Gardenhire calls Oakland A's "piranhas" in postgame

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

anyone have any thoughts?

[Thrylos]

They had 3 HRs that scored 5 runs. They won by a margin of 8. He either does not understand the concept of piranhas or he is just fried (or both.)

[TheLeviathan]

Well, it sure doesn't fit for us anymore.

[ThePuck]

It's an ego thing...he, and many, took an unusual path of thinking that playing the piranha way was something to aspire to and took pride in being the little team that could instead of aspiring to be the great white shark. By calling the As that, he saying they are doing things the right way, the Twins way...

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I thought it over. I think part of it is Gardy is just out of things to say.

[IdahoPilgrim]

Maybe I'm dense here, but I don't understand the whole piranha reference in the first place.

 

I go with he's out of things to say.

[Oldgoat_MN]

I think ThePuck is right. He is saying exactly that.

 

And Thrylos is right.

 

This team does not feature Nick Punto/Jason Tyner/Jason Bartlett batters in the lineup at the same time. They have very serious and solid hitters.

[Mr. Brooks]

Regarding his post game comments, I took less from his piranha comment, and more from his description of the A's players "getting after it".

I am getting so tired of these "Gardyisms".

For as long as he's been around baseball, it is shocking to me that Gardy still thinks it's "getting after it", and not talent that wins games.

This is part of the philosophy that has to go! This meek, passive belief that there is something special about our organization that will allow us to win with a bunch of untalented players, simply because they try hard and "get after it".

The division titles came because we had talented rosters.

Hunter, Cuddyer, Kubel, Santana, Liriano, Mauer, Morneau, Nathan, etc. Those guys performed because they are good players, not because they "got after it" and "battled their tails off".

[Joe A. Preusser]

Regarding his post game comments, I took less from his piranha comment, and more from his description of the A's players "getting after it".

I am getting so tired of these "Gardyisms".

For as long as he's been around baseball, it is shocking to me that Gardy still thinks it's "getting after it", and not talent that wins games.

This is part of the philosophy that has to go! This meek, passive belief that there is something special about our organization that will allow us to win with a bunch of untalented players, simply because they try hard and "get after it".

The division titles came because we had talented rosters.

Hunter, Cuddyer, Kubel, Santana, Liriano, Mauer, Morneau, Nathan, etc. Those guys performed because they are good players, not because they "got after it" and "battled their tails off".

 

Not sure how you could be more wrong. Those teams won because they had some talent (certainly not the most talent) AND because they "got after it" and "battled their tails off."

Sometimes you can get by with passion and drive and effort alone. You can rarely/never get by with talent alone.

Tom Kelly had a paraphrase in Puckett's autobiography that said something to the effect "I'd rather lose with 10 hardworking, hustling, battling guys than win with 10 prima donnas." This means that whatever your talent level, if you're on this team you will "get after it" and "battle your tail off," or we'll replace you with someone probably less talented who will do those things. I've always admired this sentiment very much and would be sorry to see it cut from our future teams' philosophy.

[Mr. Brooks]

Not sure how you could be more wrong. Those teams won because they had some talent (certainly not the most talent) AND because they "got after it" and "battled their tails off."

Sometimes you can get by with passion and drive and effort alone. You can rarely/never get by with talent alone.

Tom Kelly had a paraphrase in Puckett's autobiography that said something to the effect "I'd rather lose with 10 hardworking, hustling, battling guys than win with 10 prima donnas." This means that whatever your talent level, if you're on this team you will "get after it" and "battle your tail off," or we'll replace you with someone probably less talented who will do those things. I've always admired this sentiment very much and would be sorry to see it cut from our future teams' philosophy.

 

Really? Tell me which teams in the Central had more talent than those teams?

Those teams had a ton of talent.

How many rosters over the last 30 years or so have had a batting champ, MVP, Cy Young, and all star closer all on the same roster?

 

If you think I'm saying that players don't need effort you are misunderstanding me. I would think that when it comes to PROFESSIONAL sports, the effort level is implied.

[ThePuck]

Really? Tell me which teams in the Central had more talent than those teams?

Those teams had a ton of talent.

How many rosters over the last 30 years or so have had a batting champ, MVP, Cy Young, and all star closer all on the same roster?

 

 

...and a 30HR gold glove CF, and a 20HR 100 RBI RF...

[twinsnorth49]

Who needs talent? Sliding head first into first base is what wins games!

[ThePuck]

Who needs talent? Sliding head first into first base is what wins games!

 

Especially when the ball is hit through the infield and the CF fields the ball :-)

[nicksaviking]

Not sure how you could be more wrong. Those teams won because they had some talent (certainly not the most talent) AND because they "got after it" and "battled their tails off."

Sometimes you can get by with passion and drive and effort alone. You can rarely/never get by with talent alone.

Tom Kelly had a paraphrase in Puckett's autobiography that said something to the effect "I'd rather lose with 10 hardworking, hustling, battling guys than win with 10 prima donnas." This means that whatever your talent level, if you're on this team you will "get after it" and "battle your tail off," or we'll replace you with someone probably less talented who will do those things. I've always admired this sentiment very much and would be sorry to see it cut from our future teams' philosophy.

 

Everybody wants that but a talented winner is still better than a hard working loser. Don't kid yourself into thinking that if ARod helped this team win a World Series that we would refuse to accept it due to his lack of integrity.

 

It's frustrating that people think this philosophy is unique to the Twins. EVERY manager and GM want hard working and talented players and would prefer to not have to work with large egos. But that's life, everyone else in America has to put up with jerks, drama queens and slackers at work, why should Ron Gardenhire be the exception?

[LaBombo]

Not sure how you could be more wrong. Those teams won because they had some talent (certainly not the most talent) AND because they "got after it" and "battled their tails off."

From 2002 through 2010, the Twins posted the 7th highest position player WAR in all of MLB, three spots behind the Yankees. No other AL Central team cracked the top 10.

 

In that same span, the Twins posted the 3rd highest pitcher WAR in all of MLB, and trailed the prima donna Yankees by about 1 percent.

 

So not only are you selling the talent level of the 2002-2010 Twins awfully short, you're missing the fact that with all that talent, Gardenhire managed to lose three quarters of his regular season games against the Yankees, and follow up that historical futility with a 2-12 postseason record against them.

 

Gardenhire had a nine year run with a team only slightly less talented than the Yankees, and he and his piranha b.y.t.o philosophy got their butts kicked off the planet by the team that most embodies the opposite philosophy: acquiring talented players regardless of attitude and riding their soap opera steamroller to seven playoff series wins in that same span, and a World championship to add to the three WS they won in the previous six year run.

[ThePuck]

From 2002 through 2010, the Twins posted the 7th highest position player WAR in all of MLB, three spots behind the Yankees. No other AL Central team cracked the top 10.

 

In that same span, the Twins posted the 3rd highest pitcher WAR in all of MLB, and trailed the prima donna Yankees by about 1 percent.

 

So not only are you selling the talent level of the 2002-2010 Twins awfully short, you're missing the fact that with all that talent, Gardenhire managed to lose three quarters of his regular season games against the Yankees, and follow up that historical futility with a 2-12 postseason record against them.

 

Gardenhire had a nine year run with a team only slightly less talented than the Yankees, and he and his piranha b.y.t.o philosophy got their butts kicked off the planet by the team that most embodies the opposite philosophy: acquiring talented players regardless of attitude and riding their soap opera steamroller to seven playoff series wins in that same span, and a World championship to add to the three WS they won in the previous six year run.

 

I'm going to copy and paste the carp out of this post...I won't take credit though...just so you know...fantastic post!

[LaBombo]

I'm going to copy and paste the carp out of this post...I won't take credit though...just so you know...fantastic post!

Thank you. Yes, together, my friend, you and I and the carp shall spread the word. It's time for a change.

 

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YCCi09bcYhA/TZy72hYNQiI/AAAAAAAAB0E/emHEp03R6O8/s1600/Siamese+giant+carp+46+kg+-+pic+1.jpg

[LaBombo]

Oakland's piranha stats relative to AL in 2013:

 

BsR (baserunning): 7th, and almost exactly net average.

Stolen bases: 4th lowest.

Sacrifice hits: 2nd lowest, 1 ahead of last place CHW.

Bunt hits: Tied (with the Twins!) for 5th lowest.

 

 

Oakland's non-ranha stats relative to AL in 2013:

 

Home runs: 3rd highest, trailing Toronto by only 2.

Extra base hits: 3rd highest

Isolated power: 3rd highest

 

So yeah, I guess the A's could be considered piranhas, but a very specific kind...

 

http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2011/10/tigerfish.jpg

[snepp]

Thank you. Yes, together, my friend, you and I and the carp shall spread the word. It's time for a change.

 

What a load of carp.

[Guest USAFChief]

Moderator hat on: Let's stop all the carping about, um...fish...in this thread, and stay on topic. Which is...fi...

 

Never mind.

[scottz]

I don't know if I believe this, but I'm going to throw it out there for discussion and (fish)food for thought:

 

Gardenhire, with whatever flaws exist, knows a good team when he sees one and is sick and tired of not having a good team. The "pirahnas" label for the A's was with tongue firmly in cheek. A shot across the bow of the Terry Ryan-constructed roster?

 

Discuss.