Twins Approach 100 Losses

Ron Gardenhire: 'No one ever wants to see 100 losses.' No kidding.

The Twins are slowly crawling to the end of their disastrous season. If Gardenhire had been told during spring training that his team would be closing in on 100 losses, he would have asked what we were smoking.

The Minnesota Twins only have one team in history to reach triple-digit-losses.

Another quote from Gardy, "You have to cope with them (injuries) the best you can. We haven't done a very good job of coping with all the injuries. I read earlier in the season where the Twins didn't have a Plan B. Plan B to replace the whole lineup? I don't think too many teams have that."

Touché.

Twins Lineup to Feature 8, Not 9 Players?

For today's 12:10 game, Ron Gardenhire is scrambling to fill the lineup card.

Joe Mauer, surprise surprise, is injured with a sore neck from chasing a foul ball at a position that isn't even what we signed him for. Nishioka has a sore back, but can be on the bench, just not the field. Danny Valencia, who has been pretty rude on Twitter lately, isn't at Target Field because he had a wisdom tooth removed. Michael Cuddyer, who was surrounded by speculation of a wrist-break, is the only one who might be able to play.

That's confusing. A player with a potential break might play, but those ones who are sore can't. Ok. When I say it like that I guess it makes sense.

Looks like Gardy will be scrambling up 'till game time for a lineup. This is what it looks like right now:

1. Ben Revere, CF
2. Trevor Plouffe, SS
3. Justin Morneau, 1B
4. Michael Cuddyer, RF
5. Jason Kubel, LF
6. Jim Thome, DH
7. Luke Hughes, 3B
8. Matt Tolbert, 2B
9. Drew Butera, C

At least our lineup can still host Jason Kubel and Jim Thome. And Hughes didn't have to fly here by himself.

If Cuddy's wrist is broke, let's just play with eight or ask the Orioles to contribute a player... My elementary teams used to do that sometimes. You can draw your own parallels between the Twins and my elementary teams, I don't feel the need to expressly write them.

Ron Gardenhire is Upset With the Twins... So is Everyone Else that Matters

Ah... it feels good to wake up and know the Twins are 13 games back.

The wrong side of the bed is appearing more and more to be the right side of the bed and I do not like it... especially since I sleep in the middle. I'm sure Joe Mauer, right-fielder, feels the same.

I know Ron Gardenhire does. He spoke with reporters during the Twins pregame talk on Saturday and expressed his frustration with what he describes as a general misunderstanding of baseball fundamentals. We know what he's talking about. Ben Revere swinging at a 2-0 pitch when the Twins are down 6-1, Danny Valencia not charging bunts hit by faster players, Trevor Plouffe sailing throw after throw over the 1st-baseman-of-the-day's head. Seriously. It has been very tough to watch, especially for someone so emotionally invested in the Twins.

Perhaps this season wouldn't have been so bad if we had older, more experienced players frequent the dugout more, but no. Instead, we were blessed with a DL list as long as Marino Rivera's career. We have all these young guys that made it to the majors and want to stay there. Understandable. However, fundamentals are key. That's why they are called fundamentals. Any athlete worth his jersey knows you won't improve, you won't win if you can't get the basics right. That's what the Twins are learning now.

Gardenhire called it perfectly, "mistakes happen every once in awhile, but they shouldn't happen all the time."

Joe Mauer, 1B

Imagine the standard double play featuring a 6-4-3 series. That is, a field and throw by the shortstop to the second baseman, who then throws over to first base. Common at best to even the most uneducated fan... Now imagine that first base is manned by Joe Mauer. If you find it difficult to picture the 6'5" Mauer in the place where his buddy Justin Morneau usually plays, you better tune in to Thursday's game against the Chicago White Sox.

Ron Gardenhire told the press that Joe Mauer will "definitely play first base Thursday night, pretty sure about that." Now, I understand there are conflicting statements in that synopsis of Gardy's press conference when he states 'definitely' and 'pretty sure', but I still think the time has come where we see No. 7 at 1B.

The timing couldn't be better and I'm not talking about how perfect it is that Pavano will be able to throw to his personal catcher, Drew Butera while Jim Thome can DH. No, I'm talking about how perfectly synchronized Mauer's return is with the opening game of the Twins-White Sox series.

From the 'Piranhas' to the 'Sardines', Ozzie Guillen has coined a phrase for every slightly odd, but effective lineup Gardenhire has brought to the ballpark. This has to be the epitome of odd seeing as Mauer has only played 14 games at first base, with all of those coming during his minor-league career.

I can't wait to see what Ozzie Guillen has to say...

It may sound like I'm second-guessing Gardy. Not true. I support his decision to try out Mauer at first base. Mauer, during his few words with the press, has appeared to be less-than-excited about the move that will happen sporadically at best, but in Gardy we trust. The Minnesota Twins are notorious for players who give nothing but their best for the team. See Michael Cuddyer and his ability to play almost anywhere. It may be about time for hometown hero Joe Mauer to try his abilities elsewhere if his body can't handle the behind-the-plate beating.

Sorry Joe, I'm with Gardy on this one.

Minnesota Twins: Who is to Blame?

The current Minnesota Twins team is the worst in Twins history, with the only team even coming close to how bad these guys are was in 1982 when they went 60-102 -- a .370 winning percentage. Right now, the Twins are boasting a .341 winning percentage.

Not only are we the worst in Twins history, but we have the worst record in baseball.

Since Ron Gardenhire, who won manager of the year last year, took over as manager in 2002, the Twins have only had one losing season which took place in 2007.

The next 20 games are becoming increasingly critical as the Twins look to win another ALC Division Title.

In 2011, Murphy's law applies in that everything that could go wrong, will and has gone wrong and, while pointing fingers is never fun and almost always done by artificial hypocrites, I find that I probably am not personally to blame and, therefore, am exempt. Let us take an in-depth look at who really is to blame.


Ron Gardenhire.

Is Gardenhire to blame? As the old saying goes, 'you can't fire the team', but can we really blame a manger with a .545 winning percentage -- a coach with a winning percentage better than Harris' (.485) or Kelly's (.478).

Perhaps expectations are greater because of Gardenhire's success. While that doesn't seem very fair, I guess we aren't in the business of being fair... have you seen the Yankee's payroll lately?

One critical aspect that I have noticed is all the Twins injuries. Yes, we have been plagued by them again this year, but in the past Gardy has always managed to work with such injuries and manage around them. I'm not sure if that is the case.

It is easy to blame the manager. However, I don't. Gardenhire has always been a players-manager and there has got to be behind-the-scenes happenings that such fans like myself aren't privy to. We can't blame Gardenhire.

Rick Anderson

The Twins are without the services of Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier and Jon Rauch, who combined to appear in 204 games in the 2010 season. The 4.75 combined ERA for the Twinks starters is the second worst since pitching coach Rick Anderson joined the team in 2002 with Gardenhire.

However, in the bullpen alone, the 5.34 ERA is more than a full run higher than the 3.97 ERA of the 2004 Twins team... which is the next highest.

The return of Joe Nathan (who I almost allotted his own category) has not worked out like anyone thought. I respect the way the team has handled Nathan. More often than not Nathan has given up runs, but the team keeps him in because, without the confidence that results from working through tough situations, Nathan will fast become fruitless.

I would like to see more Anderson magic, as I'm sure he would like to see more bullpen talent. I can't point my finger at Anderson.

Bill Smith

Since taking over for Terry Ryan as the Twins GM in 2007, the Twins payroll has increased almost exponentially from $71 million to $112 million -- from 18th highest to ninth.

Do Smith and the Twins know how to spend money wisely?

I will concede that Bill Smith would have been run out of town, if not the state had he not signed hometown hero Joe Mauer to such a lucrative deal.

Further, I must submit that we cannot blame Smith for the decline in Twins pulling their weight in hitting, but we can address the issue of off-season bullpen assembly.

Additionally, the Minnesota Twins farm system, which has always been a symbol of pride for the organization and a money-generating machine, has dwindled in talent.

No longer are the farm system or bullpen reliable. Do we blame Bill Smith for this?


My point is... it is very easy to blame the coaching staff and front office. But with epically disastrous season plaguing the Twins thus far, there is no doubt in my mind that we cannot blame one person; no one person can be responsible for all this destruction.

For me, this season started with Spring Training. That's intuitive, right? Seasons are marked by the start of Spring Training, but what I am actually referencing is how our missteps began that early.

If we must blame someone (which I'm not certain we have to)...

Justin Morneau missed almost all of spring training -- perhaps he could have smoothed out the his current trouble with normally-easily-hit pitches sooner than later, with 1/4 of a season gone.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka barely played in games with any sort of consistency while in Ft. Myers -- its likely he would have learned that American baseball differs than that of Japan's in our sliding techniques. He could have developed the habit of moving out of the way of runners like Nick Swisher.

Michael Cuddyer missed most of Spring Training with a painful wart on his foot -- this is common sense. If you have something wrong that will likely disable your ability to play, see a doctor before Spring Training. Its likely Cuddyer wouldn't have started off so slow, utilizing the month of April as his own version of Spring Training.

Joe Mauer and his bi-lateral leg weakness -- I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT IS.

It is easy to blame the coaches and front office. However, its much more fitting to blame the boys who are the face of the organization. Morneau, Cuddy and Mauer have made this team what they are over the past few years and I can't help but feel disappointment in their severely lacking performance this season.

For the fans and for the team... please figure out a way to pull things together. Even for die-hard fans like myself, this season is on the brink of unbearable.

Until then, I'm going to think about how good the Twins could be and, perhaps will be soon or next year. This is still Twins Territory.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka Plays Despite Earthquake

The new second basemen for the Minnesota Twins arrived at Hammond Stadium on Friday morning unaware that Japan had been hit with an 8.9 earthquake, the largest in the country's history. His teammates and coaching staff were concerned about Tsuyoshi Nishioka's family and had asked him if they were fine... That's when Nishioka found out that, while he was preparing for another spring training game, a disaster struck Japan.



Ron Gardenhire offered to give the second basemen the day off in order to get in contact with his family, but after hearing from his wife via email and learning his family was safe, Nishioka played. He played in honor of his countrymen. Now THAT is what I call dedication - I think Nishioka is fitting right in.

Following the 3-2 Twins' win over the BoSox, the TV in Gardy's office was tuned in to continuous coverage regarding the double punch earthquake-tsunami disaster in Japan. In Nishioka's first year in America, it appears he has the full support of his teammates and coaches. Way to be Twins.

Manager of the Year Speechless

The Twins caravan, on the northwestern portion of their Midwestern route, found themselves in front of large crowds of fanatical Twins fans. Fans that were so ecstatic and so supportive of the organization and the captain himself, that they gave Ron Gardenhire a standing ovation that left him speechless.

As Gardy was announced, the crowd at the Lodge in Brainard Lakes, the crowd stood and roared for our deserving leader. Gardy told the crowd that he "actually get[s] to stand next to guys like Harmon Killebrew and Tony Oliva and now Bert Blyleven and they get standing ovations. So to get one of those is pretty cool."

You know Gardy... anytime. Anytime you want to wave your arms frantically to drive in the runner, anytime you want to curse out the incompetent umpiring crew (whether they really deserve it or not), and anytime you want to lead our Twins to another Division Championship and perhaps the World Series, we will all stand for you -- you always deserve a standing ovation.

Along with Gardenhire winning the Manager of the Year award, Twins fans have many things to be excited about. The organization recently signed Jim Thome (one year, 3 million) back, along with Carl Pavano (two year, sixteen-five). These two guys are two of my favorite Twins. I love home runs and I love Carl's stache. What can I say?

Check back for more Twins information/updates. As my favorite sport and Minnesota sports team, the Minnesota Twins hold a special place in my heart.

As for me... I'm going to see if the Twins hold a special place in Mom's bank account via the purchase of season tickets. Wish me luck!

Ron Gardenhire (FINALLY) American League Manager of the Year

Ron Gardenhire is accustomed to being in the winners bracket, racking up victories as the manager of the small-market Minnesota Twins, but he has finally won the long-eluded and well-deserved AL Manager of the Year Honors for 2010! Until this year, I have been embarrassed for the Baseball Writers' Association for passing up the chance of naming Gardenhire the AL Manager of the Year in previous seasons where Gardy has been runner-up five times.

Congratulations to Ron Gardenhire for the honor and to the Baseball Writers' Association for getting one right.

Gardy, who is famous for his hot-headed explosions at incompetent umpiring crews, received 16 of a potential 28 first place votes, scoring him at 108 points. Texas' Ron Washington, who was not able to clinch a World Series this 2010 season, finished runner-up to Gardy with 81 points and 10 first-place votes. I would say the 20 point spread is a successful margin of victory. Nice work, I approve.

Something to think about... in the NL, San Diego's Bud Black scored in at 104 points with 16 of the 32 first-place votes. Now, I may not be a mathematician, but it looks to me like Gardy could have easily been named the MLB Manager of the Year; why stop at the AL when you've clearly scored higher in points and first-place votes than any other manager in the MLB?

P.S. New York's Joe Girardi received one third-place vote. Suck on that New York.