Want to ask Twins President Dave St. Peter a question?

[Parker Hageman]

Do you have a question for Twins President Dave St. Peter that you have wanted answered? A topic he should address? Now is your opportunity.

 

 

Twins Daily and the No Juice Podcast will be hosting St. Peter in a special video Q & A session at the Excelsior Brewing Co.'s Taproom on Tuesday, October 21^st. Submit your question in this thread below and it could be answered by the team’s president. 

 

 

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[drjim]

Does this mean we have to actually listen to the podcast to get the answers?

[Parker Hageman]

Does this mean we have to actually listen to the podcast to get the answers?

 

 

Diabolical, I know.

 

But no, it will be a video that will be posted at Twins Daily. You will have to watch him for the answers. We will do a 10-15 minute interview with him on the podcast that you don't HAVE TO listen to (BUT SHOULD BECAUSE IT IS AWESOME).

[Otto von Ballpark]

ashburyjohn's questions from a recent post:

http://twinsdaily.com/topic/15654-souhan-postseason-rewards-brains-over-bucks/page-2?do=findComment&comment=288230

 

• Does "gross revenue" mean what normal people think it means, e.g. the numbers we see in the Forbes reports on MLB, or are they using some standard accepted accounting practice, e.g. major things like repayment of the TF loans comes off the top and "gross" is smaller?
• Does "player payroll" include only the major league totals we see in the neighborhood of $85M lately, or does it include other things such as minor leaguers, meal money, and other expenses?
• We've heard "roughly half" defined more like 52%, but do they consider 40% to be "roughly"?

[ashbury]

Came here to say that.  Well stated, spycake.

[big dog]

The front office must get frequent reports from the minor leagues.  Which players over the last 5-7 years have performed better in the majors than you expected, given those reports?

 

Restricting your comment to other teams- what teams made the best trades during the 2014 season?  You can define best however you think is appropriate- short-term, long-term, whatever.

[jay]

Came here to say that.  Well stated, spycake.

 

As was I!

 

I'd add a few more:

 

Have the Twins ever exceeded the 50-52% of revenues for payroll guideline in the last 15 years?

 

Roughly where do the Twins rank among other MLB teams in their ability to generate revenue?  How different would this be without Target Field?

[zenser]

What does lower attendance mean to both you and the rest of the front office?

 

Do you feel the front office along with Terry Ryan and given Gardy and the next field manager enough major league talent to win?

 

How is the front office better prepared to put a better product on the field?

[Otto von Ballpark]

Does "player payroll" include only the major league totals we see in the neighborhood of $85M lately, or does it include other things such as minor leaguers, meal money, and other expenses?

I should have amended this question to include "draft/international signing bonuses" (and prioritize/emphasize it) among the "other things" list.

[Boom Boom]

What new food items will be at Target Field in 2015?

 

...you know, that just sounds like a stupid question as I'm saying it.

 

How about, if the 2014 payroll was enough to compete, how much lower could it get and still be considered competitive?  Where is the "floor" payroll for a competitive team?

[Otto von Ballpark]

What about on demand content or streaming replays for those of us that do not want to watch FSN replays or the condensed version, or even do not have DVR?

Are they going to be doing anything with a mobile application for purchasing tickets and being able to have the ticket scanned off your phone or does that already exist?

Here are some answers, as I know them:

 

MLB.TV features archived full game replays as well as condensed versions.  It requires a subscription, but these are not blacked out, only the live video is.

 

And if you buy tickets from the Twins, you have the option to scan the ticket off your phone at Target Field.  (Also for some tickets bought from StubHub.)

[Mike Sixel]

Why do you keep going on Twitter and saying stuff like "we plan to be competitive in September", and "why does anyone care who our 25th man is"? It's almost like you think fans aren't all that bright.

[jharaldson]

There seems to be a disconnect between the front office and the fans regarding payroll.  Why do you think this is?  Are there things you feel you can do to correct this?

 

What is the Twins position on speed of game?  Is there any part of in stadium sales that would be negatively affected by a shorter game?

 

You posed a question on Twitter last spring asking why everyone was so caught up in who the 25th player on the roster was going to be (Bartlett).  Do you regret that Tweet and do you think in 2015 more care will be had with all roster spots?

 

How do you feel the Twins as an organization are doing in regards to diversity?  Do you feel that you have a diverse front office and on the field staff (Minors and Majors) or is this something you want to improve on?  

[drjim]

I have two:

 

-why is it so difficult to sit in my house in St. Paul and have a clear K-TWIN signal?

 

-any chance I will be able to watch a Twins game at home without purchasing cable, ie through internet streaming that isn't blacked out? I'll even pay!

[nicksaviking]

Ha, you might want to scrap this whole interview.  I don't think you're going to get many questions from the peanut gallery that won't make both you and St. Peter feel unbearably uncomfortable!

 

My question: Why don't you tie the TF beer prices directly to the winning percentage.  I'll gladly pay $7.50 if the winning percentage is the same, and you'd likely have sellouts when the team's record is 20 and 35 ($3.63 beer night!)

[Mike Sixel]

I typed mine as nicely as I could. 

[jay]

It would be hilarious to let mike do the interview...

 

I'm not sure who would get frustrated and walk away first, but it'd be fun to find out.

[Mike Sixel]

I view this site as a bunch of people sitting in a coffee shop or bar, not as a place for super rigorous debate, or even polite conversation. I would be more, I am not sure what the phrase is, but polite is close, if we were in person. I know not everyone treats the site this way. I am actually fairly rational, this I s one of my escapes from that side of me.

[jharaldson]

I typed mine as nicely as I could. 

 

Ha!  I didn't notice I basically asked your question but did it in corporate speak ;-)

[ashbury]

not... even polite conversation.

Moderator's Note: <clears throat>

[Mike Sixel]

It would be hilarious to let mike do the interview...

 

I'm not sure who would get frustrated and walk away first, but it'd be fun to find out.

 

Is there free beer? I'd do it for free beer. though, admittedly, Excelsior beer is genuinely not all that flavorful.......

[Mike Sixel]

Ha!  I didn't notice I basically asked your question but did it in corporate speak ;-)

 

your's was much better. If you are 21, you should ask to get the free beer....

[Steven Buhr]

Honestly, I think any question regarding the product on the field is almost a waste of time to ask the Twins President. I'm not sure what his day-to-day duties are, but my sense is that very few of them have to do with the game of baseball. I even take his comments regarding payroll with a grain of salt. I would bet Terry Ryan's discussions about what he can spend for a FA he's identified as potentially helpful are held directly with Jim Pohlad.

 

I see St. Peter's role as being more related to the fan experience side of the business. That would include fan experience at Target Field as well as through all of the various media avenues.

 

That being the case, I would ask St. Peter the same question at every opportunity, every year (in the hopes of someday getting a different answer): Will my fellow Twins fans in Iowa and I be able to watch Twins games on MLB.tv without interference from the blackout rules next season?

 

An AP article picked up by the Strib in August (link below) appears to give some limited hope, perhaps, but since I'm now so pessimistic about it, I'll never believe things will change until I see it. I would, however, be interested in whether he could (or would) provide an update on the issue.

 

http://m.startribune.com/lifestyle/272038821.html

[Mike Sixel]

SD, that's a great question. I can already hear St. Peter kicking the ball to MLB though, and saying it is out of his hands.....

 

what I'd like to hear is that they will push to change the rules. I'm not holding my breath, though.

[big dog]

Yeah, after reading the other questions I'll withdraw my question about the best trade and replace it with this:

 

Are you aware just how badly KTWIN sucks?  And by "sucks", I mean "can't be heard more than 200 yards from the transmitter"?  You know that, right?  So why do you put up with it?  Really, why?  Because it sucks.

 

OK, that's all.

[TheLeviathan]

I have so many ideas and I feel like all of them would be a waste of time to ask.

[Seth Stohs]

Diabolical, I know.

 

But no, it will be a video that will be posted at Twins Daily. You will have to watch him for the answers. We will do a 10-15 minute interview with him on the podcast that you don't HAVE TO listen to (BUT SHOULD BECAUSE IT IS AWESOME).

 

Second best Twins podcast out there!! Tied for second with the Talk to Contact guys, I  mean. I hear that Twins Hangouts podcast is the best... 

[Seth Stohs]

Honestly, I think any question regarding the product on the field is almost a waste of time to ask the Twins President. I'm not sure what his day-to-day duties are, but my sense is that very few of them have to do with the game of baseball. I even take his comments regarding payroll with a grain of salt. I would bet Terry Ryan's discussions about what he can spend for a FA he's identified as potentially helpful are held directly with Jim Pohlad.

 

I see St. Peter's role as being more related to the fan experience side of the business. That would include fan experience at Target Field as well as through all of the various media avenues.

 

Very true. He should have pretty much nothing to do with player decisions other than maybe signing off. He can help set the budget for Ryan to work under, but he shouldn't know much about the personnel side. And, neither should the owner.

[Parker Hageman]

I have so many ideas and I feel like all of them would be a waste of time to ask.

 

 

You miss on 100% of the shots you do not take. 

[TheLeviathan]

You miss on 100% of the shots you do not take. 

 

Oh I know....but I think part of me doesn't want to hear what I expect the answers would be either.  I'm hoping the payroll questions by spycake have some direct answers.  I'll throw what hope I have behind those.