Jim Souhan: Words can't describe what Gardy got the Twins to do

Speeches may work in football, where the willingness to sacrifice your spleen for the good of the team can make a difference. Speeches sound good in sports movies, especially if you can win one for a dying coach or kid.

But for every speech that becomes legend, there are hundreds that fall flat, which makes what Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has done with mere words remarkable.

In 2006, the Twins were buried and Justin Morneau was having more fun after games than during them. Gardenhire called Morneau in for a chat in Seattle, and the Twins put together the most amazing four-month stretch in franchise history, with Morneau being named American League MVP.

This season, on the afternoon of June 13, the Twins were 32-35, having lost seven of eight.

Three of those losses were by nine or 10 runs. Gardenhire held a meeting, and the Twins won 12 of 13 and 10 in a row before losing to the Brewers on Saturday night.

If he ever gets fired as a manager, Gardenhire might be able to rent some very large teeth and become the next Anthony Robbins.

"Sometimes you feel the need to say something," Gardenhire said. "We were going through a time when we got our brains beat out, and I saw some things I didn't like, and I had to make sure they understood that, and tell them what we're about around here.

Said Morneau: "He doesn't say stuff when it doesn't need to be said. He rarely calls a team meeting or sits a player down by himself. When he does, you know he means it."

The 2008 Twins are a strange mixture of unproven youngsters, failed free-agent signings and fledgling pitchers. They have three true All-Stars -- Morneau, Joe Mauer and Joe Nathan -- and 22 guys who don't excite fantasy baseball owners, yet they entered Saturday just a half-game out of first. "You know there are times in the season, and it might be just once or twice, where you need that," catcher Mike Redmond said. "You need to clean things up. You need to get back and refocus and do things the right way.

"We needed that. In this game, you can get emotionally down. You start losing games, that can become a problem, and people can start accepting that we're losing. We're too good for that.

"I think at that point, we had really gotten beaten down. It was starting to turn. You could see it -- guys were starting to lose their focus."

Gardenhire said he was tired of seeing players spend half the game in the clubhouse. He wanted more cheering from the bench, less focus on individual statistics. "We were just doing a lot of things we shouldn't be doing," reliever Matt Guerrier said. "On and off the field. And those build up when you're losing games. I think we all kind of took a step back and realized it, too.

Pitcher Scott Baker said, "Sometimes there's no rhyme or reason why we get out of our routine, or the way we do things, but we do, and sometimes we need to be reminded of not only the things that got us here but the things that make us successful. It was basically a reminder of what this organization is all about, and playing the game the right way, and having some fun with it."

Bullpen coach Rick Stelmaszek said Gardenhire "saw it slipping away and put the hammer down. ... He didn't get upset. He got his point across, and the boys have been playing pretty good since."

What you say is not always what people hear. Second baseman Alexi Casilla, asked what he remembered about the meeting, said, "Nothing. But it worked."