It is offically time for a change.

[Trautmann13]

Tomorrow is my first day of summer vacation (yes, I am just a little baby.) Our Twins currently sit at 24-27. If you told me in January that at the end of May, the team would be sitting around .500 I would have thought they were enjoying success. Yet that is the case and I feel the exact opposite. After a reasonably good start of bouncing over and under that illusive .500 mark for nearly 2 months, the team has now lost 6 of their last 7. After being swept away by the Giants, they lost 3 of 4 against a hurt Rangers team. We have come to a point that unless some serious changes happen, this team will continue their free fall. These are the things this team NEEDS to do ASAP. (in my opinion)

1. Jason Kubel needs to stop playing.

I like Kubes, I would even say he is one of my all time favorites. Yet, he is slumping worse than I ever thought possible. In 41 games now, Kubel is batting a respectable .243, but that is basically leftovers from his incredible first few weeks. Kubel also has an ugly .319 slugging%, and I mean UGLY for a guy who was brought in to supply some pop. Kubel has been next to nothing but an out for all of May, in which he has just 1 RBI. Oh, did I mention that he has struck out in 1/3 of his ABs (51 K in 163 PA to be exact). Yeah, either he needs to be a bench bat or gets the boot. I also believe he has a raise coming soon, so that might be the excuse the Twins need.

 

2. Josmil Pinto needs to start playing.

I don't know if Gardy knows it, but Pinto is one of the most important players on this team. He has all the tools to be the catcher of the future. He needs some work, yes, but he is also second on the team in HR, evened out his K/BB rate a bit, brings a much needed spark to this line up, and has only started 13 game behind the plate. We all know that Gardy is scared of playing both catchers and with Suzuki who is a potential All-Star this year playing so well, Pinto is bound to get the short end. But playing him one or twice a week is not how he will grow into a possible 30 HR guy! Seth just wrote a wonderful piece on this exact topic, so I'll move on and let you go read that for more.

 

3. New faces to trade places

 

The big one..

Has anyone noticed how Arcia has lit the world on fire in his return from the DL? Noticed the energy and passion he brings to an otherwise boring and through-the-motions group of guys? If bringing up some more young guys can result in more Arcias, we desperately need it. The problem is, with Sano and Buxton currently down, the lineup seems to have to stay basically the same (which is not been very good recently.) Oh but wait, what's this? After spending millions and all the offseason focus on the starting 5, they AGAIN have the worst team ERA in baseball at 4.54 and worst ERA for starters at 5.04! The starting 5 have also struck out a MLB lowest 180 batters, nobody else in lower than 210! The two best prospects ready for action in Twinkie Town are Alex Meyer and Trevor May, who have both had ups and downs this year but been overall great. The Twins need to stop worrying so much about service time and innings pitched and just pull the trigger on at least one of these guys.

 

Now we bring it all together...

 

Twins release Kubel or trade him in a package deal with Aaron Hicks' left handed helmets to some A team somewhere. Give that 40 man spot to Alex Meyer and send down/release/trade/giveaway Correia or Guerrier. Give May Correia's spot and wait another 2-3 weeks and see if Meyer is ready or someone else sh*ts the bed. Also someone can just slap Gardy until he plays our boy Beans some more. After that we win 6 World Series in a row and everyone is happy...or not.

[Thrylos]

We have come to a point that unless some serious changes happen, this team will continue their free fall. These are the things this team NEEDS to do ASAP. (in my opinion)

 

Agree with the first sentence, but the changes you are proposing (albeit totally valid) are not serious enough.

 

Want serious changes after this mess of the last 3.25 seasons? Here:

 

Fire Anderson - Get Cuellar as the interim pitching coach

Fire Gardenhire - Get Doug Mientkiewicz as the interim manager

Fire Ulger - Move Molitor to the first base coach

Fire Vavra - Get Jake Mauer as the third base coach

Announce Terry Ryan's retirement for health reasons, appoint Antony as the interim GM and have a full blown front office and manager search this offseason.

 

Serious. Not bandaids. Smack the root cause of the issue.

[TheLeviathan]

Kubel for sure needs to stop starting.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

You know how I know you're a wee little tyke?

 

Your favorite Twin of all time isn't Puckett, Oliva, Killebrew, Hrbeck, Blyleven, Viola or Morris (or in other words your fav played in the last 15 years).

 

i agree with both you and Thrylos. Both need to happen, except Antony needs to be out on his ear too. It would be too tempting to make Antony permanent. Promote Brad Steil interim, and backfill with TK.

[DocBauer]

Perhaps I'm a homer at heart, but not going to agree with the firing of most of the staff.

 

A big, big Gardy fan even though I have disagreed with him at times. And to be fair, he's been handed a short deck at times this season as well as the last 3. I've seen a slight switch in the Twins this season in regard to moving to the younger players, and pulling the trigger faster when needed on under performers. Examples include Bartlett, who was cooked if he didnt retire, riding Thielbar and Tonkin early on until Tonkin's recent demotion, demoting Florimon and giving Escobar his shot, keeping Pinto, promoting Santana over Bernier, and there are a couple other examples.

 

My problem with Gardy is simple though, you have to get the kids in the lineup most days. They have to play! And while Tonkin's recent struggles might mean some time at Rochester is warranted, not a big fan of the Guerrier promotion. Really? Guerrier over Pino or just letting Tonkin working through things? I guess a shot to a veteran just to see what you might get isn't all together bad, as long as he's on a very short leash.

 

Also a huge fan of Kubel, but it's time. A fan of what Guerrier once meant, but there isn't much left, despite getting his FIRST SO in today's game.

 

Pinto just about every day. Escobar just about every day. But you've got to play Santana just about every day as well.

 

Pelfrey and Correia need to move on, in whatever manner that implies or takes place.

 

The question there is who fills that #5 spot in the rotation. Right NOW, I hesitate to promote Meyer or May. I think they, and the Twins, are better served by another few weeks to a month at Rochester. I keep saying not to fall asleep on Darnell, though I'd also like to see him get a few more starts and innings. For the short term, what about Johnson? I don't want to play the AAAA player rotation game again, but, he's having a second strong AAA campaign. Could we give him a shot for a month or so while waiting for other prospects to further get ready? Could he really be any worse while we wait?

[HansGruber]

I came on here expecting this to be a post about how everyone on the managerial staff and front office needed to be canned but I must say these are reasonable suggestions. I especially liked that you suggested Meyer should be added to the 40-man and not brought up immediately at the expense of depth. Though, I would rather see Guerrier, Kubel or Burton go rather than Correia because starting pitching depth should not be cast aside lightly and he has been effective in the past. Otherwise I agree, more Pinto, less or preferably none of Kubel and give May a chance in the rotation all should improve the club and are realistic.

[Trautmann13]

You know how I know you're a wee little tyke?

 

 

Funny you say that, I love Puck as much as the next guy. The actual day he announced his retirement was the day of my birth, July 12 1996.

[Butterfingers8]

Funny you say that, I love Puck as much as the next guy. The actual day he announced his retirement was the day of my birth, July 12 1996.

 

Christ

[Butterfingers8]

Good points though, except I don't understand why you would put Myers on the 40 man until you're actually going to call him up, why create a roster jam just incase you need someone and a spot.

[howeda7]

Kubel needs to be DFA'd. 2013 was not a mirage. He's done. At least he gave us something for a month.

 

Pinto needs to play 4-5 times a week. Catch 2-3, DH 2. Gardy can take double malox and get over it.

 

The top of the line-up needs to be shaken up. Dozier is slumping. Mauer is slumping. Move Escobar/Santana to lead-off. Drop Dozier down in the order. Change something.

 

I'm not as eager on the pitching. We're close enough to the service time deadline that it would be pretty foolish to call either one up now and only get 2-3 more starts for a year of control. Also, hopefully Corriea will right himself enough to have some trade value in July.

 

If it goes like it looks like it's going, bid Gardy farewell after the All Star Game and give either Molitor or Steinbach a trial run. Terry Ryan retires gracefully at the end of the year. And after the roster sausage we've seen this Spring, I don't want Antony replacing him.

[Pius Jefferson]

I want Chili Davis to be the next manager of the Twins.

[Twins Twerp]

Agree with the first sentence, but the changes you are proposing (albeit totally valid) are not serious enough.

 

Want serious changes after this mess of the last 3.25 seasons? Here:

 

Fire Anderson - Get Cuellar as the interim pitching coach

Fire Gardenhire - Get Doug Mientkiewicz as the interim manager

Fire Ulger - Move Molitor to the first base coach

Fire Vavra - Get Jake Mauer as the third base coach

Announce Terry Ryan's retirement for health reasons, appoint Antony as the interim GM and have a full blown front office and manager search this offseason.

 

Serious. Not bandaids. Smack the root cause of the issue.

I respectfully disagree with this opinion. If people dont like the manager or coaches or gm, there are other things to do. The lynx are pretty good. Maybe other people with different opinions can go watch them. I mean this with all due respect and would never want to offend anyone because i disagree with their views. Go twins and lynx.

 

Also hbo is pretty sweet.

[stringer bell]

While I don't think it is time to panic, it is time to go younger. Release Kubel--Parm can fill his role and play first base, too. Try to trade Burton. If that doesn't fly (I don't think it will), release him. Burton is probably no better or worse than a prospective replacement, but he doesn't have much future. This would open up two 40-man spots.

 

Also, although New Britain is about 6 games below .500, it appears to me that at least four guys should head to Rochester--Gilmartin, Daniel Ortiz, Vargas, and Oliveros.

[Craig Arko]

I want Chili Davis to be the next manager of the Twins.

 

I want Ted Williams to be the next head of the Twins.

[nicksaviking]

Funny you say that, I love Puck as much as the next guy. The actual day he announced his retirement was the day of my birth, July 12 1996.

 

Man, it never occured to me until now that high schoolers have never seen Kirby Puckett play. I guess that also means there are kids of legal drinking age who didn't see the last World Series championship. Depression setting in.

 

On topic: Good ideas.

[Brock Beauchamp]

1. Jason Kubel needs to stop playing.

I like Kubes, I would even say he is one of my all time favorites. Yet, he is slumping worse than I ever thought possible. In 41 games now, Kubel is batting a respectable .243, but that is basically leftovers from his incredible first few weeks. Kubel also has an ugly .319 slugging%, and I mean UGLY for a guy who was brought in to supply some pop. Kubel has been next to nothing but an out for all of May, in which he has just 1 RBI. Oh, did I mention that he has struck out in 1/3 of his ABs (51 K in 163 PA to be exact). Yeah, either he needs to be a bench bat or gets the boot. I also believe he has a raise coming soon, so that might be the excuse the Twins need.

 

2. Josmil Pinto needs to start playing.

I don't know if Gardy knows it, but Pinto is one of the most important players on this team. He has all the tools to be the catcher of the future. He needs some work, yes, but he is also second on the team in HR, evened out his K/BB rate a bit, brings a much needed spark to this line up, and has only started 13 game behind the plate. We all know that Gardy is scared of playing both catchers and with Suzuki who is a potential All-Star this year playing so well, Pinto is bound to get the short end. But playing him one or twice a week is not how he will grow into a possible 30 HR guy! Seth just wrote a wonderful piece on this exact topic, so I'll move on and let you go read that for more.

 

3. New faces to trade places

 

The big one..

Has anyone noticed how Arcia has lit the world on fire in his return from the DL? Noticed the energy and passion he brings to an otherwise boring and through-the-motions group of guys? If bringing up some more young guys can result in more Arcias, we desperately need it. The problem is, with Sano and Buxton currently down, the lineup seems to have to stay basically the same (which is not been very good recently.) Oh but wait, what's this? After spending millions and all the offseason focus on the starting 5, they AGAIN have the worst team ERA in baseball at 4.54 and worst ERA for starters at 5.04! The starting 5 have also struck out a MLB lowest 180 batters, nobody else in lower than 210! The two best prospects ready for action in Twinkie Town are Alex Meyer and Trevor May, who have both had ups and downs this year but been overall great. The Twins need to stop worrying so much about service time and innings pitched and just pull the trigger on at least one of these guys.

 

Now we bring it all together...

 

Twins release Kubel or trade him in a package deal with Aaron Hicks' left handed helmets to some A team somewhere. Give that 40 man spot to Alex Meyer and send down/release/trade/giveaway Correia or Guerrier. Give May Correia's spot and wait another 2-3 weeks and see if Meyer is ready or someone else sh*ts the bed. Also someone can just slap Gardy until he plays our boy Beans some more. After that we win 6 World Series in a row and everyone is happy...or not.

 

Good post. I was expecting an absurd rant when I clicked into this thread and instead was delighted to find some quite reasonable quick fixes for both the short- and long-term health of the team.

[Dman]

Agree with the first sentence, but the changes you are proposing (albeit totally valid) are not serious enough.

 

Want serious changes after this mess of the last 3.25 seasons? Here:

 

Fire Anderson - Get Cuellar as the interim pitching coach

Fire Gardenhire - Get Doug Mientkiewicz as the interim manager

Fire Ulger - Move Molitor to the first base coach

Fire Vavra - Get Jake Mauer as the third base coach

Announce Terry Ryan's retirement for health reasons, appoint Antony as the interim GM and have a full blown front office and manager search this offseason.

 

Serious. Not bandaids. Smack the root cause of the issue.

 

 

I think the Twins have that plan already in place but it won't happen until after Gardy's contract is up. The reason they resigned him was to take on the transition years and leave the new manager in a better spot. If I had to guess once Gardy goes Ryan will move back to his consultant role. The new manger can grab whoever he wants for other coaches. There is a plan for succession you just need to be patient.

 

Even if you changed all those coaches the team wouldn't be much better or worse than it is now. Gardy isn't a bad manager and once he and the Twins move on I suspect another team will grab him right away. I do think he has been here long enough and the team is due for a change.

 

The players need to play, gain experience and get better. I think a lot of the changes proposed here will happen in the not too distant future.

 

Fans are impatient and want short term results. Managers have to have faith in their players and see them through the tough times with a long term view. If you give on guys too soon you lose their potential future value as well.

 

Bottom line is we weren't going to make the playoffs this year anyway. Does it really matter how many games above or below 500 we are? I know it is a fine line as the team has to perform to get fans to come to games but I also think playing the young guys and getting them experience is the better investment for the Twins right now.

 

Hopefully they try and get some kind of value for the vets they have and move on to the younger players.

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

I want Ted Williams to be the next head of the Twins.

 

I see what you did there

[Mike Sixel]

I think the OP has it about right, frankly. Great post, for a whippersnapper.

[JB_Iowa]

• RandBall ‏@RandBall 2m
  It's been exactly 4 weeks since Jason Kubel had an RBI or an extra base hit. 9 for 60 in that span, .150 slugging.
   
   
  

 

 

 

How long can this keep going on?

[Mike Sixel]

No more scholarships.......

[stringer bell]

• RandBall ‏@RandBall 2m
  It's been exactly 4 weeks since Jason Kubel had an RBI or an extra base hit. 9 for 60 in that span, .150 slugging.
   
   
  

 

 

 

How long can this keep going on?

I believe he has a roster bonus due this week. Kubel may be a good guy, but he has to hit more than he has since his early splash in April. It wouldn't surprise me at all if he was dispatched on Wednesday.

[Thrylos]

I respectfully disagree with this opinion. If people dont like the manager or coaches or gm, there are other things to do. The lynx are pretty good. Maybe other people with different opinions can go watch them. I mean this with all due respect and would never want to offend anyone because i disagree with their views. Go twins and lynx.

 

Also hbo is pretty sweet.

 

In other words, if you do not like the way your governor is running your state, you should move to Wisconsin?

 

Nothing respectful about that

 

What is the lynx?

[Beezer07]

• RandBall ‏@RandBall 2m
  It's been exactly 4 weeks since Jason Kubel had an RBI or an extra base hit. 9 for 60 in that span, .150 slugging.
  

 

 

 

How long can this keep going on?

 

Is this a dare?!?

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I respectfully disagree with this opinion. If people dont like the manager or coaches or gm, there are other things to do. The lynx are pretty good. Maybe other people with different opinions can go watch them. I mean this with all due respect and would never want to offend anyone because i disagree with their views. Go twins and lynx.

 

Also hbo is pretty sweet.

 

A lot of us have been Twins fans longer than Gardenhire or Ryan have. Not that that entitles us to anything necessarily. It might mean we will continue to offer them constructive advice rather than walking away.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I read that Kubel has roster incentives for 30 60 and 90 days, which puts the decision at about... today. (If the clock starts on opening day. Not sure.)

[LaBombo]

I respectfully disagree with this opinion. If people dont like the manager or coaches or gm, there are other things to do. The lynx are pretty good. Maybe other people with different opinions can go watch them. I mean this with all due respect and would never want to offend anyone because i disagree with their views. Go twins and lynx.

 

Also hbo is pretty sweet.

 

Yo! My mods! Toss that post! Come to papa! Let's go!

 

("With all due respect")

 

 

http://www.jessiebunning.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/5_Stripes.jpg

[Mike Sixel]

if I could like Labombos post 10000000x, I would. I got castigated for spelling Guerrier's name like cheese, but this post is somehow ok?

[chuchadoro]

(Deleted)

[Tibs]

Man, it never occured to me until now that high schoolers have never seen Kirby Puckett play. I guess that also means there are kids of legal drinking age who didn't see the last World Series championship. Depression setting in.

 

On topic: Good ideas.

 

I turned 21 in March, so the good Twins teams I remember are during the 2000s. Maybe we should make some of these changes and make a World Series run this year?