First Post

Eisler Livan Hernandez has lived a remarkable life. Born into the state-sponsored poverty of a socialist dictatorship, he grew up as one of the lucky ones who were talented enough to play El Presidente’s favorite game in the Cuban baseball academies. He earned $6 a month playing in Cuba before defecting as a 19 year old while abroad with the Cuban national team in the fall of 1995. He made his MLB debut the very next year for the Florida Marlins as the youngest player in the NL. In his 12 seasons in the major leagues he has averaged over 200 innings pitched. He was the Rookie of the Year in 1997, as well as the World Series MVP, and he has been an All Star twice.

His brother, Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez defected as well, coming to the US on a raft with 5 other Cubans seeking asylum. He had to defect, as a meeting with an associate of his brother’s agent had led to a lifetime ban from Cuban baseball. Both brothers are pitchers, while their father Arnaldo Hernandez once played all nine positions for the Villa Clara Azucareros in the Cuban National Series. In the US, Livan developed a reputation as a great teammate who would often help younger players, going so far as to buy them dinner and jackets. His kindness paid off when in 1997 his teammates wrote a formal plea to Cuban officials that, coupled with negotiations between the two governments, led to a dramatic Game 7 World Series win in front of his own mother, the first and only time she would be allowed to travel to the United States.

His is the kind of story that makes you smile, especially when you are a Twins fan and you realize that, due to his recent signing, the Twins now have a starting pitcher on their 40 man roster who has pitched at least two full seasons in the majors (for the record, Boof Bonser is the only member of the rotation who has pitched even one without also pitching in AAA). So how does Ron Gardenhire show his appreciation for the newest addition to the team? How does he welcome the grizzled veteran, the workhorse of the staff who will be called upon to provide leadership to the talented but largely untested core of young pitching?

“We don't wear bling-blings on the field," Gardenhire said. "... I told him he can't wear those anymore. So he's game-on."

That’s from last Monday’s (February 18) Pioneer Press. In Gardenhire’s defense, he probably did not phrase the request in exactly that way, nor is there anything inherently wrong with having team rules such as no “bling-bling” (it is worth noting that Torii Hunter and Johan Santana are among Twins who have played under Gardenhire who have worn necklaces on the field that could legitimately be called “bling-bling”). Moreover, Gardenhire is probably blissfully unaware of how ridiculous is the straight-faced appropriation of the term “bling-bling” by the redneck 50-year old native Oklahoman who currently manages a team that over the years has been perhaps the whitest in the history of integrated professional baseball in the United States. To say Gardenhire “doesn’t get it” would be an understatement, one which could be applied to many other aspects of his job.

Maybe, with all the new faces in training camp, Gardenhire feels the need to lay down the law and show the new guys who’s boss. After all, this off-season the Twins traded for a 22-year old who is most famous for throwing his bat at an umpire, let two faces of the franchise walk away to bigger contracts, and are now having trouble even getting some of their players into the country so they can report to Spring Training. He needs to let these kids know they can’t get away with whatever they want. Especially that Livan Hernandez guy. Even better if he can get a tough-sounding quote in the newspapers, just to prove that he has complete control over his men, even the rowdy Cubans.

Luckily for Gardenhire and the Twins, Livan Hernandez is “game-on”. Given his positive attitude and less-than-perfect command of the English language, he probably did not read Gardenhire’s words as an attempt by the manager to put him in his place, which is exactly how the quote comes across (he probably did not read them at all). Eager to please his new team he will take off the earrings, not throw bullpen sessions in a windbreaker, and abide by any other team rules of which Gardenhire kindly makes him aware. He will work hard to rebound from a bad year. He will try to play well for himself and for his teammates.

He will take until at least mid-April to realize that Gardenhire absolutely “doesn’t get it”, in the truest sense of the word.

Welcome to Minnesota Livan, meet your new Manager: