jokin

IMO, you are vastly understating what Mauer accomplished there. Down 0-2 in the count, fighting off 101 and 102 MPH fastballs and making good decisions on when to swing against 88-91 MPH sliders, that was one of the few times I could agree with the general blanket characterization of a "great at bat" . He literally broke Chapman's spirit, especially after he took yet another ridiculously powerful 3-2 pitch opposite field off the wall. Without that hit for a double, Chapman probably had another 100+MPH pitch or two to feed the Hammer with 2 outs and bases empty. Kudos to Hammer for getting all of that 97 MPH pitch, but Mauer gets a huge share of the credit for that hit and getting Diamond through 8 from behind the plate.

Florimon is staging a mini-break out at ROC, Michael showing the fleetingest glimpses of a heartbeat at FtM, who woulda thunk it? MN Twins w/ organizational SS depth?

I'm there. It looks like now that he finally has legit competition for PT he is playing much better in the field. He's usually good for 2-3 mini runs/season when he looks like he has finally put it all together on offense and defense, I'm thinking he might be due for a little hitting outbreak, especially if Gardy decides to give Dozier a day off now and again and move Caroll over to short. Dozier looks like he's going to possibly be a Gagne-level type of SS, he made some terrific plays today, it still wouldn't hurt to give him a break, he's definitely pressing at the plate right now.

Agreed. This was a baseball lovers game. Some interesting strategy, some in-game heroics, lots of early count swing and contact that kept the game moving at a brisk pace, the last two innings chock-full with the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat I would have been disappointed if the bottom of the 8th had made the final difference, but it still would have been a tremendous regular season game.

My mistake then, I guess I'll put away the Kleenex, nothing snotty to see here... From this point, I'll reiterate a pledge to work harder at respectful debate, especially when the street goes both ways.

Wow, you know you're on the losing side when you can't even quote statistically insignificant arguments accurately: Dozier vs. Hardy- Last 30 Days: Hardy 215/265/355/620 Dozier 208/232/260/592 As noted previously, Hardy's BABIP is ridiculously out of kilter, suggesting it highly likely that he will return to something close to resembling his career numbers. So, other than careening wildly to the left and right in attempting to miss the point, you at least are a step ahead of CDog in agreeing that the handling of this situation by the Twins was "dumb".

Aint that the truth, although with Gardy, you never know, the paid talking heads were making it sound like this isn't a one game experiment. "Paging Nick Nelson!"

Just whose "narrative" ox needs goring? The "valid truth", according to you, is that "the Twins made a weird and poor choice", but definitely NOT a: "laughable" one, a "blunder", "a complete organizational failure", "painful lesson learned", situation that "turned out, they really blew it". And certainly not "dumb or stupid", because that would just fit a biased narrative. M-kay, then.

Actually, AL OPS average for SS is only .673, so this is a quality line, even in a "down" year. Furthermore, Hardy's current BABIP ranks him at 29th with a .253 average, so his numbers will undoubtedly rise significantly as his BABIP normalizes and his luck improves to more typical career numbers.

Don't see how the draft pick scenario is at all possible. There is virtually no chance the Twins make a one-year offer at $12.5 Mil (which is what would have to happen with Liriano having to refuse the offer). Given the alternatives, the Twins might offer a 2-3 year deal with a club option on the back-end. Clearly, he has the best stuff on the club, not sure if he even wants to stay in MN. The best alternative would be to trade high with a club desperate for starting pitching and pluck a couple of potential B/B- starters from A+/AA/AAA that they could fast-track to the big club.

I should say so, definitely well above average! The stats below make the overwhelming case that he is in the elite group of SS. In the case of Hardy, the "narrative is the reality", no need for inflation. The Twins first made probably their second best trade of the millenium (other than Nathan?). Most knowledgeable Twins fans were ecstatic, as we hadn't had a SS of that style or caliber ever in a Twins uniform before. Within less than a year, the Twins converted that into perhaps a tie for their worst trade of the millenium (Hardy for Hoey/Ramos for Capps). Hardy isn't Banks, don't think anyone accused him of that, but his career numbers don't lie: UZR Rankings for all MLB Shortstops: 2005-12: #1 2006-12: #1 2007-12: #1 2008-12: #1 2009-12: #2 2010-12: #2 2011-12: #2 WAR Rankings for all MLB Shortstops 2005-12: #8 2006-12: #6 2007-12: #6 2008-12: #7 2009-12: #10 2010-12: #4 2011-12: #4 I'd be willing to split the difference and suggest that the Twins are either stupid or dumb. Take your pick.

I agree 100%. You've correctly identified why this situation has evidentiary fingerprints in place, all the way from the field manager to the top of the organization. This is why I suggested that St. Peter also has to go, along with much of the FO braintrust. We still probably won't get to the bottom of this fiasco, but in hiring the caliber of people I proposed, at least the type of thinking that brought it about will be gone for good.

With that ringing endorsement, it's no wonder that this board sound more and more like Royals/Padres Territory with each passing day.

I liked that other guy Mansihp better. Then again, conveniently enough, they do both pitch for the MLB's door-mat.

Again, begging the question, is failure to execute the "simple stuff" (Gardy's phrase from 2011) more on the manager or the players?

September, 2011- meet June 2012

Watched the bench reaction, I think Jamey just reminded Gardy that this would have been the right move (he said...as he slapped himself on the back...).

Wouldn't this be the perfect night to be giving Dozier a rest and putting Carroll, the NL vet, at SS against a tough right-handed starter?

LEN3 cited his own sources for Mauer being unavailble.

The Twins organization was making excuses for the guy's incompetent level of play from the day he took the field in spring training ( I believe that's called a "tell"). Nishi's biggest break of 2011 was when he broke his leg. That enabled the FO to extend the pretense that they had a bona-fide major league middle infielder, meanwhile they put their bold gamble on hold, hoping to draw an inside straight, all the while utilizing a grand bluff on the public that it somehow would all work out, only to continue the excuses and double-down on the stupid with the move to SS!- where he was even more exposed- until finally Gardy was allowed to admit he was busted and folded his hand. At least Hardy could fulfill your dream and actually swing for the fences with the game on the line- with a decent chance to roll a 7, whereas Nishi's fractured swing always seemd to shoot snake-eyes.

Maybe not "wholesale changes" immediately, but there need to be major changes at the top- to examine each aspect of the club's operations, keeping the valuable assets and eliminating the dead weight. I don't necessarily have a problem with Krivsky coming back in some capacity, lots of connections, institutional memory, a slew of 'ol boy connections and a keen eye for talent. Here's a name associated with Krivsky who has had success, is highly qualified in the business background and baseball organizational sense, has been with a club that has built itself up on a shoestring budget and is fully versed in sabremetrics. His name, Matt Arnold, director of Pro Scouting with Tampa Bay. Worked with the Reds, so has a background with Krivsky. He may be ready for the big jump to GM. He certainly is far more qualified than Bill Smith ever was. He undoubtedly would need strong people around him. I'd suggest someone at "Special Assistant" who wouldn't represent a threat to Arnold. How about Charlie Manuel? His time with the Phillies has to be coming to a close, is an ex-Twin, and has come from a competely different successful culture in Philly. As head of Baseball Operatons or President, how about hiring the current MLB VP for baseball operations, Kim Ng? She has a midwest background (worked in strategic position with the White Sox), has a very sharp and savvy business and baseball mind (played softball at the University of Chicago where she degreed in public policy). The Twins have a bevy of ex-Twins floating around who appear to be willing to take on some of the field operations but are currently being blocked from consideration for higher profile positions. We all know who they are, hire them soon after the new management team is in place and has made a full and fair assessment of the situation.

JB-It appears you definitely have left the "glass half full" camp and are falling in amongst us in the "glass half empty and leaking rapidly" camp. Welcome, I heart-wearily concur with your lack of optimism- the recent, pre-draft Strib "inside story" on the scouting department was the last nail in hope's coffin. This organization is suffering from a severe case of inbred paralysis of thought- run and staffed by yes men, beancounters and backslappers- and owned by a family that would rather make schlocky movies for tax write-offs and find novel new ways to squeeze the last drop of blood from a turnip- and the turnip truck it rode in on. If George Steinbrenner was the poster boy for an over-involved owner, surely the Pohlads are at the polar opposite- Ol' Carl would have been more thrilled to make a decent fortune on contraction than to winning a pennant . Surely there must be a potential local ownership group that could come in somewhere in-between the two extremes and make the necessary changes in this moribund club. This is a good-to-great baseball market and deserves better than the sclerotic status quo.

Here's the complete set of quotes from the Christensen/LEN3 story (without Christensen's editorializing, clearly he and the editor were looking to sensationalize it a little bit): "Obviously, I was sort of prepared for a little collision, but he kind of darted in a little bit more than I thought," Mauer said. "But coming in hard -- that’s part of the game. ... I was trying to give him -- you know, obviously be in front of the plate -- but give him an area to slide, and he kind of went right toward my thigh." "It's better now after a win," Mauer said following his team's 5-4, 15-inning victory over the Brewers. "I don’t know, I’m pretty stiff. It’s getting worse right now, but that’s as expected." "I forgot about that [hamstring] after that [slide by Weeks]," Mauer said. "After that happened, I really didn’t feel the hamstring too bad." Weeks did try to slide, so it wasn't a full-blown collision. "He did [slide]; it was pretty late, but he was coming in hard," Mauer said. "I kind of expected that, but I didn’t expect him to be that far in." "I mean, he definitely didn't have to," Mauer said. "But it happened and you have to keep going." Ron Coomer was interviewed on the radio yesterday and, all-the-while trying to be protective of the situation, strongly suggested that Carlton Fisk be brought in for some consultation with Mauer. Fisk was also an oversized catcher (but 3 inches shorter and 10 lbs. lighter than Mauer), who adroitly played the position and was as tough an SOB as there ever was. One of his many legendary moments was in one game against the Yankees, the late Thurman Munson (one tough SOB himself), was on third base in the 9th inning of a tie ballgame. The Yankee batter missed the bunt on the suicide squeeze play and then the batter tried to block Fisk from tagging out Munson, who was barreling towards the plate. Fisk threw the batter to the ground with one swipe of his arm and then immediately took the full force of Munson's colliding body at full speed- holding on to the ball, resulting in Munson being called out. But the play didn't end there... Munson attempted to hold Fisk down on the ground below him so the runner behind him could continue advancing. From a prone position, after getting somersaulted and then later being punched in the eye by Munson, Fisk threw Munson completely off him and literally into the air. Meanwhile, after Fisk again became upright, the batter attacked Fisk with a sucker punch, Fisk responded by throwing him to the ground with one hand, holding him down by the throat, meanwhile using his right hand to repeatedly pummel Munson. After the game (Sox won 3-2), when Fisk was asked for his response, he strangely enough didn't talk about "unexpected" contact or how sore, black-eyed, bloodied and beaten up he was, he merely said "that's Red Sox/Yankees baseball". Fisk played the entire game the next day, hitting his 20th HR in the first inning, and also the next day after that (3/9 overall). I would also recommend that the Twins retain Jimmy Dugan for a specific consultation on emotional control and what to say, and not say, to the media.

Questions for you, UR. Dick and Bert brought up the fact that the Pirates catchers have only thrown out an incredible 4 of 53 baserunners attempting to steal. With the Pirates stealing at will on Doumit, what was holding Gardy back from sending his runners at will? Question 2: How do you like PNC in person? I've seen only the exterior in person, looks like a great ballpark.

1) Yes. 2) Yes. Is there a website specializing in the Rule 5 draft? 3) I'd probably agree but point 3 is apparently missing? 4) What you see is what you get. It's obvious now that in the offseason and ST that the Twins "fixed" the easy problems, but you can't possibly start a season with 5 major question marks in the starting rotation; spending a little more ($10-$20 Mil) on one-year SP FA contracts would have entailed little risk and put the Twins in a position to compete in the short-term, even while they attempt to rebuild in the long-term. Re: Blackburn. Given the $5.5 Mil owed next year, might addition by subtraction be a better option than having him on the starting fringes or in the bullpen next year?