and many questions surround this organization heading into 2014.  The biggest need right now is a quarterback, and the next head coach should be the one deciding who will take the helm at that position. General manager Rick Spielman needs to communicate with the head coach to make a decision they can agree on. The relationship between the   head coach and quarterback is vital to the success of a team, and I believe the Vikings will not make the same mistake they did when they drafted Christian Ponder.

The Vikings defense played much better in the second half of the season, but changes have to be made. Jared Allen may be gone, and the secondary was awful. The linebacking core did not play very well, and Minnesota will have to decide if Audie Cole is their middle linebacker moving forward. In my opinion, the Vikings have to take defense first in the 2014 draft. There are a lot of quarterbacks with potential in this draft, but the Vikings should not risk missing like they did with Ponder. I would rather see them take defense and wait until the third or fourth round before taking a quarterback. The Vikings could then start Matt Cassel while allowing a young quarterback to learn how to play the position from the veteran.

The Minnesota Vikings fired Leslie Frazier Monday morning after posting a dismal 5-10-1 record in 2013. Inconsistent quarterback play and a defense that struggled for most of the year hurt the Vikings the most, and now Frazier is out on the job market. Not all of the blame should be put on the shoulders of Frazier.  He is not a part of the defense that allowed teams to willingly drive down the field and score game winning touchdowns in the final couple of minute.

With all that being said, this team is one year removed from a playoff appearance and should have been right in the middle of things this year. This has been Frazier's fourth year as coach of the Vikings and 2012 marked his only winning record.

The Minnesota Vikings closed out their stay in the Metrodome with a fitting 14-13 win over the Detroit Lions. Minnesota ends their season with a 5-10-1 record, but have a lot of talent to build on for coming years. Cordarrelle Patterson scored the only two touchdowns for the Vikings today, and he has continued to evolve into probably the most explosive/dynamic rookie in his class. He scored a nifty rushing touchdown along with the go ahead reception touchdown.

The quarterback position has been the Vikings biggest Achilles heel this season.  The defense has struggled as well, but inconsistent quarterback play has hurt this team more than anything. Coaching has been an issue as documented with the Vikings inability to closeout games in the final quarter.

There is hope for Vikings fans everywhere.  As I mentioned before, there is a lot of young talent to be excited about, but the Vikings have to make the most of the off season.  They must eliminate all of the questions surrounding the quarterback position and either snatch one up in the draft or through free agency. I think the Vikings should address the defense first and foremost in the 2014 NFL Draft, but they also have to decide on who would be their ideal quarterback and not reach for one like they did with Christian Ponder. There are also so many questions along with all the quarterbacks in this draft, and none are clear cut as a franchise quarterback like Andrew Luck was. I like the Vikings to take a quarterback in the second or third round and realize they may hit or miss if they take one in the first round.

The Minnesota Vikings offense sputtered for a meager 14 points against the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday afternoon. The Bengals looked like a playoff team, and clinched a berth into the playoffs after defeating the Vikings 42-14. Matt Cassel struggled after coming off of his best game as a Viking when he threw for 382 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles. Against the Bengals he only managed to pass for 114 yards with three interceptions.  This dismal performance affected Adrian Peterson as the Vikings had to abandon the run and pass for much of the second half in the blowout. 

On the bright side, Cordarrelle Patterson scored another touchdown giving him seven total on the season. He has two rushing and return touchdowns to go along with three touchdown receptions on the year.  Minnesota has to be excited about his future, and the possibilities he gives this team. He is one of the few players in the league that is dynamic enough to do it all on the offensive side of the ball and has also had a huge impact in the return game. Many teams have stopped kicking the ball off to Patterson, and the Vikings have benefited with great starting field position.

The Minnesota Vikings fell to 3-9-1 after losing to the Baltimore Ravens in the final seconds of Sunday's game. Playing in adverse conditions, the game started out as a defensive battle before both teams exploded in the final minutes of the game for a combined four touchdowns.  Matt Cassel struggled early on, but managed to put together a solid performance without turning the ball over. 

Both defenses played well, but the Vikings managed to intercept Super Bowl Champion Joe Flacco three times. This came as a surprise due to the lack of takeaways the Vikings have had throughout the year; however, the offense did not make the most of these opportunities.  Also, this did not stop Joe Flacco from hitting rookie wideout Marvin Brown in the back of the end zone for the game-winning touchdown with four seconds left on the clock. The lack of ability to close out games has been Minnesota's achilles heel all season long, and question marks still surround the defensive play calling late in games. 

The Minnesota Vikings take on the Baltimore Ravens in a matchup that features a couple of disappointing teams that made the playoffs last year. This matchup features two teams searching for consistent play from the quarterback position. The Vikings have had many questions surrounding who should start, where the Joe Flacco has not exactly lived up to the expectations that came with his huge contract. Ray Rice has not been healthy and this also has exposed Flacco as a quarterback.

Adrian Peterson is coming off a huge rushing performance against the Chicago Bears, and I expect him to have another big day against a stingy Ravens defense. The Vikings obviously do not care about how many times he carries the ball, as he had 35 rushing attempts against the Bears. Whoever the starting quarterback is, they will have to step up and make plays to keep the Ravens from keying in on Peterson. No matter how special number 28 has been, if the quarterback is not being productive, the Vikings offense will have a hard time scoring points.