In just a few days the 2013 regular season will be over and so will manager Ron Gardenhire's (pictured above) contract. His contract is up the moment the season ends, and I'm here to tell why the two should part ways.
Gardenhire isn't a bad manager. He has frustrated me numerous times over certain decisions with the bullpen and the lineup, but let's face it a bad manager doesn't win 6 division titles in 9 years. Even if it was a pretty average division over that run, he did always have outside Santana pretty average starting pitching so he always worked his bullpen well.
However, he never pushed the right buttons in October. His career postseason record is 6-21. Yes, that is his correct record and when you dive into it, it gets even worse. He has lost 12 straight postseason games, yes 12 STRAIGHT postseason games. You truly have to be out managed by the opposing managers to lose 12 straight postseason games.
Now think about this, in his first postseason in 2002 he actually won his first postseason series and went 4-6. This means he has gone 2-15 in his 5 postseasons following his first. Yes, that's 2 wins to 15 losses!!!! Any manager in a mid to large market would have lost his job a long time ago, and now the Twins are no longer the small market team they used to be when they didn't have Target Field.
Gardenhire gave us Twins fans some good memories in the Metrodome in the 2000s and a great first year in Target Field in 2010, but it is time to move on. We have a good crop of lots of young players on their way up here and if they actually spend on a pitcher or two this winter could start contending as early as 2015 according to some experts. If we can start playing in October again in the future, I'm sorry, but I don't want Gardy leading our team. His track record in October has been down right horrid, so why do we want him here whenever we start to contend in October then?
It's time to bring some new life into this franchise and now is the perfect time with our young core of players one their way and with plenty to spend on free agents. It's time to adjust the "Twins Way" to the game in 2013 instead of trying to build the team like it was built back in the early '80s right before the Twins won championships in 1987 and 1991. It's a different age in baseball and it's time the Twins start to adapt, and that starts by parting ways with an old friend next week.
Written by Nick Calo, follow me on Twitter for more updates and sports thoughts @PRH1987
Gardenhire isn't a bad manager. He has frustrated me numerous times over certain decisions with the bullpen and the lineup, but let's face it a bad manager doesn't win 6 division titles in 9 years. Even if it was a pretty average division over that run, he did always have outside Santana pretty average starting pitching so he always worked his bullpen well.
However, he never pushed the right buttons in October. His career postseason record is 6-21. Yes, that is his correct record and when you dive into it, it gets even worse. He has lost 12 straight postseason games, yes 12 STRAIGHT postseason games. You truly have to be out managed by the opposing managers to lose 12 straight postseason games.
Now think about this, in his first postseason in 2002 he actually won his first postseason series and went 4-6. This means he has gone 2-15 in his 5 postseasons following his first. Yes, that's 2 wins to 15 losses!!!! Any manager in a mid to large market would have lost his job a long time ago, and now the Twins are no longer the small market team they used to be when they didn't have Target Field.
Gardenhire gave us Twins fans some good memories in the Metrodome in the 2000s and a great first year in Target Field in 2010, but it is time to move on. We have a good crop of lots of young players on their way up here and if they actually spend on a pitcher or two this winter could start contending as early as 2015 according to some experts. If we can start playing in October again in the future, I'm sorry, but I don't want Gardy leading our team. His track record in October has been down right horrid, so why do we want him here whenever we start to contend in October then?
It's time to bring some new life into this franchise and now is the perfect time with our young core of players one their way and with plenty to spend on free agents. It's time to adjust the "Twins Way" to the game in 2013 instead of trying to build the team like it was built back in the early '80s right before the Twins won championships in 1987 and 1991. It's a different age in baseball and it's time the Twins start to adapt, and that starts by parting ways with an old friend next week.
Written by Nick Calo, follow me on Twitter for more updates and sports thoughts @PRH1987