Let's review:

>>>Cuddyer.  You say he wasn't jerked around.  But how much consistent playing time did he get at 1 position?  Even at the beginning of 2006 he wasn't getting to play everyday.  Once he got in the lineup everyday, he performed well.

Michael Cuddyer received 41 starts after his callup in 2002. Gardenhire promptly put THE ROOKIE, A SPECIES THAT YOU CLAIM GARDENHIRE WILL NOT PLAY in right field for all five games of the 2002 ALDS and the first two games of the 2002 ALCS, until he misplayed two balls in right field. That was the end of his ALCS starts.

Gardenhire was fiercely loyal to Cuddyer to a fault from the start, and Cuddyer played himself back to the minor leagues, also scuffled because of injuries, and later because he let his play at third base affect his batting.

After Jones and Stewart left, which cleared a spot in the outfield for him, he was given the job in spring training of 2006. He exited camp with a nagging injury which meant that GUESS WHO? ROOKIE JASON KUBEL started the season in RF. Yup, one of those youngsters whom you claim Gardy will not play.

Gardy played lefty-righty in the '06 opener and put Kubel out there against Halliday. Kubel, overmatched against this type of pitcher, took an oh-fer.

Gardenhire eased Cuddyer in, but Cuddyer started 2-for-16 because of the injury. Healed by the end of April, Cuddyer, played 150 games in 2006, despite your contention Gardie dissed him.

>>>Kubel.  I'm not using your example of 2006 Kubel.  I'm using 2007 Kubel, when he was clearly one of the Twins top 4 hitters but only got to play 3 times per week, being benched for the likes of Rondell White, Jason Tyner, and Lew Ford.  It was only at the very end of the season that he got regular playing time.

An utter lie. Too bad your pals on this board just swallow all this crap.

Kubel played 8 of every 10 games this year. 128 of 162. He didn't play more for two reasons:

1. knees
   
2. good lefties.

They protect him.

How many times do the Twins play Cleveland and Chicago? How many ABs did Kubel have against two of the league's toughest lefties, Buehrle and Sabathia? Answer: zero.

Bedard? Zero
Kazmir? Zero

Against good righties such as Wakefield, Halliday, Haren, Kubel was hitless in '07

Like you, the boy's got some learnin' to do, and Gardy is trying to help him. I'm trying to help you.

In the big Sept. 14-16 series vs. Detroit, when the Twins needed Kubel to step up and produce, he was 1-for-11 with Nate Robertson, Yorman Bazardo and Jair Jurjens starting. That's not exactly great pitching.

After that series, he went on a 14-for-34 run. He needs to pick it up for the big series, not cave.

This is the kind of stuff you miss because you're so in love with the notion you know more than Gardenhire does.

There's more, but you might want to call it a day right now.

>>Casilla.  Yeah, he sucked when he got to play.  However, even in September after the Twins were mathematically eliminated, Gardy played Punto rather than Casilla.  You tell me if it is better for a player's development to sit on the bench or to actually get some playing time.  

I'm not too concerned with it, either, particularly being the minor league season was over and sending Casilla out was no option.

For those scoring at home, Casilla played 27 of the Twins' games in August. He played himself out of the lineup, but still was in 14 of 27 in September. That's hardly spectating. He had at least three plate appearances in all of those games save for 4.

Next time, before you tell us Kubel played 3 times a week and that Casilla's development was hampered by sitting on the bench, do some research. I don't particularly care how you think you recall the season, we deal with reality in these discussions. Back it up, or don't bother to make the statement. Got it?

>>> Bartlett.  Even though he hit .382/.441/.500 in spring training, and showed great bat ability in his minor league career, Gardy played Castro over him to start the season.  What evidence was there that Castro would perform better than Bartlett?  

". . .showed great bat ability in his minor league career" This is one of those worthless phrases guys like you, who won't do any research and don't understand the game, love to toss out.

You can not even support that statement about Bartlett unless you watched him throughout his minor league career. His fielding, problematic throughout the minors, was awful in '07, with 26 errors (and many more misplays) in 138 games, yet Gardenhire stuck with him.

Bartlett's FA and RF in 2006 were Juan Castro-like. So playing him gave the Twins' no edge defensively.

Out of '06 spring training, it was clear Bartlett was not prepared for a big-league job. I saw him down there. Bartlett had an awful '07 spring, both in the field and at the plate. I was there. He stunk.

Spanning September 1, 2006, including the post-season, Jason Bartlett's offense was worse than Juan Castro's during Castro's 2006 tenure in Minnesota. Bartlett went 29-for-131 with three extra base hits in that span. He was just dreadful. Stink. Crap.

Castro had 156 ABs with the Twins in 2006 and batted .231 with 8 extra base hits, and guys like you were all over Castro. Bartlett had a worse September than that and you wonder why Gardenhire coddles the guy? And keep in mind, September 2006 was a big chunk of Bartlett's playing time. His hot start, fueld by Gardenhire's refusal to simply hand him a job, got doused big time in September of 2006.

Then 2007 spring training rolled around and Bartlett had 44 ABs with two extra base hits. This was against AA, AAA pitching and established pitchers who go into games working on pitches, so you might see someone like Santana throw 80 percent changeups. Bartlett still couldn't whack that stuff.

After a really rough end of 2006, Bartlett carried that Juan Castro-like offense into early 2007. It was looking like his half-season in '06 might be his best. Now, it appears Bartlett might be OK. He's a smart kid who will learn to go to right field more. He's got some gap power. But coddling this guy was required. He's the player he is now because the Twins nursed him along.

Too many people who don't understand baseball see a player break out and decide he should have played more when he was younger. Should have been brought up earlier. Hey. Did you ever think maybe he would not have ever broken out without that careful use?

Naw. Not guys like you.

>>>Baker.  When he was first called up, he kept being skipped over for starts, often going 8 or 9 days between starts.  When he got regular turns in the rotation this year, his stats became much more consistent with those most people expected based on his minor league numbers.

Pure fiction.

Here's the truth: When Baker was recalled he was not skipped over for starts. Start putting some effort into this or don't bother to respond. Do  you even watch these games or do you just sit around and find someone to gripe to about Gardenhire?

Bake came up May 19, pitched 8 1/3 and had a 2.16 ERA after stinking up the place in spring training. He had to prove himself, just like any big-league pitcher who had a terrible 2006 and played himself out of the picture in 2007 spring training.

Gardenhire and the Twins stuck with him early in '07, giving him four starts without ever skipping him in the rotation. How did Baker respond? His ERA went from 2.16 after his first start to 6.45.

Finally, after the Angels hammered him for five runs in five innings he did not start in the big leagues for 10 days. He then started on June 15, 20, 26, July 1, 6, 12. Then the All-Star break came, and I suspect even you would at that point no longer consider this to be "when he was first called up."

The only reason Baker missed those 10 days was he pitched himself out of the rotation with awful starts, one of which saw him pitch two innings.

Mostly, your other assessments here were misconceptions sprinkled with inaccuracy and lack of research. Your Baker assessment is completely inaccurate, and your comment stating "his stats became much more consistent with those most people expected based on his minor league numbers" is completely fabricated.

Checkmate.