Putting aside any personal opinions on the current Twins manager, I have to believe, if the team doesn’t show a dramatic improvement in 2013, it will be the last year Ron Gardenhire is in charge in Minnesota.
The Twins made some drastic coaching staff changes before I left on my trip, and I haven’t been able to comment on them, but now I feel I must. The Twins haven’t ever been the type of team to make waves within their staff. Either the team was winning when they shouldn’t have been, or they were so dedicated to keeping payroll low that it couldn’t have possibly been Tom Kelly’s fault that the team was so bad.
Now, however, there is money being injected into the team, and there is a dedication to winning. that wasn’t seen in the 80s and 90s, so there is more pressure on the coaching staff. I don’t feel that a manager has THAT much to do with the success of a team, and I give Gardenhire very little credit for making the post season as many times as he did. He was given a better team than any other in the AL Central, and they performed as expected.
On that same token, I don’t blame him for how bad the team has been the last few years. It’s not his fault the team has next to no pitching in 2012, and in 2011, the team was beset with injuries. It’s hard to manage when you don’t have anyone to manage.
All that said, the team made it clear with their actions that they felt change needed to be made. It’s been pointed out that the team didn’t actually fire anyone, however. The coaches with expiring contracts were not renewed, and Joe Vavra and Scott Ullger were re-assigned. You can’t reassign a major league manager, in most cases, and Gardenhire has a year left on his contract.
Just one year. If things don’t change, I have to believe the Twins will keep their same tactic when it comes to dealing with the coaching staff. If things don’t change, that last year on his contract will be Gardenhire’s last with the Twins.
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