The Twins shook up the organization earlier today by announcing that Ron Gardenhire would be replaced as manager. Gardenhire was one of the game’s longest-tenured managers (13 years), and perhaps more incredibly, his departure will ignite the Twins’ first managerial search since 1986. I’d expect both Paul Molitor and Terry Steinbach to be among the team’s internal candidates, though the search will of course feature some outside candidates as well.
Here are some reactions to the move…
- Brian Dozier tells Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press that he was “shocked” by the news of Gardenhire’s dismissal. “Everybody in that clubhouse had so much respect and love for Gardy,” said Dozier. “It’s pretty saddening.” Trevor Plouffe tweets that he has “nothing but the utmost respect” for Gardenhire and the rest of the staff.
- Berardino spoke to a source close to longtime American League Central rival Ozzie Guillen and was told that Guillen would have a great deal of interest in managing the Twins (Twitter links). The source described Guillen as “very interested” and “very hungry,” noting that he knows the AL Central and wants to get back into the game.
- Berardino also tweets that a person with direct knowledge of the situation tells him that Molitor would “possibly” have interest in the manager’s role if offered to him, but that isn’t a slam dunk.
- Ryan called the move the toughest decision he’s had to make in his tenure as a general manager at today’s press conference, noting that he considers Gardenhire to be his brother more than his manager. Ryan also noted that the contracts of the team’s coaching staff run through Dec. 31, so those contracts are in limbo until the new manager can make a decision. Gardenhire said at the conference that he isn’t burned out at all and would consider another managerial opportunity if he felt it were right for him and his family (All Twitter links to MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger).
- In a full article, Neal writes that a source tells him Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo and White Sox third base coach Joe McEwing are both names to watch. Neal speculates that other names such as Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo and Rays bench coach Dave Martinez could surface as well. Neal also speculates, much like Berardino and others have recently, that Twins bench coach Terry Steinbach could be a fit in Arizona due to his ties to Tony La Russa and new GM Dave Stewart.
- Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times opines that if and when the Cubs decide they want a “next level” manager for their rebuilding process, Gardenhire should be the first phone call placed by president Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer (Twitter link).
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports feels that Gardenhire should’ve been given a chance to oversee the next wave of young talent in the Twins organization, but he’s not surprised to see the team seek a new voice following another 90-loss season. He notes that Gardenhire could immediately pursue another managerial job, with current openings with the D’Backs, Rangers and Astros. He also notes that it’s possible the Brewers will fire Ron Roenicke, so Gardenhire could fit there also.
Now there is a name I haven’t heard in a while.
Hope the McEwing gets a job, always thought he would make a good coach.
Four straight poor years. Sooner or later even the best manager has to take the fall.
Signed ….. Mets
Well Ozzie G. would definitely bring a change a pace to the Twins.
He is the complete opposite of Gardy
Personality wise they’re similar as fiery, “player coaches” guys. In game though, no question they’re different. Ozzie is way more of a risk-taker.
Horrible manager in the postseason. He didn’t use September to rest players and find hot streaks as much as other managers did.
Not a Twins fan but a baseball fan……
Gardy knows as much baseball as any manager alive. Tom Kelly he’s not – but who is? I’ve been very pumped about the Twins. Think Ryan and his staff are putting together a powerhouse club. But oftentimes when I saw them this year there was a portion of the team on the filed that didn’t look ready to play. While young players can be overwhelmed when first competing that the ML level, too many young Twins did not seem to be improving or gaining any consistency. With a number of quality youngsters set to come up over the next 2 years, this did not look promising.
Gardy probably would be fine with an underachieving ML team. The situation with the Twins was becoming to look like the one with Yost and the Royals – whereby the team would be competitive 2 years too late, and even then the players would fade in and out of focus. It appeared to be a difficult decision for Ryan, but hopefully he’ll find a manager for the next 5-7 years that can get those kids ready to play the team baseball that the Twins were noted for in the past under Ryan-Kelly.
Under Ryan-Kelly they were in last place every year from 92 until 2001 when they took second. With a 16 million dollar budget when Gardy took over and threat of contraction.
Please Diamondbacks, grab Gardy now!
I never blamed Gardy for the Twins being awful (even if he’s far from a great manager when you watch game-to-game). It’s more that he swore by Rick Anderson and that’s where the real change needed to happen and the one I’m most excited for as a Twins fan. I wish him nothing but the best.
I’m really interested in what Steve Adams thinks of this move!?
Indifferent toward it more or less. No one was going to win with the teams the Twins trotted out the past few years, so no reason to call for his head or anything. Gardenhire’s well-liked by the guys in the clubhouse, but he’s behind the the times in terms of game strategy and stubbornly makes too many moves that clearly put his teams at a disadvantage (e.g. consistently letting Brian Duensing face right-handed hitters). If they’d let Gardy finish out his contract, it’d have been fine — I doubt the Twins contend in 2015 anyhow — but he shouldn’t have been the person tasked with leading the next Twins contender. Hopefully the new manager is a bit more progressive. Even Paul Molitor would be a step forward. He’s a “safe” play for Twins decision-makers, but he’s also been instrumental in getting the team on board with defensive shifts and is a bit less traditional than many might think.
inside rumor has it that he’s not a players coach.
Almost seems like nothing but change for the sake of change, and that’s very strange coming from the Twins. Gardenhire won when he had talent and lost when he didn’t. The Twins need to fire some of their players more than they needed to fire their manager.
No one has mentioned Doug Mientkiewicz as Gardys replacement. The only reason I thought Ron was in trouble was because some other team was going to snap up DM. The “old guard” managers like Ozzie aren’t getting recycled again like the old days. New blood and stable guys like Gardy and Washington should have no problem (once Wash proves he has fixed things for himself) but that old list of the usual suspects may be gone. What about Willie Randolph? As a manager he has a higher win pct than Joe Torre. If baseball is serious about minority opportunities for managers you have to ask why a guy who is only 60 and never finished lower than 3rd in 3 full NL seasons isn’t getting interviewed.
I hope the Mets hire him as our new bench coach. Then place Wally over at third. Maybe if we’re lucky Magadan will be let go with the Rangers and we can hire him for our new hitting coach, even though we have some good options in house.
I swear if Terry Ryan hires Tom Kelly again, I’m done with this team.
it doesn’t matter who he hires. the problems with this organization aren’t going away.
Anybody bemoaning Gardy’s dismissal hasn’t been paying close attention to the Twins in recent years. It’s not going to fix the organization, but it’s a start.
Ozzie Guillen is the Grand Marshall of a Cuban immigrant parade in Miami before he’s Twins manager. Twins need his circus like they need snow in May.
The Twins need someone for the young Latin future that’ll be coming up in the next couple of years and Ozzie would be perfect. If not, why not make a big bold statement and bring back Torrii Hunter as a player/manager. That would put butts in the seats and isn’t that what it’s all about?