Gardy to Punto: You're already a great player to me

"A couple years ago, he wasn't starting, and he came along pretty good in this role," Gardenhire said. "Maybe this clears his mind a little bit, so he's not worried about going 0-for-3 every day, and he'll come back and be a great player. He already is to me because he's so valuable everywhere you play him."( from the strib)

Scene: Nick Punto and Ron Gardenhire share a candlelight dinner for two after the 2007 season.

Nick (forlorn): ...I just want to be a great player...

Ron (reassuring): You already are to me, Nick. You already are to me.

Their eyes locked, the two mens' faces inch towards each other as the lights fade to black.

Fin

Oh my darling hummingbird

La Velle E. Neal III gives us this gem of an article full of the cute quotable Gardenhire we all love. One can't help but beam with joy and feel warm all over after reading Gardenhire's nickname for rookie Matt Tolbert.
"Hummingbird"
Maybe even better is how Mr. Neal III just sticks the quote in the middle of the article. The previous quote from Tolbert's minor league manager, Riccardo Ingram, kind of explains the Gardenhire hummingbird quote.
"The Latin players call him 'Eléctrico,' " Ingram said.
Still, the fact that the next line only has Gardenhire saying "hummingbird" leaves his meaning a little ambiguous.
Of course, this post isn't meant to criticize Mr. Neal's journalistic talent. No, it's to display the pure giddiness and love Gardenhire seems to have for this young buck Tolbert. And that's exactly what we get at the end of article when Mr. Neal decided to copy down Gardenhire's excited mumbles about the rookie verbatim.
"I said, 'You're on deck. You're hitting right now,' and he was still looking for his equipment. That's not normal. So he's fun."

News flash monroe in the outfield

I love how everything Gardenhire says seems like it is a spur of the moment thought. For example, in this article talking about Crumple Magoo.
"Monroe's here to help us out, however we can use him -- and I'm going to use him. I'm going to play him in the outfield, too."
Thanks for the heads up. Wouldn't want you to surprise us with any of your managerial wisdoms like the old days when you'd bat Tyner at DH.
Of course, I'm probably not wrong, about every Gardenhire decision being spur of the moment.