The Minnesota Twins made waves yesterday afternoon with the announcement of Manager Ron Gardenhire’s 2 year contract extension. Gardenhire’s entire coaching staff was extended for one season as well, effectively telling fans that the owners and front office are happy standing pat with the coaches the Twins have.
The Twitter world and Twins’ blogosphere exploded into a fit of debate and chaos. Fans hated it, fans loved it. There were two distinct sides of the aisle, and both had as much passion and vitriol as their opponent.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter what the fans think. All that matters is that the players stand behind their manager (following the final game of the season, many players, including Joe Mauer, voiced their support for their long time manager) and that the front office believes he’s capable of turning things around.
The fact that Gardenhire earned a two year deal is hardly a surprise as the front office likely wanted to avoid another lame duck season for Gardenhire and all of the questions and speculations that follow such an event. The Twins are notoriously loyal to their employees, and the front office showed that loyalty by giving Gardenhire the rope in which to pull himself out of the muck or hang himself.
I’ve always leaned on the ‘protect Gardy’ side of the coin, as I feel it wasn’t his fault that he’s had to manage with a roster composed of AAA / AAAA caliber players and a pitching staff full of problem arms. I’d like to see any manager that could take the meager roster the Twins had thrown out there over the past two seasons and do much more than Gardenhire did.
I’d also argue that Gardenhire’s extension shows the Twins won’t be departing from their current rebuilding strategy. In fact, I have a hunch this season they’re going to embrace it even more. Coming into the 1985 season, the Twins jettisoned all of their veteran talent and let youngsters like Kent Hrbek and Gary Gaetti play. The payoff came two years later when a young but experienced Twins team took the World Series crown.
This strategy appeared again in the 2000 season. A team on the verge of being contracted decided to simply play their rookies and let them grow. The result was a youthful surge that lead to a decade long stay atop the AL Central.
Ron Gardenhire was at the helm during that first youth movement (in 2000), and I think the Twins expect him to be the best man for the job when the undergo such a move again this season.
General Manager Terry Ryan’s comments during the season about no player being safe and the team needing to do evaluations of all their talent (at all levels) was very telling, in my opinion. I think his comments mark the start of the Twins embracing another youth movement. I would hardly be surprised to see Josh Willingham and Ryan Doumit traded during the offseason. Players like Chris Parmelee, Trevor Plouffe, Darin Mastroianni and Chris Colabello should hardly feel comfortable either, as they could easily be used as trade fodder to add depth to the team.
Players like Clete Thomas, Wilkin Ramirez, Eric Fryer, Cole DeVries and Liam Hendriks should keep a bag packed as I think the Twins will be cleaning them off their 40 man roster.
Much of the filler will be gone, including players who had seen a regular role with the team. In their place, I believe the Twins will embrace their youth in the minors and call up Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sano, Alex Meyer, Trevor May and maybe even Byron Buxton by midseason. It’ll be a rough season – and there will need to be a lot of coaching and learning on the fly – which is why the Twins were keen on keeping Gardenhire on the job.
Gardenhire has been part of a youth movement before and the Twins feel he and his staff do well with teaching players the fundamentals of the game. I think his extension is a sign. Not that the Twins are afraid to change or are complacent with losing. After all, I think if the team though they could win with this roster, Gardy would be on the curb and a new manager who could get it done with this group would be introduced. Instead, I think Gardy’s extension shows the Twins are about to undergo a massive shakeup, and they want their longtime coach at the helm when it happens.
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