JUNE 14, 2009 -- CHICAGO (NL) 3, MINNESOTA 2

The Twins can't complete the sweep at Wrigley as they drop 3-2 to the Cubs. Scott Baker pitched well, Joe Mauer had three hits, and the runs were driven in by the unlikely duo of Nick Punto (on an inexplicable two-out bunt hit) and Carlos Gomez (on an inexplicable display of power -- a home run). In a game in which they get good pitching from a guy who's been wildly inconsistent this season (Scott Baker) and their bottom of the order produces, it's all that much more frustrating when the team ends up behind the eight-ball. Though the road trip must be considered a success, as the 5-5 trip is leaps and bounds better than any of their previous road trips, it was disappointing when you consider the losses: 2-1 and 4-2 to Seattle, two 4-3 losses in Oakland, and a 3-2 loss to Chicago. The gauge of a good manager is a good record in one-run games, and at least on this road trip, the stats correctly indicate the quality of the manager. Most people point at Ron Gardenhire's career record and make the incorrect assumption that he's one of the best managers in baseball, but in reality luck has mainly powered the ship for Ron Gardenhire. In the last few seasons, luck has begun to let up, and the skill of the manager (or lack thereof) has been evidenced.

The loss on Sunday was not radically different than many of the others. There were no glaring managerial mistakes that deserve special attention here. It's just that this loss was like so many others, and Gardenhire continues to confound those who watch the game. Decisions like batting Matt Tolbert lead-off -- now what manager in their right mind would do this? Gardenhire had been successful with Brendan Harris in the leadoff position, as they had won their previous two games. And it's not like Harris was on the bench on Sunday -- he was batting fifth for the Twins. Why change what has been going right for you, Gardenhire? And if you're going to shakeup the lineup, why put in a guy hitting .175? In all fairness, Tolbert hitting from the right side against lefthander Ted Lilly meant that Tolbert would be hitting from his better side (he's .214 from the right side of the plate versus .169). But it's just unacceptable for a minor-leaguer to be hitting leadoff in the major leagues. And for a manager to make a rash change in a lineup following two wins -- why don't you stick to what's working for you?

That's the unique idiocy of Ron Gardenhire, the quality that sets him apart from all the rest of the idiots in the world. He'll change things that are positively working and then not change something that's so bad that it's beyond disrepair. That would be an adequate description of the bullpen, and in particular Jesse Crain, who has deteriorated to the level of a batting-practice pitcher. Ron Gardenhire has not altered his managerial style when approaching his bullpen since he began managing the team in 2002, and he's lost at least one division title because of that resistance to change. I consider Gardenhire to be a bad Pavlov dog -- you know the ones that were used in the eponymous scientist's behavioral tests. The Pavlov dogs were trained by the ringing of a bell, and after a few times of hearing the bell, they would be conditioned to act in a certain way. Ron Gardenhire, however, would be the control to Pavlov's experiment, as he would be that one dog that would be doing the same thing again and again, even when disciplinary measures were used. Gardenhire would do the same thing with his bullpen -- lose -- and he would rather watch that happen a million times over before he might change his approach. Most likely this is due to the fact that Gardenhire's bullpens from 2002-2006 were spectacular, perenially among the best in baseball. For five years Gardenhire consistently lucked out when he called upon his relievers. But in the last three years, the pen has become the Achilles heel of the team, apparent to anyone who is willing to admit it except Ron Gardenhire and Rick Anderson.

Jesse Crain was called upon to bring the game into extra innings on Sunday, as Gardenhire brought him in to pitch the ninth inning in a 2-2 tie. Guess what happened? Crain promptly gave up two hits, and, after he induced one strikeout, gave up the game-winning hit to Ryan Theriot. As I said to myself during the Yankee series last month, when Gardenhire was dumb enough to bring Crain in to "preserve" a tie game, all I asked out of Jesse Crain was to make it quick. He obliged in May against New York and again he does it here in Chicago. Now, with Ron Gardenhire's new role for Sean Henn being a left-hander who loses games late, and Jesse Crain giving up runs every time he pitches, Gardy has the convenience of being able to go to a number of pitchers in the bullpen who can lose games for you when you could really use them. It's really disappointing when you consider that every game of this road trip was winnable, and the Twins really should have won eight or nine of them instead of just five. But when you're talking about a Ron Gardenhire-managed club, a .500 record on the road is utterly fantastic, and you can't do anything but be surprised that they didn't blow more games than the four that they did.

A .500 record on the road would be a godsend for the Twins, but that's going to be really hard to accomplish with the Twins still only 11-21 on the road. If they want any chance of competing, they're going to have to win just about every game at home, and especially when their schedule features three game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Houston Astros, you need to take advantage when you can. Though both teams are National League bottom-feeders, you have to realize that they are only a few games worse than the Twins. Glen Perkins returns from the disabled list, and he'll oppose Pirate pitcher Charlie Morton in the opener on Tuesday.