Article: Rocking The Boat?

[Parker Hageman]

Firing a manager in the middle of a postseason run seems like an unlikely scenario for a baseball organization however the Puerto Rican team, Indios de Mayaguez, have fired their manager and Minnesota Twins’ Kennys Vargas may have played a role.On January 5, after going 1-2 to start the round-robin postseason tournament, Indios de Mayaguez fired their manager Carlos Baerga. According to local rumblings in Puerto Rico, Vargas was one of three players who was cited as being a contributing factor in Baerga’s ousting. ElNuevoDia.com reported that Vargas, along with Luis Figueroa and Martin Maldonado, had issues with the team’s manager.

 

Vargas was among three players held out of the lineup during this past Sunday’s game. In 37 games, Vargas was leading the Liga de Beisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente in on-base percentage (.430) thanks to a league-leading 33 walks, second in home runs (6) and third in OPS (.913). In addition to Vargas, Figueroa and Maldonado were withheld from the game against Gigantes de Carolina. Vargas and Figueroa entered the game in the eighth inning as pinch hitters while Maldonado entered as a defensive replacement. In his only at bat that game, Vargas drew a walk against former Twin and Gigantes reliever J.C. Romero and was immediately lifted for a pinch runner.

 

Indios went on to beat the Gigantes, 3-2 after a walk-off double in the 11th.

 

Reportedly, Vargas expressed displeasure in the manager’s decisions and threatened to leave the team. After Sunday's win, the front office called Baerga to inform him that he was let go. Following the news of Baerga’s dismissal, Vargas quickly clarified with the press that he did not have anything to do with Baerga’s firing and would indeed continue with the team. (Vargas was initially slated to return to the Twins after January 8 but his team lobbied for an extension through the playoffs, which the Twins granted.)

 

Shortly after, Baerga took to his Facebook page to announce his termination and express his displeasure in the decision. He said that he would not accept players who did not come to play 100% every day or question his managing. Whether a parting shot or an attempt to clear the air with the three players by Baerga, he finished with “[a]nd above all, thanks to the three pillars of this [team]: Kennys Vargas, Wicho Figueroa Martin Maldonado and that your example and professionalism taught us all how you should do things.”

 

On Wednesday, all three players returned to the starting lineup. For his part, Vargas went 1-for-4 with a home run and drove in two runs.

 

This is the second of such charges against a member of the Twins organization in winter ball. In November, Aaron Hicks’ Venezuelan team released him amid reports that they were upset at his attitude. Vargas’ personality and/or attitude have not been issues with the Twins and he is well-respected in Puerto Rico where he recently was honored in December by the Sports Journalists Association of Puerto Rico as the best major league player from the island in 2014.

 

Click here to view the article

[drock2190]

These youngsters need a lesson about being "Minnesota Nice."

 

On a serious note, either Vargas has learned to draw a walk or the pitchers can't throw with a nickle because he hardly had any walks in the majors last year.

[Jeremy Nygaard]

#Leadership

[Parker Hageman]

On a serious note, either Vargas has learned to draw a walk or the pitchers can't throw with a nickle because he hardly had any walks in the majors last year.

 

 

That is crazy. Would love to see some footage of those plate appearances. 

[Seth Stohs]

Uggh!! Sorry Kennys... but take your day off, and respect what a guy like Carlos Baerga has done in the game!! 

 

Not good to hear this. Of course, we don't know the whole story, but still. 

[ScrapTheNickname]

I ran Baerga's Facebook page through two online translators (my Spanish is weak), and near the end he writes,

 

"Above all, thanks to the three pillars of this native sports team: Kenny Vargas, Wicho Figueroa and Martin Maldonado; your example and professionalism taught us to [do things the right way?].

[wagwan]

I ran Baerga's Facebook page through two online translators (my Spanish is weak), and near the end he writes,

 

"Above all, thanks to the three pillars of this native sports team: Kenny Vargas, Wicho Figueroa and Martin Maldonado; your example and professionalism taught us to [do things the right way?].

Perhaps that was sarcasm?   I agree with Seth on both points. It sounds bad, but we don't have all the info. 

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

Vargas is probably the youngest of the three "pillars" mentioned above, yeah? I wonder what Vargas actually said or did that led to the article stating that Vargas "threatened to leave the team." Was it that Vargas was saying he wouldn't ask for the extra time from the Twins? Was it really about Baerga?

 

This is a tricky thing about translation and sports reporting. Maybe the reporter read something into statements by players (including Vargas) about Baerga's managerial style. Then take the story as written by the reporter and translate it from one language to another ... There was no direct quote from Vargas in the article. So.. we don't know what he said, to whom, in what context. Was he bashing Baerga? Was he concerned that the team was losing and if they lost again their season would be over?

 

We're reading the sports reporters' version of the events, translated from Spanish. It could have gone down exactly like it is implied (Vargas and two teammates conspired to get Baerga fired), or maybe it was not anything like that at all. I don't think the firing of Baerga should put Vargas in a negative light, nor do I think Molitor or any of the Twins' coaches should have to worry about Vargas' attitude as a Twin.

 

They might want to have a chat with him during Spring training and get his side of the story, but I don't see enough info to make Vargas (or Baerga) a villain.

[Denny]

Uggh!! Sorry Kennys... but take your day off, and respect what a guy like Carlos Baerga has done in the game!! 

 

Not good to hear this. Of course, we don't know the whole story, but still. 

 

New poster here.

 

Maybe I'm wrong here, but I am going to give the benfit of the doubt to Kennys on this one.  The article says the three players were among others in their disagreement with how Baerga was managing the game.  It appears Baerga responded by benching them in the middle of the postseason.  Just because Baerga was able to bounce around the majors for a decade doesn't mean he is immune from second guessing as a manager.   

 

I think this sounds good.  I like that Vargas wasn't ok with being benched as a punishment, especially when its in the middle of the playoffs and its clear that multiple players had issues with the manager.  Why is it that some faction of Twins fans look down on/fear players with passion/attitue, but will whine on, and on, about how Joe Mauer never looks like he cares.  If I remember correctly a lot of people herehad a negative reaction to Sano and his homerun trot shenanigans a couple years ago, which turned out to be quasi-justified on his part.  Let's all just pump the breaks on calling this necessarily a bad thing, or on saying the Kennys has a respect issue. 

[Parker Hageman]

Was it that Vargas was saying he wouldn't ask for the extra time from the Twins?

 

 

At the end of December Vargas was quoted as saying he was trying to get the extra week from the Twins to help his team to the playoffs. 

 

Obviously with this case as in numerous cases in the clubhouse of the major leagues, there are things that will never be reported and the full story will never be revealed. These are simply the events reported by the local media. 

 

Baerga's comment about his players not ready to come play 100% was interesting. It's a jump to conclusion (mat) that it is possible that the three named players who were held out of the lineup may have not come ready to play -- for whatever that means. The curious thing about it is that it was essentially a "must win" game and Baerga held his and the league's best hitter out of the lineup. 

 

Again, I'm not winning to assign blame over this, just providing the information available. 

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

At the end of December Vargas was quoted as saying he was trying to get the extra week from the Twins to help his team to the playoffs. 

 

 

Ah, I should have phrased that more carefully, I was wondering what the "threat" was that Kennys allegedly made on Sunday. As in, was the threat that he was going to withdraw the earlier request for an extra week?

 

In any case, what we know is that Baerga benched the teams' top three players for some reason, and then the team fired Baerga (possibly/probably for benching three top players in a playoff race). Baerga was the league's "manager of the year" last year, so it's not like he's some scrub. Maybe the three guys did something to "disrespect" Baerga and he tried to make an example of them. Vargas could have been the instigator of this, or just happened to be in the same room as the player that started whatever it was. Maybe they were out too late, maybe they broke an unwritten rule of some kind... Like you said, we'll probably never know.

 

I think it's worth the Twins having a casual conversation with Vargas, but certainly nothing to be too concerned about.

[Tibs]

I don't know any information on the situation besides what is in this article, but I feel like one of the best hitters in the league should be playing in your playoff games.

[clutterheart]

Whatever. As long as he gets better at taking walks I dont care.

[Dantes929]

New poster here.

 

Maybe I'm wrong here, but I am going to give the benfit of the doubt to Kennys on this one.  The article says the three players were among others in their disagreement with how Baerga was managing the game.  It appears Baerga responded by benching them in the middle of the postseason.  Just because Baerga was able to bounce around the majors for a decade doesn't mean he is immune from second guessing as a manager.   

 

 

Three time all star and .291 lifetime batting average.  I'm not saying he was a superstar but quite a bit more than a guy that was able to bounce around the majors.    No need to denigrate his career because even if he was a super star hall of famer he should't be immune from second guessing any more than any other manager.

[Denny]

Three time all star and .291 lifetime batting average.  I'm not saying he was a superstar but quite a bit more than a guy that was able to bounce around the majors.    No need to denigrate his career because even if he was a super star hall of famer he should't be immune from second guessing any more than any other manager.

 

 

Wasn't trying to tear him down intentionally, just meant to point out that his career was not was not very distinguishable from that of hundreds or thousands of others.  In perspective .291 puts him at #359 all time, and his career line is .291/.332/.423, which is meh.  Combine that with playing for 7 MLB and 1 KPB team in 14 years, and I don't think I was being overly critical of his caereer.  He is a name many Twins fans are very familiar with because of his years with the Indians, but he exists more on the periphery of baseball than in the category of guys with "accomplishments". 

[stringer bell]

Tempest in a teapot further complicated (to us) by language issues.  I hope this is the case.  Winter ball intrigues me and I don't really know how to consider performances in these leagues.  I know many of the players are living at home and playing abbreviated schedules, I know that there are good crowds and good players when they are in the playoffs.  I don't know how seriously the players are taking the competitions and I don't know if strong (or weak) performance shoud be an indication of future performance.

[Otto von Ballpark]

On a serious note, either Vargas has learned to draw a walk or the pitchers can't throw with a nickle because he hardly had any walks in the majors last year.

Vargas' walk rates were fine in the minors, so I think it was primarily an adjustment thing.

[Boom Boom]

Somebody fired Baerga, and I doubt that person was Vargas. It wouldn't have happened if Baerga's boss liked the work that he was doing.

 

Not saying Vargas didn't have a finger in that soup, just that it's unlikely that Baerga is blameless here.

[ashbury]

New poster here.

Welcome!

[Shane Wahl]

Don't see what the problem is here at all. Baerga clearly made a serious mistake. Vargas wasn't alone in his criticism. It sounds like he wants to play because he is the best option for his team. Why get bothered by that??

[Parker Hageman]

Don't see what the problem is here at all. Baerga clearly made a serious mistake. Vargas wasn't alone in his criticism. It sounds like he wants to play because he is the best option for his team. Why get bothered by that??

 

 

Again, I preface all of this by saying we don't know the whole story. These are just the details that are provided: 

 

Baerga did not start three players in the playoffs including his best player -- for some unknown reason. Could it have been because he pulled a Mr. Burns and had Homer pinch hit for Daryl Strawberry? Maybe. Could it have been that the three players did something on-or-off-the-field that caused their benching? Maybe. Could it have been because he just wanted to give the three a day off? Maybe.

 

I tried to find any report on why those three were not played in the game and there did not seem to have any information available on that. To me, that's the smoking gun. 

[ashbury]

I don't know any information on the situation besides what is in this article, but I feel like one of the best hitters in the league should be playing in your playoff games.

I doubt you'd get much dissent from that view.  So I am inclined to give the manager the benefit of the doubt that he believed he had a compelling reason to take action. That the team owner evidently disagreed doesn't change my view that the the situation wasn't cut and dried.

 

It doesn't necessarily mark the player as a bad guy for life, and as others have said, we in the public will likely never know the full details.  Just an episode to tuck away for future reference if need be.

[h2oface]

Reading all this made me feel like I was being forced to watch The View. Oh, the drama. I like all the walks, though. And the return to the lineup on Wednesday with a homer and 2 RBI. And "Vargas’ personality and/or attitude have not been issues with the Twins and he is well-respected in Puerto Rico where he recently was honored in December by the Sports Journalists Association of Puerto Rico as the best major league player from the island in 2014." Sometimes managers need to get tutored by Phil Jackson. 

[Seth Stohs]

It's just a weird story... Players should handle benchings better. Sano handled his perfectly. He didn't get a manager fired. We don't know the whole story and maybe there's been a lot going on that led up to this... but firing a manager who did have a very good big league career as the playoffs are starting... something's strange. There's more to this story, for sure. 

[sorney]

Again, I preface all of this by saying we don't know the whole story. These are just the details that are provided: 

 

Baerga did not start three players in the playoffs including his best player -- for some unknown reason. Could it have been because he pulled a Mr. Burns and had Homer pinch hit for Daryl Strawberry? Maybe. Could it have been that the three players did something on-or-off-the-field that caused their benching? Maybe. Could it have been because he just wanted to give the three a day off? Maybe.

 

I tried to find any report on why those three were not played in the game and there did not seem to have any information available on that. To me, that's the smoking gun. 

Mr Burns had the fix in for sure!!

[LimestoneBaggy]

"Vargas, shave those sideburns!"

[maxisagod]

It's just a weird story... Players should handle benchings better. Sano handled his perfectly. He didn't get a manager fired. We don't know the whole story and maybe there's been a lot going on that led up to this... but firing a manager who did have a very good big league career as the playoffs are starting... something's strange. There's more to this story, for sure. 

2018. World Series. Game 7. The clear American MVP Sano is benched for a nonperformance/ non medical reason. If the Twins lose that game due to a lack of offence, is Molitor's Job secure and if he lost it, did Sano fire him? This incident is a factoid nothing more. 

[Madre Dos]

never saw an attitude issue with Kennys during the 2011 season. If anything, he was more than accommodating to the fans and appeared to be liked by all team members. He was a terrific help to me, being the best English speaker in the house. He kept us around the dinner table until after 1AM many nights with his humorous nature.

[JB_Iowa]

I love these stories about the players you've hosted,  Thanks for sharing.

[Thrylos]

It's just a weird story... Players should handle benchings better. Sano handled his perfectly. He didn't get a manager fired.

 

THAT manager should had been fired...