Picking each other up is a nice way to win
Posted on June 3rd, 2008 – 7:59 AMBy Howard
*A 6-5 victory over the Yankees where there were so many places that things could have gone kablooey: Yankees rallies were snuffed out with Twins picking each other up in the field, on the mound and at the plate. Livan’s pitching in the sixth — getting Jeter and Abreu with two on — minimized the impact of an inning of defensive difficulties for Delmon, and the Guerrier/Nathan tandem allowed us to forget that Dennys Reyes struggled his way through the three lefties he faced in the seventh. Guerrier may have thrown the best strike-three change-up in baseball history to Chad Moeller with runners on first and third and one out in the seventh.
*The voting closed at 8:29 p.m. in the “who’ll homer first” poll when Joe Mauer scorched a ball over the right-field wall to tie the game at 5. Among the 2,534 people who voted, Mauer came in third at 20.1 percent, with Delmon “winning” with 46.4 percent and Livan at 33.4 percent. Maybe the next poll should be when Delmon will finally go deep — 2008, 2009 or 2010.
*Delmon had three doubles, including the one that drove in the game-winning run in the eighth. The third double was flat out smoked to right center. We were in Section 118, closer to the game than you probably were, and that contact sounded sweet.
*Speaking of smoking the ball, Michael Cuddyer went 9-for-18 against the Yankees and, in his last eight games, is 13-for-37 with nine RBI. Last night, his hitting started and continued rallies and compensated for the fact that Justin Morneau was struggling. On defense, he made a wicked throw to nail Jeter at second based when Jeter smacked a ball off the right-field wall. It’s a niche skill, but nobody does the ball-off-the-wall throw better than Cuddyer.
*Pinch-hitter Nick Punto didn’t dive into first base when he put down a sacrifice bunt during the game-winning rally in the eighth. He spiked Robinson Cano running through the base but Cano walked it off — and now we can all wonder whether Punto’s was really on the disabled list getting his brain reprogrammed.
*My computer didn’t crash when I keyboarded “pinch-hitter Nick Punto.”
*Senor Smoke Free put up an incredible pitching line while scuffling through six innings: 13 hits and one walk in six-plus-a-batter. Put those 14 runners together in different combinations and you could have been looking at 10 Yankees runs instead of the five that he gave up. Face it, Livan’s style is not suited to facing a smart-hitting team like the Yankees, but he huffed and bluffed and got enough key outs to make for a memorable game.
*Gogomez’ and Casilla’s numbers look paltry in the box score. But the youngsters improvised a key early run when Gogomez went from first to third when Andy Pettitte’s pick-off throw skidded into the bullpen for an error and Casilla followed with a squeeze bunt to bring him home.
*The Twins are a half-game out of first place and, unlike the division-leading White Sox, our manager and general manager aren’t threatening to throttle one another. If Ozzie really wants to get rid of Jim Thome, send him over.
*The Twins are 9-2 in games I’ve attended. (Shouldn’t you be sending me your tickets?)
other people are here too
49 Responses to "Picking each other up is a nice way to win"
Some people are just pressured by other people to do things they do not want to do. I would keep it if I wanted it. It is a high school thing to do things other people want you to do…for what reason? The balls at Wrigley go to the Cub Bullpen and the ball is given to another fan. Stand up for yourself. If you want the ball, keep it. Be a MAN!!!!!!
“…and now we can all wonder whether Punto’s was really on the disabled list getting his brain reprogrammed.”
Hah!
Well I think that might have been our best win of the season. It sure is a lot more fun to win 6-5 (2008) than lose 2-0 (2007).
Although, I will say Star Tribune online showed its homerish colors with the headline “Mauer’s First HR Worth the Wait”. That was a clutch HR for sure, but when your 3-hitter gets his first HR of the year on June 2, I’m not sure that’s quite worth the wait.
Anyway, the two things we’ve been looking for came up huge over the weekend in helping us split with the Yanks–the bullpen and Cuddy. And I guess sitting Delmon Young for one game might not have been a bad thing after all, huh?
The great thing about last night is the team kept battling to comeback and avoid losing 3-of-4 to the Yanks…I know it’s only June, but that could come in handy if the Twins end up with the Bombers in five game series come October.
Reusse wrote about the so-called tradition of throwing homerun balls back. I’ve always been baffled by this myself–I don’t care if it’s A-Rod or Denny Hocking, I’m keeping that ball if it’s me. I was going to ask Howard what his take is, but since he sits in foul territory, I guess it’s never an issue for him!
Jason,
I’ve sat out there and, if I were a regular, you can be sure I’d be following Wrigley Field protocol of bringing a ball to the game and throwing THAT one on the field. No way I’m giving up the real one.
Yeah, not only Punto the pinch hitter but Punto the intentionally walked. Obviously when the Yankees come to town we enter the Twilight Zone where Punto and Morneau are cosmically swithched!
after hearing ozzie guillen act like a complete and utter fool as a manager in chicago i am grateful for what we have her in mn players manager and front office focused on the ball field ozzie is just an idiot really how can a manager consistently make himself a target and do nothing to help his team win what a joke as a manager
HOward,
If it didn’t crash when Punto was intenionally walked the other night, i think you are pretty safe in most situations going forward!!!!
I will say this about the Punto pinch hit appearance (and yes this is coming from my biased “No Punto Zone” perspective): that was a split second from being a disasterous at-bat…Punto popped that bunt up and we’re lucky it found the turf before it found Giambi’s glove.
Even though it ended up working, I still wouldn’t pinch hit Punto for Craig Monroe (who had an RBI single in his previous at-bat) in that situation…but all’s well that ends well.
Also, Matt Macri’s double last night was hit harder than any ball I can remember Punto hitting since he became a Twin…I’m sure since it was a rocket pulled to left Macri will be benched for not looking to go the other way, however.
In all seriousness, the Twins weathered a disappointing two game sputtered against the Yanks and this is setting up to be an exciting week of baseball!
I was mildly surprised (this is Gardy we’re talking about here) when LNP was brought in to pinch hit for Macri, who had previously smoked a double, but it was a less stressful, more enjoyable night of watching the Twins w/out LNP in the starting line-up.
All in all, a good solid effort with most everyone contributing. Gomez and Casilla created excitement on the bases, Young & Cuddyer put on a show and I thought that Harris and Casilla turned several nice DP’s. But alas, Macri’s reward will probably be AAA and for Harris, more bench splinters, as Ronny will insert his ‘lil buddy-boy into the starting line-up just as soon as he can. Sigh. Anyway, nice win.
Kay–Punto batted for Monroe, not Macri…but that only makes your point more valid
Howard, I don’t know how much or if your even getting paid for this blog, but you should demand a raise. You’ve become the first thing I look for after a Twins game and are the sports best writer the Trib has.
Kay, Harris failed to turn at least one DP since he takes so damn long to get the ball out of his glove (even though Cano was out at first, terrible umping last night)
Oops, my bad on who LNP was PH’ing for, but ugh, even worse. I’ll take Harris and Casilla generally working smooth DP’s, and they had several last night, over LNP booting the ball while trying to turn a routine DP into one of his unecessary showboating efforts instead.
Ben–I was waiting for someone to point that out…
ESPN commentators seemed to spend a lot of time in pointing out that if it were Punto, it would’ve been an easy double play…here’s my take:
First, the Twins are 4-0 on ESPN this year, I believe…so that rocks. Plus, the crew of Dan Shulman, Orel Hersheiser, and Steve Phillips were a joy to listen to…it’s odd too, they never made any “calls” about what would happen in an at-bat and they never circled anyone; they actually stuck to mature baseball conversation throughout the game…don’t those guys understand that’s not how a Twins game is to be called????
But back to the Punto thing…sure, Punto might have turned that DP, but let’s also not forget Punto booted a purely routine grounder on Saturday that cost the Twins 3 runs and arguably the ballgame. I think Harris has done a more than adequate job at short and would not be in favor of Punto being our everyday SS.
Ben was correct about horrible umpiring…the play at the plate was inexcusibly missed (luckily it didn’t end up costing us) and I think at least one of those bang-bang plays at first should’ve went our way, too. It punctuated an awful series by one Jerry Meals.
“…unlike the division-leading White Sox, our manager and general manager aren’t threatening to throttle one another.”
I think more attention should be paid to this fact by some people around here.
After every lost, and heck…some wins even…, people call Gardy out for not “laying into the team” or “just giving blah answers” to the media.
Ozzie Guillen is the perfect example of why the adage “Praise in public, punish in private” rings true.
Gardy did a fine job during the KC series of communicating to the press his disappointment with the team’s overall play (especially regarding Young’s mental errors). All without the need for a profanity laced tirade.
But what we don’t see, and likely will never see (or even NEED to see), is what Gardy says in the locker room when the press isn’t around.
I don’t want or need the manager or coach of any of team I route for to go into any kind of public tirade about something involving the club.
Calling out a player in the press is foolish, as it doesn’t do anything except looking like you’re throwing him under the bus.
The other thing I’ve learned from watching my managers here at work, when speaking to others (outside) regarding your team members:
If anything goes well, give credit to the person who succeeded.
If anything goes poorly, you wrap it up as a team failure to those outside and then address the specific issue internally.
Well, not so fast, though T…last I checked, in the World Championship standings, the score is Ozzie 1, Gardy 0.
I get that it’s certainly not appropriate to go off on a profanity-laced tirade at every sign of trouble with a ballclub, but these two are both good managers and they both have different styles. Jim Leyland went off on a profanity-laced tirade in ‘06 and his team responded with an amazing run of wins (only to be outdone by the Twins)…
The problem with Ozzie appears to be that he goes to the tirade card a little too often and this time it got personal between Ozzie and Jerry…but that’s who Ozzie is and I, for one, actually enjoy the refreshing honesty you get from Ozzie…so what if everyone knows that you’re mad? Is there a rule that says you have to keep that stuff out of the public?
If Ozzie is fired it won’t be privately…we’ll all know that Jerry / Sox ownership simply had enough of Ozzie…before it gets to that point, Ozzie wants some action and if the only way he’s going to get it is to call someone out publicly than so be it–I mean seriously, how thin-skinned are these GMs? It wasn’t a personal attack. He didn’t insult his manhood or religion…he just said he wanted to see a better lineup…so what? If Jay Mariotti says those things in print no one will claim that he is off his rocker or out-of-bounds.
And in terms of what effect it will have in the clubhouse with the current team–that’s between Ozzie and those guys…and Ozzie has been at this long enough to know how to maintain the proper balance and I think the players understand Ozzie…
So bottom line for me is before we go off on how ‘we do it right and they do it wrong’ let’s actually A) catch them in the standings and then B) equal some of their playoff success. There’s more than one way to skin a cat.
“Calling out a player in the press is foolish, as it doesn’t do anything except looking like you’re throwing him under the bus.
The other thing I’ve learned from watching my managers here at work, when speaking to others (outside) regarding your team members:
If anything goes well, give credit to the person who succeeded.
If anything goes poorly, you wrap it up as a team failure to those outside and then address the specific issue internally.”
Huh? Sorry, T, but Gardy calls out players in the press quite often. He doesn’t necessarily call them by name, but he makes it quite clear who he is talking about by describing the specific failure. He may say “we dropped the ball at second base,” but he clearly means Casilla/Harris/Tolbert dropped the ball.
One more thing. My last post is in no way to be interpreted as a defense of Ozzie. I don’t care at all for Ozzie’s style, but since this is a Twins blog I won’t get into that.
Morneau, Mauer and the Seven Dwarfs are out-hitting all but five MLB teams and all but TWO AL teams in BA.
(Five of the top 8 hitting teams in MLB are in the NL despite their pitchers batting).
The White Sox with Carlos Quinton (OMG), Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Jermaine Dye, Orlando Cabrera, AJ, Joe Crede, Nick Swisher and Juan Uribe are hitting 22 points LOWER than the Twins.
Its too bad we fired Vavra in April, otherwise he could be taking some credit.
Wait a minute!
You mean the bloggers didn’t have the authority to fire the Twins hitting coach?
Sh-t!
I am holding the Twins Organization chart upside down.
I meant “Kenny” of course in that it has become personal between Ozzie and Kenny Williams…
But here’s my thought on Kenny Williams…this is the same guy who convinced Terry Ryan not to pursue Frank Thomas after the 2005 season for character issues…meaning the Twins missed out on an inexpensive 39 HR and 114 RBI in 2006 and instead settled for Rondell White…
So the Big Hurt was apparently a clubhouse cancer but somehow Kenny has felt that Ozzie is okay? Look, the guy is volitale, we all know that…we’ve known it forever…his media tirades should be taken for what they are–mostly entertainment value–and what should rule the day is the performance on the field, which, although lukewarm, still is a first place team.
The converse is also true–a mild mannered, baseball PC tempermant should not mitigate last place in the standings for a manager, either.
And while we’re on the topic of The Big Hurt…this from the ‘i hate it when i’m right’ files:
Remember all of you telling us the Twins did the right thing in not pursuing Thomas after he was cut by the Blue Jays because he was over the hill and his numbers throughout his 19 year career shouldn’t fool anyone…he was basically cooked…
well in 91 at-bats with the A’s Big Frank is hitting .319 with 4 HR and 16 RBI and has an OBP of .417.
Yep, look’s like he was cooked, alright.
But we absoutely did the right thing–we can’t take at-bats away from Jason Kubel.
“He may say “we dropped the ball at second base,” but he clearly means Casilla/Harris/Tolbert dropped the ball.”
That “we” is the difference. Trust me.
“Well, not so fast, though T…last I checked, in the World Championship standings, the score is Ozzie 1, Gardy 0.”
Funny, don’t remember where I mentioned World Series wins…or winning in general. I’m pretty sure I was talking about public perception.
But since you mention it:
“Jim Leyland went off on a profanity-laced tirade in ‘06 and his team responded with an amazing run of wins (only to be outdone by the Twins)…”
Who were lead by a tirade-free Ron Gardenhire. Hmm….
Oh, and we of course have Leyland’s tirade this season right before the Twins got to Detroit. That really seems to have righted the ship hasn’t it?
Meanwhile, Gardy calmly benches a struggling Gomez…who responds well. He then calmly benches a struggling Young…who has responded thus far.
Hmm….
Well you walked into my point again T…back to that World Championship scoreboard…Leyland 1, Gardy 0.
And as far as that 2006 season…I think it was Leyland, not Gardy who made it to the World Series.
So as I said, there’s more than one way to skin a cat and our way isn’t always the right way.
“Well you walked into my point again T…back to that World Championship scoreboard…Leyland 1, Gardy 0.”
Funny, what has got to do with the 2006 Tigers?
“And as far as that 2006 season…I think it was Leyland, not Gardy who made it to the World Series.”
Yeah, but everybody blames that on Vavra and Ulger anyway.
I should also add that you get into some really fun psyche discussions when you start trying to measure how long a tirade has an impact.
If the Tigers somehow manage to win it all this year, we going to look back at his tirade in mid April and say “Oh yeah, that worked!”
“That “we” is the difference. Trust me”
I don’t buy it. (Not that I don’t trust you…)
Well said howard, last night was an overall Team pick me up win, Twins baseball style. its good to see Cuddy getting back on track, and the way the dome was rockin last night was great to see as well! and it is a plus that Gardy and Bill Smith are not ready to kill each other!
Anybody know how long papa Young is in town? Might not be a coincidence that DY had a season best 3 RBI and 3 doubles with daddy around as a counselor. I suggest if DY repeats his performance in the Orioles series that we look at adding daddy to the staff.
Like I’ve said in the past, it would be a cheap expense to get “personal assistants” lined up for each of these guys — make sure they take care of themselves; stay out of risky situations; etc.
Well we’re on the same page about one thing, T–the value of these tirades. No, I don’t think a tirade in April (or anytime really) has much of an impact on how a team does overall.
But I do think that a manager (yes, even one who isn’t polite and doesn’t follow the ‘code’ to the letter like our guy, Gardy, does) deserves credit when his team wins the World Series and achieves success consistently.
Leyland and Ozzie are two examples–within our division, no less–of managers whose teams have peformed very well. So I agree that the tirades might not necessarily have anything to do with that, but because I think the impact of a tirade is overplayed and ancillary to what happens on the field, I guess I’m not going to demand that a manager gets fired because of tirades (ala Jay Mariotti’s latest column) when results on the field are what matters…
Likewise, I’m not going to praise a manager who doesn’t engage in tirades (as you did above) as “doing it the right way” when the record speaks to the fact that it can be done EITHER way.
And in case anyone’s wondering, here’s a breakdown of the managerial stats of my two favorite baseball managers:
Ozzie Guillen
374-330 (.531) in 5+ seasons
2 AL Central titles
1 World Championship
Ron Gardenhire
564-464 (.549) in 7+ seasons
4 AL Central titles
As I said, more than one way to skin a cat…both of these guys have been very successful.
Interesting stuff. I agree with Saam though. Gardy is always throwing guys under the bus especially young guys. This year he’s specifically called out Gomez, Harris, DY, among others. I’m not saying its right or wrong but anyone who says otherwise doesn’t listen or chooses not to.
I was at the game last night and sitting in my usually section in between the visiting dugout and the visiting bullpen as close to the rail as I can get - in this case, the third row. As a result, I was constantly annoyed by the ESPN camera guys who kept trying to get shots of Yankee Fans in any kind of concentrated area. Since there was a nice little family group sitting right in front of me, I had the unfortunate annoyance of having that damn thing pointed at me at least 1/3 of the game.
On the other hand, every time they seemed to aim the camera our direction, the Twins would do something that would absolutely require me to stand up, screaming and thrusting my fist in the air… somehow that always seemed to frustrate the ESPN guys and they would aim elsewhere… poor ESPN.
But now looking at the Twins record whenever ESPN airs the game? yeah, you can come visit us any time you want ESPN. I’ll make a point of sitting in the visiting area and showing my Twins pride!
JP - Actually I think Gardenhire has shown a lot more patience with the young players than in the past.As an example I’ll give you last nights FSN clubhouse clip.Some Media member tried to give Gardy the ammo to take a shot at Young And Gardenhire didn’t bite.Instead he gave us what is becoming the company line,and I think there is truth to it, “Delmon is a young player and he’s trying the best he can…”.Then he dwelled on the positives,three doubles and three RBI.
He has shown much more patience with Gomez,especialy early when the mistakes were many,than he did last year with Casilla.Harris is a bit different because he’s been around.But Harris’ defensive shortcomings are more Physical than mental.
I think most people here, and Twins fans in general, have been less patient with Delmon because of the perception that as a former #1 overall pick he should be as polished as Mauer seemed.But the truth is Yound only has about 120 or so more ML games under his belt than Gomez.And they are the same age.
I have never been a huge Gardenhire fan,but I think he is doing a pretty good job of handling three young postion players,Gomez,Delom,and Casilla, as well as a very inexpierenced starting rotation.
Bottom line is, most here felt this would be a rebuilding year.The fact that as we head into June the team is 1/2 game back in a weak division,should be enjoyed, but in moderation.This team is still a work in nprogress and a team of the future IMO.
One thing worth mentioning about the game is that slowly and steadily Guerrier is getting to be a rarity in today’s relief pitching: a reliable set up guy who can go more than 1 inning and pitch 2-3 days in a row.
re: Gardy. Gardy is at best a mediocre manager in my book; why?
a. he took teams with great records and great pitching staff in the post-season without wining any series. Some day he might be the manager with the best winning record without winning a playoff series
b. twice (2005, 2007) his teams grossly underperformed and while picked to either win the division (2007) or win it all (2005) came into 3rd place.
c. he cannot manage a roster & lineup (making decisions to use inadequate players in inadequate positions and keeping players who do not belong in the majors with the big club, whether better players are in the minors) or his pitching staff.
d. there is a pretty good size chasm in communication with several players in his clubhouse. you are either on his ‘good’ list or his ‘bad’ list and if you are on his ‘good’ list you’ll play. If you are in his ‘bad’ list you are cut or demoted
e. he cannot assemble a worthwhile coaching staff to save his life.
Doug
He has been MUCH better with young players this year. The way he’s handled Gomez has been perfect. HOWEVER that doesn’t mean he hasn’t thrown players under the bus this year as a poster earlier was trying to say. I have no problem overall with Gardy or Vavra (he needs to be evaluated at the end of the year) so far. But Gardy is notorious for going through the media and calling out young players. Again I’m not saying its right or wrong that it works or doesn’t work, I’m just saying it has happened.
JP -I agree with you,it has happened in the past and even some this year,but he seems to be trying to not do so as often.Maybe the new GM talked to him about it, who knows.I find it funny that an manager like Gardenhire,one who had very limited skills in a short ML career,would find the need to be so critical of players who make physical mistakes.Harris in particular seems to be the guy,and Harris is a better player than Gardenhire ever hoped to be.
But It seems as though the manager is at least realizing that you can’t manage all 25 players the same way.I’m encouraged by his seemingly more tolerant attitude towards the younger players.And again,this from a guy who is no Gardenhire fan.
I think Bill Smith forced Gardy’s hand the way McPhail forced TKs hand. The reality of the situation was we were going to be a young team this year. Sink or swim. I do think Harris has gotten an unfair shake this year, and you’re right he’s far better player than Gardy ever was. We’ll see. Thanks for the posts Doug.
thryros98- Another thing that can been mentioned about Guerrier is that if he continues to be used like that, he will be joining Neshek in looking for second opinions on elbow/shoulder problems.
JP -again I agree.I think that publically the Twins said what they had to about this year.That they are trying to win now and in the future,blah,blah blah.They still need to try and sell tickets.But privately they had to view this as a transition year,which means putting up with young players mistakes.
I think It took Gardy a few weeks to accept that. The fact that no one has run away with the division as feared has put somewhat of a diffent slant on things,but overall I think they realize that for however long they stay in it,it’s simply bonus ball.
thrylos98,
“Gardy. Gardy is at best a mediocre manager in my book; why?
he took teams with great records and great pitching staff in the post-season without wining any series.”
Santana and who else were SP’s on those “great” pitching staffs?
Radke with the trashed arm?
Lohse?
Silva?
Liriano? (injured)
I need some names.
thrylos98,
I forgot Joe Mays, Seth Greisinger, Terry Muholland and Boof (rookie), Baker(rookie)and Garza(rookie).
Those were GGRRREEAATT pitching staffs for the AL playoffs.
“I don’t buy it. (Not that I don’t trust you…)”
Think of it this way.
“We” implies not only the player, but Gardy for putting a guy in the game, the pitcher for putting a ball into play, or the catcher for calling the pitch.
And yes, it does mean Gardy wraps himself in everything that goes wrong when he says “we”. When he says “they played their tails off” as people like to mock, it’s also indicating he knows dang well that he wasn’t on the field playing and thus can’t include himself.
But you’ll also note that while “we” may have made a bad play, “he” or “they” do a good job.
For example. Gardy PHs Monroe for Casilla. Monroe promptly ties it with a dinger. Gardy says “He did what we needed him to do.” not “Man was I smart to make that move.”
If Monroe Ks to end the game, Gardy likely comes in with a compliment to Monroe, crediting him as the guy he “trusts” in those types of situations.
“We” spreads the blame across multiple parties. When your manager says “we” it’s a way of showing solidarity.
But that’s all my opinion.
And to Jason. I should’ve have put it that Gardy’s way is the “right way” or “only way”. But it’s the way I’ve seen personally work far more often in situations outside the baseball world.
And what’s a manager in baesball that’s any different in the working world? His job is to manage people in a way that each is able to best contribute to an overall goal.
And to mitigate damage from outside sources. This includes doing what he can to dispearse blame so the world doens’t fall on one player’s shoulders.
A couple of questions for Jason. When did Chicago win two AL Central crowns in the past five years? Secondly, did Jason Kubel steal your girlfriend? Seriously, Big Frank is on the DL, who would have thought of that?
T
I rarely hear other managers point to specific failures the way Gardy does, so I guess we just have to agree to disagree on this.
“We didn’t play too well,” or “We made too many mistakes,” are much more effective ways of spreading the responsibility for a loss. (Too his crredit, Gardy does say those things too.)
My take on the Gardy/Ozzie discussion above:
The main differences between Gardy throwing guys under the bus and Ozzie throwing guys under the bus are class, profanity, and self promotion. You can decide yourself who comes out better on each.
But, I do agree that Gardy throws guys under the bus in his own way. When Gardy says “we dropped the ball at 2b”, he meant the second baseman screwed up. When he says, “we can’t throw that pitch down the middle of the plate on 0-2″, he means the pitcher. When he says, “we have to catch that fly ball”, he means the outfielder.
Just because you don’t name the player or surround the comments with profanity, doesn’t mean you are not publicly calling out a player.
Having said that, I think it is ok to call out the obvious mistakes of a major league ball player just as it is ok to give them credit for successes. I don’t think Gardy does it too frequently or in a too-demeaning way.
What is really refreshing is to hear someone say, “I screwed up.” Haven’t heard that enough from Gardy or Ozzie or pretty much anyone…
I did hear it from Blackburn the other day, when he was the last one we were criticizing for the 3-run blown lead in the 9th. He said it for his leadoff HBP.
Let’s look for the next Gardy self criticism like that… C’mon Gardy, the blog-world gives you plenty of hints.
“I screwed up.” Haven’t heard that enough from Gardy or Ozzie or pretty much anyone…”on this blog.
sane says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 5:24 pm
“I screwed up.” Haven’t heard that enough from Gardy or Ozzie or pretty much anyone…”on this blog.
If I do, I will. 
Actually, I have already eaten my words on Casilla. He is playing really well and I said he couldn’t.
See… it’s not so hard. It actually makes you feel better too.
sane,
here is just one example:
in 2004, the Twins of the 117 season ERA+ lost to the Yankees of the 93 season ERA+ mark.
Game 1: Santana wins the only game the Twins won that series, against Musina
Game 2: Brad Radke (3.48 11-8) vs Lieber (4.33 14-8)
Twins lose in 12 innings, because Gardy decided to:
a. let Nathan pitch 2.1 innings throwing 53 pitches (!!!) even after he walked the #9 and #1 batters to start the bottom of the 12
b. pinch run for Morneau on top of the 8th inning (while Morneau was 2 for 4 for the day after the tied run was scored.
Game 3: Carlos Silva (4.21 14-8; 4.01 6-3 at home) loses to Kevin Brown (4.09 10-6; 4.75 4-4 away)
Silva gets a total of 1 run support and the Twins lose. The lineup featured Lew Ford at DH and Blanco (.206/.260/.368 for the season) instead of Borders (.286/.302/.381 for the season) at Catcher. Blanco would end up starting every game of the series, as a matter of fact.
Game 4 at the Dome. The debacle. Santana (2.61 20-6) vs. Vasquez (4.91 14-10).
Again, Blanco is starting at C over Borders and Lew at LF over Steward with Steward DHing and people like Kubel (pre knee .305/.364/.441 in Sept/Oct) again on the bench.
After 7 innings the Twins are ahead 5-1. Santana pitched only 5 innings with 87 pitches and relieved by Balfour who pitched 2 scoreless innings. Then on top of the 8th inning Gardy decides to replace Balfour with Rincon and Cuddyer (who was 1 for 3 in the game, batting .467 in the series) with Rivas (who was 0 for the series). Single. Wild pitch. Single. Walk. 5-2 Twins. Clearly Rincon is faltering. Next batter up, Ruben Sierra. Did Gardy replace Rincon with someone like Crain (who was 2.00 3-0 mostly late in the season?) and have thrown 9 pitches the day before? or Nathan? Nope. 3 run homer, score is tied. Nathan comes back after the fact and pitches 1.2 scoreless innings. He cannot pitch any more because the previous abuse. The Twins’ lineup weakened after the Cuddyer for Rivas switch does not score any more. Lohse of (5.34 9-13 record) comes in for Nathan. Crain, Romero available on the pen. Top of the eleventh, A-rod doubles, steals, scores on a Lohse wild pitch. Mariano in for the bottom of the eleventh. All she wrote….
Get my point?
Although I disagree with your opinion of Gardy, I agree you made your point that you are convinced that Gardy mismanaged the 2004 playoffs.
My point was that when you called the pitching staffs led by Santana, Radke, Silva, Lohse and Mulholland “GREAT pitching staffs” you were knee-deep in hyperbole.
