Category: Ron Gardenhire

October 30, 2023

Would the Twins have been better off with Torey Lovullo as manager?

From 2011 through 2014, the Twins never won more than 70 games, a streak that finally had dire consequences for longtime manager Ron Gardenhire and longtime general manager Terry Ryan, both of whom were let go. The Twins replaced Ryan with the tandem of Derek Falvey and Thad Levine and then the organization had to... Continue Reading »

May 11, 2023

Here comes the rooster: Twins rally for 4-3 walk-off win over Padres

After the San Diego Padres pulled off a textbook suicide squeeze play in the top of the 10th inning Wednesday night, it appeared the Twins were dead and buried for sure going into the home half of the inning, now losing 3-2. Not only were they down a run, they also had to contend with... Continue Reading »

April 11, 2023

Twins bats fall silent in losses to White Sox, Astros

The Twins have a grand total of six hits over their past two games and they have two losses to show for it. They dropped the finale to the Houston Astros on Sunday and were outscored by a run on Monday, losing 4-3 to the Chicago White Sox. The Twins scored three runs, although that... Continue Reading »

April 6, 2023

Losing streak stands at 2 games after bullpen collapses

Twins starter Pablo Lopez made a triumphant return to Miami on Wednesday, allowing just a run over seven innings with eight strikeouts. Trevor Larnach hit an RBI single to tie the contest at 1-1 late in the game, and then Lopez was gone and the ball was in the hands of the bullpen. It did... Continue Reading »

November 14, 2022

What’s the worst season in Twins history? 2011, says this columnist

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse recently produced an interesting ditty, ranking all 62 seasons of Twins baseball from first to worst. No surprise: No. 1 was the Twins’ 1991 World Series victory. But I was puzzled at his choice for worst season of all time, thinking it might be 2016 or 1982, two seasons in... Continue Reading »

May 13, 2022

Houston makes it look too easy in sweep of Twins

The Houston Astros swept a three-game series from the Minnesota Twins on Thursday, and if somebody told me that not a single Astros player broke out in a sweat during that series, or that manager Dusty Baker napped for 72 carefree hours, I’d believe them because they appeared to win with ease, like it was... Continue Reading »

February 2, 2022

Cesar Tovar gets Twins’ Hall of Fame nod

Utility man Cesar Tovar, former Twins manager Ron Gardenhire and Dan Gladden, a key fixture on the Twins’ two World Series winning teams, have been elected to the club’s Hall of Fame. Cesar Tovar avoids a Thurman Munson tag while getting the slide sign from Tony Oliva. #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/kBYQXginyI — Jeff (@MNTwinsZealot) February 2, 2022... Continue Reading »

January 23, 2022

We hardly knew ye, Francisco Liriano

Pitcher Francisco Liriano, who spent seven of his 14 seasons with the Twins and who at one time appeared to be the second coming of ace Johan Santana, announced his retirement this month. He exits the game at 38 with a career mark of 112-114 with a 4.15 ERA. In one of the best trades... Continue Reading »

December 26, 2021

Corey Koskie made the final out in the 2002 ALDS? No, he didn’t

I recently re-watched the Hollywood adaptation of “Moneyball,” a good movie that captures one of the great seismic shifts in baseball as Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane embraces the work of longtime statistician Bill James to newly evaluate and find overlooked and inexpensive talent in a game that favors wealthier teams. All went according... Continue Reading »

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Hi, I’m Rolf Boone, Twins fan.

I became a fan of the Minnesota Twins after a friendly wager in the early 1980s. I survived Ron Davis, the meltdown in Cleveland, Phil Bradley at the Kingdome and then marveled at a rising generation of stars and two World Series wins in 1987 and 1991. Brad Radke made the 1990s bearable, while Kirby Puckett’s eye injury, exit from the game and eventual death made it almost too much to bear. The new century ushered in more talent — Joe Mauer, Johan Santana, Joe Nathan, Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau — and consecutive seasons of playoff baseball, followed by consecutive seasons of losing baseball. A winning season returned in 2015. So here we are. Go Twins.