Article: Ken Rosenthal Reporting Gardenhire Extended Two Years

[John Bonnes]

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2377-Gardy-And-Andy-Will-They-Stay-Or-Will-They-Go

[Pius Jefferson]

If they stay than I'm going.

[josecordoba]

The more I've thought about this. What I would like to see happen is

 

A. Gardenhire be hired away by another team.

B. The Twins choose a new manager.

 

I wouldn't be all that upset about keeping Gardenhire. His track record up through 2009- speaks well about his ability as a manager. He should also be given credit for keeping the Clubhouse together in the midst of three straight bad seasons. I'm wondering if many of his most vocal detractors were making the same claims of TK needing to go before 2001. The reality for Gardenhire is he just didn't have the talent, the last few years. Seriously look at the starting rotation and the average September line-up. Guys like Maddon or Francona couldn't win with the Twins current roster. Gardy will get hired elsewhere and probably do a good job.

 

I just feel that overtime a new perspective in any organization is worthwhile. In my line of work the saying goes that after 5-7 years, people stop listening. While I'm not going to blame Gardy for losing games with guys like Eric Fryer. I do wonder about things like Hicks' and Gibson's development at the Big-League Level. I realize it's simplistic to blame just the manager for this. Yet with the new wave of talent coming soon, a change could be beneficial for both parties.

[pierre75275]

Phil Mackey has said its more likely Gardy will sign a two yr extension today then not

[pierre75275]

And not to nitpik or anything but its actually been 3 years of 95 plus losses

[Badsmerf]

I want to see them both gone, but Anderson more than Gardy. His time is up. Not a single guy has gotten better under him in years, the K/9 rate is hideous, and he refuses to keep pace with the evolution of the game. Gardy can be thrown in there too, but his impact is limited to who plays and when.

[Thrylos]

If the Gardenhire-Anderson era ends this week, it will still be one of the most successful eras of the organization. Over 12 years, they collected 998 regular season wins and a .513 winning percentage. They also celebrated winning a division crown six times, a tally that no other Twins team of any era can match.

 

Totally unfair to MacPhail and Kelly who won 2 World Champrionships in 4 seasons and were blocked on winning the division that era by the cheating A's of Tony LaRussa.

 

The weak division winning and 3 and out Gardenhire teams cannot touch those teams...

[howieramone1406390264]

So we should minimize Gardy's fine work because the A's cheated and the Central was weak? That is certainly a stretch and I would be surprised if many fans buy it.

[Badsmerf]

So we should minimize Gardy's fine work because the A's cheated and the Central was weak? That is certainly a stretch and I would be surprised if many fans buy it.

Minimize them to below those past Twins teams yes. I'm no TK fan (that is a nice way of saying it) but the dude won 2 world series. No amount of division tittles will touch that.

[Guest USAFChief]

I get the sense Gardy will not be back. I think we'd have known by now if he was getting another contract.

[Winston Smith]

"... they lost 90+ games for their 3^rd consecutive year in 2013."

 

This should say lost 96+ games, 90 is to kind for what we've had to watch!

[Mike Sixel]

I think they are both back, this team is in denial imo.

[howieramone1406390264]

I think they are both back, this team is in denial imo.

 

The Twins never have and never will be the type of organization that easily panics. I couldn't help noticing fans are screaming for the heads of the Viking coaches and my beloved Gophers.

[Jeremy Nygaard]

LaVelle reported last night on the Sports Show (didn't watch, but read Reusse's recap) that the return of both Gardy and Andy was a "done deal" and that there will be a press conference today.

[luckylager]

Press conference at 2:30PM. I speculate Gardy/Andy gone. To me it would be an absolute PR boner to announce their resigning the day after they finish up their 3rd consecutive 95+ loss season.

[Badsmerf]

The Twins never have and never will be the type of organization that easily panics. I couldn't help noticing fans are screaming for the heads of the Viking coaches and my beloved Gophers.

 

Leslie Frazier: 16-22 - refuses to bench one of the worst QB's in the league

 

Jerry Kill: 4-13 in the big ten, last in legends division 2 years straight and no sign of improvement after being destroyed by a bad Iowa team

 

Can't imagine why people want to see a change.

[Oldgoat_MN]

The Twins pitching staff experienced a great deal of success in the first few years under Anderson. In 2001, the Twins had a 4.51 ERA, 7th in the AL. It shrunk to 4.12, good for 6th in the AL in his first year. And in 2004 it was down to 4.03, lowest in the American League. That success continued through 2007.

 

2002 was the first year Johan Santana threw more than 100 innings. He was with the Twins through 2007.

 

This is NOT a coincidence.

[raindog]

The Twins never have and never will be the type of organization that easily panics. I couldn't help noticing fans are screaming for the heads of the Viking coaches and my beloved Gophers.

 

It wouldn't be "panicking". They are easily deserving of walking papers.

[Mike Sixel]

The Twins never have and never will be the type of organization that easily panics. I couldn't help noticing fans are screaming for the heads of the Viking coaches and my beloved Gophers.

 

 

Panic? 3 straight awful years, and no real changes in leadership? Why is change "evil" in some peoples' minds?

[nicksaviking]

I get the sense Gardy will not be back. I think we'd have known by now if he was getting another contract.

 

I kept thinking this too despite my belief that Ryan had taken the blame off of Gardy enough to back himself into a corner.

 

But then I started thinking that a decision may not be announced or even leaked mid-season if only Gardy was being brought back and Anderson was getting the boot. If you announce Gardy is back, the next question will be, "What about Anderson?" If you don't want to announce your pitching coach won't be back, you probably would take steps to avoid that question including keeping wraps on a new contract for the manager.

[jimbo92107]

Phil Mackey has said its more likely Gardy will sign a two yr extension today then not

 

When the Pohlads failed to throw a ton of money at Terry Francona, I was almost as pissed as when the Vikings passed on Colin Kaepernick.

 

What did I see in those guys that I don't see in Gardenhire or Christian Ponder? It's a little hard to describe, but it's a certain look in their eyes, apart from other physical attributes. It's a level of determination that most people, even professional athletes, just don't have. It's an almost demonic intensity, a Napoleonic gleam of boundless ambition, combined with a big chip on your shoulder.

 

This is what I saw in A.J. Pierzynski that I don't see in Joe Mauer. It's what I see in Brian Dozier that I don't see in Pedro Florimon. It's what I saw in David Ortiz that I didn't see in Kent Hrbek. Various players and coaches have more of it than others. Puckett had it, Gladden had it, Morris had it. It can make a player with moderate talent into a star ballplayer, like Nick Punto. It can make a star talent into a superstar, like Torii Hunter. And a superstar talent becomes Bryce Harper, and we're all hoping, a bunch of guys in the Twins minor league system.

 

Guys with that raging flame inside can be hard to get along with, but without that flame, a guy with superstar talent may fizzle out. I hope I'm not talking about Aaron Hicks.

 

I will readily grant that Ron Gardenhire and Rick Anderson did not have as much talent to work with as did Tom Kelly. But there's a fine line between patience and complacency, and to me Gardenhire has remained passive far too much with players that either didn't have the talent or the fire to win.

 

Gene Glynn should be the manager next year.

[jjswol]

I also think that Gardy will be resigned to a two year deal. As for the coaches? I think Brunansky and Vavra will be moving on.

[jun]

And not to nitpik or anything but its actually been 3 years of 95 plus losses

 

3 straight years of 30 games under .500 or over.

[jun]

So we should minimize Gardy's fine work because the A's cheated and the Central was weak? That is certainly a stretch and I would be surprised if many fans buy it.

 

What fine work has Gardy done? I am really curious about that.

The Twins won 2 championships in 1987 and 1991 under TK.

That's the only fine work I could remember.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

What fine work has Gardy done? I am really curious about that.

The Twins won 2 championships in 1987 and 1991 under TK.

That's the only fine work I could remember.

 

Gardenhire has done no fine work. He will be gone before the all star break next year if he manages.

[Old Twins Cap]

Twins are afraid to make a change. Any change. An organization that can't deal with change will simply be run over by it. I felt nothing but sadness yesterday as the season came to an end. Another wasted year with no signs of things getting better and now more Gardy. This really is going back to a worn formula that has not worked, and when it doesn't work, well, try it again. Isn't that the definition of mental illness?

[Death Rattle]

There's zero accountability for this franchise?

[KGB]

Twins are becoming like the Timberwolves - a County Club environment for the management. If the team wins - it because of Gardy, if they lose - it's the players fault. If they lose in the playoff's, how can we expect them to beat the Yankees and there payroll. The team has quit 3 years in a row during the second half and the coaching staff is not held responsible.

[mlhouse]

The Twins need a manager that can develop young players. The proof is not just the 3 consecutive 95+ loss seasons, but rather, throughout those miserable years we have not developed a single player that we can count as a true rebuilding piece going forward. Although the Twins upper management needs to share in this problem, Ron Gardenhire simply is not the development manager we need.

 

In 1982 you could see that players like Kent Hrbek, Tom Brunansky, and Gary Gaetti were going to be good hitters. I don't see the equivalent on the Twins roster today except for perhaps a very small glimpse of Oswaldo Arcia. I have been "preaching" for 3 years now that the Twins need to abandon the "Twins Way" and accelerate the movement of their minor league talent. They need to get the players to the major league level and develop them into major league players. They need to take their lumps. THey need to find the players that can play and the ones that cannot. It takes time, even with talent, to fully develop a winning team and the Twins have essentially wasted three years.

 

Lastly, I don't think that the Twins ownership really cares. They get 2.5 million fans to the stadium paying very high ticket prices while fielding a essentially a AAA team of non-entities around the injured Joe Mauer. I was at game 162 in a $53 seat to watch Clete Thomas, Alex Pressley, Chris Herrman, Chris Parmalee, Eric Fryer, and Scott Diamond play some of the worst baseball I have ever seen. When Ryan Doumit, Trevor Plouffe, and Brian Dozier, all three at best marginal major league baseball players, are by far the best players you are putting in the lineup, ownership and management have completely failed the fans.

[josecordoba]

If they stay than I'm going.

 

The Pohlad's and Terry Ryan are probably quivering.