There is a lot of fan disgruntlement with the Minnesota Twins. It’s one thing to have one lost season, it is quite another for two in a row. The first horrendous year could be chalked up to bad luck, injuries, etc. This year, not so much.
Fans are beginning to question the team’s method of operations. The medical staff is getting its share of criticism. Why are there so many injuries, especially to the pitching staff? Scott Baker is a good example. At first, the problem was typical of Baker and all he needed was a couple of weeks off. But then, he needed minor surgery. Then it was Tommy John surgery. All this makes a person wonder if the medical staff knows what it’s doing.
The criticism has now broadened to include manager Ron Gardenhire along with pitching and hitting coaches Rick Anderson and Joe Vavra. Anderson seems to be the victim of circumstances and lack of talent. Not so with Vavre. His hitting philosophy seems to be hit the ball to the opposite field.
Whenever this occurs, both Bert Blyleven and Dick Bremer go into peans of praise. "Now he’s hitting the ball where it is pitched!" I would rather Justin Morneau hit it where the fans in the upper deck are sitting.
David Ortiz had to leave the Twins to become one of the finest sluggers of our time. When promising young Danny Valencia and Chris Parmalee have to be sent to Rochester to straighten our their swing, one begins to wonder.
The primary fan target seems to be Gardenhire. The 2010 American League Manager of the Year has sunk in fan estimation. His thinking of enjoy-the-game-and-have-fun has not been effective for a couple of years. Some people are wondering if more of a hard-nosed approach is needed.
There are numerous examples of that type of management. Leo Durocher was a practitioner during the ‘50s. He is famous for the quote, "Nice guys finish last." Famed Ty Cobb was known for his competitiveness. Players of his era were known as tobacco chewing tough guys.
Is Gardenhire too soft? Does he need more of a tough attitude toward his players? I don’t think so. Managers have different approaches in this modern world.
Durocher would not have gotten by with his player criticism and put-downs. The manager has many different player personalities on the club. And millionaire players with long contracts often times do not accept unfair public criticism or for that matter, fair criticism. Many times they’ll quit striving quite so hard, sit back and collect their paycheck.
Gardenhire says "enjoy the game" and "stay loose." He may be right, but I think that the problem runs deeper than player attitude. The Twins do not get players with the same mindset as players had years ago. We see players lacking fundamentals. I’ve seen high school players with more baseball knowledge than some Twins.
They don’t seem to love the game. If you really like baseball, you are out on the field practicing, getting better and gaining knowledge of the game. The old saying of "Practice makes perfect" is true. That pertains to mental as well as physical skills.
John Updike, perhaps our greatest living novelist had this to say: "If you presume to love something you must love the process of it." In other words, no matter if you’re a violinist or a baseball player, you need to gain knowledge and skills while practicing. When watching the Twins, it seems sometimes the love and knowledge of the game is missing and the game of baseball has become drudgery.
