Terry Ryan PMKI in the SABR

[Riverbrian]

Wow, RiverBrian, you're right...it is easy to slander somebody...

I just spit out my Grape Soda laughing. Plus One for you

[Dilligaf69]

I don't know what Terry Ryan knows or wants to know or doesn't know about math or statistics. (I would suspect that is also true of almost everyone posting here.) I do know that anyone with sense can realize that the first quote has virtually nothing to do with Terry Ryan and almost everything to do with his audience and the forum in which it was said.

 

Yeah i judt think was kind of playing the room and poking fun at himself... you guys really think he would admit to all that in a public setting like that. I'm sure if we actually heard the soundbyte and the inflection or sarcasm in his voice most would have a different view, but again we all seem to take things so lterally and jump to baseless conclusions. Reminds me of rube chat and that's not a good thing.

[Dilligaf69]

Gardy deserves some blame, but bad luck, bad matchups (seriously, the Twins matched up terribly against the Yankees those years) and the players (see Hunter's mistake, hitting disappearing) share equal blame.

Yeah the offense absolutely disapeared on '06' they were superior to the A's. A CY, MVP and batting champ and you get swept by the Oakland freakin A's!!! UGHHH! and yes Hunters misplay turned the series. Was'nt that the inning after the back to back HR's by the M&M boys that tied the score??

[Dilligaf69]

And I find it VERY hard to blame Gardy or most managers in baseball it's the one sport IMO that coaching really is not all that necessary. If you look around the league most managers manage the same way. Staters for 6 hopefully 7 innings..bullpen..closer. Not rocket science to write out a lineup card and every manager not just Gardy doesn't always have their A lineup every day whether it be days off, injuries etc.. of course there are teams like the Yanks that always have deep rosters but really they stand on the step and watch the games for the most part. Mngrs simply are not as involved as other sports. How many skippers have the Royals and Rockies and some other teams gone thru over the yrs?? and look where they are most every yr. managing is SO overrated..again JMHO!

[jctwins]

Why the hell would Ryan want to keep this job? Crappy hours, away from his family that he was just spending time with again, and an organization that's a mess. This will be a one, MAYBE two year deal, and he'll be back in retirement.

 

Does a GM get the MLB pension?

[Nick Nelson]

Hey, Terry Ryan spoke publicly! Another opportunity to demand his resignation!

 

They should have Ben Affleck play thrylos in a skit. http://www.hulu.com/watch/42024

[Vervehound]

Why the hell would Ryan want to keep this job? Crappy hours, away from his family that he was just spending time with again, and an organization that's a mess. This will be a one, MAYBE two year deal, and he'll be back in retirement.

 

Does a GM get the MLB pension?

considering they're not part of the players union...no.

[jctwins]

considering they're not part of the players union...no.

are the managers and coaches in the players union? They get a pension based on years of service.

[bird]

Ryan's comments reveal his humility, and his willingness to be self-deprecating and to admit faults. Thrylos, you could learn a lot from this man. He may lack "education", and some of you may be smarter, but his sensibility is admirable. And what an idiotic notion, MWW, that this organization resists "math and science". What they reject is the pompous attitude of superiority some of you possess, thinking that your spreadsheets and numbers present the picture.

 

My bet is that every single one of you numbers snoots were crucifying the Twins for trading away Billy Bullock, who threw 94, for Diamong, who threw 90. Every one of you. Guess what? You were wrong once again. The dinosaurs, despite their stupidity and backwardness, were right once more.

[Riverbrian]

Ryan's comments reveal his humility, and his willingness to be self-deprecating and to admit faults. Thrylos, you could learn a lot from this man. He may lack "education", and some of you may be smarter, but his sensibility is admirable. And what an idiotic notion, MWW, that this organization resists "math and science". What they reject is the pompous attitude of superiority some of you possess, thinking that your spreadsheets and numbers present the picture.

 

My bet is that every single one of you numbers snoots were crucifying the Twins for trading away Billy Bullock, who threw 94, for Diamong, who threw 90. Every one of you. Guess what? You were wrong once again. The dinosaurs, despite their stupidity and backwardness, were right once more.

Recognition of failure in something is the first step in correcting it. If a man steps up to the mic and takes responsibility for something that isn't working right. That's a Man.

 

All in all, any comments he made have nothing to do with his ability to lead this organization.

 

The product on the field will be what he is ultimately judged on... Not his methods. He took over a squad in a hole. Let's see if the squad gets out of the hole. I think it's reasonable to think that it will take longer than the end of June.

[Fire Dan Gladden]

Gems from Rob Neyer's twitter covering Ryans' speech. Actual quotes:

 

"I don't have the education. I don't have the intellect. I don't have the computer skills."

 

Ryan says Twins have struggled in Dominican Republic, and that it's his fault

 

"I haven't fixed a thing. We're exactly where we were last year."

 

This indicates to me that it is about time for the interim to resign and the Twins to actually get a GM who has the intellect, education and skills, to clear house on the organization from the top to the bottom and have this team compete in the 21st century.

 

About freaking time...

I think it's interesting that people automatically dismiss Terry Ryan for not completely following sabermetrics. I believe GMs did quite alright for decades without them. Seems to me there should be room for both rules of thought. Also, it seemed to work pretty well over the last decade. Just sayin...

 

Also, shame on Thrylos for taking sentences out of context and spinning them to make a point. Here let me try this for you Thrylos:

 

This indicates to me that... the... Twins... GM... has the intellect, education and skills, to...have this team compete in the 21st century.

 

Looks pretty good when I pluck and choose, eh?

[Boom Boom]

I was talking about this with the SABR guys last night.

 

As someone who was out of the organization but has a few contacts within it, and after seeing the ways Ryan has done things since becoming GM, I'm solidly in the camp that believes Ryan wasn't very influential - or even checked in - during the Smith regime.

 

Good leaders, when they turn over the reins but "stick around" do their utmost to NOT influence their successors - to give them a wide range and be as "absent" as possible. The new guy can't lead if everyone is still following the old guy. Ryan was, I think, a specialized scout (his true love) but one that didn't want to travel as much as a head scout might. And if he was in meetings where a big decision was made, I have to think he would consciously be the QUIETEST voice.

 

When Smith was running the show, if you heard grumbling going on in the organization, Ryan was never mentioned. Smith was running that show. And if you recall, when Ryan was named GM, he didn't even know what the budget was going to be - and that was a month into the offseason. Someone who is plugged into the organization's decisions has to know that stuff.

 

So I am very limited in directing blame towards Ryan for moves during the Smith regime.

You're not wrong. But Smith didn't start with a clean slate. Ryan left him in a difficult position from the beginning.

 

Also, I think Smith takes too much heat. He didn't single-handedly drive this organization into the ground. I mentioned a couple moves Smith made that were pretty good - how about trading Bullock for Diamond? What about signing Miguel Sano?

 

My whole point wasn't to blame Ryan for everything, but the Twins are bad because of an organizational failure, not because of one bad GM's failure. There is plenty of blame to go around and it started during the first Ryan regime.

[old nurse]

My whole point wasn't to blame Ryan for everything, but the Twins are bad because of an organizational failure, not because of one bad GM's failure. There is plenty of blame to go around and it started during the first Ryan regime.

 

The mistake of Ryan was to never figure out how to draft and develop pitchers. The pitching cupboard was pretty thin for the 2007 season. The prime time to trade Santana would have been at the trade deadline. Ryan's history of getting good value for his stars would have been a much better thing for the Twins than leaving it to the inexperience of Smith.