Gardy firing needed to happen

Well, the Minnesota Twins organization did something this week that it is definitely not known for. It fired manager Ron Gardenhire after the conclusion of four, 90-loss seasons for the ball club.

After that many losses, something had to be done. I think most fans and beat reporters recognize that. I jumped on Twitter for awhile on Monday (Quick sidebar: The Twins fired Gardy on my birthday. Not cool, hometown team.) after the news broke. A general consensus that I took away was that while people enjoyed Gardenhire during his time here, the move was necessary.

I would agree. Many times, the reason teams are in trouble or losing so much is not solely the fault of the manager or coach who ultimately pays the price. But that's the way it goes. It can't be like George Knox originally wanted in "Angels in the Outfield," when he asked the team owner to trade the 25 players he had because he "couldn't win with those guys."

Cut from the top
In sports, poor-performing teams cut ties with their managers, coaches and general managers all the time. It can become pretty routine, in fact. But for the Twins? They've had two managers since I've been on the planet. Tom Kelly and Gardy, who took over in 2002.

Even the Minnesota Wild, which has only been a franchise since 2000, have had more head coaches than the Twins: Jacques Lemaire, Todd Richards and current coach Mike Yeo.

Along with Gardy, the rest of the coaching staff is gone as well. I'm most happy about the exit of pitching coach Rick Anderson. I'd wanted him to go a couple years ago, but it was clear that he and Gardy were as close as peanut butter and jelly. One wouldn't stay or go without the other.

Replacement candidates
A couple of top names in the running for the next skipper include former Twins Paul Molitor and Doug Mientkiewicz. Both have been interviewed for the position and both have stuck with the Twins organization. Molitor finished his career with the Twins and more recently was part of the team's coaching staff, though he has no managing experience. Mientkiewicz has managed the Fort Meyers Miracle for a couple years, a single A club in the Twins' farm system.

I've always had a soft spot for Mientkiewicz, so I'd love to see him take on this role. I've met Molitor before and wrote my final story for my college newspaper about him. I think that would be a fine choice as well.

But the club also made it clear it would look outside the organization as well, to find the best person for the job. I think this is a very important factor. The past couple of struggling years, the Twins have made moves. It's just been little things like moving coaches around to different roles, but it's been the same people. Some fresh blood might be a good idea in this case.

Just a little bit better
In any case, don't expect the Twins to jump from 90 losses to 90 wins next year. I think most of us would be surprised to see that happen. There is reason to hope, however. Kennys Vargas brought his hitting power up to the big leagues this year. Danny Santana impressed with his batting average. Now if we could just get Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton healthy and up to the majors, it might be a team on the rise.

Firing Gardy won't solve all the problems. Starting pitching is a gaping hole, except maybe for Phil Hughes. And it would be nice to get another big name player on the roster to lead the team, especially since Joe Mauer didn't have the best year. (OK, maybe one of his worst.) Not to mention Terry Ryan is still cleaning up the mess former-GM Bill Smith left in his wake.

I'm looking for improvement from the Twins in 2015. I want them to leave 90 losses behind and maybe move out of the division basement. It's a downswing right now, but hopefully they can turn it around.