Twins fire Howard Norsetter

[gunnarthor]

http://www.startribune.com/twins-fire-international-scouting-coordinator-howard-norsetter/446164983/

 

No reason given in the article but presumably this has to do with the new FO making systematic changes. Norsetter helped find talents like Morneau, Thorpe and Kepler but also missed on Nishi and Park.  Good luck to him in the future.

[Vanimal46]

Good luck to him. But we all need to know... Who called him to let him know he was being let go?! 

[Seth Stohs]

This one isn't as surprising. 

[Craig Arko]

 

Good luck to him. But we all need to know... Who called him to let him know he was being let go?! 

Jim Souhan.

[biggentleben]

 

This one isn't as surprising. 

 

Not asking for anything you can't divulge, of course, but curious why on this particular guy vs. some of the other ones not (yet) let go? I know he's certainly not the youngest blossom on the cherry tree, but I don't know his other beliefs outside of that.

[biggentleben]

I really do think some of the scouting stuff that's come out from Fangraphs and Keith Law recently discussing a shift in the scouting game is going to make a number of scouts dismiss-able. When so many things at the ballpark can get you the home to first times, the radar readings, the first to third times, the pop times, and everything else, the job becomes 100% player skill and personal evaluation. Many scouts have lived on a career of essentially jotting numbers in a book that they report to the team while providing minimal analysis beyond that. The position will become much more focused on getting to know the player on and off the field and the type of player he can become more than rattling off pitch velocities and home to first times.

[Oldgoat_MN]

 

This one isn't as surprising. 

I'm surprised to read this.

Dougie Baseball got into too many arguments with umpires, a disturbing habit that is, of course, going to rub off on your players (which is not going to help their careers). He was disdainful of advanced statistics. He did not follow the team's guidelines on pitch counts for young pitchers.

I would have thought that Dougie would have been the most likely to be fired.

[Thrylos]

The man who brought you Nishioka and Park...

 

The other issue there was that Norsetter is based in Australia, which makes scouting in Europe and Canada very difficult.

 

I liked the last line of that writeup:

 

Meanwhile, the Twins are in the process of expanding their research department, player development and medical services.

 

Sorely needed...