Twins vs. Yankees (Part 4): Ron Gardenhire & Those Damn Yankees

I'm scarred by that 12th inning. I should go and find the story I wrote that night. Lord, I was bummed, though at the time, it was easy to think "Hey we're tied 1-1 coming home and have been the better team...."

I found the story. I had trouble at first, because I apparently wrote it on StarTribune.com. But I made a copy in my original site. Here it is:

Sucker Punched
A few days ago, I wrote of glory, and the opportunity to show Minnesota sports fans that this low budget team is for real, by beating the best in their stadium in the only games that really count to these two teams.  I compared it to the Vikings season of 1998, and mentioned their playoff loss in 1999.  Today, those who watched feel a familiar sentiment, equal parts hopelessness and rage, mostly directed at a head coach. 

I'm betting the head coach feels the same way.

Except that in baseball, the leader of the coaching staff isn't a coach.  He's a manager.  That's something that most of us can relate to, because we work for managers, or are managers.  So we understand how important it is that good managers, while they have an area of responsibility, focus on their people, and their strengths and weaknesses.  We understand that the best managers are often loyal to a fault, that they protect their employees, and that their dedication is usually rewarded.

The key word in that last sentence was "usually".

This weekend, I heard Ron Gardenhire get savaged on his radio show by callers.  Their primary complaint was that he had prioritized resting his players over beating the Yankees, and thus had lost home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.  I suppose some of that sniping came from people with different priorities, but mostly it sounded like it was just habit.  It sounded like they had grabbed the most available criticism of the week, lined up their priorities with it, and charged ahead.  I honestly felt bad for Gardenhire for having to deal with that.

He'll be dealing with a lot more than today.  Gardenhire made a number of decisions yesterday.  They were mostly consistent with his values of staying loyal to his veterans and protecting his younger players.  And without exception, nearly every one blew up in his face.

• Starting Jason Kubel as designated hitter - This is the one move that runs counter to most of the rest of Gardenhire's moves.  Based on Kubel's outing last week versus right-handed Yankees starting pitcher Jon Lieber, Gardenhire substituted the left-handed hitting Kubel for right-handed hitting Lew Ford.  Unfortunately, Kubel not only went hitless in six at-bats, he struck out on three terrible pitches in the most critical at-bat for the Twins in the game. 

• Staying with Shannon Stewart in left field - Lew Ford is a better defensive outfielder than Stewart even if both players are healthy, but Stewart isn't healthy.  He has a bad hamstring and a bad foot, and yet Ford finds himself batting as the designated hitter most games.  He also found himself sitting on the bench in the twelfth inning last night as a drive from Alex Rodriguez landed just beyond Stewart's outstretched glove, and drove in the tying run. 

• This is the second time in two years that the Twins have downgraded themselves defensively in the outfield to make Shannon Stewart feel like he's more than just capable defensively.  Last year they moved Jacque Jones, who has far more range than Stewart, to right field from the more spacious left field.  One can argue that this doesn't make much of a difference in the overall defensive ability of a team, and if it keeps an important hitter happy and productive, it's worth it.  One can also argue that Lew Ford would've made that catch last night and the Twins could have left Yankee stadium up 2-0.

• Letting Brad Radke start the seventh inning - In the bottom of the sixth, the Twins bullpen phone rang.  Brad Radke had contained the Yankees, but had struggled all night, and was clearly tiring as he battled John Olerud with a runner on second and two outs.  Radke finally won the battle, keeping the deficit at 4-3, and walked back to the dugout.

And in the bottom of the seventh, the same pitcher who looked so gassed a half inning earlier, walked back out of the dugout and to the mound.  He would get to start by facing Miguel Cairo at the bottom of the Yankees order.  Following Cairo was Derek Jeter, who had homered off of Radke once already.  Following Jeter was Alex Rodriguez, who had homered off of Radke once already.  And following Rodriguez was Gary Sheffield, who had homered off of Radke once already. 

So, you can probably guess how that went.  The Yankees gained an important insurance run, to make the score 5-3, prior to Grant Balfour replacing Radke as pitcher. 

The decision to keep Radke in the game was defensible, but that call to the bullpen suggests that Gardenhire knew better.  Was he afraid to use a young bullpen in that situation?  Did he want to avoid angering Radke (who might need to start his next game on short rest) by taking him out of the game after just six innings?  Did he think it important that Radke have a "W" next to his name in the box score?  Or has he grown sensitive to the media fracas that results when he removes Radke and a game is lost anyway?  Whatever the reason, the move likely cost the Twins another run, and it was a run that would prove costly a half inning later.

• Letting Joe Nathan pitch in the twelfth inning - And finally we get to the BIG ONE that everyone will be talking about coast to coast.  It's almost a carbon copy of the decision Gardenhire made six innings earlier, only with a worse result.  Again, the pitcher who had finished the inning before was clearly done.  Again, a call had been made to the bullpen to get a different reliever ready.  Again, it looks like Gardenhire chose to stick with his veteran rather than submerge a rookie into a tense playoff environment.

And again, it proved disastrous. 

There's consistency in these moves, beyond the tragic result of all of them.  They're also consistent with similar moves that Gardenhire has made through the season.  And they're consistent with a management philosophy that has allowed this organization to develop a hoard of young talent while simultaneously winning three division titles.  That may be of some comfort to Twins fans today, and maybe to a manager that had an especially bad day.

It may be, but I doubt it.