Blunt Talk from Ownership

[TheLeviathan]

Sure, but to what effect? I think you'd expect that given the differences in their roles.

 

I would suggest that neither role warrants public humiliation of young players.

[jokin]

One key difference is Antony called out specific players, Pohlad was taking generally about the team. I think that distinction is pretty important.

 

As it should be. I doubt Pohlad is going to go full-Steinbrenner any time soon, but this recent interview is reminiscent of his tough talk and honest self-assessment last September. And the timing of the contents in this interview is interesting, seemingly, in terms of PR, the club should be slapping itself on the back and basking in the after-glow of the All Star Game successes both on the field and off. That Pohlad is willing to dish out a new round of tough talk at this point in time indicates to me that more significant changes are coming- up to and including, personnel moves going into the upcoming deadline, and then out to the next 120 days.

[jokin]

I would suggest that neither role warrants public humiliation of young players.

 

Consider the source on that one, a true novice in the acting GM role, demonstrating that he was in over his head.

[ashbury]

Hard to see how spending another $30M the last couple of years would have made this team competitive...

 

Moderator's note: threads that get sidetracked into re-hashing the Bill Smith situation have not trended toward excellence, and we should stick to the topic here.

[DaveW]

Pohlad was taking generally about the team. I think that distinction is pretty important.

 

Because he likely doesn't even watch the team, just another bad owner in the sad history of Minnesota sports owners. If he wanted to "fix" this team he should have figured this out years ago.

 

Norm Green the scum bag who couldn't keep it in his pants and moved the Wild from the State of Hockey!

Calvin Griffin the racist.

Carl Pohlad the man who tried to rob the city of Minnesota from its team. (But a better man by comparison as he was a WWII vet and never a criminal)

Ziggy Wilf- Crook, should be doing 15 years for fraud/Racketeering.

[ND_TROOPER_GUY]

 

What are your reactions to these comments? Is Jim Pohlad just worn out from three years of losing and the cynicism shown through or is this just the kind of straight-forward, realistic talk many of us would like to see more of?

 

Typical passive aggressive MN talk. I'd almost prefer this talk versus most standard drivel that usually comes out.

 

 

On a side note how do you guys feel about Gardy's post game pressers? Open enough? To me he is almost Bill Belichekequske at times.

[TheLeviathan]

Because he likely doesn't even watch the team, just another bad owner in the sad history of Minnesota sports owners. I

 

Is that why we have the same leadership for the last 20 years? Indifference? Not a ringing endorsement of Ryan and Gardy then. Plus I'm not sure bashing the owners personally here is constructive for any sort of dialogue.

[Boom Boom]

After hearing Dozier and Perkins recently talk about how the Twins are much improved and have a real shot, it's a splash of cold water in the face. Kind of refreshing.

[jay]

Moderator's note: threads that get sidetracked into re-hashing the Bill Smith situation have not trended toward excellence, and we should stick to the topic here.

 

Yeah, agreed. Sorry I took a nibble at the bait. The shiny spinner was so shiny.

[jay]

I would suggest that neither role warrants public humiliation of young players.

 

We must have different definitions of humiliation. If the owner can talk about the team, I don't see why the GM can't talk about players when warranted. Otherwise, it's just more generalities without specific, individual accountability. That shouldn't be limited to the players and includes the rest of the staff... however, any staff statements need to be a multiple more cautious given how easy it is to start the "fire X" talk.

[TheLeviathan]

We must have different definitions of humiliation. If the owner can talk about the team, I don't see why the GM can't talk about players when warranted. Otherwise, it's just more generalities without specific, individual accountability. That shouldn't be limited to the players and includes the rest of the staff... however, any staff statements need to be a multiple more cautious given how easy it is to start the "fire X" talk.

 

Airing dirty laundry in public, especially about young players, has zero gain. It literally does nothing to help what really matters. Just like in any other area of management, those things are not handled well through public shaming.

[DuluthFan]

On prospects:

We’ve been doing this for 30 years now. And a player who is not here yet is not yet a player,”

 

 

 

 

 

He is probably sick and tired of all of the questions asking when so and so will be up with the major league team.

 

I'm sick of reading about it myself.

[S.]

Talk is cheap. The FO and ownership have said all sorts of things over the last few miserable years, but it doesn't mean a damn thing to me if they're not going to make a whole lot of significant changes.

[drjim]

This I can agree with talk is cheap, talk about trying the old, any chance Andy McPhail would come in and take over as team president from Dave St Peter, hire a new GM and have Tom Kelly do the one year interim manager thing to mentor Molitor or is there zero chance of any of this happening. Would be nice to get a baseball guy in the Presidents chair again.

 

I think you don't quite understand the role of Dave St. Peter in this front office. He has nothing to do with Terry Ryan having a job and he has nothing to do with baseball decisions.

[bird]

Very interesting that Miller's piece and Souhan's column were published on the same day.

 

Just how tired is Jim Pohlad of what's been happening? Is he willing to make major changes in the old boys network that has dominated this organization?

 

Is the way they've been doing for 30 years working?

 

While I get and respect the sentiment about the need for wholesale changes in the front office and field staff, I do think it's a bit of a mischaracterization to suggest the Twins have had this 30-year suffocation at the hands of a dominant few, ownership aside.

 

Jim Pohlad is a pretty matter-of-fact guy, and these comments merely reflect a certain resolve. He grew up career-wise in a culture that values long-term thinking, values financial results, and also values its good people. So I'd call it resolve, not impatience, and his comments are a reminder that the financial model for the baseball business has improved dramatically and the W-L record and World Series contention are the ultimate goals.

 

I hope he speaks out with this kind of bluntness more often. It helps dispel the notions out there that they don't care about anything other than their own pocketbooks.

[bird]

I agree nothing much is going to change. They have their approach and will stick with it. JP and TR are like minded. Fiscally responsible, they value performance for certain dollar amount, they make sure things are profitable and they are patient in their approach. TR will retire about the time the new stars are ready to get their big contracts.

 

I'd submit that things in fact have been changing in response to the improved economics, but we haven't seen it reflected in the W-L column. They're building this for "sustainable" success, IMO. It's taking time.

[bird]

I would suggest that neither role warrants public humiliation of young players.

 

Again, Levi, not everyone believes that a player was publicly humiliated.

[bird]

Airing dirty laundry in public, especially about young players, has zero gain. It literally does nothing to help what really matters. Just like in any other area of management, those things are not handled well through public shaming.

 

Again, Levi, after reading those comments over and over, I for one detected no dirty laundry and absolutely no public shaming there.

[JB_Iowa]

Jim Pohlad is a pretty matter-of-fact guy, and these comments merely reflect a certain resolve. He grew up career-wise in a culture that values long-term thinking, values financial results, and also values its good people. So I'd call it resolve, not impatience, and his comments are a reminder that the financial model for the baseball business has improved dramatically and the W-L record and World Series contention are the ultimate goals.

 

Question: In Jim Pohlad's other business ventures, do they only promote from within, never bringing in talent from the outside in the upper ends of the companies?

 

Because that is what it appears has happened with the baseball operations of the Twins. (I will not say that about the non-baseball side of the organization because there do appear to be some hires at mid-to high levels there).

 

But on the baseball side, what we see is constant promotion from within. They did bring Wayne Krivsky in but again, that was a retread. Even with the few coaching changes, they brought in people with long histories with the organization.

 

That is my primary complaint and the reason I think wholesale changes are needed now. They became mired in the same old, same old. That doesn't mean that they didn't grow in their jobs but it is not the same thing as having new talent brought in at a high enough level that they might challenge some of the team's continuing practices.

 

Fresh eyes, ears, and thought are desperately needed in the baseball side of the operations. And it has stagnated so much that I think it needs a major overhaul. That might not have been necessary had they refreshed the stagnant pool over time but they didn't do that. Now it smells like a dead pool that never gets any inflow.

[TheLeviathan]

Again, Levi, not everyone believes that a player was publicly humiliated.

 

Antony most definitely humiliated some people publicly. Those conversations should happen in private, never a public accosting of a player by the GM.

 

I'm glad Jim Pohlad chose not to do it. Too many GMs do this around the league and it's dumb. That includes the Twins when they do it.

[Kwak]

Some of this mindset is shown in the inordinate number of players that have "a Minnesota connection". I suspect when one changes, so will the other.

[Thrylos]

What are your reactions to these comments? Is Jim Pohlad just worn out from three years of losing and the cynicism shown through or is this just the kind of straight-forward, realistic talk many of us would like to see more of?

 

My reaction to these comments is shrugs. I'd rather see action and accountability, and Pohlad has refused to do so the last few seasons...

[Thrylos]

May in AAA to start the season.

 

He will be running out of options quickly...

[drjim]

Some of this mindset is shown in the inordinate number of players that have "a Minnesota connection". I suspect when one changes, so will the other.

 

I doubt it. Smart marketing for a team like the Twins. Shouldn't sacrifice talent, but all things being relatively equal, makes sense to go with the Minnesota guy. It's not like people in the Twins front office are necessarily Minnesota lifers.

[drjim]

He will be running out of options quickly...

 

Luckily he has three.

[Oxtung]

If they both came up today they wouldn't technically be rookies but I would consider them so for the point I am making. It puts excessive strain on a staff to have two guys without the innings built up in the same rotation to start the year. It is not about performance per se, but consistent ability to go 5-6 innings for 30+ starts, 180+ innings. That is really hard to do.

 

Keep May in AAA, Pelfrey in bullpen, and Berrios close to ready in AA, and you are talking about legitimate quality depth to start the season.

 

Do that, add a bat or two, have a prospect or two emerge and you are on to something.

 

A slight quibble with your larger view. Trevor May will be on his last option next year so I think it would behoove the Twins to start with him in the rotation instead of Meyer (if it comes down to the two of them.) In addition May has gone 150 IP for 3 straight years and is well on his way to his fourth this season. If you're worried about durability and the bullpen he seems the better option at this point.

[drjim]

A slight quibble with your larger view. Trevor May will be on his last option next year so I think it would behoove the Twins to start with him in the rotation instead of Meyer (if it comes down to the two of them.) In addition May has gone 150 IP for 3 straight years and is well on his way to his fourth this season. If you're worried about durability and the bullpen he seems the better option at this point.

 

Fair enough and that may be how it shakes out. I suspect the next couple of months will tell us more on how this ultimately plays out. It might very well be Meyer in the minors to start just to keep innings down next season, but my prediction counted on talent winning out in the spring. I see May as number 4 type ultimately, maybe a 3 if everything breaks right, perfect type of player to start as depth guy.

[diehardtwinsfan]

I'd submit that things in fact have been changing in response to the improved economics, but we haven't seen it reflected in the W-L column. They're building this for "sustainable" success, IMO. It's taking time.

 

I'm not sure I agree with you on the airing dirty laundry stance, as I think Levi is right here, but in all, this I think is dead on accurate. The W-L column has improved, just not at the rate that most of us would like, but they are building a very strong farm that should allow for some pretty good baseball the second half of this decade. Couple that with an aging Detroit, poor management in KC, and lousy farms in Detroit, Cleveland, and Chicago, I think the central is going to be pretty ripe for the taking for a while.

[Lakeside]

Question: In Jim Pohlad's other business ventures, do they only promote from within, never bringing in talent from the outside in the upper ends of the companies?

 

Because that is what it appears has happened with the baseball operations of the Twins. (I will not say that about the non-baseball side of the organization because there do appear to be some hires at mid-to high levels there).

 

But on the baseball side, what we see is constant promotion from within. They did bring Wayne Krivsky in but again, that was a retread. Even with the few coaching changes, they brought in people with long histories with the organization.

 

That is my primary complaint and the reason I think wholesale changes are needed now. They became mired in the same old, same old. That doesn't mean that they didn't grow in their jobs but it is not the same thing as having new talent brought in at a high enough level that they might challenge some of the team's continuing practices.

 

Fresh eyes, ears, and thought are desperately needed in the baseball side of the operations. And it has stagnated so much that I think it needs a major overhaul. That might not have been necessary had they refreshed the stagnant pool over time but they didn't do that. Now it smells like a dead pool that never gets any inflow.

 

I'm going from memory here, but I think, over the years since the Pohlads bought the team, the Presidents of the organization were from different businesses with the first baseball grown President being Dave St. Peter.

 

Jerry Bell was the first President/COO of Twins Baseball, Inc. when the Pohlads bought the team in '84 and served until, I think, Chris Clouser was brought in as COO. . I think Clouser came from Burger King??, and then Kevin Cattoor was brought in frrom Television,MSC/Fox Sports, in about 2000. I'm guessing that St. Peter took over in about 2003. . . .maybe it is time for a change.

 

In my old roll-o-dex of baseball contacts I have Dave St. Peter's card listing him as Director of Communications.

 

Was Andy McPhail, Terry Ryan, or Bill Smith ever anything more than Baseball GM.

 

Personally, I like Pohlad's blunt talk. . .as a baseball fan baseball is always an "optimistic" pastime to watch. . . Spring comes every year. . . I discovered Twins Daily this year during Spring Training and now it is a daily read along with MILB.com . . . . I've posted a few times when I beleive that I have knowledge that might be insightful. . . .one thing I've noticed on these posts is, in general, how optimistic the posters are aout, what I would call, the so call "ease" of advancing thru the minors to to MLB. Jim Pohlad is right when he says, "They are not players until they are here" (Paraphrase)

[JB_Iowa]

I'm going from memory here, but I think, over the years since the Pohlads bought the team, the Presidents of the organization were from different businesses with the first baseball grown President being Dave St. Peter.

 

Perhaps I wasn't clear enough here. I acknowledged that on the non-baseball side of the organization, there has been some outside talent brought in. I'm not going to look at it now but I have looked in the past and I think they did bring in some people at fairly high levels when you look at the names on the roster in "administration".

 

http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/team/front_office.jsp?c_id=min

 

 

What concerns me most is that when you look at the names in "baseball operations", they were almost all hired as interns or scouts and then moved up.

 

That's where I feel like an injection of fresh talent and ideas are needed. Not necessarily to change everything but to allow for meaningful re-thinking and updating of the organization's strategies.