Thread: Terry Ryan Interview - Submit Your Questions

Originally Posted by nicksaviking

Why exactly isn't Paul Molitor a fit for the coaching staff? He was shot down as a candidate about two seconds after he said he was interested.

because if paul is with the team he might get near jim pohlad and wispher in his ear......curly ryan and larry gardenhire dont know what there doing

Originally Posted by Nick Nelson

Originally Posted by thrylos98

Ask him whether he holds himself accountable after a 96 loss season. Or, in other words, does he think that leading the team to 96 losses last season was successful enough to warrant removing the "interim" tag?

Yep, his acquisitions of players like Willingham, Doumit, Carroll and Burton certainly led this team right down the tubes. He should not only fire himself but commit seppuku on the mound at Target Field.

Do you ever get bored of posting some variation of the same "fire everyone" comment on every thread?

Obviously not

Please consider that you are different from a mainstream sports writer and ask questions from your point of view . Terry Ryan has appeared many places. Please use what makes you different from the mainstream and ask questions from that view. It would be a unique opportunity to shed a light on the Twins from a different perspective.

What are the chances that Gardy and Anderson will be back for the 2014 season?

Ask him how often he visits twinsdaily.com. Does he visit other sites? What's his perception of sites such as twinsdaily.com?

Ryan has indicated a dissappointment with the organization's Dominican player pipeline. What's being done to improve the results?

I thought the Twins had an excellent draft and went away from their usual philosophy in 2012. Who are the players other than Buxton and Berrios in this years draft that you are excited about and which have a chance to become special players down the line (someday)? Patience is a virtue and this 2012 draft class seems to have produced well at thier respective MILB levels. Who surprisingly stood out at instructionals as well?

Originally Posted by lightfoot789

I thought the Twins had an excellent draft and went away from their usual philosophy in 2012. Who are the players other than Buxton and Berrios in this years draft that you are excited about and which have a chance to become special players down the line (someday)? Patience is a virtue and this 2012 draft class seems to have produced well at thier respective MILB levels. Who surprisingly stood out at instructionals as well?

I like the idea of the question a lot but I can already see the response... "There are a lot of kids we like in the draft and time will tell blah blah blah". Ryan isn't going to tip his hand in next year's draft.

On the other hand, if you make the question more about last year's draft and the implied philosophy change that went behind it, I think it would provide a more substantive answer.

I realize that Ryan relies on his generalize and cover-all-the bases type of response to all questions, like “there are a lot of starters we need to look at” or “we need to make sure we put the right people in the right place”, but I too would be interested in more specifics.

The biggest question I have is about multi-year contracts for a starting pitcher. Given the reluctance to for a three of four-year contract in the past, does anything change with the Morneau contract going off the books in 2014? Regardless of whether Morneau is traded during the off-season or during the season, there seems little reason to resign him for 2014, which leaves $14 million available that could be part of a SP multi-year deal.

First off, I would like to thank Mr. Ryan for his generosity... both to the organization as a whole and to me personally. Once he allowed my family to trade seats with him at a pre-season game so that my 3-month old twin daughters could be in the sun rather than the shade on a very brisk 40º day. I am sure he cannot remember all the fans he has met, but he may remember this incident because it was the first game at Coor's Field in Denver in 1996... the day Kirby woke up blind in his right eye.

My question is a little more off topic but...

In light of the recent stories about Lance Armstrong getting away with doping for years in the sport with the most stringent rules and testing, what are Mr. Ryan's thoughts on PED usage and testing in baseball? Does he think that there will be 'Lance Armstrong's' in his sport that continue to taint MVP and Cy Young awards, as well as Division and World Series titles? If so, what does he think about potentially removing these achievements from individuals/teams that are caught breaking the rules?

Perhaps a more generic way to ask, that might get a more meaningful answer is to get him to compare his thoughts on these types of 'cheating':

A) Chicanery: Pitchers doctoring a baseball. Hitters corking a bat. Catchers framing pitches. Hrbek (TRex) pulling Gant's leg off first!
B) Mental acuity: Greenies, speed, caffeine, nicotine, ammonia, weight loss aids
C) Muscle repair/enhancement: Testosterone derivatives, HGH, HCG

Originally Posted by Brock Beauchamp

Originally Posted by lightfoot789

I thought the Twins had an excellent draft and went away from their usual philosophy in 2012. Who are the players other than Buxton and Berrios in this years draft that you are excited about and which have a chance to become special players down the line (someday)? Patience is a virtue and this 2012 draft class seems to have produced well at thier respective MILB levels. Who surprisingly stood out at instructionals as well?

I like the idea of the question a lot but I can already see the response... "There are a lot of kids we like in the draft and time will tell blah blah blah". Ryan isn't going to tip his hand in next year's draft.

On the other hand, if you make the question more about last year's draft and the implied philosophy change that went behind it, I think it would provide a more substantive answer.

Agreed, I'm only on board with Ryan staying because of this percieved change in philosophy on pitching.

I'd also like to know which of the 2012 pitching class will get a chance to start in 2013.

Originally Posted by Nick Nelson

Originally Posted by thrylos98

Ask him whether he holds himself accountable after a 96 loss season. Or, in other words, does he think that leading the team to 96 losses last season was successful enough to warrant removing the "interim" tag?

Yep, his acquisitions of players like Willingham, Doumit, Carroll and Burton certainly led this team right down the tubes. He should not only fire himself but commit seppuku on the mound at Target Field.

Do you ever get bored of posting some variation of the same "fire everyone" comment on every thread?

I don't recall thrylos98 ever calling for Rick Stelmaszek to be fired.

It's really a valid question, I think. After a 96-loss season, Ryan gave himself a promotion. If Gardy says "I don't deserve a contract extension" then I think Ryan should at least be accountable enough to keep the interim tag (symbolic as it may be).

Originally Posted by Boom Boom

It's really a valid question, I think. After a 96-loss season, Ryan gave himself a promotion. If Gardy says "I don't deserve a contract extension" then I think Ryan should at least be accountable enough to keep the interim tag (symbolic as it may be).

On the other hand, being a lame duck boss makes it hard to instill confidence in the lower ranks. Removing the interim tag could be viewed as symbolic as well. As I've said all along, JR deserves more than 11 months to get this franchise back on track. If he fails to have a clear path forward a year from now, then it's time to think about moving in another direction. So far, he's done a pretty good job with the franchise. The last draft went off like gangbusters, most of the free agent acquisitions were either good or decent, and now he has his first full offseason to really lay out a plan.

You claim that you have never been denied money to add to the payroll. The Whte Sox GM says you would have won at least two WS earlier this century if you had added a player or two. Is it true that you decided to reduce payroll last year, and not the owner? Why did you not add a legit DH when this team was one hitter away earlier this century?

On a different topic.....if you do not acquire at least two proven starting pitchers, why should anyone pay their hard earned cash to go to a ballgame?

Originally Posted by Brock Beauchamp

Originally Posted by Boom Boom

It's really a valid question, I think. After a 96-loss season, Ryan gave himself a promotion. If Gardy says "I don't deserve a contract extension" then I think Ryan should at least be accountable enough to keep the interim tag (symbolic as it may be).

On the other hand, being a lame duck boss makes it hard to instill confidence in the lower ranks. Removing the interim tag could be viewed as symbolic as well. As I've said all along, JR deserves more than 11 months to get this franchise back on track. If he fails to have a clear path forward a year from now, then it's time to think about moving in another direction. So far, he's done a pretty good job with the franchise. The last draft went off like gangbusters, most of the free agent acquisitions were either good or decent, and now he has his first full offseason to really lay out a plan.

I agree with you on this - but can't it also be said that Gardy is a lame duck boss?

Originally Posted by Boom Boom

Originally Posted by Brock Beauchamp

Originally Posted by Boom Boom

It's really a valid question, I think. After a 96-loss season, Ryan gave himself a promotion. If Gardy says "I don't deserve a contract extension" then I think Ryan should at least be accountable enough to keep the interim tag (symbolic as it may be).

On the other hand, being a lame duck boss makes it hard to instill confidence in the lower ranks. Removing the interim tag could be viewed as symbolic as well. As I've said all along, JR deserves more than 11 months to get this franchise back on track. If he fails to have a clear path forward a year from now, then it's time to think about moving in another direction. So far, he's done a pretty good job with the franchise. The last draft went off like gangbusters, most of the free agent acquisitions were either good or decent, and now he has his first full offseason to really lay out a plan.

I agree with you on this - but can't it also be said that Gardy is a lame duck boss?

Not really... He simply hasn't been extended. He has a full season left on his contract and he was allowed to keep his buddy as pitching coach. He obviously still has some sway in the organization and it appears that JR is going to try to get him some pitching so he can succeed in 2013.

If it's July 1st, the Twins are 15 games back, and a fire sale is starting to commence, then he's a lame duck boss for the rest of the season.

My question:

I understand the organization likes Drew Butera, but what are the odds you shell out the 1 mil to keep him around next year? (Super 2 status) wouldn't it be better to simply cut him loose and then try to bring him back on a minor league contract. Also would it be too early to groom him into a coach for the org?

Originally Posted by SpiritofVodkaDave

My question:

I understand the organization likes Drew Butera, but what are the odds you shell out the 1 mil to keep him around next year? (Super 2 status) wouldn't it be better to simply cut him loose and then try to bring him back on a minor league contract. Also would it be too early to groom him into a coach for the org?

My version:

Drew Butera. What the ****. Seriously. WHY?!?!?!?!

1) Scott Diamond had a solid year and was the best pitcher on the major league staff in 2012. Does the front office think he can be more than "solid"? That is, can he be significantly better than he was this year?

2a) Who is the highest ranking member of the front office who is fluent in Spanish or any language other than English? (Note from scottz: I have no idea of the answer to this...if anyone on TD knows, please feel free to reply.) 2b) Would the team be better served by having more language-speaking abilities in the front office, given baseball's global-reach?

3a) Is there a specific full-time role for stats-based player evaluation within the front office? Who handles that role? (Note from scottz: Again, if anyone here knows, feel free to reply.) 3b) Would the team be better served by having a full-time stats-based evaluator?

Originally Posted by SpiritofVodkaDave

My question:

I understand the organization likes Drew Butera, but what are the odds you shell out the 1 mil to keep him around next year? (Super 2 status) wouldn't it be better to simply cut him loose and then try to bring him back on a minor league contract. Also would it be too early to groom him into a coach for the org?

While I hope that Butera is non-tendered and that Hermann takes over his role on the bench, even if he is kept he will make no where near $1M next year (or ever in his career). Even though he is arbitration eligible, he will still make close to league minimum next year. MLBtraderumors estimates his Arb salary @ $500k.