IMO - please note what that means - Gardy's done a decent job. I don't like the way his loyalty plays out sometimes .... seems like we have to use at least two spots in the batting order on guys who've proven they can't hit a lick. Punto getting as many starts as he did, Bartlett getting buried at AAA for as long as he was, things like that. But, ultimately, stuff like that doesn't happen in a vacuum; if the front office put guys who were clearly better on the 40 man, we wouldn't have heard so much about guys battling their tail off, etc. Look at the batting order. How many of the slots are filled with guys who rate out at "league average starter or better"? Mauer, yes; Willingham, yes; Morneau, if he recovers his game, yes ... after that? As a unit, it that batting order "league average or better?" When we play defense, are the 8 guys we run out there "league average or better?" We know the answer where starting pitching is concerned. And, IMO, there was only one stretch - and that stretch was over by the time post-season began (2006 - injuries to Radke & Liriano) - when we had "post-season worthy starting pitching." We've done pretty well with rosters which were outgunned by the time we got to the post-season. Gardy has something to do with it ... but he has the same shortcomings as the rosters he took to the post season. Pretty good, but not great; better than average, but you don't play "average" in the post season. We'll see how Gardy manages this season - is he able to do what Tom Kelly did right before he retired?