导出博客文章MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Twins badly need to improve their pitching staff,
with a team ERA that ranked among the three worst in the majors in five of the
last six seasons.Help can come from all corners of the organization, including
behind the plate. Thats why the Twins signed former Houston Astros catcher Jason
Castro to a three-year contract worth $24.5 million, a deal agreed to last week
and finalized Wednesday.We feel this is a great step in the right direction to
building the team that we set out to build, chief baseball officer Derek Falvey
said.Castro will make $8.5 million in 2017, $8 million in 2018 and $8 million in
2019. He became a free agent after six seasons with the Astros, hitting .232
with 114 doubles, 62 home runs, 212 RBI and 215 walks in 617 career games after
being drafted in the first round out of Stanford in 2008.I definitely know that
this organization is capable of doing some great things, Castro said. They have
a lot of young really good talent and some veterans thrown in the mix that can
make for a special group.The Twins finished 59-103, their worst record in
Minnesota and the worst in the major leagues in 2016. Castro experienced some
similar growing pains with a young Astros team that lost 106, 107 and 111 games
from 2011-13 before making the playoffs in 2015.Looking at their roster and the
pitchers that they have here, I think that this group is a little bit ahead of
where the Astros were, Castro said on a conference call with Minnesota
reporters.Kurt Suzuki became a free agent after serving as Minnesotas primary
catcher over the last three seasons, including an All-Star selection in 2014
when he batted a career-high .288. Suzukis career average is 24 points higher
than Castros, and the left-handed hitting Castro batted only .210 with 11 homers
and 32 RBI last year. He was an All-Star in 2013, when he hit a career-best .276
with 18 home runs and 56 RBI.The newest Twins backstop is considered an upgrade
on defense, though, in terms of both fielding his position and handling a
pitching staff. Castro threw out 24 percent of base-stealers last year, and
Suzuki had a 19 percent success rate. Plus, there are the areas of game planning
and game calling, each difficult to quantify.We feel Jason is one of the best at
that, Falvey said, adding: Ive certainly observed and witnessed that the impact
of catchers who commit to that side of the game ... has an exponentially
positive effect on the pitching staff.Framing pitches, a sneaky skill that has
drawn more attention in recent years through the rise in analytical evaluation
and available data in the sport, is another one of Castros strengths.The goal at
the end of the day is to try to help your pitcher keep as many strikes as
possible, Castro said, just to be almost as unrecognized as possible behind the
plate to allow the pitchers work to speak for itself.
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players have their first workout at spring training in Arizona. MIAMI --?Udonis
Haslem was leading some banter with Heat?teammates after practice Monday, the
jokes and laughter helping everyone wind down after practice.Thats how he
defines locker room talk.Donald Trumps characterization of his caught-on-tape
crude and predatory comments about women as locker room talk has raised the ire
of plenty of athletes, the overwhelming majority saying that what goes on even
in private doesnt match up to what the Republican presidential nominee said on
the now-infamous leaked tape.I dont know what locker room hes been in, Haslem
said. No, I didnt appreciate it, to be completely honest. Thats not our locker
room talk. I dont know Trump very well at all, but I dont know who hes played
for the last couple years to even say hes been in anybodys locker room and had
those kind of conversations.On the tape, recorded in 2005, Trump bragged about
kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women other than his wife. When
youre a star, they let you do it, he bragged. You can do anything.Athletes fired
back en masse at Trump to send the message that they dont talk like he does.?Los
Angeles Dodgers pitcher Brett Anderson,?Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Chris
Conley,?Los Angeles Clippers guard Jamal Crawford,?and retired NFL players Donte
Stallworth and Chris Kluwe were among the first to speak out, and many have
since followed.It didnt sound like any talk in any locker room that Ive ever
been in, so maybe it was just a phrase, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Andrew
Hawkins said. But it was wrong.Saying such talk is never heard, however, might
be a stretch. Some described hearing crude, profane or degrading comments
routinely.Most definitely, said?Tennessee Titans tight end Delanie Walker, when
asked whether he has heard off-color chatter. Yeah, I have.Ron Darling, the
former major league pitcher who is now a television analyst, said such language
isnt hard to find -- and its found in the locker room, the boardroom and country
clubs.The hard part, for Darling, was trying to avoid it -- which he said he
would do by walking away.Every repugnant thing that you can think of has
probably been said in a clubhouse at some point, Darling said at Fenway Park on
Monday night before the?Cleveland Indians-Boston Red Sox?playoff game.The thing
about it is that its the lowest common denominator thing. So its the person with
the foulest and worst mind and mouth is the person that becomes the loudmouth in
the clubhouse, he said.A lot of times, clubhouses get associated with that
person. Its a shame. Its why I chose personally -- if my mom heard me say things
like that, she would beat the s--- out of me.But the majority of athletes and
coaches who have spoken out since the tape was published by The Washington Post
and NBC News on Friday insist that what typically goes on stops well short of
the level that Trump went to in his descriptions of grabbing women on that
tape.Clippers coach Doc Rivers said such talk is not typical of any locker room
he has been a part of.Theyre bad comments. Theyre demeaning to women, Rivers
said. You know, I think when people throw out that word, locker room talk,
theres nobody talking like that in the locker room. Is there swearing in the
locker room? Yeah. Every other word. But theres nobody demeaning -- theres
players in our locker room with sisters, wives and daughters. Theres not tthat
type of talk in anyones locker room.ddddddddddddaid Ole Miss football coach Hugh
Freeze: Were working hard on our young men understanding that women are
priceless and should be treated as such.Former NBA player Shane Battier said the
locker room issue shouldnt be limited to the conversations athletes have among
themselves.Be it right or misguided, the locker room -- in however you define it
-- is probably one of the last places where most people feel safe expressing
themselves without the fear of judgment or backlash, Battier said.To even
suggest that locker rooms are barren of such talk and innuendo would be
futile.The handling of sexual assault cases at the college level has been under
fire for some time.?Baylor?fired football coach Art Briles after an
investigation showed the program mishandled and covered up
allegations.?Tennessee?struck a $2.48 million settlement after a lawsuit alleged
the Volunteers didnt properly address some sexual assault claims involving
athletes. Earlier this year,?Florida State?agreed to pay $950,000 to a woman who
said she was raped by former Seminoles star?Jameis Winston.And three years ago,
the?Miami Dolphins?season unraveled amid claims of players bullying their own
teammates in the locker room.If that is the actual talk thats happening in
locker rooms, its time to look at the leaders and examine their culture as to
why those conversations happen, Miami womens basketball coach Katie Meier
said.At the WNBA Finals, Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said the mere notion
of locker room talk further shows that women arent treated equally.He was trying
to say, Its what men do. And that to me is the inherent problem, Reeve said. It
is what men do. Lets not have all these men stand up and say, Well, we dont do
that! ... Donald Trumps candidacy has shined the light on so many problems that
exist that I always talk about. He is the epitome of all these things. Hes not
alone. It is behavior thats been accepted for years.Dolphins linebacker?Jelani
Jenkins?said the culture within locker rooms has changed for the better in
recent years -- and it might be because there has been more of a crackdown when
issues arise.For sure, Jenkins said. People have gotten in trouble for certain
things, like bullying, homophobia, different things like that that are very
sensitive subjects. So guys are really careful what they say.Detroit Lions wide
receiver Golden Tate said there are no excuses for what Trump said.Theres no
excuse to talk that way about women, to women, to other people, Tate said.He
also disagreed with Trumps characterization of locker room talk.Ive heard some
things over the years. Ive heard some distasteful things over the years, but Ive
also heard some incredible things and some incredible outputs on life and
character and religion and faith, he said. I think locker room talk can be a
wide range of things. I think people just kind of jump to the negative. I think
if you sit down with everyone in this locker room and kind of pick their brain
on something they have some knowledge on, they can give you some very, very good
perspective. So locker room talk can be a wide range of things.ESPNs Michael
Rothstein and The Associated Press contributed to this report. ' ' '
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