Minnesota Twins: The Twins Need Return to Their Penny-Pinching Winning Ways

Perhaps one of the most disappointing aspects of the Minnesota Twins 2011 season was the fact that manager Ron Gardenhire was supposed to have best lineup in his 10th year as the Twins manager.

Once the Twins signed their native son, Joe Mauer to an eight-year contract extension that pays him $23 million a year—making him the fifth highest paid player in baseball, the expectations rose to levels that could not possibly be matched, thus adding to the frustration of the second-worst season in Twins history. 

After all the Minnesota payroll skyrocketed to $112.8 million—the ninth highest in baseball. Surely the Twins now had what it takes to make it out of the divisional round of the playoffs.

This was a huge step for Gardenhire  and the Twins, over his first nine seasons as manager when the Twins' payroll averaged 20th in baseball.

Minnesota must have upset the baseball gods when their payroll exceeded the $100 million mark last season. It's the only explanation for the rash of injuries that plagued just about every member on the 25-man roster. 

Obviously there was a miscalculation somewhere. Perhaps payroll doesn't correlate to winning percentage.

In 2002, Gardenhire's first year as manager, the Twins payroll was the fourth lowest in baseball at only $40.2 million. That season the team finished 94-67, and won the American League Central by 13.5 games over the Chicago White Sox. It is also the only season the Gardenhire has led the Twins past the divisional round of the playoffs.

Since 2002, when Gardenhire took over as manager, there is a negative 62 percent correlation between winning percentage and payroll, proving that the Twins were heading in the wrong direction in 2011.

The epitome of a small-market franchise, the Minnesota Twins mantra has been you win with strong defense, timely hitting and solid pitching. Minnesota did it the right way with a strong minor league system, build a winning franchise from within. It was the only way to get it done, the Twins could not compete with the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels or Phillies—typically the highest payroll teams in baseball.

The attempt to compete with the high-payroll franchises, for at least a season, ended in disaster.

No sir, there will be no buying a championship in Minnesota. The Twins need to do it the old fashioned way, the way every team had to do it, before Curt Flood and the dawn of free agency.

But fear not Twins fans, hope is on the horizon.

Terry Ryan, who built the foundation that produced the six division titles over the past decade, has returned.

The payroll for 2012 has been trimmed back and is expected to be right around a mere $100 million.

The Twins are back to signing veteran players that can do no more than adequately plug some lineup holes for a year or two at most, while the Twins work to develop talent within.

Despite the enhanced revenue streams of their three year old stadium, the Twins will have their payroll back where it belongs in no time, and the team will be back to competing for division titles—and getting swept in the playoffs by the Yankees, with the highest payroll in baseball.