Reusse slams the Twins

[alarp33]

 

While I agree to a point, if a schmuck like me can look up what happens to pitchers over 30.  I would think an owner of a baseball team should know as well.

 

We will have to disagree I guess.  That is Ryan's job, I'm firmly in the camp that Ryan never should've been brought back in 2012, and really hope this is is last year here... but I still want him making personnel decisions before I want Jim Pohlad making them

[wsnydes]

 

We will have to disagree I guess.  That is Ryan's job, I'm firmly in the camp that Ryan never should've been brought back in 2012, and really hope this is is last year here... but I still want him making personnel decisions before I want Jim Pohlad making them

That is why he's paying TR in the first place after all.

[Blake]

 

I never claimed that he gained weight, only that he came in heavier than they wanted him to.  That is all.

All of this weight talk reminds me of Ray Miller. I seem to recall he was after Hrbek, and maybe a couple of others, to lose a few pounds. Even put up a weight chart and all.

[Blake]

 

He used 2011 as an example, and yeah those picks 30-55 are longer shots... but I think the last 10+ years has shown this team has drafted pretty poorly.  

 

I don't get the Kohl Stewart shot though, he's a top 100 prospect and was just drafted 3 years ago

I get the Kohl Stewart shot. The Twins took a huge chance drafting a Type 1 diabetic with their first pick. And with everything that's starting to show up with scouting/player development, it may have been an unnecessary risk coupled with a poor decision.

[alarp33]

 

I get the Kohl Stewart shot. The Twins took a huge chance drafting a Type 1 diabetic with their first pick. And with everything that's starting to show up with scouting/player development, it may have been an unnecessary risk coupled with a poor decision.

 

I'm so confused. What issues has there been with Stewart in regards to his diabetes? 

[Platoon]

I get the Kohl Stewart shot. The Twins took a huge chance drafting a Type 1 diabetic with their first pick. And with everything that's starting to show up with scouting/player development, it may have been an unnecessary risk coupled with a poor decision.

I sometimes get the idea tha Ryan wants to be the smartest man in the room. That he is going to often go against the grain simply to show that he can make a silk purse out of a sows ear.

[alarp33]

 

I sometimes get the idea tha Ryan wants to be the smartest man in the room. That he is going to often go against the grain simply to show that he can make a silk purse out of a sows ear.

 

I can't believe I'm defending Ryan, but am I remembering a different draft than everyone else? Stewart was ranked by pretty much everyone as a top pick in that draft, between 4 and 7... he was drafted 4th. How is that an example of Ryan trying to outsmart people

[Lee-The-Twins-Fan]

I think a clue to the biggest problem with this team was from May 26 – Neil Allen was arrested for DWI and suspended.

 

He may have been alone in the car (not sure) but he likely wasn't alone in the bar. 

 

I'm not saying they're drunk in the field, but the effects of alcohol are widely known. It slows your reflexes. It affects sleep. I think there may be a destructive "culture" of alcohol use by players on the team.

 

Please note the Twins' record from May 27 to now is 6-6. Yes, it's a small sample size. Maybe this incident scared a few players into straightening up. Maybe not.

 

Try this: In the past 12 games (May 27 and after) the Twins are 6-6. Those 12 games reflect 21 percent of their 58 games played so far. Yet in those 12 games, are:

 

• 30 percent of the Twins' home runs (19 vs. 64)

• 33 percent of their victories (6 out of 18)

• 15 percent of their losses (6 out of 40)

• 25 percent of runs scored (55 out of 222)

• 19 percent of runs allowed (57 out of 305)

 

It's not been a huge transformation, and certainly there are numerous other factors, but I believe alcohol use may be a contributing factor to the team's woes this year. Just surmising based on the available evidence.

 

 

[Blake]

 

I'm so confused. What issues has there been with Stewart in regards to his diabetes? 

Type 1 diabetes is incredibly hard to manage. It may not be a problem now and it may never be a problem. I just put it under the heading of unnecessary risk. Couple the risk associated with Type 1 with the Twins FO and that particular draft pick doesn't give me the warm fuzzies. Quite the opposite.

[alarp33]

 

Type 1 diabetes is incredibly hard to manage. It may not be a problem now and it may never be a problem. I just put it under the heading of unnecessary risk. Couple the risk associated with Type 1 with the Twins FO and that particular draft pick doesn't give me the warm fuzzies. Quite the opposite.

 

Seems like an odd thing to nitpick, when Stewart has not had any issues, is ranked as a top 100 prospect, and was drafted about exactly where most draft experts expected him to go. 

[Guest]

By chance yesterday my baseball savvy son and I were dissecting the Twins, and this idea/question popped into the my head. I asked him, what would the Twins team look like with a Bud Grant in his prime, or Mike Zimmer running it? I don't know if the Twins would have had a better record, but I do believe they would more likely resemble a ML team than they currently do.

Bud Grant was/is fantastic, but don't forget that he had his best success when he had a great GM, Jim Finks.

[nokomismod]

 

I think a clue to the biggest problem with this team was from May 26 – Neil Allen was arrested for DWI and suspended.

 

He may have been alone in the car (not sure) but he likely wasn't alone in the bar. 

 

I'm not saying they're drunk in the field, but the effects of alcohol are widely known. It slows your reflexes. It affects sleep. I think there may be a destructive "culture" of alcohol use by players on the team.

 

Please note the Twins' record from May 27 to now is 6-6. Yes, it's a small sample size. Maybe this incident scared a few players into straightening up. Maybe not.

 

Try this: In the past 12 games (May 27 and after) the Twins are 6-6. Those 12 games reflect 21 percent of their 58 games played so far. Yet in those 12 games, are:

 

• 30 percent of the Twins' home runs (19 vs. 64)

• 33 percent of their victories (6 out of 18)

• 15 percent of their losses (6 out of 40)

• 25 percent of runs scored (55 out of 222)

• 19 percent of runs allowed (57 out of 305)

 

It's not been a huge transformation, and certainly there are numerous other factors, but I believe alcohol use may be a contributing factor to the team's woes this year. Just surmising based on the available evidence.

Hmm that seems like a stretch to link this wretched season to players consuming too much alcohol. 

[D. Hocking]

 

Hmm that seems like a stretch to link this wretched season to players consuming too much alcohol. 

 

Although It might explain the game threads.

[Lee-The-Twins-Fan]

 

Hmm that seems like a stretch to link this wretched season to players consuming too much alcohol. 

Obviously one of the coaches has been... how much of a stretch is it to believe some of the players have been too?

 

 

[jimmer]

 

I can't believe I'm defending Ryan, but am I remembering a different draft than everyone else? Stewart was ranked by pretty much everyone as a top pick in that draft, between 4 and 7... he was drafted 4th. How is that an example of Ryan trying to outsmart people

Ryan doesn't do the draft.  Additionally, IF Stewart doesn't work out, part of the reason might be the minor league development system, which Reusse touched upon in his article, and which would be an organizational issue.

[Twinfan & Dad]

Bottom line. Finally what we have been saying about the poorly constructed roster and head scratching decisions are being questioned by people who have a platform greater than we do here! Rejoice!!!! Terry Ryan its been nice knowing you and Paul Molitor, you were a very good player but man you don't have a clue about managing game situations. Blow this cluster**** up and let the young guys play the rest of the season to see what we have.

[jimmer]

 

Bottom line. Finally what we have been saying about the poorly constructed roster and head scratching decisions are being questioned by people who have a platform greater than we do here! Rejoice!!!! Terry Ryan its been nice knowing you and Paul Molitor, you were a very good player but man you don't have a clue about managing game situations. Blow this cluster**** up and let the young guys play the rest of the season to see what we have.

yeah, it's a very poorly constructed roster.  Been saying that for quite some time.  Some still believe it's well constructed, though.

[Rosterman]

Nowadays, for rookies, you can still command an off-season program, having them play winter ball or not. But with the wonderful facilities in FLorida and the ability for players to come early and workout, let alone workout on their own during the season, everyone SHOULD be in prime shape these days. It's not like they need an off-season job.

 

We all complained about the Twins not going after free-agents and having loads of money to spend, then we complain when they do it. Albeit they got mid-level starters, overpaid for them. But it was the best they could do...if they wanted to spend money. They could've gone worse (and probably less years). But no one was standing in line outside Target Field or waiting for Ryan to call unless he would blow them out-of-the-market with an offer. And often, those offers meants a year more than they would've gotten elsewhere.

 

Something isn't right in the system. They aren't drafting right, they aren't preparing the players (maybe the constant logjam of AAAA guys at both the top levels...let the young guys...the future of your team...play). I guess you can say that you want your minor league teams to be competitive to keep them happy, but they are places to develop players. That is the given. If the players are drafted and coached and seasoned, they should shine.

 

From Waldrop and Rainville to Michael and Harrison...the Twins have had their fair share of spending a lot of bucks and not seeing much in the way of results. They signed a Ben Revere first round. They signed pitcher/outfielder Hicks. Hey, maybe it all started when they passed on the pitcher and signed Mauer...good local public relations, but at what cost. Of course, the pitcher than didn't want to sign with Minnesota didn't too well. But now you could flip them easily after a season.

 

Something is broken. Yet fans keep coming, the dogs and beer are sold, we make shirts for guys that don't really deserve them ever and send the guy to the minors. i could understand if this is an indy team where the fun is going to the game (with prices accordingly paid). But these are pros. 25 of the 600 TOP guys in the sport, who beat out the 3500 who still have dreams, who have gone beyond the 50,000 that play their hearts out in college and high school to get a small check and some diamond-time in an instructional league, and maybe another year of minor league ball.

 

Yes, every game someone must make 24-37 outs. Every year, some team has more losses than wins (and vice versa). Two teams...one loses, one wins. I was almost heartfelt at the beginning when the Twins had dynamite pitching and the team was coming up short one...tiny...run...so...often. We wuz robbed. In a division that looked totally equal coming out of spring training, the Twins tanked. There is always hope that the future will bring more wins. Maybe at the expense of more losses. But we are getting more loses with same-old-same-old and also with  the plugs and the 26th and 41st guys from various organizations.

 

So, wait until the draft to make changes. Maybe hold on until All-Star break. We can still jettison players for something thru the end of July...if better and cheaper product isn't available elsewhere. But at some point, the field staff higher ups and sent packing, contracts are released, a general manager resigns, and we hope there is someone, anyone out there who will find the Twins a challenge and will be given the financial means and power to remake a team that still has promise in the pipeline.

 

But keep miking those fans at the concession booth. Maybe get paid toilets! No free parking. Watch the between innings stuff go stale and you can't find enough people to do the mascot run.

 

 

[nokomismod]

 

Obviously one of the coaches has been... how much of a stretch is it to believe some of the players have been too?

I think it is a stretch to correlate one coach getting a DUI to the poor play being caused by excessive drinking. From what I understand beers in the clubhouse and drinking on the road are fairly common for most MLB teams.

[Blake]

 

Seems like an odd thing to nitpick, when Stewart has not had any issues, is ranked as a top 100 prospect, and was drafted about exactly where most draft experts expected him to go. 

Honestly, I'm not nitpicking. I had a couple of very close friends, father and son, who were Type 1's. I grew up with the son and the family, and, well, all of us are/were very close. For a long time, I thought diabetes was easily controlled, just take your shots and you're good. It wasn't until later I found out what both the father and son went through to control their diabetes. 

 

Kohl Stewart has a special doctor just for his diabetes. More than likely, Stewart is on a severely regimented diet and has to watch everything he eats and when he eats. In fact, there may have been an article that touched on Kohl Stewart's regimen.

 

Maybe there are not any known "health issues" currently, however, I would contend with everything Mr. Stewart has to do in order to "control" his diabetes, he does have health issues.

 

The draft is risky business to begin with and this seems like even more risk. Risk the Twins should not have taken, especially in light of everything that has come out regarding the organization.

 

[Shane Wahl]

It's about time!

No accountability. Everyone must go.

[Champuckett]

This article has nothing new that anyone lurking or participating on these forums should probably already know.  He's right about everything he says, but he also is wrong in missing the most glaring issues at hand.  Ownership.  The head honchos that make the biggest decisions about the franchise on a macro scale are not mentioned.  Maybe we'll see that article soon?  In a few months, maybe in a few years?

 

It wasn't Terry Ryan that talked his way back into this job after he retired and said he no longer had any business being a GM(looks like he was right).  It was the ownership that begged him to come back.  Not only that, but the guy they replaced TR with was fired and rehired immediately back into the front office.  Oh, and the guy they just fired as our manager of the last 10 years is back too.  The same owners that had no comment on TR passing up the opportunity for one of the games best managers in Joe Maddon, who incredibly became available just weeks after Gardy was fired during our manageral replacement search.  And the same owners that still have "100% confidence" in both TR and the Twins skipper as we are going through a horrendous season.

 

How to this day, has no midwestern or Minnesotan major sports media source mentioned this?  We can go after the front office, the coaches, and the players in every article for the next 10 years, but it's not going to help make this a better team.  They need to start calling out the direct and correct cause of the core problem here, and thus far, they have not.

[DaveW]

A lot of what he wrote is right, but I disagree heavily with the Sano weight comments as well as bashing the Twins for taking Kohl Stewart. Good lord, Stewart was in the top 30 prospects prior to this season, does he realize that High School arms take a few years to develop?

 

Basically Reusse is just repeating what everyone has been saying for the last month or two (with some wrong comments mixed in as well) complaining about craft beer prices at stadiums is a tired trope.

 

Personally, I don't mind that the team celebrated the walk off win, too often their morale has looked terrible, so anything that brings them together is fine by me.

 

[jimmer]

 

A lot of what he wrote is right, but I disagree heavily with the Sano weight comments as well as bashing the Twins for taking Kohl Stewart. Good lord, Stewart was in the top 30 prospects prior to this season, does he realize that High School arms take a few years to develop?

 

Basically Reusse is just repeating what everyone has been saying for the last month or two (with some wrong comments mixed in as well) complaining about craft beer prices at stadiums is a tired trope.

 

Personally, I don't mind that the team celebrated the walk off win, too often their morale has looked terrible, so anything that brings them together is fine by me.

Well, in fairness, Stewart was a #4 overall pick as well.  Right or wrong, those come with high expectations.

 

He was a top 30 prospect once, by one major prospect group, and not in the top 100 by any of the big three prior to this year.  Hard to swallow that a #4 overall pick has dropped right off being a top 100 pick.  

 

Again, though, for me this is more about player development than the actual drafting of him.

[mlhouse]

The Twins deserve to be slammed up and down the organization.  With the exception of what was obviously a fluke last season they have lost 90 plus games 4 of the last 5 seasons and we are playing at a 115 projected loss level this season.  

 

Yet, our payroll is in shambles.  We have $10+ million contracts tied up in 3 starting pitchers that simply cannot be dumped adn are not contributing.  We have a $23 million contract committed to a first baseman that doesnt have enough power and whose better seasons were years ago. WHile this isn't necessary the Twins fault it only makes everything more difficult to work around, primarily because they have nowhere else to play him.

 

Their overall moves have been terrible.  They have played the middle course for several of these 90 loss seasons and this strategy has failed.  What is idiotic about these FA moves by Ryan (Hughes, Nolasco, Ervin Santana) is that when the team was reasonably competitive and spending almost $40 million would have moved them into World Series level contention they played it frugal.  Then when the team sucked, they suddenly splurged by overpaying mediocre level, veteran (30+) pitchers that did nothing to change their losing ways.

 

Terry Ryan needs to be fired.

 

Their management and development of their minor league prospects has been negligently flawed.  Their step by step approach was a system that a contending team should follow, not a team that needs to get their talent developed and is losing 99 games.  There is some risk in rushing prospects but keeping established minor league success stories in the minors just postpones the learning curve they are going to face at the MLB level.  JJ Berrios has proven he can get minor league hitters out.  JT Chargois has proven he can close out games in the minor leagues.  What they haven't proven is if they can do the same at teh MLB level.  The Twins need to get them up to the big league team and work with them.  It requires PATIENCE but losing games today means all of the kinks are worked out when these prospects hit their primes.

 

The other aspect that "rushing" gives is that it takes time to weed out the players that will not pan out.  You need to find out if Jim Eisenreich can play CF or Lenny Faedo SS in the majors, to use a couple of long ago examples, because if they cannot you need to slot the next prospect in line until you find one that can play.  If you wait another year on Eisenreich or Faedo, you are going to wait another year if not more on Kirby Puckett and Greg Gagne.

 

At this time I think it is especially important to "rush" the mid-level prospects.  I think Pat Dean is a good example of a guy that just needs to finish off the year with teh Twins.   Taylor Rodgers is another.  Let them play through the entire year's cycle and totally evaluate them.  Sending them up and down, or just recalling them in September proves nothing. Since they are mid-level prospects, most of them will sink but some may swim.  But their abilities will be proven.  You move on from the sinkers, you continue to try to develop the guys who can go either way, and if you find one that plays well you are ahead of the curve.

 

After a few years teh players that can play will hopefully gel together.  THe team might not be able to cover every position through prospect development, but that is were you bring in the veterans like Jeff Reardon, Shane Mack or Brian Harper to fill those holes.  

 

 

[alarp33]

Well, in fairness, Stewart was a #4 overall pick as well. Right or wrong, those come with high expectations.

 

He was a top 30 prospect once, by one major prospect group, and not in the top 100 by any of the big three prior to this year. Hard to swallow that a #4 overall pick has dropped right off being a top 100 pick.

 

Again, though, for me this is more about player development than the actual drafting of him.

ESPN/ Keith Law ranked him 53rd prior to this year actually

[jimmer]

 

ESPN/ Keith Law ranked him 53rd prior to this year actually

And MLB, Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus didn't rank him in top 100;

[alarp33]

And MLB, Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus didn't rank him in top 100;

Ok. To act like he's clearly not a prospect anymore is very incorrect

[Mr. Brooks]

Generally, I agree with you, but at the same time, are they just supposed to not be excited after a win? If they don't allow themselves to get excited, we can't expect them to play with any passion. Yes, the year is pretty much over already, but it's nice to see them care. It wouldn't be very fun to be pissed for 162 games and after wins, stomp off the field and say "we won, but we are still in last place."

 

Just a different view.

It's ok to be happy to win a game.

A clubhouse dance party is a little excessive for a team this terrible.

[David HK]

 

The article is pretty on point and you cannot really argue with it.

 

The one thing I don't have a problem with is the little post-game celebration.  Sure it might be a little silly and even ridiculous considering the record, but it is a long season and if the players can have a moment to have fun and get their mind off of the futility of the season, it probably does them more good than harm.  At this point they need to just take one game at a time and as long as they are taking things seriously and trying to do what they need to do otherwise, if that particular game allows them to have a bit of fun - go for it.

 

I agree about the Ortiz celebration being odd.  I thought the interview on the NBC webpage today was particularity bad in that it was not just criticizing the organization, but the fans as well.

I agree with your agreement-- ;-)   I don't mind a bit of celebration- it's been such a sucky season as a fan; it's got to be tenfold as a player.  So maybe they went over the top, I can forgive that.  I can't forgive the rest of the stuff that Reusse brought up, though.  I thought he was pretty much spot on, though (beating my own dead horse here), I also thought he held fire on Molly, and I think he deserves a heck of a lot of blame for this current mess.

 

As far as the Vargas/Sano issue, there's blame to be shared equally there.  I should think all they'd need to do is show them a photo of Kent Hrbek, and point out the career he could have had with just a little self-control.  I keep returning to the adage that in the age of information, ignorance is a choice.   There are plenty of examples of guys who woulda coulda shoulda, if they'd only taken care of themselves.  Somehow, the point needs to be made to these guys in a way they understand, that a potential MLB career is fleeting, and with large cats like them, an extra measure of fortitude is required.  I don't know if any of this conditioning stuff is a part of their respective contracts, but it needs to be incentivized in a major way.  

 

To me, the theme of Reusse's piece was accountability.   That is the most glaring thing missing in the current "Twins Way."