Someone had to take the fall for Twins, and that someone was Rocco Baldelli

Not that Baldelli built a strong case to keep his job. Missing the postseason for the fourth time in five seasons made this outcome inevitable.

Critiquing a manager’s moves becomes a daily obsession within every fanbase, and Baldelli provided his share of fodder with his in-game strategy. Ultimately, there was simply too much bad baseball on his watch. Too many underwhelming performances and not enough development in young players to believe that a meaningful jump would be coming.

Baldelli, however, wasn’t responsible for slashing payroll that made his job infinitely more difficult. He didn’t execute roster moves that backfired. He didn’t trade every quality reliever in the bullpen — the one strength of the team — and then deliver tone-deaf remarks in a letter to fans trying to sell the unsaleable.

That all happened above him.

A 13-game winning streak in May proved to be nothing more than fool’s gold that perhaps convinced Baldelli’s bosses that a mediocre roster was better than it really was.