Well, that was disappointing. It wasn’t crushing, though. At least the Twins had the dignity to get dominated, rather than suffering heartbreaking late-inning losses. The home team also primed their fans for disappointment by losing a load of games at the end of the season, wiping out any momentum and fan excitement. Now it’s time for fans to figure out what went wrong and then turn those quick solutions into hashtags. Let’s see how deeply pointless we can get.
Some fans are blaming only The Magical Walrus for the pathetic postseason record. Others are saying that it’s not his fault. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
A manager has two basic jobs. The first is game management - drawing lineups, managing the bullpen and making tactical moves. These decisions don’t matter much unless the game is close, and they’re usually not tough to make if the team is good. The second isn’t really measurable or noticeable, so the stat people don’t talk about it - leading. Managing all the personalities and motivations of 25 players isn’t easy, especially over the course of 162 games in six months.
Did Gardy make so many tactical mistakes that it cost the Twins the series? I don’t think so. Did he not get his players to play? It’s up for debate, but basically impossible to know. Yet I strongly doubt that he needs to tell these guys how to win. These guys have all been there before.
But if you want Gardenhire gone, then you should also cast away Jason Kubel and everyone else who has been sub-par in the playoffs. (nearly everyone)
If you wanted to really solve the Twins postseason failures, from an organizational perspective, you should look at what wins games in October that might be different from winning a division. (power bullpen, ace pitcher, power and speed.) Those are problems worth discussing. The managerial situation is not.
Indeed, it was pointless for me to write this, and pointless for you to read it. Because the bottom line is this: Ron Gardenhire isn’t going anywhere.
