2013 MN Twins

[powerchord86]

With this season being what everyone knows that it is, a re-loading/building year, I sure hope we don't fall into the rut of running out the same old tired rag-arms like we have the past 2 years. I say give Pelfrey a few more starts, keep him on a short leash, if he can't figure it out and be consistant then bring up Gibson for a look.
I like Gardy, but my biggest complaint with him is his stubborness (sp?) he sticks with some guys for way to long, or he refuses to take a chance early on with a good young player to see what he's got in the bigs.
This year especially, if it ain't working cut bait and m ove on to the next guy to see who can get the job done.

Pelfrey was just coming out of it but then went right back so yeah, he's back on my shitlist.. lol

I hear you on Gardy in that regard. It seems like he gets too buddy-buddy with the players and has trouble hitting them with a tough, although necessary decision. Rick Anderson seems to do it too. I remember a week or so ago after Diamond pitched a great game, they showed Anderson sitting in the dugout with his arm around Diamond talking to him and looking like he kind of wanted to make out with him. It just looked weird. I think Diamond even looked a little uncomfortable.
Gotta have a hard nose and a tell it like it is attitude with the players. I think Gardy can do that sometimes when he's a little steamed but needs to keep that fire and use it before things get bad.

 

[mr.hockey4242]

With this season being what everyone knows that it is, a re-loading/building year, I sure hope we don't fall into the rut of running out the same old tired rag-arms like we have the past 2 years. I say give Pelfrey a few more starts, keep him on a short leash, if he can't figure it out and be consistant then bring up Gibson for a look.
I like Gardy, but my biggest complaint with him is his stubborness (sp?) he sticks with some guys for way to long, or he refuses to take a chance early on with a good young player to see what he's got in the bigs.
This year especially, if it ain't working cut bait and m ove on to the next guy to see who can get the job done.

Thank lord you were not on CBS or you would know my rants. I am the biggest Gardy basher in the world on his stubbornness and overall lack of judgement when it comes to picking whats best for the team...not players. I've said it before "Player have come and gone, but Gardy has remained the same". By this I mean....2002 we were underdogs and shocked the world. Next couple years the Yankee curse. 2006, MVP Batting Champ Cy Young and best closer......home field....SWEEP. Yankees own us again in 09. 2010 we get homefield.......Yankees own again.

The guy doesn't know how to motivate players. The way he babies players and sits them for the smallest things is the worst. At least this year he's not doing his usual Sunday throw away games.

Garza?Lohse? NAH. Screw the potential.......let's go Nick Punto!!!

Sorry for the rant but I really dislike Gardy.

 

[powerchord86]

Thank lord you were not on CBS or you would know my rants. I am the biggest Gardy basher in the world on his stubbornness and overall lack of judgement when it comes to picking whats best for the team...not players. I've said it before "Player have come and gone, but Gardy has remained the same". By this I mean....2002 we were underdogs and shocked the world. Next couple years the Yankee curse. 2006, MVP Batting Champ Cy Young and best closer......home field....SWEEP. Yankees own us again in 09. 2010 we get homefield.......Yankees own again.

The guy doesn't know how to motivate players. The way he babies players and sits them for the smallest things is the worst. At least this year he's not doing his usual Sunday throw away games.

Garza?Lohse? NAH. Screw the potential.......let's go Nick Punto!!!

Sorry for the rant but I really dislike Gardy.

I love it!

 

[buckamania]

PC, jrs, 4242 - Have I got a place for you Gardy bashers!! It's called Foxsports.com. You'll really like it there. Lot's of Gardy bashing going on all the time. There are some very astute guys over there who are bashing Gardy even as we speak.

As a return favor would you please find me a site where Terry Ryan bashing is in vogue? Since Mr. Ryan selects the players w/o Gardy's consent I prefer to attack Mr. Ryan, but that's just me. I've always looked at it as, "Why jump on the teenage fry-cook at McDonalds for the crappy menu being offered?" He just does the best he can with what's in the freezer when he reports to work. Once again, that's just me. Oops, I forgot...I got a new secret-weapon named Schultzy over there. I just met him and I think he don't like Gardy bashing either. Don't mess with him!!! Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!!!

 

[powerchord86]

PC, jrs, 4242 - Have I got a place for you Gardy bashers!! It's called Foxsports.com. You'll really like it there. Lot's of Gardy bashing going on all the time. There are some very astute guys over there who are bashing Gardy even as we speak.

As a return favor would you please find me a site where Terry Ryan bashing is in vogue? Since Mr. Ryan selects the players w/o Gardy's consent I prefer to attack Mr. Ryan, but that's just me. I've always looked at it as, "Why jump on the teenage fry-cook at McDonalds for the crappy menu being offered?" He just does the best he can with what's in the freezer when he reports to work. Once again, that's just me. Oops, I forgot...I got a new secret-weapon named Schultzy over there. I just met him and I think he don't like Gardy bashing either. Don't mess with him!!! Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!!!

Fox is pure garbage with pure garbage posters. Fuck Fox!

 

[mr.hockey4242]

PC, jrs, 4242 - Have I got a place for you Gardy bashers!! It's called Foxsports.com. You'll really like it there. Lot's of Gardy bashing going on all the time. There are some very astute guys over there who are bashing Gardy even as we speak.

As a return favor would you please find me a site where Terry Ryan bashing is in vogue? Since Mr. Ryan selects the players w/o Gardy's consent I prefer to attack Mr. Ryan, but that's just me. I've always looked at it as, "Why jump on the teenage fry-cook at McDonalds for the crappy menu being offered?" He just does the best he can with what's in the freezer when he reports to work. Once again, that's just me. Oops, I forgot...I got a new secret-weapon named Schultzy over there. I just met him and I think he don't like Gardy bashing either. Don't mess with him!!! Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!!!

Ha!! love the analogy but while Ron doesn't make all the moves, he still has always had his favorites. He ways the driving force to guys like Lohse and Garza leaving. Lohse took a baseball bat to his office once lol. Granted Kyle really only found himself the last couple years the point is still pretty much the same. He picks favorites and really likes the "utility gardy type" players. Don't know for certain but I hear he had a pretty solid voice in Hardy being delt too. We have had bad moves by both Terry and Bill Smith though. Glen Perkins(thank lord for this) is the only player to survive Gardy's dog house however.

In game managing isn't Ron's strong suit either. He's a players guy but not good for strategy. Perfect example I will never forget. That game like 3 maybe 4 years ago against Yankees at the Stadium. Brings in Guerrier to face A Rod whom everyone and their grandmother new absolutely owned Guerrier. Bang. Homer. grand slam to be more exact. Because Gardy elected to intentionally walk Tex I belive.

Don't want to sound too negative cuz Ron did some great things and really turned our franchise around early on. I just feel it is time to try something new.

 

[buckamania]

Ha!! love the analogy but while Ron doesn't make all the moves, he still has always had his favorites. He ways the driving force to guys like Lohse and Garza leaving. Lohse took a baseball bat to his office once lol. Granted Kyle really only found himself the last couple years the point is still pretty much the same. He picks favorites and really likes the "utility gardy type" players. Don't know for certain but I hear he had a pretty solid voice in Hardy being delt too. We have had bad moves by both Terry and Bill Smith though. Glen Perkins(thank lord for this) is the only player to survive Gardy's dog house however.

In game managing isn't Ron's strong suit either. He's a players guy but not good for strategy. Perfect example I will never forget. That game like 3 maybe 4 years ago against Yankees at the Stadium. Brings in Guerrier to face A Rod whom everyone and their grandmother new absolutely owned Guerrier. Bang. Homer. grand slam to be more exact. Because Gardy elected to intentionally walk Tex I belive.

Don't want to sound too negative cuz Ron did some great things and really turned our franchise around early on. I just feel it is time to try something new.

42 - I like your avoiding an emotional rant like so many others do on these sites. Your premises are solid enough for me and all I can say is that you and I are 180 degs. on the actual affect a manger on a small market team really has.

Taking your side, I'd like to cite what a good manager Joe Girardi had to have been considering the crappy teams he had to deal with a few years ago. How could he be expected to win with guys like Jeter and Posada and Mariano Rivera and hopeless drug-addicts like A-Rod and Clemens? The same could be said for Tony LaRussa having to put up with guys like Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman and David Freese. Somehow Tony taught them how to play. They would have sucked anywhere else.

You're right about Gardy! He's had tons of guys just like Girardi gets every year. Good, strong, healthy players, just pencil 'em in, they never get hurt, and if they do, Gardy's bench is second to none!. Hell....how could Gardy lose with the M&M boys he's got? Ralph Houck(sp?) sure struggled with M&M boys he got stuck with on the 60's Yankees teams. Maris & Mantle?? Pllleassse, who were they?? Give me Mauer & Morneau ovrer them any day!! Talk about clutch players....."foget" about it! Gardy's had the best!

And pitching?? "Foget" about it here too. Give me model pitchers like Garza and Lohse, who've been bouncing around since they left Gardy's tutelage. Lohse finally had a good season but lots of baseball-geniuses said this only occurred because he finally grew up. Pitchers are never any good in their late 20's -early 30's, everyone knows this! Taking a bat to Gardy's office??? In any modern corporation that is understood as a "cry for help". Gardy f'd up on that one, for sure! How could he miss this unmistakable plea from Lohse? Totally insensitive. Sack him on this gaff alone.

In conclusuion: While the mobs from Foxsports, and now SportsHoopla, gather the tar & feathers and then the guillotine for Gardy, I might just do the same to Bill Smith, the GM who dumped Orlando Hudson for Nishi. Of course, you anti-Gardy guys will argue that Nishi also was emitting a cry for help that Gardy didn't hear. I suppose I should admit that Gardy also missed Justin Morneau's cry for help about the fences being too long at Target Field. Jim Thome was so old that he never heard Morn'ys cry either, that's why he nearly hit one completely out of the park at age 40.

Get the rope.....I'll build the gallows for ya'.

 

[powerchord86]

BoSox coming to our house this time. And we get Buttholz in the series opener. Watch the forearm!

Ok Worley, time to shine. Time to show us that you can get it done. Be all the "Vanimal" you can be.

 

[jrs21]

Fox is pure garbage with pure garbage posters. Fuck Fox!

@ Fox to be known from here on out as: The Landfill!

 

[powerchord86]

@ Fox to be known from here on out as: The Landfill!

I like it jrs. Very fitting indeed!

 

[powerchord86]

I'm thinking this start for Vanimal is make or break time. If he pitches another dud, I don't know why they would keep sending him out there. I would be ready to see him sent to the bullpen or minors and bring Deduno in. Deduno has been healthy and off the DL since May 5th when he made his first minor start.

 

[jrs21]

Since this proverbial box has been opened, here is my take on the Twins over roughly the past 10 years.
This will be mostly like watching a bad re-run on T.V. for PC and Buck, but I'm going to re-play it anyway for 42.
I like Gardy, and I am glad he is the manager for the Twins. He frustrates me in some ways i.e. his stubborness with certain players, and being so set in his ways when it comes to certain aspects of baseball. I thought about the mid-point of the season last year that his message was getting stale with certain players and because of this; some players such as Cassilla for example regressed. This season the Twins have a re-vamped look with some fresh blood that seem to be buying into the Gardy baseball philosophy, and it seems to be working so far this year. Going back to about 2000 he took a team of rookie unknowns and built it into a perennial (sp?) contender. Obviously the Twins didn't win the big prize, but he wasn't given the horses to make the big push to get there. In '06 they had there best chance, I think they were an ace pitcher away from really being a legit W.S. contender. Gardy has it in him, and I think he can do it again given the players and the opportunity. So I'd like to see the Twins organization legitimately give him the chance. They have not done that with the players, in particular the starting pitching staff he has been saddled with, the past 2, 3, 4........... seasons.
Now onto GM, I think Ryan is a good GM. I think he usually makes smart decisions. He has drafted well, and always has a good farm system in place. My gripe with him: let both Kubel and Cuddyer go in the same year. He shoulda kept one of them. He let both Span and Revere go this year, he shoulda kept one. Ha also missed on the transition from the dome to T.F. We had a team built around the uniqueness of the dome. If the '02-'09 teams were not playing in the dome and built around the quirks that the dome presented, they may have all been just .500 teams as well. Ryan did a great job of finding "dome" players, but then upon arrival at T.F. the dome advantage was gone, and we saw the results. I call it the dome hangover.
Check out this website:
Which MLB Teams Spend Smart? Part 3 (Teams 10-1) | AthlonSports.com
I think it says a lot about the job that Gardy and Ryan have done.
The Billy Smith era did not work out at all. It’s like a bad economy, its going to take a while to recover from it. That's probably all that needs to be said about Smith, you all know the rest.
Now onto ownership, this is where the problem lies. I hate that baseball comes down to economics!, but unfortunately it does. In my opinion Buck proved this with his reference to the Spankees. Whoever has the nicest toys and can afford to buy more will win. Our owners can afford them, but choose not to buy them. We fell for the bait and switch with the new stadium. We can't afford to field a competitive team blah, blah blah blah....The name Pohlad is a four letter word to me, and I hate the fact that at least in the media and of course the Twins front office they are basically revered as "heroes". The fact that there are bronze statues of them in front of the publically financed target field is bullshit. The team contraction talk that they spewed will never be forgotten nor forgiven in my book, even if it was used just used as leverage for a new stadium. They handcuff Ryan with the budget, which affects Gardenhire's roster, and that is reflected in wins and losses. Long story short, in my book the Pohlads suck! I wish they'd sellout to a true baseball person, take their millions and go away.
I know not everyone agrees, and I am fine with that. It's just my

 

[jrs21]

I'm thinking this start for Vanimal is make or break time. If he pitches another dud, I don't know why they would keep sending him out there. I would be ready to see him sent to the bullpen or minors and bring Deduno in. Deduno has been healthy and off the DL since May 5th when he made his first minor start.

Yes, I would love to see Deduno!

 

[mr.hockey4242]

Problem with Deduno is he's no longer on the 40 man roster. I think it may be DeVries that we are waiting on if Worley or Pelfrey or really anyone don't figure it out.

 

[HammerDown]

 

[mr.hockey4242]

Also, after 04 you really can't give Gardy a whole lot of credit. He did well turning us around and making do with those teams but since then it's been bad. Either no playoffs or sweep. 06 we may have been 1 pitcher away from legit world series yet he still got swept with.........the MVP, Cy Young, Batting champ, best closer, torri hunter in one of his better years, Cuddy in maybe his best and brad radke.

Getting swept by the A's is doing something wrong there.

 

[jrs21]

Hey 42

Your points are well made, and have some validity. I don't totally agree though in '06. In that 3 game sweep our pitchers were pretty good, but our bats went mostly silent. The manager sure doesn't do the hitting. He sent his best pitchers out there, and went with the same line-up that got them to that point. I'm not real sure what more he could have done other than mental prep., and if these guys are pros shouldn't most of the mental prep. fall on them anyways?
Regardless, I give Gardy 50-50 odds of returning next season anyway. So what are your guys' thoughts on suitable replacements?
Its interesting to see Stainbach in the dugout this year, is that any indication? I'd also like to see Molitor in the discussion, he's one of my all-time favorites.

 

[powerchord86]

No sweeps allowed!

Damnit!

Go Twins!

 

[jrs21]

No sweeps allowed!

Damnit!

Go Twins!

Hey PC

I hope your right! This team sure looks like it fell into one of its funks. I hope its short lived.
What the heck happened to Willingham? He sucks this year.

 

[Nosferatu]

One hit off Lackey ain't gonna get it done. The club can play .500 ball for a while but the last few years it seems we go through 3 or 4 of these 5,6,7 game losing streaks and we're done.