To quote an Elton John song, "I've seen that movie too." We've been down this road before and the story always ends the same way. You know, if the manager doesn't matter when it comes to winning and losing, then why even have one? If there aren't any particular strategies that are either winning or losing games, then we don't even need a manager. If there is not a certain mentality that can be passed on to the players before a certain game, then is there any need for a manager? If it is never the manager's fault that the Twins choke at a certain time every year, then I guess he must be expendable, but hey, he comes cheap and he is well-liked in the clubhouse, so I guess that's all that matters!

The other side of the coin, is that the manager does matter and he makes decisions and provides the team with direction and purpose, in which case RG has failed at the most crucial moments. This is the stance that I have always taken (even though I was again hoping to be proven wrong). (Of course, players matter as well. It is impossible to win consistently with lousy players, but the Twins have always had a solid minor league pipeline, so decent players keep coming up through the system. I think the Twins have a very good group of players at the moment and before one of those dry spells comes about, it would be nice to get a third WS championship.)

In the real world, I would like to see the Twins land a third World Series ring, but with RG at the helm folks, it ain't gonna happen, is it? Do you really think that it will??? Honestly??? We've been there and done that four times (or is it five), and we've always ended up losers--even thought the press always marvels that the Twins compete. Here's a news flash, the Twins don't compete when it comes to the playoffs! The game against the Sox was just one more example of ineptitude at the worst time.

The bottom line is this Tom Kelly took the Twins into the playoffs twice. In 1987, the Twins were gonna get their heads served on a platter against the Tigers, and then were supposed to get stomped by the Cardinals. They won the World Series. In 1991, the Twins were a better team than they were in 1987, but they were still supposed to get their clocks cleaned both in the championship and in the World Series. They won the World Series again......personally, I think the manager matters.

OK, I'm finished. Let the poison arrows fall where they may.

In this season of ups and downs, I have realized that the Twins have quite a talented team. I have to give a half-bow to the Twins organization because the Twins have put together a team that can actually get hits on certain occasions, which had been one of my pet peeves over the years. On their acquistions, I will give them a B+.

On the other hand, teams like the Twins who do not rely on raw power to drub opponents into submission, do the little things well. That's the Twins's signature, isn't it? The answer is of course, "No way."

The recent meltdowns are a point in case. In a one-week span the Twins lost three games simply due to miscues in the field. On another occasion, not walking a batter and then falling behind the next batter so that you have to toss a waste-high watermelon on the inside portion of the plate, are considered as a part of doing the little things well. These problems have less to do about talent and more about preparedness and being ready to be in such situations, IMHO. Earlier in the year, when on the road against the Yankees and the Red Sox, the Twins played absolutely bizarro baseball. Four Twins' runners were gunned down on various miscues iduring one game.

Are the players to blame for this lack of readiness? That is the question that I put before you all.

Well, it seems as if the Twins will not be able to pull off a winning season in 2007 at the end of it all. The Twins turned out to be an extremely mediocre team.

The year started on a relatively strange note. The Twins management rolled the dice on two washed-up veterans again, while keeping one washed-up veteran around for another season. That's okay; Gardy loves veterans, and he can get the most out of them. I could go on and on about how the money could have been invested in a qualitatively better option, but that horse has been beaten into oblivion.

The offense seemed offensively challenged right from the start. I was lambasted in early blogs because I complained that the Twins did little to alter their lineup from the previous year. Neverhtheless, I still had plenty of hope. Early successes belied much deeper problems, which surfaced early on and then dominated after the All Star break. And, in any case, this is another horse corpse to hurdle, so I'll stop there.

Amazingly there was still some hope; despite the hitting woes of the Twins, Detroit and Cleveland's dog days' performances found the Twins just a handful of games back. The Twins would make a deal--a deal that would vault them back into the race. They had an ace up their sleeve, and fans could smell a division busting deal coming down the pike. They got their deal--this is the Twins afterall--as they dumped Castillo and Cirillo to save a little "hard-earned" cash. The Pohlads are....okay, I won't even go there.

After the deals, Hunter and Santana complained. A lot of folks said they were whiners (this confirmed to many that they were indeed whiners because they also failed to accept the Twins paltry offers for multi-year deals--see C. Pohlad reference above). The arguments were furiously flying online. Some folks said that professionals ought to shut-up, put their jerseys on and play. Others said that when the management at any workplace treats seniors like garbage, the seniors have a right to express their feelings. This seems like a legitimate argument, but that might lead to all kinds of heated debate, so I'll just drop the subject.

Then of course there was the ever present Mother of All Discussions: What's the deal with Nick Punto. Nick-the-one-hit-wonder (2006), found himself transmogrified back into the hitter that many of us thought he actually was. In 2006 Nick Punto was a decent player, with decent defense and was known for his constant hustle. In 2007, Nick Punto was the worst hitter in baseball, who failed to execute even fundamental baseball but who was rewarded with starting practically every game. Why? He was suddenly the greatest defender to ever put on a baseball uniform. He was Brooks Robinson without the hitting (really, I swear he was compared to Brooks). I better stop, before I say more. Otherwise...

What I really want to say is that this year could have been much better. Those are sour grapes to be sure, but I really think so. This club had won the division in 2006 because of the players' abilities and they had most of those players back. They really needed to make some alterations to the lineup and they didn't and that really hurt the Twins, but there is a deeper problem that gets often gets ignored because the Twins have won division titles--the Gardenhire problem. Just the mention of this probably infuriates a good portion of the bloggers that are reading this. I am sorry, but I think you are wrong defending Gardy.

Gardy may have some admirable characteristics and there are probably some things that he does very well. I think that he creates a relaxed atmosphere--for veterans, even those who can't perform. Nonetheless, the Twins did not play fundamentally sound baseball under these relaxed guidelines. That's the players' faults, right? Well, not exactly. Fundamental baseball starts with the way the team is managed--right out of spring training. You can say a lot of bad things about Tom Kelly over his final years, but one thing you could not say is that his teams played fundamentally poor baseball.

Another point that has been somewhat belabored but cannot be ignored is that Gardy treats veterans differently than nubies. There is nothing wrong with this on the surface, veterans don't need the same kind of admonishing as younger players, but there is this issue of blame, which seems far too often to raise its ugly head in the media of all places. Nubies get blamed for all the Twins' woes and veterans are inevitably given a pass because they are, "...battling their tails off."

I remember (way, way back there) when the Twins had a rookie pitcher named Hughes. (Stay with me here; I do have a point.) He threw a palmball at the exclusion of all other pitches. He really didn't have much else; it was just the palmball. He started out an amazing 6-0! The problem was that the palmball wasn't like a knuckler; a palmball, which is thrown fairly slowly, makes a very predictable movement. The second time around, when other teams saw the palmball, they ripped it. Hughes didn't get out of the first inning in his second start against Boston. Why am I wasting time talking about Hughes? Because Gardy's management style is mindful of Hughes' pitching style. He offers very little variety in his approach because at one point in time the system he had employed worked. He doesn't alter his approach to meet the demands of what is required for success. If anyone has doubts, think back to how long Nick Punto remained at the top of the order despite his inability to get the job done. This is just one example.

I always believe that the players are the ones who wins divisions. Sometimes poorly managed teams win their division despite poor management. This is what the Twins have been in the past. Nevertheless, in the playoffs, management skills always have an effect. In 1987, the Twins were the least talented team in the playoffs, and they won the World Series. In 2004, the Twins were the most talented team in the playoffs (IMHO), and they were unceremoniously dumped from the first round of the playoffs, winning one game against a very average Yankees team.

I was never a fan of Gardy; from day one, I didn't like the way he managed the team. I thought and I still do that he was a big step down from Tom Kelly, but I am a fan of the Twins, so I have to say I often feel conflicted--hoping the Twins have success and still hoping that the team gets rid of Gardy. I now feel that the Twins are starting down a road where neither of these things will happen. Tom Kelly's stamp is slowly fading from view as players who were tutored under Kelly slowly fade into history; the team is really becoming a Gardenhire team. We'll see how it goes, but I cannot honestly say I am optimistic.

I could stay annoyed, but I guess in my heart of hearts, I know that I will be online checking how the Twins are looking right from spring training, and hoping that something has changed and it has affected Gardy's style. I guess that the old saying, "Hope springs eternal," describes me as well as a lot of us Twins fans. I actually look forward to eating crow! I want to be able to console myself with these words again at some time next year, "We're gonna win Twins. We're gonna score. We're gonna win Twins. Watch that baseball soar. Crack-out a home-run. Shout a hip-hooray. Cheer for the Minnesota Twins, today!"