Scoggins gets little from Jim Pohlad

[Platoon]

This in from a conversation between Scoggins and Jim Pohlad. Something tells me this was not a comfortable conversation! But it does seem to explain the lack of urgency over the last 20 years by the FO.

 

http://www.startribune.com/despite-team-s-total-system-failure-twins-owner-jim-pohlad-gives-support-to-gm-terry-ryan-manager-paul-molitor/378342011/

[USAFChief]

System failure. Nobody is to blame.

 

Not a very encouraging interview.

[glunn]

 

System failure. Nobody is to blame.

Not a very encouraging interview.

 

After reading this I wish that we had the power to put the owners on waivers.

 

On the other hand, if the reality is that Pohlad is considering replacing TR or Molitor, then an interview would not be the time or place to telegraph that. It seems to me that he needs to be publicly supportive no matter what he thinks privately.

 

"System failure" can be interpreted in many ways. I suspect that we will hear a lot of them in the balance of this thread.

[twinsnorth49]

It's the players fault?

 

Uh, Jim,....who brought in the players?

[Rosterman]

System failure?"

 

I don't really think the system, as in farm system, is really a failure. There is always a lot of talent.

 

Maybe the "system failure" is that the process of mixing raw rookies with free agents and solid veterans isn't working anymore.

 

Maybe a bit of thought has to go beyond "The Twins Way" and more into how the game is actually played these days against a variety of opponents.

 

Yes, the Twins thought they had no where to go but up after last season, where they broke the .500 mark, was in a wild card contention to the last weekend of the season, and came in second place. Whew! Sounds like a gem of a team.

 

Yet the central division which, on paper, looked to be pretty even this season...well, even though the Twins have lost a lot of close games, they dropped the ball, so to speak.

 

Bad line-up construction. No skills in generating offense or moving runners around...it is the big inning or whatever happens, or so it seems.

 

Money was spent on a rotation. Someday they might all be healthy at the same time and get us consistently into the 7th inning. Otherwise, rebuild.

 

The bullpen? Cast-offs, journeymen, stopgaps. I've seen a lot of pitchers just looking to get a couple of outs this year. A lot. 

 

I'm trying to remember who the coaches are on this team and what their duties are. Some guy at third and first who work with the infielders and outfielders. A bench guy who keeps stats. Two hitting coaches. A couple of pitchers running the throwing arms. A manager who was a great player (shades of Ted Williams).

 

Does the team have a clubhouse leader? Did they believe that they could easily do whatever they did last year, as management looks down and says "if we are at least competitive, we succeed."

 

Target Field is quite beautiful empty. You realize how insipid the music choices are, how lame some of the scoreboard antics really are, how much advertising and branding happens consistently...like look at the lights instead of what's on the field.

 

[nicksaviking]

My least favorite quote:

 

"Everybody had universally high expectations for this season relative to last season. We bought into that. I still don't see any flaw in that. It's just system failure."

 

No, just no, not everyone thought this team was as good as they produced last year. Both "baseball people" and every single analytical evaluation said that this team vastly over-achieved last year. If the entire organization went into this last off season thinking they were that good, despite mounds of evidence pointing to the contrary, everyone should be looking for new jobs. Talk about too deep into the forest to see the trees. Good lord, such short-sightedness is beyond disappointing.

[CampQ]

Total systems failure is a real '80s scifi way to put it

[Mr. Brooks]

The lack of accountability in this article was stomach turning.

 

Also, much of what Pohlad said simply did not make any sense, at least not in a logical world, maybe some parallel bizzaro world.

[Pius Jefferson]

Patrick Reusse yesterday said that it would be Bob Pohlad that would grow frustrated with things and shake things up. I hope he's accurate and I hope Jim Pohlad steps to the side to let it happen.

[clutterheart]

Our owner is a fool.

 

Fantastic!

[Reider]

I agree that spending more $ is not necessarily the solution. It's important to have the right people in place regardless of how much money is spent. The Dodgers and Yankees have the highest payrolls in baseball (last I checked anyways) and they don't win the World Series every year.

 

I also wanted to see the Twins take another step forward and make the playoffs this year. I was hoping the Twins felt the same way, but their actions or lack thereof says otherwise.

 

The Twins lost Hunter to retirement and Hicks to a trade (for a catcher). This left Rosario as the only "proven" outfielder. In the off season I felt it was really important for the Twins to sign or trade for an established outfielder (e.g. Span, who could have also been a lead off hitter, which is a spot in the line up, that has not been properly filled since he was traded away).

 

Instead, the Twins signed Park, who doesn't play outfield, moved an infielder to the outfield (Sano) and put Buxton in center field even though it was pretty clear by the end of last season that he hadn't yet established his ability to hit consistently at the MLB level.

 

Not to mention the fact that the Twins refused to improve their pitching staff.

 

I understand that it's probably not an easy thing manage a baseball team. However, I find it absolutely irresponsible for an MLB organization to put their bind faith in players based on a hope and a prayer instead of putting established talent on the field (based on the premise that the goal, as per the owner, was to take another step forward as an organization and make the playoffs.) And what I mean by that is basically what I already mentioned above:

- Moving an infielder to the outfield after such experiments have failed miserably in the past

- Put a player in center field who clearly wasn't ready to take the job

- Refusing to sign an outfielder or improve the pitching staff and believe that the young guys will just automatically move into those roles and perform adequately or better than adequate.

- I will give the Twins the benefit of the doubt on the catcher situation as there is only one Joe Mauer and he's already on the team and was moved to 1st base for a reason.

 

[TheLeviathan]

Ugh.

[Boom Boom]

The good old owner's vote of confidence.

 

In most markets that's the kiss of death.

[Ncgo4]

With the outrageous $$$ each team is taking in, "The Family" is absolutely not upset. The Twins are funding generations of trust funds. What's to be unhappy about? Only if there is a wholesale lack of fans in the stands will the family be motivated to make any real moves.

 

With cash flooding in why involve yourself in such messy things as confronting a GM or manager. Those kinds of things can be so unpleasant.

 

The good news...by Late August the team could be so far back that local sports fans might go see a much improved Gopher football team. But maybe not.

[Platoon]

This mornings Pohlad Family Memo: Attention JP. Please refrain from granting phone interviews without TR in the room. Thank you.

[Platoon]

This interview solidly confirms my long held belief that the Twins are just another business investment to them. And to an extent all major league sports team are to their owners. But a lot of owners have a pride and ego factor involved also. They want to do well, if not every year, at least often enough to strut a little at the country club! Some are even more competitive. Ziggy, whom I am no fan have, wants to win, and puts his money, and ours, where his mouth is. This will never be the case with the Pohlads. Ryan is doing what the family desires. Turn a nice safe profit yearly, run a clean operation, no love boat crap, and as a rule keep our name out of the headlines, unless it's positive. I have even pondered why Ryan stays with an outfit that puts a damper on on field success. But he seems comfortable, and doesn't seem to be an innovative ambitious person in his own right. While I admit a lot of this is speculative, and from moms basement, it's based on that old theory that the sum, often is the total of the parts!

[diehardtwinsfan]

Not sure this was ever a secret that the Twins were nothing more than a business.  Truthfully, that doesn't bother me too much...

 

System failure.... that means everything broke down.  If he's saying that (and meaning it), I wouldn't be surprised if you saw some system changes this offseason.