Yesterday the Minnesota Twins and manager Ron Gardenhire (pictured above/left) agreed on a 2 year contract extension and will retain the entire staff for the 2014 season as well.
The Twins made a very predictable move on Monday by bringing Ron Gardenhire, and one that kept the franchise inside its comfort zone. Their comfort is exactly where this organization needs to get out of. Their comfort zone is the reason the Twins are in the mess they are in now. Their inability to adapt and change their ways has brought them from the top of the AL Central, to the bottom in the blink of an eye. To quote Brad Pitt playing Billy Beane in the movie Moneyball , " adapt or die." It's now the motto of the Twins from now until the end of the 2015 season.
The Twins used to be a model franchise, one that teams built their franchises like with their own twist and now it's the Twins trying to figure out how and who to model their franchise as now. The Twins problem is that they refuse to adapt from the way they built their teams back in the early 2000s. Someone needs to explain to these guys it's no longer 2000 it's now 2013 and the game has changed. Also when the Twins were having success in the 2000s, their young players coming up contributed quickly. I don't know what has happened or changed, but it seems that the young players are struggling once they get here and are having to be sent up and down constantly, which doesn't help them or the team. Or forcing a player like an Aaron Hicks to the major league level too soon and then waiting far too long to send him down.
Decisions like that are where Gardy and Ryan have failed this franchise. They also have failed to put players in situations where they can be successful. I'll use Trevor Plouffe as an example, he has all the talent in the world, but is put in the wrong spots to succeed. He really can't play the infield, he's only seen like an inning at first base but other than that we have seen enough of him at 3B, 2B, and SS to know this. So why keep trotting him out there? You only tried him in the outfield for a handful of games. He's athletic and has a cannon for an arm, you are telling me he is worse than Willingham in the field? Highly unlikely. He is also a prime example for why the Twins should adapt to the way some successful teams platoon at positions.
Platooning at a position is playing multiple players at a position depending on the pitching matchup that day. The Oakland A's, Tampa Bay Rays, and St. Louis Cardinals all platoon very well and were 3 of the best teams in the league this year and all are playing this October. Plouffe absolutely demolishes left handed pitching, and gets dominated by right handed pitching. If the Twins were smart they would put him in position to succeed and platoon him at right or left field and let him start against lefties. Now the Twins claim that when a player is platooned, they don't get enough at bats because they don't play everyday and that is bull, well you know how that ends. If other teams are doing it so well why can't we? Also, when the team brings in their tough lefty reliever late in the game to face a lefty hitter of ours that doesn't hit lefties well, you then have Plouffe sitting on the bench ready to come in and face a lefty. So he may not play 9 innings everyday and get 4 at bats everyday, but he more then likely would still play in a majority of the games and be a useful player on this roster.
The Twins are trying to rebuild this franchise the old school way via the eye test, and not looking at the numbers and innovative ways to mix this roster up. The "Twins Way" that won them 6 divisions in 9 years in a down right horrible division is clouding their vision to see the true obstacle in their way, themselves. Their stubbornness to adapt and change their ways is stopping them from turning this around. They need to become innovators again. The main difference between now and the 2000s is that thanks to Target Field the Twins can actually spend money on payroll to better this club quicker. The Twins are no longer a small market team, so that excuse is not valid what so ever. They may not get as much in TV revenue as others, but Target Field brings them more than enough in, to have a consistent payroll between 90 and 100 million dollars.
It's time for the Twins organization to adapt and innovate, and if that doesn't happen by the end of 2015 and we don't see remarkable steps forward it'll be time to clean house and move the direction of this franchise elsewhere. If we are still a below .500 team in 2015 with the likes of Meyer, Gibson, Hicks, Arcia, Rosario, Sano, Buxton and others, everyone from Terry Ryan down the every coach on the field needs to be let go. We then need to hire a person for every position from outside the organization to help this franchise adapt and get away from the "Twins Way". The "Twins Way" is no longer a winning way and if this organization fails to recognize this, well it'll be time to stop following this team once and for all. Minnesota Twins, you are on the clock and have until 2015 to get this ship righted or else you will lose this fan base forever.
Written by Nick Calo, follow me on Twitter for more updates and sports thoughts @PRH1987
The Twins made a very predictable move on Monday by bringing Ron Gardenhire, and one that kept the franchise inside its comfort zone. Their comfort is exactly where this organization needs to get out of. Their comfort zone is the reason the Twins are in the mess they are in now. Their inability to adapt and change their ways has brought them from the top of the AL Central, to the bottom in the blink of an eye. To quote Brad Pitt playing Billy Beane in the movie Moneyball , " adapt or die." It's now the motto of the Twins from now until the end of the 2015 season.
The Twins used to be a model franchise, one that teams built their franchises like with their own twist and now it's the Twins trying to figure out how and who to model their franchise as now. The Twins problem is that they refuse to adapt from the way they built their teams back in the early 2000s. Someone needs to explain to these guys it's no longer 2000 it's now 2013 and the game has changed. Also when the Twins were having success in the 2000s, their young players coming up contributed quickly. I don't know what has happened or changed, but it seems that the young players are struggling once they get here and are having to be sent up and down constantly, which doesn't help them or the team. Or forcing a player like an Aaron Hicks to the major league level too soon and then waiting far too long to send him down.
Decisions like that are where Gardy and Ryan have failed this franchise. They also have failed to put players in situations where they can be successful. I'll use Trevor Plouffe as an example, he has all the talent in the world, but is put in the wrong spots to succeed. He really can't play the infield, he's only seen like an inning at first base but other than that we have seen enough of him at 3B, 2B, and SS to know this. So why keep trotting him out there? You only tried him in the outfield for a handful of games. He's athletic and has a cannon for an arm, you are telling me he is worse than Willingham in the field? Highly unlikely. He is also a prime example for why the Twins should adapt to the way some successful teams platoon at positions.
Platooning at a position is playing multiple players at a position depending on the pitching matchup that day. The Oakland A's, Tampa Bay Rays, and St. Louis Cardinals all platoon very well and were 3 of the best teams in the league this year and all are playing this October. Plouffe absolutely demolishes left handed pitching, and gets dominated by right handed pitching. If the Twins were smart they would put him in position to succeed and platoon him at right or left field and let him start against lefties. Now the Twins claim that when a player is platooned, they don't get enough at bats because they don't play everyday and that is bull, well you know how that ends. If other teams are doing it so well why can't we? Also, when the team brings in their tough lefty reliever late in the game to face a lefty hitter of ours that doesn't hit lefties well, you then have Plouffe sitting on the bench ready to come in and face a lefty. So he may not play 9 innings everyday and get 4 at bats everyday, but he more then likely would still play in a majority of the games and be a useful player on this roster.
The Twins are trying to rebuild this franchise the old school way via the eye test, and not looking at the numbers and innovative ways to mix this roster up. The "Twins Way" that won them 6 divisions in 9 years in a down right horrible division is clouding their vision to see the true obstacle in their way, themselves. Their stubbornness to adapt and change their ways is stopping them from turning this around. They need to become innovators again. The main difference between now and the 2000s is that thanks to Target Field the Twins can actually spend money on payroll to better this club quicker. The Twins are no longer a small market team, so that excuse is not valid what so ever. They may not get as much in TV revenue as others, but Target Field brings them more than enough in, to have a consistent payroll between 90 and 100 million dollars.
It's time for the Twins organization to adapt and innovate, and if that doesn't happen by the end of 2015 and we don't see remarkable steps forward it'll be time to clean house and move the direction of this franchise elsewhere. If we are still a below .500 team in 2015 with the likes of Meyer, Gibson, Hicks, Arcia, Rosario, Sano, Buxton and others, everyone from Terry Ryan down the every coach on the field needs to be let go. We then need to hire a person for every position from outside the organization to help this franchise adapt and get away from the "Twins Way". The "Twins Way" is no longer a winning way and if this organization fails to recognize this, well it'll be time to stop following this team once and for all. Minnesota Twins, you are on the clock and have until 2015 to get this ship righted or else you will lose this fan base forever.
Written by Nick Calo, follow me on Twitter for more updates and sports thoughts @PRH1987