Is Ozzie thinking that the little piranhas are crappie-ing out?
Posted on September 16th, 2008 – 12:32 PMBy La Velle
While the Twins are worrying about catching the White Sox, the talk in Chicago is about why the Sox can’t put away the Twins.
But White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen on Monday sensed that the Twins are turning into dead crappies - to borrow a phrase from a local columnist.
“Those little piranhas are out of teeth now,” Guillen told the Chicago media. “I got the feeling they don’t have any teeth left. They’ve been fighting and grinding all year long. They should have little teeth now.
“It’s time for us to pull them out and win it. Hopefully we stay in the pennant race.”
Guillen probably was joking - but this team has lacked bite lately.
I made a big deal yesterday out of how the Twins struggle with lefties they’ve never seen before. Sure enough, they lost to Scott Lewis. But that can’t be an excuse at this point of the season.
Lewis has pitched at Class AAA Buffalo and Class AA Akron, teams that play in the same league as Twins affiliates. There should have been plenty of info to go on. Ultimately, the Twins hitters should be good enough to figure out a new pitcher - or sit down and let Matt Macri, Matt Tolbert and Randy Ruiz get after him.
Here comes another soft-tossing lefty tonight in Zach Jackson. Are we going to see more of the same? Is Guillen right? The calendar is beginning to work against the Twins, so it’s time for them to beat up on an inexperienced Jackson before they face future Cy Young winner Cliff Lee on Thursday.
48 Responses to "Is Ozzie thinking that the little piranhas are crappie-ing out?"
Amazing how no-name youngsters dominate the Twins, but we’ll probably hand Lee his third loss.
Ozzie should worry about his own team.
Right Nora. Like the Packer’s new quarterback said, “Get on board or just shut up.”
Those little piranhas are out of teeth now?
I haven’t noticed where The Great Whites have been in a “feeding frenzy” lately.
[…] Originally published by Twins Insider […]
I read what Ozzie said about our little piranhas and it kind of makes me mad and I would hope it might light a fire under the team. In fact, I think I’m going to get my piranhas t-shirt out tonight and wear it while I watch the game. With any luck the Yankees can beat up on the Whities and we kick some Cleveland butt and we’ll be tied. Let’s see how Ozzie takes it when we go 3 or 4 games up on them heading into our series at the Metrodome against them. Should be interesting! Note to Gardy - PLAY THE BEST 9 - leave Cuddeyer and Punto on the bench and see what happens. Go Twins!!!
OK, try this one:
Ozzie ought to just clamp his “JAWS” shut.
There’s some motivational bulletin board material here somewhere.
Capt. Ozzie being the kid again. Just a player-manager really.
Works to our advantage.
Sheesh. If the Twinkies need “motivational material” to win games, then the race is locked up for my White Sox. You guys have a better team - start playing like it and stop whining.
If the season were to end now what would the playoff match ups look like for the AL?
Ozzie certainly has a talent for saying the wrong thing. When you’re close to pulling away with the division lead, the last thing you want to do is give the other team something to get them motivated. He’s doing a better job of inspiring us than Gardy.
let Matt Macri, Matt Tolbert and Randy Ruiz get after him
Amen
Shave Ozzie’s bald and make him wear LaPanta’s rug and Smalley’s ugly tweed suit from last night.
Re Smalley’s Jacket:
When ever he wears that I assume his wife wasn’t home to dress him.
Re Ozzie: I’ve always liked Ozzie because he shows respect for the Twins. Maybe we can sneak up on the White Sox while Ozzie has his gruard down.
One thing keeps the Twins from vaulting over the Sox- Gardy. Unfortunately he has a penchant for pulling defeat out of the jaws of victory with his knucklehead moves, whether it be micromanaging the bullpen or his inane starting lineups. Guardado, Crain, Guerrier and Bonser are busts but too many times this year the loss has been Gardy’s. I hope he wakes up in time and plays his 9 best players, let Maurer rest during the of-season, and let’s go! I love the Twins, have since ‘61 and the start when I was a kid, but I see the Sox winning the division by 5 games unless Gardenhire gets it together. Hopefully he will see what happened to Yost in milwaukee and get a clue.
Ozzie is right this team has no fire right now, laying down for rookie pitchers and crappy washed up vets
Ozzie is an idiot our team is way better than his in every way including the bullpen…time will prove me right!
I wonder if you have ever actually CHECKED Gardenhire’s stats? He has done more with less than any other manager in baseball and has the second best record among active coaches. “Bob” clearly has been watching some other team since 1961 because to throw this on Gardy is demonstrating ZERO knowledge of the game. This team was supposed to be a non-event, sub-.500, growth engine for the next two years. Instead, we’re 15 games over .500 and have a crack at the post season — THAT is because of Gardy.
“This team was supposed to be a non-event, sub-.500, growth engine for the next two years. Instead, we’re 15 games over .500 and have a crack at the post season — THAT is because of Gardy”
look at the Twin’s record this year outside of playing Tiggers/Indians/Royals/NL teams
record is 35 - 47 that is a HUGE factor in why the Twin’s are still in a playoff run
Thrylos….
STL, your right but it still confuses me that this team is not mentally ready for too many games. It’s a coach’s or managers responsibility to have their team prepared and mentally into the game. Their inconsistant offense has been their achilles heel. Ten runs one game and Zippo the next. Add to that the very heart of their line up can’t find their butt with either hand at the plate. Morneau is pulling his usual September dissappearing act. His at bat last night in the top of the 9th was as pathetic a display as I’ve seen, not what we need from Mr MVP.
DG
Smalley stole that jacket out of my corn field and off of my scare crow
AgateHuntersWife: Lol! I’m sure you’re right about Smalley’s wife! Lots of guys are in the same boat.
The Twins and Sox are both playing lousy. Good thing they are in the same division.
This team was supposed to be a non-event, sub-.500, growth engine for the next two years. Instead, we’re 15 games over .500 and have a crack at the post season — THAT is because of Gardy.
Why? I am serious, why does gardy get credit for this? What managerial moves has he made to get them here. Because I believe the players have them 15 games over and gardy’s poor managing has cost them from being further up.
It’s time for this team to show a little fight. If they could have a nice come behind win, it might be just what the doctor ordered.
Time for a Haiku…dedicated to Ozzie..
Ozzie opens mouth
Can’t understand many words
Press 1 for English
Can you imagine that? A team struggling to score runs for two whole games!! Unbelievable. They’re supposed to win every game, especially when I’ve never heard of the pitcher, no matter how well they pitched in the minors. The White Sox would never get shut down by a no-name pitcher (except for last night). Remember when this team was the third-best offense in the AL? What? They still are? Never mind.
What happened to the good old days when we beat up on bad pitching. Ahh, I remember Saturday …
Another soft throwing pitcher against us? Gardy needs to give instructions to get the bats off the shoulders and swing away! Taking tons of pitches is great when the opposing pitcher is wild, but I have seen way too many called 3rd strikes. Protect the plate!
LNP in the line-up, again. And gimpy Cuddyer DH’ing, again. Ozzie probably smiles when he sees Gardy’s line-ups.
Tardy gets far too much credit for us winning the divisions, that were all terrible except for 2006.
Instead he plays Cruddy, when he is rusty, and cannot make the postseason, even if the Twins were to make it. Let Ruiz get his at bats cause he WILL make the post season roster.
Classic Tardy.
The Twins are 2 out in the loss column and need to be no more than one out when the Sox come to town or else they will have to sweep. Winning 2 of 3 would mean a tie in that case and would favor the Twins I think.
I think the Sox win the tiebreaker…
Ozzie is right.
I don’t get it. Do you really believe that this team should be batting HIGHER than .312 with RISP this year? Do you REALLY think that Morneau should be batting HIGHER than .310 with 23 homers and 120 RBI with NO ONE batting behind him all year? I hated that last at bat last night, too, but if anyone is of concern to me it’s our all-world catcher — Joe seems to be struggling of late. We’re #2 or #3 in the league in runs scored and we only have one guy with 20 HRs. That does NOT happen by accident or by throwing together a bunch of no-name players, the MANAGER must get some credit for that. How about handling pitchers? With the starting five we have, do you really think someone else could be doing better with them? I don’t believe it for a second. Trust me, I’m not a shrinking violet and will call these guys out when deserved…this year, it’s not.
SoCal and Dana, you both nailed it.
rghrbek, you might want to go back to grade school with the creative namecalling.
Give Trey Hillman an MVP, batting champion, 2-time Cy Young award winner(Santana) and best closer in the league and I’m pretty sure he can do just as good as Gardenhire.
Gardenhire = Overrated
Cy Young should be Halladay…too bad the idiot voters only look at wins.
Not true at all.
Last year one pitcher in all of MLB had 20 wins, the supposed magic number. He didn’t win Cy Young.
STLTwins. You may have done some research usings stats to support your theory, but there is much more to your statement then stats.Like him or not Gardenhire is Mgr of record so win or lose he is will be held responsible for everything that happens this season.For the first time ever I can’t remember Gardenhire having been under intense scrunity from the electronic and print media for his decision making durings games this season. No matter how this season turns out. Twins Management will have review his performance and start asking some serious questions….
Ozzie doesn’t even make sense anymore (as if he ever did)
how does Gomez share AL player of the week honors by batting .333 with a triple … there had to be alot of better #’s out there than that for the week … and the reporter asked Gardy if that will give Gomez some confidence and Gardy replies that Gomez already has plenty of that … are you really serious ..you have to be kidding
I’ve been an avid Twins fan for 23 years. Yet, I can’t help but laugh when I read people on this board ripping Ozzie.
My friends, whether you care to admit it or not, there is no comparison between Gardy (6-15 in the postseason) and Ozzie (11-1 in the postseason, with a World Championship.)
Just because Gardy inherited a TK-groomed team of organizational veterans for three straight titles in a horrible division, just because he was the beneficiary of one of the most epic collapses in AL history, don’t get the idea that this guy is any good. AND, certainly don’t get the idea that he’s even in the same league as Ozzie. Ozzie will manage a team that has lost perhaps its best pitcher along with the league’s MVP, plus his first baseman, and he’ll manage them to a division title going away, while Gardy now manages a team near complete health and manages them into the ground! Gardy has blown no less than 11 wins this year with stupid, micro-managing on the road. It’s as if he’s always trying to impress people with his gay double-switch NL garbage.
Ozzie is vastly superior to Gardy. So, if you want to rip on someone, rip on the fat ass in the Twins dugout. HE is the guy that deserves your venom for pissing away a year in which the door was wide open. (And none of this “rebuilding” crap either. You don’t sign the middle of your order and your closer to $150 million worth of contracts if you’re “rebuilding.” Get real.)
Man the Twins blow it again…Nathan is slumping at a very tough time.
I am getting tickets to the sox series..I just hope the games mean something.
Ozzie has one division title and an AL title that he got from a cheater that is Pierzynski…
He is the most overrated manager in baseball.
twins suck
i cant believe i watch this crappy team
white sox fans
Cuddyer…should just wait ’till next season. The Twins, at least for me, aren’t done, but they’re close. ONLY because of The Series, am I still keeping a little faith. They practically have to sweep them though. The Twins might even have to win 5 of their last 6 games- W. Sox and Kansas Shitty (at home) to make the PS. Again, ONLY because the games are at home is there any reason to hope. I wouldn’t bet money on it, but crazier things have happened- The Mets collapse, the Rockies winning streak…
That being said, crushing loss tonight. It sucks to come all the way back to lose. I don’t know about you but I can’t stand the fact that other teams hit home runs and we don’t. EVERY other team, almost without exception, can do it consistantly. The Twins are good a hitting home runs- when it doesn’t or barely matters. When we’re way up, or reasonably down (Like Mauers last night). I can’t remeber the last time a Twin hit a Game Tying or Game Leading (when we’re down by 1+ runs) home run. Yet other teams, whether they’re facing the Twins or not, can just do it. It’s gets sickening and frustrating- at least for me.
Last thing: Target field…sucks. Target Stadium sounds better.
**The Twins should have made some kind of trade at the deadline**
