Thursday Thoughts

-Ron Gardenhire is slowly convincing me this season that he is one of the worst field managers in the game. Let me preface that by saying that I think he is a terrific clubhouse manager. He gets the most out of his guys and has a very cohesive team. However, his on the field decisions have cost the Twins far too many games this season. Last night, his pitching decisions were absolutely horrendous. He removed Francisco Liriano after five innings and 95 pitches when he has been begging his starters to go deeper into games. Plus, Liriano had just had his best inning in the fifth. While that decision is debatable, his other pitching decisions last night aren't. Gardy's call to use R.A. Dickey in the sixth was equivalent to waving the white flag. He followed that up by bringing in Bobby "I can't throw strikes" Keppel. He has continued to use Dickey in Keppel in high leverage situations, despite the fact that they have shown their true colors of ineptitude over the last month. Why not use Jose Mijares and Matt Guerrier in the sixth/seventh/eighth? The game is on the line -- use your best relievers! Speaking of Guerrier and Mijares, Gardy pulled another perplexing move by using both once the game was lost (8-1). He complains that the pair gets over worked, yet he uses them in a lopsided game. The game was not lost just because Liriano pitched badly and Dickey and Keppel couldn't get anyone lost. It was lost because of Ron Gardenhire's decision to use Dickey and Keppel in the first place. Someone please explain this twisted logic to me. I can't take it much longer.

-Speaking of something I can't take much longer, Nick Punto comes to mind. And again, I blame Ron Gardenhire for continuing to use the light hitting veteran. Punto has proven he can't hit well when he is an everyday player. Gardy inexplicably handed the starting shortstop job to Punto before Spring Training, ruling out any competition between Punto and the solid hitting Brendan Harris. Now, since the aquisition of Orlando Cabrera, he has continued to play Punto virtually every day. We can't find out if Alexi Casilla has any potential left if Gardy doesn't play him. His obsession with Punto is halting the development of Casilla. They have both hit badly this year, so you might as well play the younger guy with more upside to see what he has.

-One more point about Gardy: Why does he continue to get a pass from the media and most fans? Everybody seems to take it for granted that he is an outstanding manager and he never gets much criticism. I realize that he is a great guy and the players love him, but he has to get it done on the field.

-I never posted my reaction to the Vikings getting slapped in the face by Brett Favre because I was absolutely devastated. It sucks that we won't have Football Immortality for so many reasons, the most important of which is that now we don't have a quarterback who we can trust in big games. It also sucks that we won't be able to watch him jog out onto Lambeau Field in Purple and kick the Packers' ass. While I'm pissed at Favre for dragging us through the saga, I'm more pissed at the fans who are happy he didn't come. I thought what you want as a fan is to win the Super Bowl. Put your stupid anti-Favre and anti-Wisconsin hatred behind you. With Favre, we were a better team, bottom line. The argument ends there! Stop being stupid and saying you didn't want him because he was a Packer. Most would admit he would have improved our team, so nothing else should matter. I wanted Favre so badly because I think he made us a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Without him, I don't see how we can go any farther in the playoffs than last year. The reason we lost to the Eagles was that they had a better quarterback than us. Every playoff team in the NFC also does now. I think the Vikings probably have the best talent on paper of any team in the NFC. However, without a solid quarterback, I fail to see how they can go deep into the playoffs. It's still Mission Miami because we have a great team and I'll cheer for them rabidly, but I'm not getting my hopes up for the Superbowl with Sage or T-Jack leading the way.

-With all of that being said, I am extremely excited to see Percy Harvin play in purple. We can use him in so many ways and he will make our offense more dangerous. We can put him in the backfield with Adrian, hand him the ball, throw him the ball, have him return punts and kicks, etc. Plus, he can throw the ball out of the wildcat. The coaching staff will have to open up the playbook much more than they have so far, but if they do, Harvin will be a very valuable weapon. Since the staff has already added 10-15 plays specifically for Percy, it looks like they realize what a talent they have in him.

-I have a hunch that Matt Barkely will be the starting quarterback for the USC Trojans this season. I know Aaron Corp was named the starter after spring practice, but the way Coach Pete Carroll and his staff have continued to rave about Barkely this summer, it just seems inevitable that he will start. They said he has come farther in a shorter amount of time than Palmer, Leinart, and Booty. That's saying something. I want to see him start from day one because I think he's the most talented QB we have. With that being said, if Carroll thinks Corp will throw less interceptions, he may very well go with the junior. Limiting turnovers is very important to Carroll. Regardless of who starts, they will have the benefit of virtually the entire offense returning from last season. That will help tremendously. I'm getting fired up for college football and the Trojans. Let's take the championship this year in our own backyard.