Timberwolf
09-06-2005, 04:58 PM
Sanny wrote about how those two should take responsibility for the Twins dissapointment in the paper. I clearly disagree with what he said. Of course, I am not suprised that he does not get his facts straight since he rarely ever covers the Twins the way his colleague, Tom Powers does.
Terry Ryan goes by what his boss tells him. He does not have the power to spend money and get free agents the way his peers do. He basically has his hands tied. I felt bad for him when he said he took the blame for the team's collapse. He did the right thing not trading Baker and Liriano. If he did that, then that would be idiotic considering Soriano was a one-year deal. What is the point of trading those two when this team would struggle to get a playoff spot? It didn't make sense. This team is probably going to struggle to win games with that punch-n-judy offense next season so they need those two guys to even give themselves a chance to win a 1-0 game.
Gardy can infuriate me a lot, but I don't think he should take the blame for the team's problems. If anything, it's a miracle the Twins have this winning record considering how they have played all year. It's a credit to the pitching and it's a credit to the fact Gardy somehow won games with this lineup. He at least had his team play hard and do the best they can. I doubt LaRussa, Scioscia, Torre, Tom Kelly, or Terry Francona would win with guys on this team.
The blame should go to the players. Guys like Michael Cuddyer, Matthew Lecroy, Jason Bartlett, and Justin Morneau were relied upon to have big roles this season. They were supposed to make a difference in this lineup and they were supposed to make the Twins offense the best since 1991. This offense is nowhere near close. You can make a great case the Twins in the late nineties had better offense than what you have saw all season. I am not exaggerating. Those four guys I mentioned failed tremendously. Firing Scott Ulleger and dumping Cuddyer and Lecroy has to be a must as soon as the final out of this dissapointing season is over. I had enough of Cuddyer and Lecroy. Those two had ample opportunities to get playing time and they have failed miserably. You have to cut the cord on those two. Bartlett has done okay, but you have to wonder if he is going to be anything special either. Morneau has been a mystery. He is the poster boy to this team's problems. If he has done his job instead of being the pansy he is, maybe the Twins are not in this predicament right now.
Some of the players have not earned their money this season. That's the bottom line. Ryan and Gardy shouldn't take the fall for those guys. They do take the fall however if they don't fire Scott Ulleger though.
Terry Ryan goes by what his boss tells him. He does not have the power to spend money and get free agents the way his peers do. He basically has his hands tied. I felt bad for him when he said he took the blame for the team's collapse. He did the right thing not trading Baker and Liriano. If he did that, then that would be idiotic considering Soriano was a one-year deal. What is the point of trading those two when this team would struggle to get a playoff spot? It didn't make sense. This team is probably going to struggle to win games with that punch-n-judy offense next season so they need those two guys to even give themselves a chance to win a 1-0 game.
Gardy can infuriate me a lot, but I don't think he should take the blame for the team's problems. If anything, it's a miracle the Twins have this winning record considering how they have played all year. It's a credit to the pitching and it's a credit to the fact Gardy somehow won games with this lineup. He at least had his team play hard and do the best they can. I doubt LaRussa, Scioscia, Torre, Tom Kelly, or Terry Francona would win with guys on this team.
The blame should go to the players. Guys like Michael Cuddyer, Matthew Lecroy, Jason Bartlett, and Justin Morneau were relied upon to have big roles this season. They were supposed to make a difference in this lineup and they were supposed to make the Twins offense the best since 1991. This offense is nowhere near close. You can make a great case the Twins in the late nineties had better offense than what you have saw all season. I am not exaggerating. Those four guys I mentioned failed tremendously. Firing Scott Ulleger and dumping Cuddyer and Lecroy has to be a must as soon as the final out of this dissapointing season is over. I had enough of Cuddyer and Lecroy. Those two had ample opportunities to get playing time and they have failed miserably. You have to cut the cord on those two. Bartlett has done okay, but you have to wonder if he is going to be anything special either. Morneau has been a mystery. He is the poster boy to this team's problems. If he has done his job instead of being the pansy he is, maybe the Twins are not in this predicament right now.
Some of the players have not earned their money this season. That's the bottom line. Ryan and Gardy shouldn't take the fall for those guys. They do take the fall however if they don't fire Scott Ulleger though.