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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. Air Max 270 Destockage . Isner, ranked No. 14, won his eighth career singles title and took the title in New Zealand for the second time after his victory in 2010. 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Its an influence in football and a big part of the game.TORONTO -- Ryan Hunter-Reay calls it a concrete canyon where an inch in either direction could mean the difference between extra speed or a crumpled car. Hunter-Reay took the checkered flag at the Honda Indy Toronto last year when just one race was more than enough. This years doubleheader means hell have to survive an entire weekend in the canyon. "Getting around this track feels like youve got your hair on fire the whole time," he said. "Its not smooth, its not precise, youre just absolutely standing on it and it does feel like youre driving like your hairs on fire." Hunter-Reay dominated the 85-lap, 1.75-mile race at Exhibition Place last year en route to eventually winning the IndyCar series championship. The 32-year-old American enters Saturday and Sundays races 23 points back of Brazils Helio Castroneves for the overall lead in the standings. A visit to Toronto will also help Hunter-Reay forget Sundays race at Pocono, where he was running strong until Japans Takuma Sato ran into him in pit lane. Hunter-Reay, who injured his thumb in the accident, is hoping to rebound with a strong qualifying performance that he calls critical to finishing Toronto intact. "The track breeds tight, close-quarters racing and with that sometimes comes contact and the tempers flare and people get impatient," said the Andretti Autosport driver. "So staying out front is usually the best bet." Drivers have already experienced one doubleheader this season at another street track. Hunter-Reay finished second in Race 1 at Detroit in June, but was 18th in the Race 2 after he clipped a curb and went into a wall. "Definitely unfortunate, such a simple mistake," he said. "That said, street course situation I was talking to you about where its such a fine line between hero and zero, man, youre always dancing on that edge asking for every little inch of the racetrack." New Zealands Scott Dixon had better luck in Detroits doubleheader. He finished fourth in both races, which he called "complete chaos." In the first race Dixon was taken out early and had to make his way back up through the field. In the second race, he struggled with bad tires. Dixon won in Pocono on Sunday, but hes never won in Toronto. "I guess some circuits you can have a fast car and maybe not get the strategy right and still win, whereas here you need to get everything right," said Dixon. The busy weekend starts with qualifying Friday for Race 1. On Saturday, drivers go through qualifying for Race 2 a few hours prior to the opening race. It all ends with Sundays race, after which Dixon expects hell need time to recover. A typical race leaves drivers exhausted, bruised and with an adrenalin rush that makes sleep difficult.dddddddddddd A doubleheader demands drivers do it all over again the next day. "Its twice as hard, I think thats the easiest way of looking at it," said Dixon. "Its physically demanding, mentally demanding, preparing yourself in the mindset to know that youve got to do it again, trying to get sleep, its definitely an added dimension, thats for sure." If that wasnt enough, theres one more catch. Saturdays race will feature IndyCars first standing start since 2008. The start, which is used by Formula One, features cars beginning the race from a stationary position on the grid. Sundays race will revert to the normal rolling starts. Sato, one of the few drivers on the grid with F1 experience and practical knowledge of the standing start, said he isnt concerned about other drivers when Race 1 begins. But the cars themselves, and a narrow Turn 1, could be a problem. "Its all about reaction obviously," he said. "The reaction, it doesnt matter with the standing start or the rolling start. These guys have fantastic reaction for the restart all the time. So ... maybe some of the cars will suffer too much wheel spin, or some cars will struggle with bogging down, maybe some cars will stall (its) engine." The unique start is meant to add another reason for fans to return to an event that has been in recovery ever since it went on a one-year hiatus in 2008. Its too soon to know whether the doubleheader format helps or hurts ticket sales, and Hunter-Reay said hell wait for fan reaction before coming to his own verdict. Dixon pointed out the possibility that the second race might not be as dramatic for fans. "I think for me, I actually enjoy them," said Dixon. "I think if youre there, you might as well race. Im not sure whether it takes away from the big Sunday attraction of being the main race ... I think theres mixed feelings about it but for me just for racing and loving to race, yeah I love having multiple races on a weekend." Practically, the pair of races also offers plenty of points for drivers to move up a packed leaderboard. Castroneves, who has never won in Toronto, and fourth-place Dixon are separated by just 65 points. James Hinchcliffe of Oakville, Ont., who has the most victories of any driver so far with three, is also in the mix in fifth place. "It really is a big deal. Theres so many points on the board," said Hunter-Reay. "Youve got to be good here, youve got to be good in Houston with the double as well. So it really puts an emphasis on Toronto as an event. ... Youve got to be on your game. Were looking to do that." Just surviving the weekend isnt enough. ' ' '