Justin Morneau could be MVP again

By: Larry Fitzgerald
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 09/18/2008

 If the Twins don’t win the World Series this fall, they can only blame themselves. After all, they gave up on All-Star centerfielder Torii Hunter, and he’s helped the Los Angeles Angels run away with the American League West.

 The Angels have the best record in all of baseball and have clinched a playoff spot. The Twins traded away two-time Cy Young Award-winner Yohan Santana to the New York Mets.

 Santana has been outstanding in New York with a 13-7 record and a 2.70 earned run average (ERA), and the Mets lead the Philadelphia Phillies by one game in the tight National League East race. The Twins got speedster centerfielder Carlos Gomez in the Santana trade. Gomez leads the Twins in stolen bases with 30 but has struggled at times at the plate.

 The Tampa Bay Rays have been the biggest surprise in baseball, leading the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox in the close AL East race. That’s thanks in part to the trade with Minnesota , getting right-handed flamethrower Matt Garza, who is 11-9 with a 3.60 ERA, and dependable shortstop Jason Bartlett, who’s hitting .278, in exchange for leftfielder Delmon Young. Young has played well for the Twins, batting .286 with nine homeruns and 61 RBIs.

 The Twins have been a major surprise themselves, battling the Chicago White Sox in the close AL Central race. They trail by just a game and a half with just two weeks left and have three games at home in September.

 They travel to Cleveland while the Sox play four with the New York Yankees in New York . The Twins then go to Tampa Bay for four big games before returning home next week, September 23, 24, and 25, for three games with the first-place White Sox.

 First baseman Justin Morneau, the 2006 American League MVP, could win the award again. Morneau has been sensational this year; he plays every day and is simply one of the best players in all of baseball.

 Look at his numbers: 23 homeruns, 124 RBIs (tied for American League lead with Josh Hamilton of Texas , who he beat in the Homerun Derby during the All-Star break), 38 doubles, and a .312 batting average. When you consider the position the Twins are in, Morneau has carried this team all season. He might be the best left-handed slugger the Twins have had since Tony Oliva.

 Morneau has driven in 51 more runs than the closest Twins teammate, Joe Mauer, with 73. The M & M boys are truly a dynamic duo. Mauer is in position to win another American League batting title also with a .322 average.

 The Twins are in the hunt and have had a remarkable season. Nobody expected this team to be in this position except the players in that clubhouse, and Morneau and Mauer have been the big reasons why the Twins are in the hunt.

 0-2 Start Is Tough to Overcome.

 Fitz Extra

 Last year the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants overcame a 0-2 start and beat the New England Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XVLII. They also won and NFL record ten straight road games. In 2006 the Kansas City Chiefs made the playoffs after starting 0-2  For those teams"It's not how you start it's how you finish"-"To finish first you must first finish" And that is why the Vikings are 0-2 they have failed twice against Green Bay and Indianapolis two good football teams that made the playoffs last year to finish strong.  

Vikings Head Coach Brad Childress again has gotten off to a slow start, last year the Vikings started 1-3 and finished 8-8. Childress has now loss four regular season games in a row and will have to make Vikings history to save this season. No Vikings team in franchise history since 1961 has ever rebounded from and 0-2 start and made the playoffs. In 2005 Mike Tice guided his team to a 9-7 record an winning season after and 0-2 start and was fired by owner Zygi Wilf. If the Vikings are mentally tough enough they can come back however they must beat Carolina .  

 Several times the Vikings have qualfied for the playoffs after starting the season 1-2, in 1999 Dennis Green guided the Vikings to 10-6 season and the playoffs and a playoff win 27-10 over Dallas . In 1989 Jerry Burns led the Vikings to the playoffs after a 1-2 start, the team finished 10-6 and lost to San Francisco 41-13 in the playoffs. Hall of Fame Coach Bud Grant in the strike shortened 1982 season guided the Vikings after a 1-2 start to a 5-4 record and the playoffs and beat Atlanta 30-24 in the playoffs. Starting 0-3 is usually a point of no return the last 0-3 team to start the season and qualify for the playoffs? The 1998 Buffalo Bills did it it can be done.

 "It's definitely frustrating  for me, said Vikings star Adrian Peterson.When I look back you know in tough games like this every play counts, I look back at 94TO that play got tripped up looking at the endzone wide open that was the big play that I left on the field. That play could have turned the game around. I'm just going to watch the film learn a lot from it and try and improve coming in this week for Carolina " Peterson ran for 160 yards on 29 carries.

 "Everyone has a part whether you win or lose, said Darren Sharper, the offense put up 15 points. If they put up three points we feel as though we have the defense regardless of who we're playing that we should be able to win that game.They gave us enough points to win we just did not stop them enough on defense."

 " Moral wise this is obviously going to be a big win for us, said Tony Dungy, to come back and win on the road like this. I don't think 0-2 would have bothered us that much we know it's a long season. Starting 0-2 should not really bother the Vikings, they have played two pretty good games, they just haven't finished thier opponents off. It's a long year and these championships are won in December not September."

 Next for the Vikings 2-0 Carolina Sunday at the Metro Dome at high noon then they hit the road at 2-0 Tennessee and Monday October 6th at 1-1 New Orleans .

 Larry Fitzgerald can be heard weekday mornings on KMOJ Radio 89.9 FM at 8:25 am, and on WDGY-AM 740 Monday & Saturday mornings at 7:50 am and Fridays at 3:50 pm; he also commentates on sports 7-8 pm on Almanac (TPT channel 2). Larry welcomes reader responses to lfitzgerald@spokesman-recorder.com, or visit www.Larry-Fitzgerald.com.