Murphy: Inteview with Terry Ryan

There's lots of good stuff in this interview. It's more extensive than most. Brian Murphy asks specifically about the rotation, defense, middle infield, Harden, Parmelee, Garendhire and a lot more. I'm not sure what to make of Morneau, but Ryan didn't go out of his way to say he would keep him....

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Q: We know why Justin Morneau might be traded, but is there a case for him remaining in Minnesota long-term?
A: Sure. That would be the ideal scenario. He's a guy that hits in the middle of the lineup. He's certainly got a resume. He came off a couple tough years through no fault of his own, between the concussions, the wrist and the ankle. But we're looking for him to bounce back, drive in runs -- and if he does that, then the opportunity would arise that maybe we could talk about an extension.

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Twins' Terry Ryan Q&A: Ron Gardenhire, Justin Morneau still in Minnesota's plans - TwinCities.com

Ryan seems pretty confident that Pelfrey will be ready opening day.

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Pelfrey's right on schedule. , , Pelfrey should be in pretty good shape by mid-March.

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Not so much with Harden.

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Harden, we're going to have to gauge when he gets down there and we see him. We're going to monitor him closely to make sure he doesn't have any setbacks. . . I don't have all the specifics on Harden quite yet on whether he's going to be a starter or a reliever. We're messing with a shoulder here. It's not one you can dictate the time on.

(Harden's) a guy that's a veteran. He knows his body. He's going to know how he feels and where he's at. I'm going to be anxious to get a look at him down there because it could be a high reward for us if we can get him through this thing healthwise.

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I like what he said about Parmalee a lot, I'm really digging his potential as a solid bat for this team. I'm less thrilled with his answers on the middle infield and what he was looking for in a starter. If you want an explanation for why we landed Pelfrey and Correia over the other options available, it's clear that they wanted durability over talent. Which is a huge part of the organizational problem.

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Originally Posted by TheLeviathan

I like what he said about Parmalee a lot, I'm really digging his potential as a solid bat for this team. I'm less thrilled with his answers on the middle infield and what he was looking for in a starter. If you want an explanation for why we landed Pelfrey and Correia over the other options available, it's clear that they wanted durability over talent. Which is a huge part of the organizational problem.

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Do you mean the fact that they value durability over talent is a huge problem?

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Originally Posted by John Bonnes

There's lots of good stuff in this interview. It's more extensive than most. Brian Murphy asks specifically about the rotation, defense, middle infield, Harden, Parmelee, Garendhire and a lot more. I'm not sure what to make of Morneau, but Ryan didn't go out of his way to say he would keep him....



Twins' Terry Ryan Q&A: Ron Gardenhire, Justin Morneau still in Minnesota's plans - TwinCities.com

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I probably read too much into things, but Ryan's focus on Morneau driving in runs does not do much to persuade me they've moved beyond antiquated stats.

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Originally Posted by Alex

I probably read too much into things, but Ryan's focus on Morneau driving in runs does not do much to persuade me they've moved beyond antiquated stats.

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I think you're at risk of turning stats-speak orthodoxy into a shibboleth.

It was about as casual a mention of what Morneau offers a lineup as a GM could possibly muster. Moreover, it answers the specific question about Morneau's longterm future in Minnesota because it affirms his value to the team. RBI aren't a good way to measure an individual player's value, but whenever the next competitive Twins team takes the field they will assuredly need runs to be driven in. More simply put, he's talking about driving in runs as an ends and not a means. This isn't Tony Batista* here. Morneau was a 5 win player went he went down mid-season in 2010. I think Terry Ryan is aware of what makes Justin Morneau a good hitter.

*see what I did there. it's a defense of the conversation whilst acknowledging that the organization has run in some screwy ways before. if you want to beef with acquisitions, go right ahead. but "drive in runs" is a perfectly valid, if slightly lazy shorthand for describing how somebody can benefit a team offensively.

If I wanted to trade a guy and keep his value high, I would say that he is "an integral part of this team", "would love to sign him long term", "he is a clubhouse leader" and all those kind of cliches that Ryan is saying about Morneau.

Plus, I would not take Ryan's word as a gospel. This is the guy who said "no more scholarships" from one side of his mouth and handed Butera one from the other side of his mouth. And this is the guy who said that his goal for the 2013 Twins is to compete (in the same article) "we're going to go into this season looking to compete"

Huge grain of salt...

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Originally Posted by Alex

I probably read too much into things, but Ryan's focus on Morneau driving in runs does not do much to persuade me they've moved beyond antiquated stats.

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Despite all of the advanced stats to describe individual performances, it is still a team game. Players have roles. Morneau's role is to drive in runs. If he does that, all the rest of the statistics you want to hear will happen.

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Originally Posted by thrylos98

I
Plus, I would not take Ryan's word as a gospel. This is the guy who said "no more scholarships" from one side of his mouth and handed Butera one from the other side of his mouth. And this is the guy who said that his goal for the 2013 Twins is to compete (in the same article) "we're going to go into this season looking to compete"

Huge grain of salt...

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You might want to remember who said

We're away from the scholarships," manager Ron Gardenhire said Friday. "No more scholarships becausehttp://extras.mnginteractive.com/liv...hesmug_300.jpgMinnesota Twins infielder Luke Hughes on Friday, March 2, 2012, at spring training in Florida. (Pioneer Press: John Shipley)


we don't have anybody else. You earn it or you don't earn it. Scholarship program's out."

the quote first of all.












Then you might want to remember that it was about staying on the big league club, not the contract itself.

Reusse: How far will Terry Ryan take no-scholarship approach? - Minnesota Twins news | 1500 ESPN Twin Cities ? Minnesota Sports News & Opinion (Twins, Vikings, Wolves, Wild, Gophers) | Sportswire: Minnesota Twins

1st paragraph of both

Drew Butera loses his scholarship as Twins set Opening Day roster » AaronGleeman.com » Aaron Gleeman's Baseball and Minnesota Twins Blog

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Originally Posted by John Bonnes

There's lots of good stuff in this interview. It's more extensive than most. Brian Murphy asks specifically about the rotation, defense, middle infield, Harden, Parmelee, Garendhire and a lot more. I'm not sure what to make of Morneau, but Ryan didn't go out of his way to say he would keep him....



Twins' Terry Ryan Q&A: Ron Gardenhire, Justin Morneau still in Minnesota's plans - TwinCities.com

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the key phrase is ideal situation = if he is back to his old self , MVP form and accepts a very team friendly lowball contract.....

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Originally Posted by ThePuck

Reusse: How far will Terry Ryan take no-scholarship approach? - Minnesota Twins news | 1500 ESPN Twin Cities ? Minnesota Sports News & Opinion (Twins, Vikings, Wolves, Wild, Gophers) | Sportswire: Minnesota Twins

1st paragraph of both

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It seems to me that his scholarship was renewed very soon after that article was published and has been fully renewed this year with an even higher stipend.

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Originally Posted by Kwak

It seems to me that his scholarship was renewed very soon after that article was published and has been fully renewed this year with an even higher stipend.

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Well, there's that point for sure...and the point that he talked about scholarships as well. Not just Gardy.

People seriously need to get over the Butera/Scholarship thing. Once Butera was promoted, Mauer and Doumit could play every day and Butera played a good role as the backup catcher who rarely played.

As for Morneau, I think they would have dealt him last year if they had been offered anything for him. I definitely have no problem with keeping him around long-term if he looks like he can get back to nearly his old self and is willing to sign for less. I love when great players stay on one team their whole career. But the money will be the key. Also, if they don't get offered anything for him, makes no sense.

As for Willingham, same thing. He's due $7 million each of the next two years. That's very fair. If other teams don't offer something of value for him, might as well keep a productive middle-of-the-order bat.

Also, we all know that RBI are a little over-valued, but as others have said, when there are runners in scoring position, it's a good thing to knock them in.

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Originally Posted by Seth Stohs

People seriously need to get over the Butera/Scholarship thing. Once Butera was promoted, Mauer and Doumit could play every day and Butera played a good role as the backup catcher who rarely played.

As for Morneau, I think they would have dealt him last year if they had been offered anything for him. I definitely have no problem with keeping him around long-term if he looks like he can get back to nearly his old self and is willing to sign for less. I love when great players stay on one team their whole career. But the money will be the key. Also, if they don't get offered anything for him, makes no sense.

As for Willingham, same thing. He's due $7 million each of the next two years. That's very fair. If other teams don't offer something of value for him, might as well keep a productive middle-of-the-order bat.

Also, we all know that RBI are a little over-valued, but as others have said, when there are runners in scoring position, it's a good thing to knock them in.

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I don't get the love for something like Morneau's RBI total when there is a complete disregard for a two hole hitter that can OBP north of something like .300. It's mind boggling. But I digress.

Durability is certainly important. It is largely what put Blyleven in the Hall of Fame. He hardly ever went to the All Star game, never came close to a Cy Young, only won 20 games once during an era when there were many 20 game winners a year. Certainly, the strikeouts and shutouts were important, but equally talented comptemporaries didn't make the Hall because they weren't as durable as Blyleven.

Now, we aren't taking about Blylevens here, but if Ryan believes Corriea and Pelfrey are likely to be more durable than roughly equilivent, equally available, and similarily affordable options, then yes, it made sense to target them. The real problem for us, is we don't really know who was really available to the Twins. We also don't necessarilly agree on roughly equilivent, and probably don't care about affordable. It is also true that likely more durable, doesn't mean will be more durable.

I would argue IP is the single most important stat for a starting pitcher. By far.

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Originally Posted by drjim

I would argue IP is the single most important stat for a starting pitcher. By far.

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As would be minutes played for basketball players and plays in for football players?
(all 3 manager's/coach's choice stats...)

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Originally Posted by drjim

I would argue IP is the single most important stat for a starting pitcher. By far.

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what?

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Originally Posted by drjim

I would argue IP is the single most important stat for a starting pitcher. By far.

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Ok, argue away, I'm very interested.