Article: Gardenhire's Possible Landing Spots

[Cody Christie]

This is the first time in Ron Gardenhire's life that he hasn't been actively involved in baseball since his youth. However, it doesn't mean he wouldn't like to be back in the action. Fox Sports is reporting Gardenhire hired an agent for the first time in decades to "monitor possible managerial openings."Since there are currently no openings, he isn't actively pursuing a position, but he's open to considering all possibilities. There's also no reason to hurry since he had a year remaining on his contract when the Twins let him go at the end of last season.

 

Some managers are already on the hot seat even though the season is relatively young. Here are a few of the possible landing spots as Gardy looks for new employment.

 

Miami Marlins

Reports out of Miami have manager Mike Redmond, a former Twin, on the hot seat even though he is only in his third year at the helm. Many writers picked the Marlins as a playoff team this year but they have floundered out of the gate. Team owner Jeffrey Loria has been quick to pull the trigger on managers in the past so it wouldn't be surprising if Miami decided to go in a different direction. From Gardenhire's prospective, Miami might not be the ideal spot since his job security would immediately be called into question. This would be quite the change from the consistency he knew in the Twins organization.

 

Milwaukee Brewers

Much like Miami, the Brewers are off to a poor start as they entered the weekend with the fewest wins in baseball. Center fielder Carlos Gomez, catcher Jonathan Lucroy, and second baseman Scooter Gennett are all on the disabled list so that hasn't helped the situation. Brewers owner Mark Attanasio came out earlier this week and said that neither Ron Roenicke nor general manager Doug Melvin are on the hot seat. That tune could change if the Brewers continue to lose games in the coming months. Since Gardenhire still makes his home in Minnesota, it seems like staying with a Midwest team like Milwaukee could fit his needs.

 

Los Angeles Angels

There have been some high expectations in Los Angeles over the last handful of years. Signing big name stars like Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton to add to the likes of reigning AL MVP Mike Trout was supposed to put the Angles on a path to greatness. The club has only made the playoffs once in the last five seasons and they were swept out of last year's divisional series by the Royals. Mike Scioscia has been at the helm since 2000 and the Angels front office might want a new voice to try to lead their team to the playoffs. From Gardenhire's perspective, any manager would be crazy not to want to pencil Trout's name in the line-up card everyday.

 

Philadelphia Phillies

Charlie Manuel has only been out the door for a couple seasons but Ryne Sandberg hasn't finished better than fourth in the NL East. The Phillies roster is aging and it's hard to pick out what direction the team is going. There isn't a lot of light at the end of the tunnel at this point and the Philadelphia sports scene can be tough on failing clubs. A new manager like Gardenhire might not completely be the answer. But if the fans get out the torches and pitchforks for Sandberg, Gardenhire would be available and the rich Phillies history could be enough to lure him to the City of Brotherly Love.

 

For more from Cody Christie make sure to follow him on Twitter @NoDakTwinsFan and to read his other work at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com

 

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[Seth Stohs]

Not that it's the be-all, end-all, but Scioscia still has several years left. He signed a 10-year extension in 2009 through the 2018 season. Not that he couldn't be let go as Arte Moreno has shown a willingness to spend and then eat contracts.

[sane]

Gardenhire's most likely landing spot is on his rear.

[Winston Smith]

Gardy is rather old school and with more teams stepping into the modern era he may have a much smaller pool of teams to fit. Replacing Scioscia with Gardy doesn't make much sense they are very much the same guy. What would you really gain?

 

I was thinking he'd like  the Mets job but now they are playing well so they may not make the change.

 

Still think the most likely spot is the White Sox!

[jorgenswest]

I don't see a team with young players seeing Gardenhire as a fit.

 

If a team is out of contention, Gardenhire is not the manager to finish the season. His bad teams never play well in August and September. I would go interim and look for a manager in the winter when the pool is larger.

 

A team with veterans and a need for a change to a player's manager might be a good fit. Does that describe any of the team's above?

[formerly33]

Somehow I don't see a playoff-thirsty team firing their manager just to hire Gardy. The Twins might have made it to the playoffs often enough a decade ago, but did we do all that great? The answer is a great big NO. And I'd agree with Winston that the White Sox are the most likely spot for Gardenhire, which of course makes me happy since we need to bring that rivalry back. We can't let those sneakin' Royals come in and steal that from us.

[Thrylos]

The Angels might be a good fit, based on who their backup catcher is

 

I think that Gardenhire needs a low expectations & low accountability team like the Twins.  From that list that would leave out the Angels (owner & fans), Marlins (owner), Phillies (owner & fans.)   Maybe the Brewers are a good fit.  Maybe. The've been keeping Roenicke around for ever and a few days.

 

But the El Paso Diablos or the Round Rock Express, are probably a better fit.  Or a third base coach position, since that was his role in the last post-season winning team he was a member.

[Brandon]

I think the Rangers are a good fit as well as Milwaukee.  what about the Reds?  that seems like a good spot with a few more blow ups from price...

[Brandon]

I can also see him being a coach on the Cubs.  Theo did like dealing with the Twins and he did respect them so I can see where he could be a coach on the Cubs.

[nicksaviking]

A statistically averse old school manager? I don't see a fit for him in this era of baseball.

 

Unless the Twins fire Molitor that is.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I think he could end up in Chicago or Detroit, if either of those teams significantly underachieve this year. It's hard to get a feel for these other teams and markets we don't see as much. Gardy will definitely manage again and I'm taking a softer view of him now that it's obvious very little is changing in his absence. 

 

Gardenhire had no bigger supporter than Jim Leyland, who is still an important voice in Detroit. Leyland would never throw Ausmus under the bus but Ausmus really seems like he struggled last year. If Detroit misses the postseason I think Gardy would be perfect for that team.

 

[nowheresville]

I'd love to see Gardy end up in Milwaukee, if only for the humor value. Seeing Gardy paired back up with Gomez, Lohse, and Garza, along with watching him having to deal with National League rules would be comedy gold.

[Blake]

Gardy manages Milwauke with Ozzie as the third base coach and Leyland as the bench coach.

 

Now that would be something to see.

 

[COtwin]

I think that Grady was a bit behind in the times and I know he wasn't able to make some fairly good teams out perform themselves.  But regardless.  I want Gardy to succeed.  I hope he gets another chance at a major league team and manages them to a world series, unless it is against us.  Gardy gave us some good years.  I don't think he was what we needed, but I wish him the best, and I choose to believe he will be capable elsewhere.

[jimbo92107]

"...any manager would be crazy not to want to pencil Trout's name in the line-up card everyday."

 

Actually, the Angels lineup card is printed with Trout's name in CF. If anybody else wants the position, they'll have to break the printer. ;-)

[h2oface]

It would be very ironic for Gardenhire to be Mike Trout's manager, considering that the trade for Gardenhire that brought him to the Twins basically led tp Trout's dad quitting baseball starting a family, as Ronny got his AAA slot. Without that happening, there would probably be no Mike Trout.

[Circus Boy]

If Punto returns to baseball, that's where Gardenhire will be.

[Reider]

The Toronto Blue Jays should be on this list. John Gibbons is brutal.

[h2oface]

I doubt that Redmond is on the hot seat after this week. Silly rumors. Spreading silly rumors.

[Benchwarmerjim]

 

 

Gardenhire had no bigger supporter than Jim Leyland, who is still an important voice in Detroit. Leyland would never throw Ausmus under the bus but Ausmus really seems like he struggled last year. If Detroit misses the postseason I think Gardy would be perfect for that team.

 

Veteran team with a few youngsters sprinkled in. Good pitching and an owner who can buy some bullpen arms ( I always thought Gardy did a good job managing the bullpen, especially the front end/lesser quality arms). My money is on Detroit if Ausmus falters this year.

[USAFChief]

MLB radio.

[Pius Jefferson]

The playoff futility is so hard to ignore. A 6-21 record and half of the wins game in the first playoff appearance. I don't see why Ron Gardenhire can suddenly figure out how to manage when it counts when he's never done so before.

[Blackjack]

What a nice gig!!! Getting paid a million dollars to sit on your butt!!!

[Otto von Ballpark]

I would be very surprised if Detroit ever hired Gardenhire to manage.  It would be a little like the Yankees hiring Grady Little or some other failed pre-2004 Red Sox manager, after thoroughly seeing his weaknesses and failures close-up.

 

Frankly, I will be a little surprised if he lands anywhere in MLB as manager.  He doesn't have experience in any organization other than the Twins, at least for his entire coaching/managerial career of 30 years.  That's pretty unusual, isn't it?  His record was solid overall for the Twins, but he inherited a solid team.

 

His playoff record is almost too awful to ignore, so what team with realistic playoff aspirations is going to want him?  And he was eventually fired by a team solidly in rebuild mode, so what rebuilding team is really going to want him at the helm?  Maybe he could be a Plan B or C for someone, but even then, it seems like teams could just as easily find an interesting rookie manager like Doug, Redmond, etc.  (And it seems like teams are more willing to go with an inexperienced manager these days, although I haven't studied it.)

[tobi0040]

I think it would really take the stars and moon to align for him to land another manager role.  I don't think he is a good fit in todays game.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

All true perhaps, but I'm not going to underestimate him. The old-fashionedness comes from the organizational culture here, and wasn't just him. Gardy said in the press conference that he will manage again. That's a professional agency he hired. He'll be back.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

All true perhaps, but I'm not going to underestimate him. The old-fashionedness comes from the organizational culture here, and wasn't just him. Gardy said in the press conference that he will manage again. That's a professional agency he hired. He'll be back.

Interestingly, he hired the same agency that currently represents Paul Molitor.  I don't recall Molitor being offered or considered for many managerial positions...

 

Is there a good managerial comp for Gardenhire landing another job?  In the same organization for almost 30 years, took 14 years to land an MLB managerial position, fired after a series of very poor seasons -- it's not a recipe that suggests either the personal ambition or the team interest in landing another big gig.

[tobi0040]

 

I can also see him being a coach on the Cubs.  Theo did like dealing with the Twins and he did respect them so I can see where he could be a coach on the Cubs.

 

I think Gardy would be about the last guy the Cubs would hire. They ponied up big time for Maddon, really the opposite of Gardy (Gardy was a free agent at that point).

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

 

Interestingly, he hired the same agency that currently represents Paul Molitor.  I don't recall Molitor being offered or considered for many managerial positions...

 

Is there a good managerial comp for Gardenhire landing another job?  In the same organization for almost 30 years, took 14 years to land an MLB managerial position, fired after a series of very poor seasons -- it's not a recipe that suggests either the personal ambition or the team interest in landing another big gig.

About that, I do not know. 

 

For all his flaws, I do think Gardy has plenty of good selling points. He's loyal and personable. Good instincts. He knows the league. (I see him as an AL guy.) He can hit the ground running Day 1, as opposed to Ausmus, who sent text messages to Leyland last year during slumps. Depends on how serious Gardy is about adapting the hiring organization's ideas about the game, analytics, choosing pitching coach, etc. I think a lot of teams would be open minded about hiring a guy like Gardy, not all, but many.

[Benchwarmerjim]

 

Is there a good managerial comp for Gardenhire landing another job?  In the same organization for almost 30 years, took 14 years to land an MLB managerial position, fired after a series of very poor seasons -- it's not a recipe that suggests either the personal ambition or the team interest in landing another big gig.

 

Cito Gaston?