Who do you blame for the current state of the team?

[Soxfest]

KW fault totally and will continue to be until he no longer has veto power over Hahn. Make no mistake KW is still the defacto GM without having to take the heat and deal with the media everyday.

Edited May 5, 2013 by Soxfest

[Andy the Clown]

And players like Swisher, Dunn and Keppinger brought in to change the tide have all flopped. That hasn't helped either.

 

It's funny, because in the last two years, we've seen Juan Pierre and AJ go, and we're STILL getting worse in the OBP/walk/patience department.

 

I wouldn't call Keppimger an OBP guy.

 

Dunn and Swisher were failures that no one could anticipate. Swisher succeeded before and after his time here, so who knows what to make of that?

[caulfield12]

I wouldn't call Keppimger an OBP guy.

 

Dunn and Swisher were failures that no one could anticipate. Swisher succeeded before and after his time here, so who knows what to make of that?

 

 

Okay, "high contact/lower strikeout" type of player.

 

Instead, he's been more like Brent Morel, minus the stellar defense.

 

 

 

[Balta1701]

Okay, "high contact/lower strikeout" type of player.

 

Instead, he's been more like Brent Morel, minus the stellar defense.

Morel's defense wasn't stellar.

[greg775]

I'm not gonna blame Ventura, but I do wish Terry Francona was Ozzie's replacement.

I think the Sox wanted somebody quiet after Ozzie. I think Francona would be in Hahn and KW's ear daily telling them that no manager could win with this collection of lousy hitters/fielders. I can't picture Francona going down without a fight. Robin is so passive he seems like the fall guy, the guy who has to lose quietly after Ozzie, despite the fact his players suck.

Edited May 5, 2013 by greg775

[GreenSox]

I'm not gonna blame Ventura, but I do wish Terry Francona was Ozzie's replacement.

I think the Sox wanted somebody quiet after Ozzie. I think Francona would be in Hahn and KW's ear daily telling them that no manager could win with this collection of lousy hitters/fielders. I can't picture Francona going down without a fight. Robin is so passive he seems like the fall guy, the guy who has to lose quietly after Ozzie, despite the fact his players suck.

I agree.

The Sox haven't had a manager who the GM could trust to tell them what they needed, and could appropriately evaluate the talent on hand and the prospects, in ages. That is essential.

[caulfield12]

6.5 games behind DET, 5.5 behind the Royals.

 

Sale has to show up tomorrow. This season is on the verge of getting out of hand way too early.

 

 

It figured that probably the two best players on the team so far this season (Reed/Rios) both prominently figured in the defeat.

 

And defense/walks (by our pitchers, not enough for our hitters) continuing to kill.

[Balta1701]

6.5 games behind DET, 5.5 behind the Royals.

 

Sale has to show up tomorrow. This season is on the verge of getting out of hand way too early.

 

 

It figured that probably the two best players on the team so far this season (Reed/Rios) both prominently figured in the defeat.

 

And defense/walks (by our pitchers, not enough for our hitters) continuing to kill.

Rios has been really bad the last 2 weeks.

[GreenSox]

Rios is killing our potential return in the upcoming fire sale.

[caulfield12]

It was probably a pipe dream in the first place to get a lot back for Rios, but with the start of the 2013 season....only 1 1/2 years left on his contract (and small buyout for 2015), with the spending by teams like the Blue Jays, Angels, Dodgers, etc., there was SOME hope.

 

Now it's more than likely going to turn out to be a salary dump...although he still has time to turn things around again and get on another hot streak.

Edited May 5, 2013 by caulfield12

[South Side Fireworks Man]

Whoever decided Youk and AJ could be replaced with Keppinger and Gimenez and still contend has to take part of the blame.

 

But I lay the majority of the blame on JR for not firing Ozzie long before he did and not replacing him with a bona fide major league manager. The damage that was done to this organization in Ozzie's last few years is immeasurable.

 

This organization isn't even likeable anymore from top to bottom including Brooks and his annoying marketing techniques.

[Balta1701]

Whoever decided Youk and AJ could be replaced with Keppinger and Gimenez and still contend has to take part of the blame.

Youk was not great for the White Sox, he was tolerable, and overall, the white sox 3b spot last year was still awful, including Youk.

[kitekrazy]

Whoever decided Youk and AJ could be replaced with Keppinger and Gimenez and still contend has to take part of the blame.

 

But I lay the majority of the blame on JR for not firing Ozzie long before he did and not replacing him with a bona fide major league manager. The damage that was done to this organization in Ozzie's last few years is immeasurable.

 

This organization isn't even likeable anymore from top to bottom including Brooks and his annoying marketing techniques.

 

That's bit over the top. I think you give managers too much credit. You could go back to the 80s when the Sox were on Sportsvision. I think it's time to sell and get rid of everyone in the organization. What they've been doing doesn't work.

 

[caulfield12]

Youk was not great for the White Sox, he was tolerable, and overall, the white sox 3b spot last year was still awful, including Youk.

 

 

Youk was awesome for 2-3 weeks and then just faded (like the majority of other players).

 

Definitely was not "The Greek God of Walks."

 

Plus, his back was ouchy as well.

[greg775]

Youk was not great for the White Sox, he was tolerable, and overall, the white sox 3b spot last year was still awful, including Youk.

 

The Youk we got the first two weeks was great. I thought he was going to spark the Sox to the division title. But even he couldn't stop the fizz at the end. He was as automatic an out during the choke as the rest of the team.

[EvilJester99]

I blame KW for putting this mess together but blame goes on the players as well for not performing.

[LittleHurt05]

Why is there not an Ozzie Guillen option?

[Lillian]

I've taken a lot of heat for belaboring the importance of acquiring at least one more potent middle of the order, left handed bat.

As bad as this team is offensively, it's even worse against RHP. They are dead last in baseball.

Getting two more right handed hitters; Beckham and Viciedo, off the DL may not offer that much help.

And we still haven't faced the Tigers and their tough right handed starters.

Look how well Gillaspie has done. Is it really a coincidence that he hits left handed. Of course, it's a vey small sample size, but he's hitting almost .200 points higher vs. RHP.

Our division has very few left handed starters. We needed to have more left handed hitters in the lineup, but instead, let A. J. go.

So, I'm still belaboring the point, and it's still valid.

 

What a shame to waste the terrific pitching they've had.

I blame Hahn and, or J. R.

Edited May 6, 2013 by Lillian

[The Ginger Kid]

Why is there not an Ozzie Guillen option?

Funny but this is when I miss ozzies candor. He would absolutely call out this terrible defense.

[Y2Jimmy0]

Funny but this is when I miss ozzies candor. He would absolutely call out this terrible defense.

 

 

And someone Ozzie "calling out" the terrible defense would make it better? I think not.

[witesoxfan]

Jeffrey Loria

[ShandyMan]

Williams.

 

Without a few of his bonehead moves, our core would be composed of players on the right side of 30. Granted, we may not have Sale in that case, but we'd still have Gio.

 

But then again maybe we would have mishandled Gio and he could have blown his arm out or be terrible.

 

 

who knows! we're just bad right now.

[caulfield12]

It's not like we're really going to enjoy HUGE advantages in media contracts for another half decade...and the Twins are making more money from their new stadium, but not by much....with their lower average ticket prices, concessions, parking, etc.

 

 

By Darin McGilvra | Yahoo! Contributor Network – 1 hour 27 minutes ago

COMMENTARY | The Minnesota Twins have a rich history and tradition that includes a pair of championships and many great ballplayers, including four Hall of Famers. They have brought much joy to their loyal fans.

That doesn't mean fans don't have any reason to complain. They usually will regardless of the circumstances, but the Twins still can make it difficult and frustrating to be a fan. Here are just the top five.

 

5. The last two seasons. It's bad enough when a team is trying to avoid 100 losses in a season, but when they are at their absolute worst at the beginning of the season, they crush all hope and leave fans with little to look forward to over the last months of the season.

The Twins did this effectively in 2011-12, going a combined 15-33 in April of both seasons. On June 1 of 2011, the Twins were already 15.5 games out of first place and in 2012, the Twins weren't much closer. They were 10.5 games back on June 1 of last season.

 

4. Old-school thinking. The Twins are nothing if not consistent. They don't fire people and they don't try to do things in new ways. Keeping their leadership structure in place does give the franchise a high level of stability, however, it can lead to stale thinking as well.

Manager Ron Gardenhire has been at the helm of the Twins longer than any other manager except for Mike Scoscia, the manager for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Gardenhire is not one to think outside of the box, which can be real frustrating to Twins fans, especially when he refuses to look at options that would make sense if he actually took the time to look at them.

 

Instead, closers continue to close and are unable to pitch for more than one inning or in any other situations, such as on Friday, May 3, when the Twins lost in extra innings with closer Glen Perkins not throwing a single pitch. This is because Perkins was being held out so he could pitch in a save situation that never came.

 

Another frustrating issue was when Perkins was not brought in with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth inning when a strikeout was desperately needed to preserve a one-run lead. Setup man Jared Burton has been terrific, but he was clearly off his game Friday. He did get a ground ball to second baseman Brian Dozier, but Dozier bobbled the ball and could only get an out at first base while the tying run scored.

 

3. Always a sabermetric step behind. The Twins have a well-earned reputation as a team with excellent scouting. The Twins rely on drafting and developing players and the scouting department is integral to that success.

However, the Twins have been extremely slow to take advantage of more advanced statistics that can only help a team in player evaluations. For example, the Twins were one of the last teams to hire someone to exclusively do statistical analysis.

While it was great that the Twins finally took this necessary step, the Twins are still understaffed when compared to the vast majority of other major league teams and it is doubtful this analysis is taken as seriously with the Twins as it is with most other teams.

 

2. Playoff win drought. It is difficult to remember that the Twins actually had a five-series winning streak in the postseason. It began with the American League Championship Series in 1987 and continued through the 2002 AL Division Series. That streak was ended by the Angels in the ALCS and the Twins haven't won a series since despite winning five division titles in that time.

In fact, the Twins haven't won a playoff game since winning Game 1 in the ALDS against the New York Yankees in 2004. They lost the final three games of that series and then were swept by the Oakland Athletics in 2006, not to mention being swept twice by the Yankees in 2009 and 2010. The Twins also have lost 10 consecutive home playoff games since winning Game 1 of the 2002 ALCS.

 

1. Revenue inequities. The biggest frustration for Twins fans is knowing the team has always had a disadvantage going into every season. This is because they just cannot generate the same kind of revenues as the big-market teams they compete with every year, including their own hated rivals, the Chicago White Sox.

 

Thanks to beautiful Target Field, the Twins are in their best shape financially since the franchise moved to Minnesota in 1961. However, the Twins just won't ever be able to land the mega television deals like teams in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. This doesn't mean that the Twins can't ever compete with these teams, but it does mean that the Twins have to be that much better than those high-revenue teams in maximizing their own revenues and doing the little things right, especially in drafting and developing players.

Darin McGilvra has been a professional sports writer since 1997 and has been a Twins follower since Kirby Puckett's breakout season of 1986. He has been published in The Californian, a newspaper covering Riverside County, and multiple websites.

Edited May 6, 2013 by caulfield12

[witesoxfan]

Well, #1, the Twins are not a poor team. There is plenty of money within the organization and they can maintain a $90-100 mill payroll pretty easily. And #2, this pretty much gives you no reason to ever bring up attendance again considering the Twins outdraw the White Sox by a large margin yet they can still outspend the same Twins team.

[Steve9347]

Amateur talent scouting.