zenser

I think Gardy and the rest of the staff will be gone after the year. Gardy has been good for Minnesota. He has had success. With anything in life, once you achieve something, you want more. As Twins fans, reaching the playoffs is a great goal every season. With the run of division titles they have put together, that is a great accomplishment. But not advancing in the playoffs recently has stung a lot of the fans including myself. We have had the taste of the playoffs but we want more. Unfortunately for Gardy, he and the rest of the staff are still dealing with the mess Bill Smith left us. In the early 2000s when we had the core of Hunter, Koskie, Radke, Pierzynski, and so on, we had Mauer, Morneau, Santana, Bartlett, Garza in the minors at different stretches in the minors so we could see the next wave. The team had a nice bridge between those players. Now, we see Sano, Dozier, Benson, Gibson as the next wave but there is no bridge to get to those guys. That is the fault of the front office and Bill Smith. I think Terry Ryan should stay even if Gardy gets let go or moves on at the end of the year. Terry Ryan has only had a few months to try to fill the void that Bill Smith left us and he has proved in the past to stock our minor league system with future major league players. As unfortunate as it is, we are still stuck with this mess and I think Gardy and the other coaches are aslo going to have to take the fall with Bill Smith. Did anyone else think it was very optimistic in Pohlads statement that if they play the next 20 percent of the games the opposite they will be at .500? I just don't see this group of guys able to pull of a stretch of 21-7. I am a Twins fan but I am also a realist.

"Who wants to be here?" Pretty soon that question will be asked in the stands by the fans unless they can turn this thing around!

I think the Twins would benefit from having a higher level affilliate in either Sioux Falls or Fargo. I do think Fargo is a little more a stretch than Sioux Falls. I don't think weather would be that big of a difference from Minneapolis. The Twins also had Edmonton as a AAA before SLC. With Twins Territory being as big as it is, I think they wouldn't be hurt at the gates by having it in the same region. Keep in mind that Twins Territory stretches past western SD and ND into parts of Wyoming and Montana. There are a lot of Rockies fans there now but the people who are over the age of 20 didn't have the Rockies and many are Twins fans. I also think populations of Fargo and Sioux Falls could support a team. With the example of Scranton struggling to keep a team, that area also has different levels of minor leagues in the area too. With Sioux Falls or Fargo, it would be the only game in town.

Sioux Falls could easily support a AAA team. They may need to improve their facilities but attendance wise and being in close proximity to Omaha and Des Moines and being close to the parent club would be a benefit too.

If I was managing the team I would want to miss the Seattle series too. It must be tough to watch this team underachieve.

I know we are 4 games into the season. I think Gardy has done an OK job. I personally think Vavra needs to go. I my opinion, players have regressed under him. So far this season, Jake Arrieta, Tommy Hunter, Jason Hammel, and CJ Wilson have pretty much shut down the offense. That certainly doesn't look like a bunch of Cy Youngs to me. What is going to happen when we see Verlander, Weaver, Haren, Price, Lester, Sabathia? I can't count how many slow rollers to SS or 2B have been hit this year. How many hard hit balls were there at the home opener (Willingham's homer, Willingham's long foul ball, Doumits single, and Mauer's single)? The offense is just flat out pathetic. When you have hit into more double plays then runs scored, that is saying something. I do think it is about time for a new regime. Gardy, Anderson, Vavra, Liddle, Ulger, not all of them deserve the boot but it is time for a new direction, new approach at the plate, and new philosophy on the mound.

I hate the fact the he wont split up the lefties in the lineup. In the past it has been Mauer, Morneau, Kubel, Cuddyer, Young. Why not put Cuddyer in between Morneau and Kubel. He makes easy to manage against when you do that.

I agree with sorney. If the twins lose their DH for a few innings is it that big of a deal to move Mauer to catcher for Doumit for a few innings. Its not like they are going to miss the offense. I am sure one of the pitchers could hit a weak grounder to second just as good as Butera could.