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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2007
Twins defeat Royals 1-0 in 11th inning
Greinke beaning two fuels Minnesota offensive momentum
MINNEAPOLIS — Torii Hunter's beaming gave the struggling Minnesota Twins a little spark.
Mike Redmond's run-scoring single in the 11th victory Thursday gave the Twins a 1-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals that ended their four-game losing streak.
Justin Morneau and Jason Tyner hit back-to-back singles on Todd Wellemeyer (0-1) with one out in the 11th. Redmond, who hurt his left shoulder earlier in the game on Tony Pena Jr's backswing, then hit a line drive to right-center field to bring home Morneau.
Juan Rincon (1-0) pitched a scoreless 11th for Minnesota, which also ended a four-game home losing streak and won for just the second time in five games against Kansas City this season.
After watching Hunter get hit in the face by Zack Greinke's 2-2 fastball leading off the second inning, the Twins were fired up. Players were hopeful the victory could provide momentum and help snap
their offensive slump.
charging Greinke before changing his mind, had three stitches to close a cut on the inside of his lip but said he plans on playing Friday night at Detroit.
Greinke hit Jason Bartlett with a pitch later in the second, drawing boos from the crowd. Twins reliever Matt Guerrier hit Royals cleanup hitter Reggie Sanders with a pitch in the seventh, and Sanders veered toward the mound briefly as he walked slowly up the first-base line — but nothing more happened.
Greinke said he didn't intend to hit either of the batters.
"You don't want to do that ever," Greinke said about the Hunter bearing. "I just felt bad about it. He's a good guy. Everybody knows that."
Guerrier claimed he didn't hit
"Nobody likes that to happen, and as teammates that makes us mad," Redmond said. "Fortunately for us today, we came back and got that win."
Hunter, who thought about
"Nobody likes that to happen, and as teammates that makes us mad. Fortunately for us today, we came back and got that win."
Sanders on purpose, but then criticized Sanders for not walking straight to the base — suggesting the veteran should have been anticipating retaliation.
MIKE REDMOND Minnesota Twin
are going to question that," Guerrier said.
"If we don't do anything about it, people
The Twins continued to struggle at the plate, but Boof Bonser and four relievers combined to shut down the last-place Royals, who stranded 14 runners.
"We had so many chances," Kansas City manager Buddy Bell said.
Jim Mone/ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Royals wasted seven shutout innings from Greinke, who allowed four hits and walked four. He struck out one and lowered his ERA from 4.82 to 3.51.
Kansas City is looking for a breakthrough season from the 2.3-year-old Greinke, who spent most of last year in the minors after he underwent counseling for social anxiety.
"Zack was outstanding," Bell said. "He was working both sides of the plate."
Minnesota Twins' Torii Hunter fools around in the dugout against the Kansas City Royals in a baseball game Thursday in Minneapolis. Hunter was hit by a pitch in the mouth from Kansas City's Zack Greinke in the second inning and was taken to a hospital, where he received three stitches.
Bonser wasn't nearly as efficient; needing 108 pitches to get through five innings.
"It's coming around, but seven walks — that's just not .me," said Bonser, who hasn't won since Sept. 25.
Bonser walked the bases loaded with one out in the fourth but got out of the jam by getting Pena to hit into a forceout at home and David Delesus to fly out to left field.
The Twins have scored 11 runs in their last five games. They were relieved to pick up a win before heading into a series against the defending AL champion Tigers.
"He pitched out of it, but it was finger painting. It wasn't art," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said.
"Guys are getting after it as hard as they can," Gardenhire said. "Offensively, we're not quite where we want to be right now, but we got three hits in the last timing, and that's all that matters."
MINNEAPOLIS — Twins star Torii Hunter needed three stitches to close a cut on the inside of his mouth after he was hit by a pitch from Kansas City's Zack Greinke on Thursday.
Hunter's luck runs out for second time this week
the mouth by a 2-2 fastball. After gathering himself, he started out toward the mound, but stopped after a couple of steps and dropped to the turf as his team rushed to check on him.
Back from the hospital after Minnesota's 1-0 win in 11 innings, he said he would play on Friday when Minnesota visits Detroit.
Leading off the bottom of the second inning, Hunter was hit in
Greinke apologized, and Hunter was fine with that.
black player, Hunter was in the news again this week.
He sent the Royals four bottles of champagne last weekend to follow through on a promise after their season-ending win over Detroit last fall — that victory let the Twins slip ahead of the Tigers for the AL Central title.
The Twins, however, were informed by Major League Baseball the gift was against the rules.
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Johnson weighing options as Chief
BY DAVE SKRETTA ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs quickly dispelled rumors they are shopping Pro Bowl running back Larry Johnson before this weekend's NFL draft.
Team spokesman Bob Moore said Thursday the Chiefs have not offered Johnson to anybody and that no team has been given permission to speak with him.
"Anybody who is reporting it's true is simply not telling the truth." Moore said.
The 27-year-old Johnson has been participating in the Chiefs' offseason program. He signed a seven-year contract in 2003, but he can void it down to a five-year deal after the final
before next season.
"Yeah, to cover myself because I know how fickle the NFL can be as far as age and contracts and running backs," he said. "I would be an idiot to think that I would be taken care of in the long run if I happen to get hurt next year."
"Obviously the numbers could possibly drop. I could possibly not be getting all I could get. If I turn around and play another year I could get the franchise tag. A lot of things
"I think one thing the fans don't really understand is I don't have a 9-to-5 job. I can't work until I'm 40, until I'm 45."
Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson slips past San Diego Chargers' Donnie Edwards as he goes in for a 11-yard touchdown run of a football game on Oct. 22, 2006, in Kansas City, Mo.
LARRY JOHNSON
Chiefs running back
play into it.
Johnson was asked on Sirius NFL
Radio if he would welcome a trade
game of the 2008 season because of play-time incentives. He has not yet publicly indicated whether he plans to do so.
I think one thing the fans don't really understand is I don't have a 9-to-5 job. I can't work until I'm 40, until I'm 45. I've got to get what I can get now to take care of not only my future
Rumors that Kansas City wants to trade the brooding back, who carried the ball an NFL-record 416 times last season, surfaced as the team scrambles to acquire draft picks. The Kansas City Star, without citing a source, reported Thursday that the team had offered Johnson up for trade.
Ed Zurga/ASSOCIATED PRESS
"When you have a veteran football team, that's very, very good." Edwards said recently. "But at the end of the day, you have to acquire young players along the way."
Kansas City unloaded return specialist Dante Hall to the St. Louis Rams for a fifth-round pick on Wednesday, falling in line with coach Herm Edwards' desire for a more youthful roster built via the draft.
family but my future family's kids and also my grandmother, my aunt. There's a lot of things that play into it when it comes to money."
The Chiefs invited four running backs — California's Marshawn Lynch, Ohio State's Antonio Pittman, Florida State's Lorenzo Booker and Louisville's Kolby Smith — for interviews, and have said they are willing to draft a running back in the early rounds.
But Johnson expects team owners Daniel and Clark Hunt to keep him.
"Obviously a lot of things play into it and I have to look at my situation as it goes deeper into June and July," Johnson said. "I've got to sit back and make a decision, but I'm not really ready to make that decision yet as far as what I want to do for my future, as far as covering myself.
"And I think things will work out in the end. I've got the two best brothers as far as owners in the league. Daniel and Clark Hunt take after their father and they're a very compassionate family. I'm pretty sure they would do everything they can to make sure I'm a Chief forever."
But trading Johnson might make sense to those who view the Chiefs as undertaking a major rebuilding effort.
Kansas City is poised to start the season with untested second-year quarterback Brodie Coyle and journeyman Damon Huard, who played last well season when Trent Green missed parts of eight games with a concussion.
The offensive line is full of holes, after the retirement of 11-time Pro Bowl tackle Willie Roaf last season and 12-time Pro Bowl guard Will Shields earlier this month. The wide receiving corps has little depth
behind aging Eddie Kennison, and defensive tackle and defensive back remain areas of concern.
The Miami Dolphins have reached a tentative agreement with Green, who will be 37 when training camp opens. But the teams have not agreed on compensation, and it is becoming increasingly unlikely a trade will be done by the start of the draft.
"He's still a guy in his prime," said former Houston Texans general manager Charley Casserly, who believes the Chiefs will sign Johnson to a contract extension. "I don't know what they could get to replace him.
Another way the Chiefs could acquire more draft picks is by dealing Green, the two-time Pro Bowler who returned from his concussion midway through last season, but never played at the same level.
Johnson's value has never been higher, either. After rushing for 1,750 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2005, he gained 1,789 yards and had 17 touchdowns last season. His 2,199 yards from scrimmage accounted for 43 percent of the Chiefs' total offense.
Certainly a draft choice isn't going to replace him.