"I know a lot of things get said about their payroll and all that stuff, but the bottom line is...

"I know a lot of things get said about their payroll and all that stuff, but the bottom line is they are just great baseball players," Gardenhire said. "And, aside from all the other stuff, they are very, very talented. That’s why they make a lot of money, because they deserve it, because they have played the game for a long time and they get it done. And they know how to get it done and they play with class."

NYTimes

It's easy to grumble in defeat, so I want to tip my cap to Ron Gardenhire. If I thought the Yanks could steal him from Minnesota I'd be all for it.

about 1 month ago jscape2000 7 comments 0 recs |

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Good for him

As much as people want to bash the Yankees for spending so much money, you need to hold the Twins accountable too, for squandering resources and failing to build a major league roster.

I think five Minnesota’s starters last night had an on-base percentage of .342 or less for the season. Two thirds of the position players on the postseason roster had an OBP under .350. It doesn’t matter how well you steal bases, hit and run, or go first to third, when you struggle with going from HOME to FIRST.

They say the Twins do the “little things” right – but they didn’t in this series. Two key baserunning errors in the last two games took them out of potential run-scoring situations. If Carlos Gomez and Nick Punto don’t both overrun the base, it’s quite possible that the series would still be going.

Before the 2008 season the Twins traded one of the top five starting pitchers in baseball (Santana), a talented young pitcher with loads of potential (Matt Garza), and an excellent defense shortstop who can hit a little (Jason Bartlett)….and got two hitters who are “fast” but can’t get on base (Carlos Gomez and Delmon Young), a backup infielder (Brendan Harris), a pitcher who’s since been designated for assignment (Phil Humber), and two minor league prospects who, nearly two years later, really aren’t on anybody’s radar. The Santana trade was salary-driven, but it’s at least possible they could have gotten more from either the Yankees or the Red Sox if their initial demands weren’t so high. The other trade was not-salary driven.

So it’s one thing to make a trade that’s a salary dump, or a trade that looks bad in hindsight….but when you make not one, but two trades that look bad the day after you make them, well, there just really aren’t any excuses.

by 3460kuri on Oct 12, 2009 9:22 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Second you jscape2000

I read that too and was very impressed.

by pkyankeefan on Oct 12, 2009 11:02 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Excellent points ...

Had a discussion with a friend of mine who happens to live in St. Paul. Right away he starts with “The Yankees bought the division and will probably buy the Series …”

I’m over the line “the Yankees buy (insert whatever here)” line. The Yankees are homegrown up the middle, in the bullpen—and if Wang hadn’t gotten hurt, 3-5 starters would have been homegrown. Our farm teams are all top-flite and busting with talent. In fact, I suspect few teams have as many homegrown players on their roster as the Yankees.

I agree with you in that the Twins dumped some strong talent and I believe got stiffed in return. That’s a head-scratcher for me, because they are a quality organization that has an uncanny ability to develop talent and get it to the bigs. They obviously whiffed on Garza and on Santana.

"Baseball is the background music of my life." -George Will

by Ronster22 on Oct 12, 2009 11:23 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed on Gardenhire's class

but we need to keep in mind that they made the playoffs simply because someone had to out of the Central. They had the lowest W-L percentage of any of the eight teams in the playoffs, and were in the weakest division (two a shade over .500, one just under, and two around .400). It’s hard not to point out that they do play well when they need to, and they certainly played well in two of the three games of the playoff series. They deserve credit. They’re a good team, and that’s exactly it. They’re a good team, not an excellent team.

I agree that they have their problems and 3460kuri puts a good finger on one of them, but the biggest is, let’s face it, they really aren’t a playoff caliber team. The Rangers, Rays, Tigers, and Mariners all were in that same area of W-L percentage. The Rays were only 2 losses back of the Twins. Put the Rays in the Central (ie, play the Yankees and Sox a lot less, and the Royals and Indians a lot more), and they’re runaway winners of the Central. Don’t even get me started on the interleague factor.

That said, the playoffs can be different. Some teams can get hot and win it all, even if they don’t match up as the best on paper. Let’s keep that in mind as we root for the Yankees to get #27.

by mrljdavid on Oct 12, 2009 12:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

True ... however

While the Rangers, Rays, Tigers, Mariners are all “good” teams, only the Twins have made winning (even by alittle) a habit. They also boast a pedigree of cultivating exceptional talent … dating back to Puckett, Hrbek and crew right on up to Cuddyer, Morneau, Mauer, Santana … You get my drift.

"Baseball is the background music of my life." -George Will

by Ronster22 on Oct 12, 2009 5:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No doubt

they’ve been consistently good, and have maximized their talent and skills.
But it ain’t enough.
Maybe with the new stadium they’ll keep some talent and take the next step and go farther in the postseason.

by mrljdavid on Oct 13, 2009 6:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

hey ive always liked gardenhires style...

And he always tries to make the most of what he’s got…it would have been fun to see minnesota with morneau and maur…but were too good and too healthy at this point….but he is a class guy….

by NYYWinsRings26 on Oct 12, 2009 4:24 PM EDT via mobile reply actions 0 recs