The Minnesota Tail Battlers

[batista4goldglove]

Here's another one for Reed.

"Reeder pitched his tail off," Twins manager Burl Ives said. "You can't do much better than that -- unless you're on the other side.

http://810whb.com/scripts/archives/gets ... g=noSearch

[Narf]

Brilliant idea ofx and Kobs

In honor of the idea, I've got a Gambler BYTO quote AND a Denny Hocking honorable mention at the bottom...

"Kenny battled his tail off after that grand slam," Gardenhire said. "When Spiezio hit the grand slam, Kenny was trying to throw a sinker away. It ended up going right down the middle."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseba ... recap.html

[Narf]

Scotty Ulger...tail battler!

"The whole unit didn't get it done. And you can throw that on the hitting instructor, but the same guy got it done for three years when we won championships. We got it done, and he's worked his tail off, so I'm not going to blame it on Scotty."

http://sundappledwood.blogspot.com/2005 ... chive.html

[Narf]

"A.J. can do those things because he battles his tail off," manager Burl Ives said.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/gamecente ... 06_TEX@MIN

[notoriousgod71]

"A.J. can do those things because he battles his tail off," manager Burl Ives said.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/gamecente ... 06_TEX@MIN

Hey! I was at that game! Woooooo!

[neut41]

Apparently, first-year hitting coach, Joe Vavra, is now an official tail battler:

"I'm very happy with what he's done," Gardenhire said. "I know Joe has worked his tail off and deserves credit for some of the things that are happening around here. Because he sure got lots of blame earlier, and it wasn't his fault, not when you're working as hard as he is."

http://www.startribune.com/509/story/513761.html

[Klobs]

Apparently, first-year hitting coach, Joe Vavra, is now an official tail battler:

"I'm very happy with what he's done," Gardenhire said. "I know Joe has worked his tail off and deserves credit for some of the things that are happening around here. Because he sure got lots of blame earlier, and it wasn't his fault, not when you're working as hard as he is."

http://www.startribune.com/509/story/513761.html

Excellent work, by you and Joe.

Narf, all of those were already on the board.

There's more to be found, go get them!

[lambo_asdf]

OK...this isn't Gardy but it's too good not to post:

"It was a slider that didn't drop," Henry said. "I just made a bad pitch and I feel real bad. [Sean] Bergman pitched his tail off and he should have got the victory."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseba ... ls_astros/

[Klobs]

OK...this isn't Gardy but it's too good not to post:

"It was a slider that didn't drop," Henry said. "I just made a bad pitch and I feel real bad. [Sean] Bergman pitched his tail off and he should have got the victory."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseba ... ls_astros/

At the very least, it validates Sean Bergman's prestigious rank.

[batista4goldglove]

This one covers Hunter and Koskie.

http://www.asapsports.com/baseball/2004 ... 804R2.html

Q. Ron, you guys hustle on the bases all year. What's going through your mind when you guys were down six runs?

Burl Ives: It's not fun getting thrown out when you're down like that. We forced him to make plays like that. It was a good base run tonight. I tip my hat to them. Torii is busting his tail and Koskie was busting his tail, and in the end they had a sacrifice fly, but the guys are trying. They're giving it everything they have and busting their tail running the bases. Tonight it didn't look good. They wanted to win. They were playing the game right, and that's what we do. That's all I care about.

[batista4goldglove]

Here's a double that covers the 2004 team.

http://www.asapsports.com/baseball/2004 ... 904RG.html

Q. Ron, when you say "relax," do you think you forced things on the bases the other night, getting two guys thrown out, considering the score?

Burl Ives: Their hustling, you know. We look at it, and I guess the old book of baseball, you're down and make a silly out, but as a manager, I see too many guys in the game jogging and not trying to get to second base. I applaud my guys. I don't applaud them because we made some mistakes last night, but I applaud the way they play the game. They hustle and bust their tail every night. They're not trying to be superhuman. We play that way all the time. That was bad base running, but I applaud the way they go after the game, because they run the balls out and they bust their tail, and that's what our team is all about.

[batista4goldglove]

And another one for the 2004 team.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/ ... &fext=.jsp

Q: Ron, because of the way the series is set up where you don't have an off day between Games 4 and 5 and have to travel, what does that do for a team's momentum?

A: We're going -- our airplane is going to try to beat the Yankees into town. That's one thing. We're going to stop them at the airport and get out first. You know what, who knows, when you get there. It gets down to what baseball's supposed to be. If we can win today and go to New York, I don't think you can ask for a better scenario of a playoff round for us right now. That's what we want to see happen, and it ought to be very entertaining.

We take a lot of pride in playing the game and busting our tail so we want to win today and get that thing back to New York and take a shot at it and see what happens.

[batista4goldglove]

And again for the 2004 team.

http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/f ... winsgame3/


"The guys are trying," he insisted. "They're giving everything they have and they're busting their tail running the bases. Tonight it just didn't look good, but they wanted to win. They were playing and that's what I care about. They wanted to win and they were trying and that's what we do here in Minnesota."

[Klobs]

Check rule two, brother.

[batista4goldglove]

Check rule two, brother.

Fucking Gardenhire. You would think he would remember to add "off" in all of his quotes.

[batista4goldglove]

I got this one right.

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:ZFC ... lnk&cd=104

"Silva battled his tail off," Gardenhire said. "He started using all of his pitches and got better and better."

[lambo_asdf]

http://www.tinyurl.com

[Klobs]

www.tinyurl.com

That's kind of a waste of time.

This is much easier.

[batista4goldglove]

Gardy talking about the 2003 Yankee starting pitchers.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/r ... off_twins/

"Every one of [New York's starters] went out there and pitched their tail off," saluted Minnesota manager Burl Ives. "You're going to say we're not swinging good. Good pitching does that. We've got a young bunch of hitters, but, man, they pitched."

[batista4goldglove]

Gardy on Mulholland

"Terry got off to a little bit of a sluggish start," Gardenhire said. "He pitched very well after that first inning. He settled down and pitched his tail off for us. To his credit, he kept pitching."

[batista4goldglove]

Michael Nakamura pitched his tail off

Nakamura, 26, impressed the Twins during his non-roster invitation at Spring Training. The right-hander was 4-4 with a 2.01 ERA and two saves in 21 games at Rochester.

"The kid pitched his tail off in Spring. That says a lot," Gardenhire said. "We don't forget things like that, guys coming in and busting their butt and getting to Spring Training ready. That's what this organization likes to do -- if you perform and there's a need, put yourself in position in the minor leagues. He's done that."

[batista4goldglove]

Morneau worked his tail off in 2004

"Morneau has been working his tail off to be a good first baseman," Gardenhire said. "He worked very hard in Spring Training. He worked hard when he was up here for a little while. I think that's paying off. He's better now than he was."

[ofx1]

And another -

From Gardy's presser -

"And we're pitching our tails off right now"

[Klobs]

And another -

From Gardy's presser -

"And we're pitching our tails off right now"

I heard that one, I hope one of the local rags will give us that quote tomorrow.

[joeltjen10]

on Jason Morneau

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincitie ... 934503.htm

"I'm not looking to say, 'Wow, he's really getting it done now,' and all those things. I just think he's fine. He's really dedicating himself. He's working his tail off, and that's all you ask of these young hitters."

[Klobs]

on Jason Morneau

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincitie ... 934503.htm

"I'm not looking to say, 'Wow, he's really getting it done now,' and all those things. I just think he's fine. He's really dedicating himself. He's working his tail off, and that's all you ask of these young hitters."

That link is broken, is there a working one out there?

[Musk21]

After last night's game:

http://www.startribune.com/509/story/527193.html

"Radke pitched his tail off again," Twins manager Burl Ives said. "That's fantastic to see. Once he got it going, we knew he would be the same old Radke. And he is."

[wonderboy78]

On Jason Kuddubel...

He was a little flustered, a little upset at himself," Gardenhire said. "He wants to do very well. We talked to him in the dugout and said, 'You're working your tail off, this is the hardest ballpark to play in as far as the roof goes -- the roof, the lights, the whole package.' It's not easy out there."

http://tinyurl.com/js6lj

[Berzerker1699]

Oh Rocketpig! It's spreading to the rest of the team!

"We battled our butts back to get back to where we were," Cuddyer said. "Unfortunately, we just came up a little short."

from http://tinyurl.com/h6mxg

[artie43]

Tail Battling is spreading. I was watching the Brewers game last night and they were talking about Giants pitcher Jamey Wright really "nibbled his tail off in the first inning" I chuckled for more than one reason

[Klobs]

Johan is now only 3 behind Kyle Lohse!

"It was a battle for him today," Gardenhire said. "I don't think he had his best pitches, but he battled his tail off and our guys picked him up."

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=260720109

[lambo_asdf]

Johan is now only 3 behind Kyle Lohse!

"It was a battle for him today," Gardenhire said. "I don't think he had his best pitches, but he battled his tail off and our guys picked him up."

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=260720109

Updated standings?

[neut41]

I know this isn't a direct Gardy quote, but I thought I'd throw it on here because it was in Souhan's column and appears to pay indirect homage to this site:

<i>Then Gardenhire sprinted off the mound, and Silva pitched, as the prevalent Gardy-ism would have it, "his tail off."</i>

http://www.startribune.com/150/story/569905.html

Catch the tail-battling spirit!

[clank2000]

Hear ye! Hear ye! Bartlett plays his tail off!

http://tinyurl.com/l5vw4


"This is how everybody told me he played in the Minor Leagues," Gardenhire said. "My whole goal for this year was to get him to be the same person, with energy and life, and play with no fear. We envisioned him being a very good player, and he's playing his tail off. He's playing the way we hoped he would play."

[Klobs]

Hear ye! Hear ye! Bartlett plays his tail off!

http://tinyurl.com/l5vw4


"This is how everybody told me he played in the Minor Leagues," Gardenhire said. "My whole goal for this year was to get him to be the same person, with energy and life, and play with no fear. We envisioned him being a very good player, and he's playing his tail off. He's playing the way we hoped he would play."

Bartlett needs to battle his tail off a lot more. He's playing his tail off plenty, but where is the battling.

[JohnnyDrama]

No tail, but battle nonetheless:

"Silva was OK today," Gardenhire said. "He battled through five innings. This club makes you work."

http://www.startribune.com/509/story/577094.html

[neut41]

The GROUNDS CREW working their tails off... I'm sure they would have battled if given the opportunity:

Gard[enhire] said the soft spot in the turf near first base has been fixed by the Dome grounds crew. The coaching staff's argument that the soft spot would cause baserunning problems was strengthened on Friday when Josh Rabe slipped while trying to steal second base.

"They worked their tails off on it," Gard[enhire] said. "I walked over there, and they have done everything they can do to firm it back up. It was like a beach [Friday], and they went out and worked on it."

http://www.startribune.com/509/story/583396.html

Score one for the grounds crew!

[slinger45]

Oh no, its hit Dr. Phil

While watching Leno last night and discussing Lindsay Lohan's "problems" he said that the times shes been on his show she's....u got it "worked her tail off"

[clank2000]

Man, this kid has it all. He even knows how to talk the talk. How could he possibly fail?

"My goal was to get to Double-A at the end of the year," Garza said. "Just work my [rear end] off to get to Double-A and maybe see some time in Triple-A in August. I didn't think I'd be here in August."

[StatFreak101]

Man, this kid has it all. He even knows how to talk the talk. How could he possibly fail?

"My goal was to get to Double-A at the end of the year," Garza said. "Just work my [rear end] off to get to Double-A and maybe see some time in Triple-A in August. I didn't think I'd be here in August."

Already showing major VP...I like it.

[Klobs]

Man, this kid has it all. He even knows how to talk the talk. How could he possibly fail?

"My goal was to get to Double-A at the end of the year," Garza said. "Just work my [rear end] off to get to Double-A and maybe see some time in Triple-A in August. I didn't think I'd be here in August."

It's obvious that he said ass. He's not ready for the bigs.

[hetfield86]

According to the Strib today, Childress told the Vikes to "battle their tales off."

[drunksam]

According to the Strib today, Childress told the Vikes to "battle their tales off."

Tales? or "tails"? because there is a difference and 6 or seven shots of a flamable substance involved.

[Twinkings83]

Childress on Chester taylor..

First-year head coach The Bald Eagle won't go quite that far. "Chester has got to go out and carry the ball 24 times and then work his tail off to get back to Wednesday,'' Childress said, sitting in a golf cart after the second practice.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/w ... index.html

[Musk21]

From Sid's column today:

Twins manager Burl Ives said now that Ford is healthy after being on the disabled list, he'll be used in a variety of ways. Ford went 2-for-5 against Cleveland on Wednesday night.

"He is a good defensive player and he bangs the ball around and hustles his tail off," Gardenhire said. "We'll mix him up and give guys a spell and he'd be good late in the ballgame for pinch-running situations where maybe we can steal a base with him and he can do a lot of things as one of our extra outfielders. He's valuable because he can play all the outfield positions and is, like I said, a good pinch runner. He's got a short swing and if he can swing at good pitches, he does pretty good."

[Rocketpig]

You guys are slacking. The entire team is battling (as are the White Sox, apparently):

""We're playing right with the team that we're battling in the Wild Card, so it's a big series. You can't escape it or hide it, you just face it head on, and that's what we're going to do.""

[batista4goldglove]

You guys are slacking. The entire team is battling (as are the White Sox, apparently):

""We're playing right with the team that we're battling in the Wild Card, so it's a big series. You can't escape it or hide it, you just face it head on, and that's what we're going to do.""

Doesn't fall within the rules.

The Rules:
1. Only Gardy quotes count.
2. The "______ ______ tail(s) off" format must be used.
3. Confirmation from a reputable source is required for full inclusion. Unconfirmed quotes do not count in the standings.

[neut41]

Gardy just said in the FSN post-game show that Bonser "battled his tail off" tonight against the White Sox.

[StatFreak101]

Gardy talking about Liriano:

"He's doing all of his work and he's working his tail off," Twins manager Burl Ives said.

In reference to the news about Liriano's health today.

http://tinyurl.com/lzeeg

[twinscowboysbulls]

are those standings up to date?