Terry Ryan is in DENIAL!

[Twinfan & Dad]

http://www.twincities.com/2016/06/17/twins-terry-ryan-not-time-to-blow-this-thing-out/

 

I read this article and I damn near threw up. TR is quoted as saying it's his job to figure this out. Damn dude, you put this roster together out of spring training and we were on a pace for strikeouts to shatter the MLB record. You are the one with the big idea to put Sano in right. You elected to sit on your hands in the off-season and not improve the bullpen. It was you Mr. RYAN who signed at best starting pitchers who are no better than 4 or 5 starters on quality teams. It is you TR who have shuffled young players back and forth with no opportunity to show if they are part of the future or not. Mr. RYAN look in the mirror and you will see the problem YOU CANT FIGURE THESE THINGS OUT!

[Brock Beauchamp]

I didn't bother to read the article because, to be honest, I don't give a damn what Ryan says at this point.

 

I don't blame him for every problem the team has had this season (it's unfair to pin team-wide player regression entirely on the GM) but he made enough mistakes (Sano in right, the bullpen or lack thereof, etc) that it's probably time for him to go.

 

Before the season, I said Ryan deserved a chance to see this thing through to the end, or something close to the end. I said results mattered in 2016.

 

Well, we all know how that turned out.

[spinowner]

 

I didn't bother to read the article because, to be honest, I don't give a damn what Ryan says at this point.

 

I feel the same way. As I said on the Arcia thread, his mishandling (and by extension PM's mishandling) of Arcia flipped me from benefit of the doubt for TR to get rid of him. There has just been too much that has gone wrong this year, and even if it was all bad luck the time has come for a cleaning of house.

[ashbury]

I did read the article so I suppose this disqualifies me from commenting.

[Twinfan & Dad]

The article confirmed that TR is not only in denial but is delusional that he can fix it. He doesn't even know what the problem is.

[alarp33]

Did he say "we're gonna get this right"? That's my favorite TR standby quote. Reallyyyyyyy reassuring

[Mr. Brooks]

Well I read the article.

And, though I've had 2 bloodies and 3 beers, I'm pretty sure Ryan said he sees Danny Santana as part of the solution out of this mess.

Wow. Words cant.....

[Platoon]

Did he say "we're gonna get this right"? That's my favorite TR standby quote. Reallyyyyyyy reassuring

We're gonna get this right! (Sooner of later)

[DocBauer]

I did read the article so I suppose this disqualifies me from commenting.

No it doesnt. I read it too.

 

There's a couple things TR says that are right. Not every prospect arrives 100% ready. Or close to. And he's right that sometimes guys go down to work on things and figure things out before they come back up. And the author of the article is correct when he mentions regression helping to create such a poor season...DUH...and mentions some of the injuries.

 

I get it. He's right. So is TR. In so far as he's willing to admit anyway. But poor roster construction, no backup plan for any position, the jerking around of prospects brought up, no definitive plan or course of action is never even hinted at!

 

I have long defended Ryan many times, and for many reasons. I've also called him out at times where and when I thought he was wrong. I've been genuinely impressed with the Twins draft this year, how they managed their picks and agends, and how they've played with their cap space to make it work to their advantage. (Not really sure to what degree TR has had any control over these events) But mistakes and mismanagement have far outweighed past moves and success at this point in time. Unless there are moves made. And a definitive plan of some sort put in place, the time ever for excuses and defense are done. It's simply time for change.

[Kwak]

Ryan had his chance to say "rebuild" when he resumed duties as GM, either as "partime" or after a year when he "agreed" to "stay"--he didn't say "rebuild"! If this interview Ryan were to say "rebuild", he would have to admit that he was "in denial" of all that happened from 2012-2014, and that the 2015 season was a complete fluke--there was "nothing good about team generalship". Obviously, not only wasn't that stated, he would never admit that any success by the Twins when he was GM was "luck" or "fluky".

[TheLeviathan]

“We have good people, but we’re struggling. We’re struggling,” he said. “It’s my job to figure out what the heck is going on, whether it’s development, scouting or philosophy — it all has to be looked at.”

 

 

He's right.  He just forgot to include himself.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

There's still no indication that Ryan believes anything other than the players just need to produce. None of the quotations touch on anything except patience with player development, prospect promotions, etc. Even the lead "not time to blow it up" probably refers to not giving up on the core players of this team, or who Ryan and Molitor believe are the core players.

[Vanimal46]

One positive: TR did not mention Plouffe, Dozier, Suzuki, etc. in the article as being part of the solution for the future.

 

If having the worst record in baseball isn't time to blow things up, I don't know if there's ever a time to do so in his mind.

 

I would love to know what they see in D Santana that gets his name included in the list of names being part of the solution. All I see is one of the worst offensive players in baseball over the last 2 seasons.

[jimmer]

 

now what they see in D Santana that gets his name included in the list of names being part of the solution. All I see is one of the worst offensive players in baseball over the last 2 seasons.

not to mention, he brings no value defensively either.

[old nurse]

 

He's right.  He just forgot to include himself.

That would have been under looking at philosophy

[old nurse]

 

http://www.twincities.com/2016/06/17/twins-terry-ryan-not-time-to-blow-this-thing-out/

I read this article and I damn near threw up. TR is quoted as saying it's his job to figure this out. Damn dude, you put this roster together out of spring training and we were on a pace for strikeouts to shatter the MLB record. You are the one with the big idea to put Sano in right. You elected to sit on your hands in the off-season and not improve the bullpen. It was you Mr. RYAN who signed at best starting pitchers who are no better than 4 or 5 starters on quality teams. It is you TR who have shuffled young players back and forth with no opportunity to show if they are part of the future or not. Mr. RYAN look in the mirror and you will see the problem YOU CANT FIGURE THESE THINGS OUT!

So far Abad, Bosher and Kinzler have an ERA under 2. Tonkin a hair over 3,  At the end of the year you will know if they were better additions than Storem or Bastardo (who so far are not having good years) The problem is the failures of the players he had, Jepson, May and Fien, along with Perkins' annual post 30 injury.

Just a little side question, Did Storen come down with the "curse of Matt Capps" when relievers departing Washington become duds?

[DaveW]

How does he still have a job? Seriously? Any other team in all of sports would have canned him 10x already by now.

 

Thank you for ruining the Minnesota Twins Terry Ryan, in 5 short years by "coming back" you have now destroyed all the good will/decent results from your first run as the GM.

 

Just retire and go away already. Please.

[DaveW]

So far Abad, Bosher and Kinzler have an ERA under 2. Tonkin a hair over 3, At the end of the year you will know if they were better additions than Storem or Bastardo (who so far are not having good years) The problem is the failures of the players he had, Jepson, May and Fien, along with Perkins' annual post 30 injury.

Just a little side question, Did Storen come down with the "curse of Matt Capps" when relievers departing Washington become duds?

ERA is not a good stat to use with RP. Abads ERA was so low because he kept getting bailed out by the people coming in after him, while allowing something like 40% of inherited runs to score himself.

 

If you want to give him a pass on the bullpen (which to me is insane) then I guess you can't give him a pass on the rotation, right? A rotation that has a 5.73 ERA and not a single guy pitching like even a #4

[DaveW]

He's right. He just forgot to include himself.

Yup, takes no responsibility and frankly doesn't "get it"

 

This mess is his making and his making alone.

 

Nobody forced him to hold onto veterans until their trade value hit a rock bottom, nobody forced him to give extensions to guys after career seasons our half seasons, nobody forced him to not improve a terrible bullpen, nobody forced him to take our best hitting prospect in a decade and stick him in a position that makes zero sense for him, nobody forced him to ignore high upside pitchers and players on the FA market and to instead sign a bunch of aging vets.

 

Him passing the buck as "well, sometimes prospects need time to grow" is laughable.

 

Make no mistake, this is the 110 loss team Terry Ryan built.

[TheLeviathan]

 

That would have been under looking at philosophy

 

Then we better see a concerted change in philosophy.  We're about a month away from where we should first see that change.

 

Are you brimming with confidence it'll be different?  I know I'm ready to give credit to him if he unloads these guys, are you ready to join the voices of criticism if he doesn't?

[ashbury]

ERA is not a good stat to use with RP. Abads ERA was so low because he kept getting bailed out by the people coming in after him, while allowing something like 40% of inherited runs to score himself.

We use ERA for starting pitchers because runs are the name of the game. For batters we can't assign runs so neatly, thus stats like OPS (or more sophisticated ones) serve us well as a proxy for runs. For relief pitchers, I see no reason not to rely on OPS too, at least for initial analysis.

 

League OPS right now is .741. The Twins team OPS on defense is an unsightly .825 (Oakland is second worst at .771). Only three pitchers on the staff have amassed an OPS below .741: Tonkin (.720), Pressly (.679), Abad (.583), and Boshers (.419). As relievers, all reflect Small Sample Size, so any stat is prone to a sudden swing. But these four guys are not the problem, and Abad in particular (who I will admit I was lukewarm about bothering to sign to that minor league contract) has done his job.

 

You can look at the culprits by searching for "OPS" here:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIN/2016-pitching.shtml

[DaveW]

The problem is, those four guys haven't been pitching in the "big" innings for the most part. They have started pitching Abad lately in the later innings/hold situations and he has now fallen on his face his last couple outings.

 

Yes, they aren't really "the problem" but the bullpen as a whole, overall has been a problem.

[big dog]

Molitor keeps dragging Jepsen out to the mound to blow up games, but they designate Arcia (who might someday be useful).  I don't have any idea what's going on here.  If I were the owner, I would clear out the entire front office.  Tonight.

[twinsnorth49]

The team is a hot mess, and the guy who got it in said mess, should not be the guy to get them out of it

 

This team has me yearning for 2011 for God's sake.

[ewen21]

I'm with Brock and others.  Who here is listening to what he says anymore?

But that is the problem........

 

Was Terry Ryan ordained to be the GM of this team in perpetuity?  He sure speaks like it...and there is the problem right there.  This organization is incestuous.  Bringing him back and then bringing Gardenhire back shows you all you need to know.  Tom Kelly's outdated ideals and beliefs are still the footings on which this team is built.

(I heard him in the booth a couple of years ago.  He actually said, "These Latin players do things too fast.  You gotta slow them down")

 

With regards to this year, Ryan's first problem was he thought what he put together this year was going to work.  He didn't take note that the division improved, he didn't accept that the team played over their heads last year, he put too much stock in guys with little or no track record, he assumed Plouffe and Dozier would be pillars in the lineup, he figured guys like Hughes and Gibson would pitch well, he thought Glen Perkins would bounce back, etc...etc....etc....I know a lot of people felt this team was moving in the right direction, but i did not.

His second problem is he is shocked at how bad this team is.  I am not.  Last season was a mirage.  Plouffe and Dozier started to fade badly last year and they came into camp acting as if they were in charge of hospitality and recreation.  THere was a lot made of the "laughter" in Twins camp this spring.  As if that were the prescription for something.  Moving Sano was disastrous.  it killed his confidence in meant that Trevor Plouffe really needed to have a big year to justify the move.  That blew up.  Dozier is not an all star, but the Twins think he is.  The guy is streaky and he doesn't make adjustments.  He was signed right after he had a surge and it was done to ensure they didn't need to go through the arbitration process.  What is it with Ryan and his fear of the arbitration process anyway??  Signing Park was dumb, because he was an awkward piece.  We had enough 1B types that DH already.  Not having a little more depth in the outfield was dumb as well.  Buxton's got issues with his bat and the Twins have been forced to go with him.  I thought trading Hicks for JR MUrphy would help, but that has not worked out (for either team, really).  Apart from that I literally HATED everything Ryan did this offseason.  Everything he did made this team a little bit worse.

 

He signs horrendous veteran pitchers who have no nuts to them, too.  The Twins just never seem to be able to draft and raise starting pitching.  Can anyone name one active pitcher somewhere in the majors starting for another team that was drafted and raised by the Twins?  All this happened on his watch and he has been here since the mid-90s (save a few years where he cowered in the background).  Now he wants to tell everyone after five years back he needs to figure this out?  That we shouldn't "blow this out"?  That we "need to stay the course"??

 

Why does he have any say in anything?

[ashbury]

They have started pitching Abad lately in the later innings/hold situations and he has now fallen on his face his last couple outings.

Abad's last 20 batters faced certainly have been out of kilter with the rest of his season. Maybe it's the start of a new trend, I don't know. It just seemed unfair to single him out. The page I linked to shows just how bad some of the other guys have been.

[Riverbrian]

 

He's right.  He just forgot to include himself.

 

 

 

If you consider all of his swings and misses this year and try to compare it to the performance of each player that he is in charge of. 

 

Terry Ryan would have an OPS around .100 

 

John Ryan Murphy OPS .219 so .100 seems about right. 

 

Even Terry Ryan would know that he would have to send Terry Ryan down to the minors.

[KGB]

He is correct,as long as he has the job it's his responsibility to fix the problem. But the problem is that from ownership down to the players, nobody is taking personal responsibility. Ownership admits to a total system failure and does nothing. Ryan admits it's a mess but can't see "blowing things" up. Players stink, but tell us how good they feel and don't make changes.

 

Until someone stops talking about doing a better job and actually starts to do it, the franchise is going to keep heading in the wrong direction.

[birddog]

I'm trying to think of something good he has done recently and the only thing I can think of is not re-signing Pelfrey, the human rain delay with runners on base. Other than that, yes it's been a disaster.

[DaveW]

Abad's last 20 batters faced certainly have been out of kilter with the rest of his season. Maybe it's the start of a new trend, I don't know. It just seemed unfair to single him out. The page I linked to shows just how bad some of the other guys have been.

I'm not trying to single him out, I think he has been effective for what he was brought into be:a LOOGY. My main point is that a lot more needed to be brought in other than a LOOGY.

 

Abad is good in that role, however he isn't an 8th inning guy.