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Post by yotemeal on Jan 22, 2011 10:01:31 GMT -6
Nick Punto is no longer a Twin. He signed with the Cardinals. Happy day.
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Post by #1CoyoteFan (Admin) on Jan 22, 2011 12:14:13 GMT -6
Why are all Twins fans rejoining right now? Who did Minnesota sign to take his place? No one, so that means Matt Tolbert and Trevor Ploulfe will get to play more.
I am not a big fan of Punto, but he was easily the best guy they had as a utility guy. Did Gardy love him? Probably. But what other options did the Twins have? NONE. And before you say they never tried to find anyone, Punto had to play because Matt Moses is a busted third round pick at third and the Twins had NO answers at third until Danny Valencia. Trever Ploulfe is also a first round pick and Punto is clearly better than him too.
Punto was also almost as good as Hardy, another highly touted prospect who struggled to stay healthy and bat .250. Before you go and blame Punto for all of Minny's problems, maybe people should look at the fact that Morneau hasn't played in Sept. or Aug. for the past four years, not just because of injuries but also suckiness in those two months, Mauer doesn't come through in the playoffs or late season because pitchers attack him early, Micheal Cuddyer is getting older and missing more breaking stuff and they COMPLETELY overpaid for one good year of Jason Kubel.
The Twins infield right now is a SS from Japan and Casilla at 2nd. Is that really that much better than Punto? Time to open your eyes and stop buying the Punto hatred. If you want someone to blame, maybe it should deal with the front office.
Also, for the people who call for Gardy's head, he is MLB's version of Andy Reid, and I don't see too many people outside of Bill Simmons calling for his head.
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Post by Coyote Fan on Jan 22, 2011 23:48:36 GMT -6
Punto is absolutely what is wrong with the Twins right now. The Twins are a feel good story but really with the increased payroll "IS" is quickly becoming "WAS". The Twins have leaned on their 1987 and 1991 world series title for a long time and well deserved. It's time to move on and create some new magic.
I think Punto is a decent bench player but the problem is/was not that he was on the roster it's that he was handed a starting job without really earning it because of Gardenhire's favoritism. The Twins are loyal which is good to a point but it's honestly becoming a hinderance to the franchise. The Twins significantly overpaid for Punto when they gave him his last contract. The same for Michael Cuddyer, he isn't worth a large contract but since he is a Twin through and through he gets paid more than he deserves.
The Twins used to be a franchise that get alot out of a small payroll. Now the Twins are paying out salaries like a mid level or higher franchise. The onus has transferred from the ownership to the GM and Gardy. If you are continuously satisified with division titles than by all means Gardenhire is your man. If you want more, he is not. Gandenhire's personality reflects onto his players. There is very little urgency to perform in big moments. Bill Smith is not making good decisions in the front office either. As long as Gardenhire runs a country club happy go lucky clubhouse is as long as the Twins will continue to show no true urgency to have success in the playoffs when things truley matter.
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Post by #1CoyoteFan (Admin) on Jan 23, 2011 0:57:11 GMT -6
Coyote Fan, did you see how pissed Gardy was after the Yankees series? I don't think so. Mauer might be the problem, since he did run people like Orlando Hudson out of town but yet, when do you ever see him getting a key RBI.....just saying.
Who would you have replace Gardy, that's my question.....
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Post by Coyote Fan on Jan 23, 2011 2:23:10 GMT -6
The Twins need to replace Smith first and let a real GM make the decision on who the skipper should be. I never defended Mauer and he really had an off year this year. I sure would like to see one of the highest paid players in the game hit with a bit more power than he does. 2009 looks like it was a bit of a fluke with his homeruns.
The bottom line is that it is a new era now. New stadium, more revenue. These are not your lovable Twinkies anymore. Expectations should go up and need to go up especially with a publicly financed stadium. The ownership got their stadium so now the onus shifts to them to give the public some greater post season success. The fans have a right to expect more. How many ridiculous post seasons in a row is Gardy allowed to have and be given a free pass. Gardy is not by any means an intense or demanding manager. He is as much of a player's manager as they come. The Twins have one gear and that is the regular season gear. They don't have a playoff gear to shift into.
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Post by #1CoyoteFan (Admin) on Jan 23, 2011 2:55:18 GMT -6
Do you think Bobby Cox is a Hall of Famer?
Yeah Smith needs to go and I thought that for a while, and I have always thought the Twins should do more. They need to find a way to trade Cuddy and Kubel, that's for sure. Maybe even have Gibson make the opening day roster too.
Gardy definitely isn't the problem. I think it's a misconception that he doesn't demand more out of his players, I just think the Twins players think they can keep doing the same things. The offense needs to start putting the blame on themselves, because in the end, they are the ones swinging the bat.
Hmmmm if I am correct.....Gardy is the one that kept playing Valencia over Punto.....interesting how everyone thought Gardy ALWAYS played Punto...
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Post by Coyote Fan on Jan 23, 2011 3:38:09 GMT -6
Looks like we are in some agreement. Eventhough you appear to be a major Gardy supporter I think we would both agree that the post season blame can be put somewhere in between Billy Smith and Gardenhire. I am fairly certain that you will put most of it on Smith and that is fine. Gardy is likable as a man no doubt. He handles players well as far as keeping harmony but doesn't always make the best strategic decisions or properly motivate his players at times.
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Post by #1CoyoteFan (Admin) on Jan 23, 2011 3:40:36 GMT -6
Shouldn't the players be motivated in the playoffs? That doesn't fall on Gardy, that falls on the players.
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Post by Coyote Fan on Jan 23, 2011 3:49:25 GMT -6
At least with the Twins they have a generally positive charma about them as far as their history and outlook by the baseball world. The Twins have been the feel good story often. Just look at the good old Vikings (probably the hardest team I have ever routed for) they just aren't looked upon all that highly on a national basis. Everyone always has a big hard-on for the Packers and Bears and all the passionate fans they are supposed to have. I can say this much. As painfull as the team is to follow the Vikings fans in general are underrated. They hav one of the best message boards for a pro sports team I have ever seen. The fans analyse every move they make with a fine toothed comb. The nice thing about being a Viking fan and having to live through alot of pain is that there is always an outlet for the frustration by reading many people's rants after games. With the Yotes that is difficult to do. It seems like people just don't share enough or there are not enough people that care enough or bother to think about sharing opinions.
I don't want to come to the Yote message board after a game like the Lamar game and read about how everything is going to be ok. I want to read about 100 posts of people blowing their gasket in anger. That is what is fun to read. The over reaction makes things easier to live with. It's like the outlet to get past it.
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Post by Yote 53 on May 20, 2011 7:31:01 GMT -6
What is that now? 3 in a row and an 11 run explosion to boot. Here come the Twinkies.
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