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MINNEAPOLIS — The Tampa Bay Rays, as dead of a franchise as baseball had over the past decade, are on the verge of an amazing, warming, stunning turnaround.
Joe Maddon, as cool and smart and friendly of a guy as there is among the game’s bench bosses, is assured of winning the American League’s Manager of the Year award. That means Minnesota’s Ron Gardenhire will probably finish second or third, once again.
But this has been a gem of a season for Gardy. More than any of the four years when the Twins won division titles under his watch, he has most deserved consideration for the honor in 2008.
He might never grow into one of the sport’s truly savvy in-game decision makers, and he can be too slow on the trigger to stop listening to his gut and end a failing experiment — as evidenced by the time it took to take flailing center fielder Carlos Gomez out of the leadoff spot. Just last week, Gardenhire blamed himself for not choosing to intentionally walk Ichiro Suzuki against the Mariners before a crucial run scored that could have cost the Twins the game.
It’s natural to question why he insists on batting Mike Redmond third on days of rest for Joe Mauer, too, and some hard-to-please fans have never forgiven him for the decision to send Joe Nathan out for a third inning in that playoff game the Twins lost at Yankee Stadium in 2004.
Forget all that, though. Those are subjective examples to start and certainly not glaring enough to cast any doubt on Gardenhire’s credibility. Plus, where he really makes his mark is in the clubhouse and on those sun-splashed fields in February at the start of spring training, by getting his players to believe in the organization’s philosophies and buy in to the success that often comes from focusing on the fundamentals.
With that do-more-with-less approach of the franchise as a backdrop, Gardenhire is adept at getting the most out of marginal players. Witness Nick Punto’s 2006 season, when he batted .290 and took over as the everyday third baseman after Tony Batista was dumped. Or look at what an afterthought like Brian Buscher has done this year at the plate.
Players like that deserve their own praise, but when accounting for the wins the Twins have piled up under Gardenhire’s guidance as well as their salary levels as related to the major league mean — he has clearly proven himself as a teacher and a motivator.
Gardenhire, of course, sidestepped any accolades last week when asked if this young team — with all the injuries and inexperience — has caused him to do more managing than in years past.
“I think my coaches have done more coaching than ever. I think my coaches have done a super job, getting out there every day with the players and so forth,” Gardenhire said. “I think we’ve put forth a good effort. It’s what we get paid for, to be able to help, and it’s what we enjoy. It’s what we got in this business for, working with young players and helping young players.
“This year it’s been more entertainment than probably we wanted at times, but it’s also what we do and that’s what we like. Sometimes we don’t know if we’re doing it right, from some of the things that go on the field, but it’s been fun. It is rewarding.”
First base coach Jerry White, who works with the outfielders, has spent plenty of time with Gomez on his bunting, positioning and baserunning. Pitching coach Rick Anderson has obviously done well with his protegees, given the way the unproven rotation has pitched.
“Keep them positive,” Anderson said. “Any negative I have I usually wait ’til bullpen day. I’ll say in the bullpen, ’What are we going to work on today?’ — and let them answer. If they say something about the game that I was thinking, then I’ll say, ’Absolutely.’ That’s what we’re talking about. But you’re always in on good things. You always try to say the good and keep the positives on everything, and they feed off of that well. Again, they’re so eager and excited to learn.”
The manager is the face of the staff, so — fair or not — Gardenhire assumes much of the credit. He knew this year’s team would look pretty bad at times, as it did on several nights this spring. Perhaps his largest triumph has been encouraging an energetic but untested group to quickly erase the memory of mistakes and look forward to the next game.
It’s trite, but it’s true.
“We still have a lot of ups and downs and we’ve had some ugly things happen, but these guys — the greatest thing about ’em is they’ve got short memories,” Gardenhire said. “It just doesn’t carry over. Not very often. They’re able to forget about it.”
The season has so far been more memorable than forgettable, thanks to Gardenhire’s advice.
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