Fire Gardy

So here’s a bit of interesting news. Apparently Luis Ayala had requested a trade three weeks ago, because he was unhappy with his role.* While I think it’s telling that nobody offered anything for him, and continues to be telling that nobody has taken him off waivers yet, I’m even more glad he’s gone now that I’ve heard this news.

* There’s that “roles” crap again. Get over yourself.

Here’s Gardy’s take on the Ayala situation:

“He wanted an eighth-inning role; that’s why he signed over here. He wasn’t pitching well enough to be an eighth-inning guy. So there you have it.

“His thoughts were if we gave him the ball in that eighth inning, he’d be able to do the job. My thoughts are if you’re not getting them out, you’re not going to pitch in the eighth inning. We’re trying to win. So there’s your difference.

“When you walk into my office and tell me you don’t like your role, and he talked about his contract for next year — you lose me right there. I don’t deal with that. We’re talking about winning now. That’s why he’s out the door and another guy’s in there to pitch. And it’s not because he’s a bad guy. His theories are a little different.”

Gardy’s right on the money here. The manager absolutely should not care about a player’s contract, especially his contract for next year, when he won’t even be with the team any more. And when a player starts talking like that, he’s clearly putting himself before the team.

If Gardy thought Ayala could get people out, he’d have been the 8th inning guy. That’s why he was brought here in the first place, and he had numerous opportunities to take over the position. Apparently he didn’t think it was a problem that he failed every time.

I’m glad Gardy reacted the way he did, and my only problem with the way this was handled is that Ayala stayed with the team for three weeks after saying this. He should have been out immediately. (Especially given how shitty he’s been on the mound.)

So now that the contentious and infuriating Ayala Era is over, we can put it behind us and try to win some ballgames.

Go Twins.

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