In Defense of Twins Management

Marty Andrade is once again filling in for me today. I will be back on the 11th of August, but until then you can keep coming back for great analysis like this. Thanks Marty!

Us online guys are pretty hard on the Twins' management. Whether it be Ron Gardenhire or Twins GM Bill Smith a lot of what happens on and off the field reflect on these two guys and it's easy to second guess them.

And yes, they are quite deserving of second guessing. The Twins spent millions on Craig Monroe when they could have put Randy Ruiz on the roster for pennies on the dollar and not lost any offensive production. They signed Livan Hernandez as a reclamation project despite having a lot of starting pitching already. Livan joins Sidney Ponson, Ramon Ortiz, Mike Lamb, Adam Everett, Craig Monroe, Rondell White, Tony Batista and Ruben Sierra as veteran signings which have worked out poorly for the Twins over the last three years.

Ron Gardenhire can be just as maddening. He played Nick Punto at 3rd base in 2007 despite his incredible craptitude at the plate. He gives lots of at bats...