I’m revising my original post before another dozen Twins’ fans have heart attacks, but I’m not wavering from my original position:  Ron Gardenhire is a terrible strategist who's propped up by the immense talent provided to him by best farm system in MLB.  Twins junkies who have nothing better to do with their lives than watch every Twins game (along with replays on their DVRs) have taken issue with my “experience,” so I’ll base my position not just on this week's play-in game, but on the following:

• Game 1 of the 2006 ALDS in which Gardenhire abandoned running after a once-in-a-lifetime caught stealing in the 1st inning and inserted Jesse Crain in the 9th inning (despite the fact that he had the 6th-highest ERA in the bullpen).
• The prior playoff series against the NY Yankees when he actually pinch-ran for Justin Morneau when he wasn’t even the lead runner, only for the game to go to extra innings and the Twins to be without their only bona fide homerun hitter.
• Nearly every Glenn Perkins start this year, especially the one on August 4th against the Mariners when he allowed a dialed-in Raul Ibanez to hit a grand slam against a pitcher he’d clearly figured out.  Gardenhire never learned how to tell when it was time to pull Perkins and squandered several large, early leads (any one of which would have averted the need for the play-in game).

I take no issue with Gardenhire’s ability to nurture young talent.  Those who cherish him for that skill can give him a job in player development or managing a minor-league team.  However, if he’s to manage the big-league team, then please supplement him with an assistant coach to handle game strategy.  Here’s where Gardenhire messed up in Tuesday’s play-in game against Ozzie Guillen’s Chicago White Sox:

1) Lineup Lunacy:  Jason Kubel was 2nd on the team with 20 homeruns and 3rd with 78 RBI.  Michael Cuddyer hit three HRs in an injury-riddled season that limited him to 2 hits in 17 plate appearances since the All-Star Break.  Why then did Gardenhire start Cuddyer over Kubel at DH?  Sure, Cuddyer was 7-for-12 lifetime versus CWS starter John Danks, but Kubel was 3-for-7 and had the only HR hit off Danks by any Twin other than Morneau.  Sure, Kubel is a LHB who doesn’t hit as well against LHP, but his three HRs versus LHP this year were three more than Cuddyer’s ZERO.

But, the better question is, ”why not play both?”  While Kubel isn’t nearly as good defensively as Carlos Gomez, he did play 50 games in the OF this year and 84 last year.  And isn’t the rule to start your best offensive team on the road?  Sitting Carlos Gomez would have made sense for a number of reasons: 

• Gomez has a .200 slugging percentage versus Danks (two singles in 10 at bats).  With Kubel slugging an even 1.000 and Cuddyer an impressive .750 versus Danks, how could you bench either one in favor o####nat?
• Since Denard Span has taken over the leadoff job, Gomez hits in the #9 hole.  Wouldn’t the lineup be more intimidating with Kubel in the 5-slot, Mauer moved up to #2, and Alexi Casilla dropped to #9?
• With Span and Nick Punto in the game, Minnesota had enough speed (especially since Gardi rarely issues a green light in the playoffs anyway).  What it needed was Kubel’s power (11 HRs on the road).  Gomez speed (33 stolen bases) could have been a real asset off the bench and his defense could always have been inserted once/if the Twins got a lead.

Now, here’s where it got really silly:  Carlos Gomez was due to lead off the 9th-inning until Gardenhire belatedly decided to go with Kubel.  Nice idea, wrong time.  Gomez was 2-for-5 with a double versus Jenks, while Kubel was 1-for-4 with a single.  Okay, so that’s a pretty small sample size.  Perhaps Gardenhire was hoping to tie the game on one swing.  However, in 2008, CWS closer Bobby Jenks only allowed 3 HRs in 60 IP (and 13 in his 4-year career).  In conclusion, Gardenhire started a player whose slugging percentage against the starting pitcher was 20% of the guy he benched, but then he pinch-hit for him with a slowpoke whose slugging percentage against the closer was 33% of his.  Talk about playing the wrong side of a two-headed coin, twice!   

2) Bunt or Steal:  When MLB’s 4th-highest scoring team gets shut out by a pitcher it has owned this year (7.91 ERA), there are plenty of people deserving blame besides the manager.  However, when you decide to sit Kubel and field three burners in succession (Punto, Gomez, and Span hit 8th, 9th, and 1st, respectively), you have implicitly made a commitment to bunt or steal whenever they’re on base.  It is absolutely inexcusable to finish a 1-0 game with no stolen base attempts and no sacrifice bunts.  Sure, Danks didn’t allow many baserunners, but Span was on twice, Punto once, and pinch-runner Matt Tolbert (7-of-8 on steal attempts) once.  When Punto walked in the 3rd inning, Gomez followed with a pop-out.  What was he doing swinging?  Bunt or Steal.  When Tolbert came in to run for Brendan Harris in the 8th inning, Nick Punto grounded into a double play.  A double-play?  What was he doing swinging?  Bunt or Steal!

Now, here’s where it got truly absurd:  the White Sox allowed 139 steals this year, second only to the lowly Padres, and threw out a MLB-worst 18%!  Against Danks, basestealers were 23-of-32 in 2008 and 10-of-11 in 2007.  This was a battery just asking to be robbed.  Only Ron Gardenhire wouldn’t even try.  [Please note that a diehard Twins fan tried to correct me by preaching that Danks did some amazing work holding the runners close.  What this “fan for life” didn’t read, much less understand, is the first half of the phrase, “BUNT or steal.”  If Danks really was holding the runners in check (hard to imagine, given his 33 stolen bases allowed in 1½ years), then why weren’t the Twins bunting?  Much as I hate Tony LaRussa, can anyone imagine him not even trying to manufacture a run in a 1-0 game?  Hasn't anyone noticed how the Rays are running all over these White Sox in the ALDS?]

3) Patience:  Can he please teach them to wait?  With the exception of D-Span, who earned two walks, you’d have thought the Twins were facing Dennis Eckersley or a young Pedro Martinez – great strikeout pitchers who almost never walked anyone.  With a pitcher who’s only striking out one guy every other inning, it’s not as if you have to panic that you might never get another pitch you can handle.  Where it got insane and evidenced a lack of instruction from the dugout was in the 7th and 8th innings, when Danks escaped on only six and ten pitches, respectively.  Clearly, Ron Gardenhire has never preached my mantra:  “if you’re not hitting, at least make the pitcher work.”  Given the Twins’ collective ineptitude against Danks, looking at and fouling off pitches should have been a managerial edict.  By letting Danks off the hook in the 7th inning, Mauer, Morneau, and Cuddyer ruined any chance of getting to the White Sox’ mediocre middle relief corps.  [Memo to Twins fans:  Instead of going fishing in October, try watching the Phillies and Red Sox wear down opposing starters by working deep into the count.  Better yet, force your beloved Gardenhire to pay attention to how smart managers have their entire team come to the park with an offensive game plan rather than letting each individual hitter live pitch-to-pitch.]

Now, here's where it got truly insane:  John Danks was pitching on three days rest (yes, he had just been shelled by Cleveland on Friday).  If ever the need to wear someone down should have been obvious.

* A dishonorable mention goes to Mauer and Morneau:  The M&M boys are looking more and more like the Killer B’s (The Astros’ Bagwell and Biggio): great regular-season stats and no post-season success.  When a pair of all-star hitters own a pitcher the way M&M owned Danks, it’s hard not to look at the manager when they go a collective 0-for-6 with three of Danks' four strikeouts.  To refresh your memories, Joe Mauer was 8-for-12 lifetime (and 7-for-9 this year) against Danks and Justin Morneau was 7-for-16 with 3 HRs, 2 doubles, and 4 walks (good for a 1.675 OPS).  Yet, the duo amazingly failed to hit a single ball out of the infield (besides the strikeouts, Mauer had a 5-foot bunt and Morneau grounded to SS and fouled out to 3B).  One has to assume they were either overconfident or under-prepared.  In either case, some blame has to be shouldered by Ron Gardenhire.

I used to lament that Johan and Spidey walked.  I had it all wrong – I’m happy for them that they got out from under that buffoon, Ron Gardenhire.