Twins All-time ATTITUDE Team

[strumdatjag]

There are some concerns that the Twins clubhouse in the past few years has been DULL!!! Many believe adding some fired-up, good attitude players would help. Here are my picks for the all-time ATTITUDE team, emphasizing good, dedicated and "different" personalities (but emphasizing the "different") and "characters":

 

First Base: Doug Mientkiewisz (even more than Hrbek)

Second Base: Alexi Casilla (one of two "loose cannons" according to Gardie)

Shortstop: Cristian Guzman (tough position to pick, Orlando Cabrera got fired up but that was during a very short stint)

Third Base: Corey Koskie (like Dougie Baseball, a very dedicated Twin, who even took a full page ad in the newspaper to thank the fans when he left for the Blue Jays)

Utility Infielder: Frank Quilici (for dedication to everything Twins) - Nick Punto is the runner-up

Outfield: Dan Gladden (drove over to Lombo's house to punch some sense into him), Carlos Gomez (the other loose cannon), Kirby Puckett (Get on my back!!! All-time King of the Locker Room) Killebrew and Cuddyer were just too nice to make the list - but it was tough leaving Disco Dan out of this.

Catcher: A.J Pierzynski (the easiest pick)

Starting RHP: Jack Morris (only one year, but shunned Tom Kelly and kept the ball in the 10th for the biggest game ever for a Twins pitcher) Blyleven had bad attitude when he left after his first stint and took away the sombrero on his second, so he's out. On the positive side Dave Boswell did get punched out by his manager, and Joe Niekro had the emory board, but Morris gets it))

Starting LHP: Johan Santana (Insisted he was good enough to start and then proved it as a multi-CyYoung-winner)

Set-Up Reliever: Juan Berenguer (so many possibilities, but the answer is obvious)

Closer: Eddie Guardado (for overall, longterm fired up attitude, his pre-pitching ritual and engaging personality) This is tough, however, Joe Nathan had fire on the mound, Jon Rauch and Jeff Reardon looked menacing. Rick Aguilera, however, was too nice to make this list.

Manager: Ron Gardenhire (willing to storm out of the dugout and had more longevity than runnerup Billy Martin - BUT look below)

Third Base Coach: Billy Martin - How can you leave him out of the all-attitude dugout.

Owner: Calvin Griffith - Old school baseball guy, even if he was a tightwad.

[strumdatjag]

I'm 59 years old, but aside from Billy Martin and Quilici, I had a hard time finding players from the 60s and 70s who I preferred over the ones I listed. Maybe I'm just losing my memory.

[strumdatjag]

I left off the DH. Let's go with Jim Thome, more of an Ah Shucks attitude but a real good presence in the clubhouse during his tenure here.

[notoriousgod71]

Jose Offerman can be the pinch hitter.

 

I don't believe for a second that Casilla was a loose cannon. Throw Knoblauch in there. Redmond is back up catcher and Ortiz can be Gardy's coveted third catcher. Third base is pre-born again Gaetti. I would say Cabrera over Guzman.

 

The rotation is brutally mundane. For some reason I enjoyed Livan's aloof indifference. If the goal isn't to win games, get Pig Unit and Frankie Rodriguez. Romero is the loogy.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

G-man definitely needs to be in there.. and I would swap Go-Go (little too self centered for my taste) and put in Torii. Good times..

[goulik]

Tho me can't be the DH... Too nice! Don Baylor was a short termed but he took the pitch off the shoulder and brought a clubhouse attitude to. World Series winning team

[Joe A. Preusser]

Herbie gets the nod for when he shouted at the booing crowd in Atlanta... "I love it!!!!" "I love it!!!!" It takes a man to look up at 50,000 screaming enemy fans with "Fat Boy" banners and scream back into their teeth.

[oldguy10]

Sure like to see some of those "attitude" types show up on the current MLB roster - frankly I see no candidates and that scares me. Can anybody name at least one?

[Craig Arko]

Sure like to see some of those "attitude" types show up on the current MLB roster - frankly I see no candidates and that scares me. Can anybody name at least one?

 

Arcia may be the best bet, until Sano comes up.

[TwinChargers]

I think Torii Hunter needs to be put in there somewhere. I believe it was he and Morneau that nearly got into fisticuffs early in Justin's career.

 

I miss the Twins having a bit of fire in there belly. Seems those early 2000 teams had a chip on there shoulder that these teams the last few years just don't have. Unfortunately, wherever the Twins have someone who speaks up they are usually out in a hurry.

[D. Hocking]

I think Torii Hunter needs to be put in there somewhere. I believe it was he and Morneau that nearly got into fisticuffs early in Justin's career.

 

Torii swung at Justin - missed Morneau but hit the wrong place at the wrong time Nick Punto.

 

I think having a firey personality can help, but I think it is largely a talking point reporters come up with to fill space when they have nothing else to say about a losing team. It is not like the Twins lost a key spark plug in 2010 when they won over 90 games and 2011 when they won a little bit less than 90 games... They had some key injuries and the pitching staff had sprung a few leaks. A live-wire or two could help infuse some life into the team and help build some momentum, but if the talent is not there it does not really matter.

[strumdatjag]

OK- I agree Gomez is dropped for Torii Hunter in the outfield. Since the other looser cannon was dumped, I'll dump Alexi Casilla at Second Base and replace him with Billy Martin, who played 2nd Base, for the Twins in 1961 (then going on to be a third base coach and manager)

OF - Torii

2B - Billy Martin

[strumdatjag]

I'd also say that Cuddyer was a force in the clubhouse, a goody-goody version, but a force nevertheless.

[D. Hocking]

I'd also say that Cuddyer was a force in the clubhouse, a goody-goody version, but a force nevertheless.

 

I swear I heard on the radio once how one of the players was freaked out/scared by Cuddyer's card tricks thinking of them as a sort of dark magic. Was Cuddy really a goody goody force -- or did he rule by using his Cards of Hell as intimidation?

[Willihammer]

Torii swung at Justin - missed Morneau but hit the wrong place at the wrong time Nick Punto.

 

Are you Denny Hocking? This is not meant as snarck. It just so happens that this little tiff involving Hunter happened after a Thursday Sept 29 game against KC. Denny Hocking played for the Royals that year. Were you hanging out in the opposing locker room at the time?

[D. Hocking]

Are you Denny Hocking? This is not meant as snarck. It just so happens that this little tiff involving Hunter happened after a Thursday Sept 29 game against KC. Denny Hocking played for the Royals that year. Were you hanging out in the opposing locker room at the time?

 

I hate to say this, because it is bound to disappoint all of the loyal Denny fans on this board (which is probably the vast majority of the board), but I am not Denny.

 

I chose the name, because I started paying more attention to the Twins during his tenure. Hocking is a family name, and I have fond memories of my Dad coming into the room and asking how cousin Denny was doing (no real relation). I chose the name with memories of my Dad in mind, but now that I think about it -- he might not have wanted to be that closely associated with "cousin" Denny.

 

FYI - I think your avatar has given me a few nightmares (no offense meant if that is really you and not a photoshop).

[Don't Feed the Greed Guy]

Can you say "soul patrol?"

[strumdatjag]

Denny Hocking and Chip Hale (and one or two more bench riders) referred to themselves as "the slugs" in pre-piranha days.