With the Twins having lost 23 of their last 41 games and at times looking like a Central Division wannabe instead of a champion, the finger pointing among fans now even includes manager Ron Gardenhire. He’s long been a favorite in this town but anybody and everybody receives blame when the Twins lose a comfortable division lead and play like second stringers instead of heroes.
But don’t expect team management or ownership to have thoughts about changing managers any time soon. And most everyone who pulls for the Twins is feeling better after last weekend’s Target Field series when the Twins won three of four against the first place White Sox who now lead Minnesota and Detroit by 1.5 games.
The Twins’ decision makers are likely to want Gardenhire to manage the team even if the team falters on the field the balance of this season and next. It’s the organization’s philosophy to minimize change and create continuity.
During the last 25 seasons the Twins have had two managers, Tom Kelly, 1986-2001 and Gardenhire, 2002-present. The front office folks kept Kelly around for years after he managed two World Series champions even though the Twins had teams that were among the worst in the American League.
Gardenhire has managed five teams to Central Division titles with the most recent championships in 2006 and 2009. His teams haven’t experienced post-season success and the Twins struggles are so bad they haven’t won a playoff series since 2002.
Like any group of coaches, even the best in the game, the Twins coaching staff led by Gardenhire doesn’t always make the right decisions. But there’s consensus among baseball authorities that the Twins have outstanding on field leadership.
Gardenhire’s contract ends after next season. Neither Gardenhire nor management is likely to be talking contract now, or perhaps even during the next off-season.
It would be just like the front office and Gardenhire to stay in the moment, play out the season and see what the situation looks like then. Even use the same approach next season.
The end of the 2011 season seems far away. Gardenhire will be 54 years old by then. He’s had some health issues and his older brother Mike died unexpectedly at age 55 two years ago. So who knows if Gardenhire will even want to manage after his contract expires?
Both he and the front office will be in a much different and better place to evaluate his future in early or late 2011. But despite some public finger pointing, count on Gardenhire being around for awhile, maybe a long while.