Twins a model of stability
Posted: Monday, April 28, 2008 3:23 PM
Athletics general manager Billy Beane walked from the Oakland dugout across the field to join a group wearing Minnesota uniforms. Beane spent two years in the Twins organization as a player and 20 years later he still knew half of the major league staff.
As Beane approached Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, his Triple-A roommate in 1987 and Rick Stelmaszek, bullpen coach today as he was when Beane played for the Twins, Beane told the group that he had just spoken with his young assistants about his link to this group. And he exclaimed how amazing it is that the Twins have such stability.
It struck me that the Minnesota organization continues to be baseball’s most unappreciated story. When the Twins win as they did in 2006 this organization gets credit. But finish near .500 as happened last year and the Twins are overlooked.
But think about this: In the last 22 seasons the Twins have had two managers and beginning this year Bill Smith is just the third general manager. Gardenhire and first base coach Jerry White have worn the Twins uniform for nearly two decades and Stelmaszek is in his 28th season as bullpen coach.
Continuity extends into the front office where many of the employees have worked between 10 and 20 years. Why? Because they see an organization that promotes from within. For instance team president Dave St. Peter started as an intern.
You should get the idea by now -- there is a notable loyalty in the Twins’ offices. Owner Carl Pohlad has often been maligned, unfairly in this view, for low payrolls, yet employees stay. In the gruesome winter of 1994-95 when many teams had massive front-office layoffs, the Twins kept every employee. Why? They banded together and volunteered to work one unpaid week per month. In doing that the employees made sure there would be no layoffs. How many places would witness such group loyalty?
In the Walter O’Malley era, the Dodgers had this kind of stability. For much of the John Schuerholz-Bobby Cox era so have the Braves. But it’s rare in the game, more so in this impatient era. So Beane’s reaction made me realize that we should appreciate the Minnesota Twins. They have survived and often thrived in this big-dollar era replete with hiring and firing managers, general managers and players. They score headlines for trading Johan Santana, but receive no praise for signing Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer and Joe Nathan to long-term deals. When they open their new outdoor ballpark in 2010, it says here they will contend.
FIVE MORE SWINGS
1. Beane loves the Premier League, which is to England as the NFL is to America. What Beane notices on his trips to see games in person is the size of soccer players. Strikers are smaller but midfielders and defenders are the same size as the bigger baseball players. But Beane is quick to add that a defender may be 6-foot-3 but he is cut and -- by necessity -- in top aerobic shape unlike too many baseball players.
Which brings me back to a growing concern I have over the growing girth of too many players. I know pitching is a skill but why can’t pitchers have some accountability to be in shape?
Talked to a serious fan the other night and we agreed that the biggest difference in the players from 20 years ago to today is size -- not just “artificial bulk” but width.
2. The brilliant San Francisco Chronicle columnist Bruce Jenkins wrote this in March, “No names, no accusations, no rumors, merely a sweeping generalization with merit: The steroid backlash is now in full rage. Baseball's disabled list is more crowded than a U2 concert, and pitchers seem especially vulnerable. Off the juice, ready to settle into a normal life, ballplayers find their bodies breaking down in ways they couldn't imagine. Welcome to the afterlife, everybody. The payback is just beginning.”
I couldn’t stop thinking about those words as I watched the weekend’s games. Former stars can’t stay healthy, hampering their teams in early-season games. Former sluggers are now gap hitters or batting leadoff. When training and physical therapy is as sophisticated as ever, more players are hurt more often. How are we supposed to make sense of this?
3. A legit injury: John Smoltz was tough to watch Sunday. Clearly bothered by a bad shoulder, he tried to gut his way through four innings before leaving with the next step uncertain. He'll have his sore shoulder checked out which has the Braves crossing their fingers and hoping the news is not bad. Meanwhile, the Braves lost games started by Tim Hudson and Smoltz on consecutive days at Shea Stadium -- the definition of a bad weekend.
4. Texas rebounded with a series win over Minnesota. Baseball gossip has the Rangers’ Ron Washington as the first manager on the hot seat. In an informal poll of uniformed personnel last week -- many of whom know and respect Washington – those whose opinions were sought scoffed at the thought of the manager being held responsible for the Texas mess. As one said, “What are they doing there? How can anyone be expected to win with that pitching (5.46 ERA, last in the AL)?”
5. Can’t avoid a mention of Tampa Bay’s sweep of Boston. It catches attention because the Red Sox scored only five runs in three games, a screeching halt to a powerful offense. At one point last week eight of the nine Red Sox starters were hitting .300. Yet after five straight losses Boston’s early-season edge on the Yankees has been reduced to a game-and-half in the AL East.
