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※ 編輯: leddy 來自: 140.130.155.141 (09/29 16:22)
Twins’ Owner Sounding More Like Steinbrenner
from newsday.com
By JACK CURRY
Published: September 29, 2006
Carl Pohlad, the 91-year-old billionaire owner of the Minnesota Twins, is not
an obvious candidate to engage in trash talking. But Pohlad was apparently
feeling feisty about Minnesota’s chances in the postseason when he
challenged the Yankees.
“I’d rather play the Yankees because I know we can beat them,” Pohlad was
quoted as saying yesterday in The St. Paul Pioneer Press.
When Pohlad was subsequently asked if he would derive the most enjoyment out
of defeating George Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ principal owner, he told the
newspaper, “That’s right.”
What was more surprising than Pohlad’s remarks about a team that defeated
the Twins in the American League division series in 2003 and in 2004 was
Steinbrenner’s reaction. He had none. For once, Steinbrenner, who is
typically loud and proud while discussing or defending the Yankees, was mum.
“He’s certainly a friend of mine, so I’ll decline comment on that,”
Steinbrenner said through Howard Rubenstein, his spokesman.
Maybe Steinbrenner, 76, was simply showing respect for an elder, or maybe he
was continuing his recent behavior of avoiding any potentially controversial
topics.
“He’s just declining all comments,” Rubenstein said.
Steinbrenner rarely does interviews anymore and has become less visible
around the team. Still, Pohlad’s two sentences used to be the type of words
that would annoy Steinbrenner and cause him to retaliate.
“He wouldn’t even comment on it to me,” Rubenstein said.
If the standings in the A.L. do not change, the Yankees will again play the
Twins in the division series. The Twins, who have clinched at least the
wild-card berth, were tied with the Tigers atop the Central after defeating
Kansas City last night, 2-1, in 10 innings. If the Tigers and the Twins end
up in a tie, the Tigers will win the tie breaker as the Central champions,
having won the season series, so the Twins would still oppose the Yankees.
It would be their third postseason meeting in four years. The basic script
has not changed much. The Yankees are $200 million giants with All-Stars
dotting their roster, while the Twins are $64 million grunts who are blessed
with Johan Santana as their best pitcher. Of course, this time around, the
Twins also have two of the elite young players in the major leagues — Joe
Mauer and Justin Morneau.
Because the Twins still have Santana and have a deeper lineup than before,
one that includes Michael Cuddyer and Torii Hunter, Hunter said he thought
the Twins were in their best position to finally subdue the Yankees. The
Twins won the playoff openers in 2003 and in 2004, with Santana starting both
times, before losing the next three games.
“I feel like we can beat anybody,” Hunter said last week. “I can’t go out
there thinking, ‘The Yankees, the Yankees, we’re going to have a tough time.
’ Then we’re beat. You can’t go in thinking, ‘They’ve got great players,
Hall of Fame players.’ So I’m telling you, we’re going to win. We’re not
going there to lose.”
Rondell White, a former Yankee and now the designated hitter for Minnesota,
said the Twins were prepared to play the Yankees.
“They’re always the team to beat,” White said. “I guess you’ve got to go
through them. You got to go through them anyway, so you might as well go
through them in the first round.”
When Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire was asked to choose the favorite to win a
World Series title, he mentioned the Yankees’ depth and the return of Hideki
Matsui and Gary Sheffield from wrist injuries in picking them.
“If you go to Vegas, you’ll probably find that out, too,” Gardenhire said.
“It’s not probably far off of their line. But that doesn’t mean you can’t
beat them. You’ve got to go out and figure out a way to do it.”
Based on Pohlad’s words, he seems to think the Twins, who made a remarkable
dash into the postseason, can figure out a way. Before the 2003 season, the
Twins’ franchise was nearly eliminated; Pohlad agreed to fold it for a
payout of $125 million to $200 million. Naturally, Pohlad is not popular in
Minnesota.
Now Pohlad, who has a net worth of $2.8 billion, is enthused enough about the
Twins to become one of the few 91-year-old trash talkers in predicting that
they will slay the Yankees. Pohlad also said the Twins had “a good chance to
go all the way,” making him sound more like Steinbrenner than Steinbrenner.
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