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Me to Jason Tyner: Go back to Tampa
Ron Gardenhire made a strong case for Jim Leyland's winning of the Manager of the Year award. Torii Hunter might have highlight-rolled himself out of a sixth Gold Glove (he lost a step anyway this year, but he was still very very good and everybody knows that Gold Gloves are given to the best offensive player with a reputation for decent defense). Morneau might have helped his MVP case, if any writers were actually watching. Was there a 3 game set this whole season where it was so apparant that the team has nothing going without Morneau? Sure there's the piranhas thing, but that's not a winning strategy, it's the difference between a good team and a championship team. But we didn't have that great team, just good. Honestly, if your main offensive strategy is to depend on guys like Nick Punto and Jason Tyner getting on base with their sub .325 career OBPs you're going to get beat by decent pitching almost every time. You could see it coming with all those games we were shut out. What was Jason Kubel doing on the post-season roster, anyway, if we weren't planning on using him?
But in any case, next year is promising.
Comments
Last year was the Twins rebuilding year, this year was the year they went after free agents like Castillo, White, and Batista. Who have the Tigers added via free agency other than Kenny Rogers and Todd Jones? They got Magglio when everybody thought he was washed up last year. Other than that they did it with their homegrown pitching and hitting.
You're not counting Hunter in that 25 million are you?
I am excited for this year. My point is Gardenhire managed the Twins out of the first round.
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I dunno, I still think Gardy should get the manager of the year considering what he had to work with: a bunch of AAA callups and journeymen—and only playing decent baseball for 4 months of the season. If you can win 96 games under those conditions you deserve the award.
Leyland was good but the Tiggers spent a bunch of money on free agents the last couple of years—the team they tried to rebuild with a couple years ago is nowhere to be seen.
What's amazing is that this was basically a re-build year for the Twins—a rebuild year where the team won the division and 96 friggin games! That should really scare the rest of MLB. With about 25 million freed up in the payroll next year the Twins should be able to sign an actual DH and a couple quality starting pitchers (and lock up M & M and the like in long term deals).