Platoon

FSN has a show on right now dealing with Gardy!

Not at all.... Of the 500 plus, 3/4 will call for joe makers release or trade. You are context, they tend to go far beyond snark

I stand corrected. And humbly beg forgiveness! :)

This move also makes the reams of digital ink we used assessing potential rosters for next years Twins nothing but mere vapor on the inter web. Once a new manager is named, we have to start all over. Also, as at least one other poster mentioned, this is terrible news for 3rd string catchers. I would imagine several have their agents on the phone as we type!

50? The trib story is at 576 and counting! Unreal. And I don't have to read them to know that they are primarily "snarky"

I listened to some of the press conference. He was forthright, relaxed, humorous and affable. He actually sounded relieved! He will and somewhere when he wants to. It could turn out a blessing in disguise for him also. Sometimes one needs to step back and regroup.

I am not sure the gloating is that excessive. I desperately wanted him gone... But I also said to my wife (she cares as much about my input as the Twins do), that Gardy needs a veteran team to manage. He is not the guy for the upcoming Twins. So part A is done. Now comes the kicker. Getting the right replacement. It's going to be the biggest decision TR makes for the rest of his career. He gets it right, the new guy will outlast him. If not................. I hope the new guy is creative, flexible, and stresses fundamentals, and I don't mean just at a press conference either. Get back to the basics. That has been sorely missing lately.

I was going to hit "I like this". Until I got to point #4 !

My only concern with finding a FA LF or CF is that if they drop significant dollars to do so they will block the prospects. In most cases this would not be true, but the Twins don't seem to like to trade someone like that, especially in the first year. Now it could be argued that Morales disproves that theory, but he truly was a rental, destined to stay or go depending on those fateful 10 games after the ASG!

The article was entertaining but fictional. The points tho are valid. And to some the solutions may seem radical, but then again losing 90 four years in a row is in itself radical. This team has always taken the low key approach, and as a rule I am a fan of that philosophy. But I don't think a lot of people truly understand how wide spread the problems are. Not to rehash the Trib articles, but many think that one of the solutions listed would cure things. This is currently a team without any studs. Studs in the future, yes. Studs from the past, yes. Studs that never will be, plenty. We wanted a SS who could hit, this one is far better. A catcher who would improve the staff (and as a bonus had a career year with the bat) ? Done. Some power at DH, done. A "good. SP, done. And now for the results! Another -90. The single most significant word in this article is "irrelevant". And that's what the Twins are now and it's going to take more than a new SP, or manager to change that. And I hate saying that because really want to see Gardy gone!

I don't like to trade prospects personally. I do like to trade middle of the road veterans who are having a career year. (See Willingham, Suzuki, Dozier). Not because they are "bad" ball players, but because you won't get better with them, you will remain stagnant. So if you are in a 4 year death spiral, move them on the high side. We can't (or won't) spend Yankee type money on a roster. In house is the other option. Until the core is established from your own system, buying a guy here or there does not win a division. As to the fan disconnect, the article is spot on. I have a son and son in law, both with tlong baseball backgrounds, who barely follow the scores, not to speak of watching the games. Me? I watch them, if only to fulfill my masochistic tendencies!

Santanna would be a better CF than Buxton? You are right, he has to play. But the answer to the following question tells a lot? Can he play IF at Bert's major league level? We don't know cuz Gardy has dug in his heels. If he can, and if he is the Twins best player, then either EE, or BD, or Plouffie have to move. If he can't, it leaves only left field. There are no tea leaves that show Buxton failing so far, and while Arcia is way too exciting defensively, if his bat does not carry him, I will relinquish my TD profile. Yes he is a bit of a butcher out there, but I still have not seen anyone play RF well here, that overhang is good looking and makes a nice place to plant flowers. As for DH'ing Arcia, there are two things the Twins do not need. DH's and first baseman. While I agree he has to play, if one is thinking past June of next year, CF is not going to be the spot.

I like BD, especially his hair. If for no other fact that when my son in law put his Cardboard cutout in the basement, and his wife went around the corner down there and ran into Brian, he scared the bejeezus out of here. (Reason enough to keep him) That said the HR will likely remain in direct relationship to the amount of high inside fastballs he sees, which will likely be few and far in between. Can he be replaced by an in house candidate in the near future? Likely. He does not have to be. But if you don't, you will need to be prepared for the last half of,this seasons version.

I never thought Dozier was a HR hitter. But he is someone who can turn on one pitch, and one pitch only. A high, almost out of the strike zone, inside fastball and yank it. Even Dick noticed they have quit throwing him those! I think the BD we have seen in the second half is the one we get to live with... A guy with great hair, a fair glove, and a little range. He never seems to take a play off defensively. But for a good base runner, he runs into too many outs. Probably a great team mate, and an average second baseman. Those waiting for another Cano, will be disappointed.

On a Pinto developmental note, I just read in the PP that Suzuki needs to start 11 of the last 16 games to collect his last 150k bonus. I wonder if Gardy knows about this?

So much of this speculation could have been eliminated if Santanna had been moved to SS, and Shafer to center and Hicks to left to finish the year out. I know it's "fall ball" but we are player contenders who need to win. We are not going to see that many AAA arms, and diluted lineups. My reasoning? Buxton is going to play center sometime next year. (You can't base decisions now on possible injuries down the road). Meaning Hicks has to play left. (Or not at all) I do like Shafer as a 4th OF and PR. I would not waste FA money on an OF until the Buxton thing plays out. Arcia is not going anywhere, especially to first base. Neither is Dozier or Plouffe, until Sano arrives. And there would be nothing wrong with a Suzuki Pinto combo. Suzuki could be PH for by Pinto later in the game, depending on the situation. Also since his best part of the season was the first half and he seems to be wearing down, a lighter work load might be in order? (Hopefully the rationale for 3 catchers will be resolved this winter). None of the above means this will be next years lineup in March. But it let's us get headed in a direction. Playing the Nunez's of the world at short does not.

I told my wife yesterday (she nodded her head in acknowledgement) that Arcia has the potential to be a very special power hitter. He has went with the pitch a little better lately, and is a little better at laying off pitches. Subjective observations, yes. But saying there are hitters like him coming up? Plus an outfield of Buxton, Hicks, and Arcia looks different than what we have now. Arcia biggest flaw is going towards center, Buxton will cure half of that. Last thought on Oswaldo, my memory of Tony O when he came up was of a very flawed fielder, with a great arm. He gradually became a more than adequate RF. He was a much higher contact hitter also, but I do not remember relief specialists like you see now. In baseball you cannot win consistently solely with hitting, or defense, or even pitching. Balance is needed, and the Twins need to tweak the pitching and defense each. Imagine this same team with Buxton in center, Hicks in left, and an athletic SS with range to cover up for Plouffie? The first two are available in house, the SS? Santanna?

I would like Mientkiewicz. I don't know as much as I could about his philosophies, but his results are admirable. Mauer might be too young, but he also seems to have that look about him. Whoever it is, I hope he is more proactive than Gardy. It's just been my impression that he has always been afraid to take a chance here and there. That's what managing is about. They don't all work, but it's the sum of them that counts. A little bird in my head is telling me that somewhere I heard that Jim Pohlad is a huge fan of Molitiors? If that's the case, the rest of this discussion could be mute. But if it is Mientkiewicz, then we need a nickname. Because I am not typing that every time I think he should have bunted the runner over. Lol. How about "Minty" ?

Gardy manages by rote. When his starting pitching was better, and he got all of six out his starter, it was pretty much a set series of pitchers for the next three innings, if we were ahead. He would prefer to do that with his lineup also, meaning discussion on Pinto as a DH\sub catcher role and Santanna as a SU player seems to me a waste of digital data!

I might have said this once before, at my age I have said everything once before! The Twins remind me of the Lions when Bud Grant had the Vikes. The Lions knew they were going to lose. And they did. In every way imaginable. It was never a matter of IF, only of How!

One other thought. While football and baseball are radically different sports, the Vikings had a team with a well liked coach. But his record was poor, his coordinators not up to the task, and the whole team had a look of disorganization. The GM cleaned house, and at first glance order has been restored. Time will tell.

The players regularly profess their fondness for Gardy. But why? Is he a great clubhouse guy? Big on back pats? Asks them how their mom is doing? Or is it because he is too easy on them? Is that why there are continued misplays, no I don't mean errors. Not following the hitter to second, going to third on a grounder to short, missed cutoff men, throwing to 3rd instead of second, and losing the double play chance. Ad nauseam. Much fun is made of the "Twins Way", but they used to do the little things. Now they don't. And those things are not the result of physical talent. Jordan Shafer and Mike Trout can both throw to the same correct base. (Just not as strong). But these mistakes don't cost playing time. I know rosters are tight with 13 pitchers, but a message here and there is more important than a win. And throwing someone under the bus in the media is not it. A day in the dugout might be more effective. Managers are to be respected, not liked.. There is a huge amount of difference.

There is a lot of talk about Santanna the fielder, but not much about Santanna the lead off guy. This teams offensive problems often stem from hitting with RISP. Needless to say things get even worse without RISP! That said, Santanna is currently the only player we have that has consistent and considerable success in the one hole. Making him a utility player or sending him to Rochester is not good. The problem with the Super Utility role is exacerbated by the possibility that the current management stays in place. What about Joe? Watching him play this year I came to several conclusions. (Opinions). To wit: I like Mauer. I think he is a phenomenal athlete, and I could care less how much Jim Pohlad pays him. I think the amount of abuse he takes is disgusting. But he does seem a man out of place. On the Twins he is the 3 hitter. But he is not a 3 type hitter, and on a team with better talent he would not be in that position. (I played short on a softball team, and even I did not think I was a SS). With the change in ball parks, and the emphasis on playing down the LF line, his limited power is limited! (I wonder what he would do in Fenway)? Anyway I was watching him the other day and I thought: he is a lead off style hitter without lead off style speed. He has large frame, but not much power. He was a great catcher, in a first basemans frame, and he has a right fielders arm, playing first base. These are not criticisms, they are observations.

I tend to agree, but with one obvious notation and question. This offense appears to be much better with Santanna hitting lead off. He so far appears to be the long lost one hole hitter we have been looking for. If he does not end up as a regular defender at SS or CF, will the current manager of record juggle his lineup every game, so he has a spot in the batting order?? That has not been his previous modus operandi!

Good article. I was not a Schafer fan, but he has started to intrigue me. I also think Hicks just looks different this time, calmer and his PA's are more solid looking. I have always been a big fan of Oswaldo. Still he drives me nuts. Lately some of his hardest hit balls have been at someone, it happens. He looks like he is trying to work the count. He is not a work the count guy. He needs to hit the first fastball he sees that is a strike. As he matures he can look at the finer aspects of hitting. As for the OF he is rough, going to his left is not that bad, but his backhand is not good. But something tells me he is gonna.be really good. He is 23, and I bet there are a ton of teams that would take him tomorrow. Suzuki? Always was and still is an average catcher. Great Gardy guy also. We were handed a gift. We signed him as a third choice, he got unreal hot, and then two teams needed a catcher. So we did what any losing team would do, we extended him two years. Pinto is also rough, and the pitchers claim not to enjoy throwing to him. (Then they should throw better than they have to Kurt). Santanna should finish the year at short. If he can play he can, if he can't he will end up as either a super utility guy, or Dozier's replacement. Other teams have great athletes at short, we don't seem to. The summary: the lineup the Twins started the season with, and mostly still embrace is on the way to -90 again. The players on the field are average. I know it's sacrilegious but I include Dozier, and Mauer as a first baseman. There is nothing to be lost by trying other replacements. What can happen? We could lose 96 I suppose! Yet they treat some of these guys as All Stars. For this team spring training started on the 11th game after the ASG. Lastly, why does it make a difference who we start against contenders. We have shown a consistent ability to lose with the norm, and it's time for us to evaluate our players. Showing Gardy's "respect for the game" should include putting a decent team on the field in 2015!