Rand: Guardado plans an energetic arrival as Twins bullpen coach

Eddie Guardado was with the Twins for the first 11 years of his MLB career, from 1993-2003. That's an awfully interesting span of time, encompassing eight mostly dreadful and certainly below .500 seasons from 1993-2000, then the start of the Twins' resurgence from 2001-03.

Guardado was back with the Twins for a pit stop in 2008 — a rebuilding year on the fly for the Twins after they lost Torii Hunter and Johan Santana — then retired following his final season in 2009 with the Rangers. Now he's back for another go-round with the Twins as bullpen coach, picked by new manager and former Twins teammate Paul Molitor.

During a phone conversation last week, Guardado was asked what exactly a bullpen coach does — and what he thinks the Twins want him to do.

"I think they just want my attitude, being in the clubhouse every day, having that positive energy," Guardado said. "I have energy. There's no question."

Indeed, Everyday Eddie was never short on that. Neither was his former teammate, Torii Hunter. As circumstance would have it, Guardado, Hunter and another former Twin, LaTroy Hawkins, spent Thanksgiving together. With Hunter linked to a possible return to the Twins as a corner outfielder — and as a partner in crime with Guardado when it comes to clubhouse energy — the logical question to Guardado was whether he was working to recruit Torii back to the Twins.

He laughed. "I'm trying, I'm trying," he said. "All we can do is try, right?"

Having Guardado, and possibly Hunter, back in the Twins clubhouse would offer an interesting generational mix. There are those who have suggested the home clubhouse grew too cozy and quiet in Ron Gardenhire's final years. Guardado does not seem to dispute that, even though he only watched the losses mount (with frustration) from afar.

Guardado's assertion is that the Twins have talent; perhaps what they lack is the right attitude.

"That's how you get better. It starts in the clubhouse. I've been saying that for years," Guardado said. "With a young team, it starts on the inside and works its way out. That's how we did it."

The 2001 Twins, who shook off the doldrums of those eight losing seasons with an 85-win team that laid the foundation for six division titles in nine years, also had breakthrough seasons from Hunter, Guardado and several others.

The million-dollar question, of course, is whether winning (and good performances) lead to better chemistry or whether it's the other way around. The modern view of baseball tends to focus more on numbers and tendencies. Guardado, even though he's just five years removed from the game, is most definitely still old-school.

"There are good players, or else they wouldn't be here," he said. "How do we get it out of those players? We have to push them."