Sounds reasonable, but why oust Gardy now, then?  Why not give him another year, and if it doesn't work, the new GM can pick a new manager and coaches too?

 

Why not oust him? A reasonable argument can be made that changing managers could make a significant difference in the team's performance. Deal with a bad season after the fact, but do the best you can for the upcoming season.

I agree with the premise of this thread, and beyond the statistical evidence, they pass the eye test - Hughes Gibson, Santana, Dozier, Vargas, the improved Plouffe, Arcia as the season progressed, Suzuki, even Escobar.

 

 

These are all legit reasons for optimism that have been sorely missing the last couple years, not to mention the farms system.

 

 

If the new manager can get the fundamentals right, they could be enjoyable to watch next season.

IMHO, it isn't out of the realm for the Twins to contend next year.  Much like Baltimore this year and Boston last year, everything needs to go right.  The Twins have probably less margin for error than the aforementioned clubs, but I am of the opinion that 75-80% of pitchers are unpredictable.  Guys who look like studs one year (Masterson, Ubaldo) are duds the next.  Somebody like Scott Kazmir rises from the dead and puts together two straight outstanding seasons.  Beyond the King Felixes and until this year Verlanders, there aren't many guys you can write ACE by the name in ink.  The Twins, to contend next year, would need a repeat by Hughes, a huge bounceback by Nolasco, and continued improvement by Gibson.  None of those things is a sure thing, but if it happened, then the starting pitching isn't bad at all. 

 

The offense was pretty good, although I would love to see more consistency (less zeroes and double digits runs and more 4-6 run games).  Their most compelling position player need is an OF who is a good fielder and an okay hitter.

This. Absolutely. And it's not far fetched at all.

 

Hughes repeats, Nolasco rebounds and Gibson shows even slight improvement. What's dramatic about that?

 

A LF who can contribute offensively and actually play decent defense goes a long way to overall improvement. Coupled with a CF audition of Hicks, Schaffer and ? with Santana as a fall back option or occasional fill in. Tweak the bullpen a little, and none of this is out of the question.