In fact, the Twins' are notorious for failing to develop quality starters (this year's crop of hot prospects that failed to make the team as scheduled included Travis Miller, Dan Serafini, and LaTroy Hawkins), and Kelly must shoulder a lion's share of the blame. As many others over the years have already pointed out, part of the problem is Kelly's unyielding loyalty to pitching coach Dick Such, but part of it is Kelly's self-defeating impatience and irritability with players who have more talent than dedication or common sense. Kelly is masterful at handling middle relievers because he knows how to motivate the drone bees, the scrubs of the ballclub. He praises Aldred's mediocre performance because Aldred takes instruction well. (And why shouldn't he? He wouldn't be in the majors today if it wasn't for Kelly.) Radke, too, earns his respect because Radke is maximizing his potential.
But Kelly has never been adept at turning around talented underachievers like Frank Rodriguez. There is no question that Rodriguez has more raw ability than anyone in the Twins starting rotation. Last year, despite his inconsistency, he led the team in wins. Kelly uses the stick far more than the carrot when dealing with Rodriguez. Last year, upset with Rodriguez's lack of focus, he even banished him to the bullpen for a while. The travesty of using Aguilera as a starter while deploying Rodriguez in relief was a natural outcome of Kelly's churlishness. The behavior continued in spring training this year, when Kelly refused to say the obvious, waiting until a week before the season started before naming Rodriguez his number two starter. If these tough-love tactics worked as well as the rest of Kelly's managerial moves, it would be one thing; but they haven't. Rodriguez remains maddeningly inconsistent, an enigma with a huge impact on the team's playoff chances. Given the dearth of bona fide major league pitchers, the Twins need Rodriguez more than Rodriguez needs them.
Even if both Radke and Rodriguez were to dramatically improve this year, the Twins would have an uphill battle wresting a playoff position away from the likes of Cleveland, Chicago, Baltimore, Texas, Seattle, Toronto, and New York. But if Kelly still has them in contention around late July, don't be surprised if Pohlad okays a deal that mortgages some of the team's future for the sake of staying in a pennant race, maybe trading a couple of those hot shot prospects that never pan out for a high-priced veteran pitcher in the last year of his contract. Yes, it would fly in the face of Twins tradition, especially in terms of budgetary expenditures. But it doesn't take a banker to realize that the best way to lobby for a new stadium is with a winning baseball team.
