Does the Front Office owe us an explanation?

[Platoon]

That explains why Mike Wallace isn't all over this Belisle thing with his camera crew.

 

His son would be!

[Platoon]

While I don't advocate a direct grilling of the Front Office. 

 

I'm certainly in favor of going full guns on the ownership. 

While I agree with the second sentence, why the difference in who you grill? Btw way, I prefer grilling brats!

[The Wise One]

 

Yes, that's the skill set ML teams are paying millions/year to acquire. It does not have anything to do with a possessing the leadership, organizational development skills, educational background and experience necessary to run a 9 figure business. 

Aren't there a few more figures that in the US budget. After all that MF teen (by maturity) running  this country does not appear have the traits you listed

[Platoon]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply, and your post is a good thumbnail sketch of an important difference between the pastime of following a team and the job of covering a team. 

 

And maybe this point has been covered already in this thread, but I'll apologize if it has and raise it anyway. For me, at least, it's not that a Matt Belisle or a Bobby Wilson is ruining the Twins' season, it's just that the presence of players like them makes it difficult to understand just what it is that the Twins' front office is trying to accomplish at this point.

 

As Joker reminded us in The Dark Knight, "Nobody panics when there's a plan, even when the plan is horrifying". I'd prefer a non-horrifying plan for the Twins, and they should have the resources to come up with one.

 

But as long as the Twins retain guys like Belisle who can't really help them either contend or rebuild, it's likely that many heads will continue to be scratched, and much consternation will continue to be voiced.

I couldn't and didn't say it better myself. Guys like Wilson and Belisle have no upside, they won't help us win, and simply take up space on the roster. The Twins need to see what they have for the future. Garver and Cave are examples. Gordon would be another. I don't care if the pitchers want to pitch to Garver. It's managements job to find out who can play, and who can't. I am not a Garver fan, but even I don't think the book is written on him yet. These are the kinds of things that makes me want an explanation. I know I won't get one, but that doesn't change the fact I want one.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

There has to be a standard. For example, if Byron Buxton can't hit his weight then how long do you simply stick him out there to "learn at the major league level"?? We are supposed to allow players to be really bad for entire seasons with no concern for demotion? If that is what you are saying I don't agree with it. That isn't a sound development plan. I think we have been doing that already because there is zero competition in the high minors. There are very few options due to a horrendous lack of depth in Rochester and this is a big issue I have with Falvey and Levine.

Sano, Buxton, Gordon, Gonsalves, and Wade are all at Rochester right now. There’s depth in Rochester.

 

It may be that Falvine treat the triple A stop on the development train differently than Ryan did. It seems for the current FO, double A is last stop on the prospect leg, and triple A is for major leaguers and quad A types.

 

My theory is Gordon spent a long time at double a until he showed the polish or sign of big league readiness, then went to Rochester as his stop to play until a Dozier trade is completed to make room for him in the bigs.

[KGB]

 

They did try to improve the team though. We can disagree about their aim in terms of the caliber of players targeted, and the areas addressed, but there's no doubt the group surrounding the core this season should've been better than last year. 

 

I'm not sure I'm following your point about ownership being blamed for high salary players. This team won't be competing for/in the playoffs this season, so while I'm not endorsing ownership selling and pocketing cash, I am endorsing the team trying to get what they can for players on short term deals, even if the return is a handful of lottery tickets. IMO we've reached a point where wasting innings on guys like Wilson, Belisle, ect. are doing more harm than good (assuming any good was done by using them to begin with.)

 

That last part about team history is important. It's already been pointed out but the Twins are still middle of the pack in terms of MLB payroll, and they're very unlikely to be even that high next season. Ownership brought this FO in. Regardless of whether the results are positive or negative I'm not sure how they don't share responsibility for the outcome. 

I think we are agreeing, but just to clarify.  Ownership has a shared responsibility because they were the one who hired the front office, but the result of the failed free agent signing and backup plans fall on the FO.  I had no problem with what they attempted to do this off-season, but you have to judge the FO by the results and it clearly wasn't successful.

 

I'm not saying the FO needs to be removed, I just think some people are giving them a pass because they agreed with the off-season moves.  Like I said, I didn't have a problem with the moves and I was wrong and clearly the FO was wrong.  The FO was inexperience when they were hired, with I believe the main experience was within the minor league development.  But they need to do a better job at the major league level, stop the silly waiver claims of margin players, losing minor league talent through waivers and this trade deadline will be a good test of their ability.

[Riverbrian]

 

While I agree with the second sentence, why the difference in who you grill? Btw way, I prefer grilling brats!

 

Just to stick it to the man. 

[Major League Ready]

 

The proof is in the results. It is NOT a good move if the players don't perform, even if you thought it would be. It was a horrible guess. The performance of Odorizzi and Lynn and Morrison is horrible, regardless of who else is on the team. Absolutely horrible. Even if Sano and Buxton and Polanco and Santana were on the team through the trios ineptitude, they would still be horrible. Their performance stands on its own. The FO chose wrong. No if, ands , or buts about it. There is also no excuse for Wilson to be on this team. That stands on its own, too. 

 

If your premise is correct, this would sure simply the assessment of personnel decisions. I have a hard time believing anyone who participates here believes as you do that the quality of a decision (baseball decision) can’t be judged on the merit of that decision at the time?  There are threads that last for many pages based on the relative merit of signing or trading for a given player. Your premise renders all of these opinions and discussion meaningless.

 

BTW … There are a lot of journalists who believe the merit of personnel decisions can be assessed even before they are consummated. 

 

Should I assume you have not and will not offer any opinions on the relative merit of any personnel decisions until the result of those decisions have been realized?

[Darius]

I don't know why a manager blowup is mentioned as a reason to not ask tough questions that fans want to know.

 

Why are these people held to a different standard than normal people? As a CPA, if I screw up a tax return or an audit, I'd have to answer some tough questions that would likely make me feel some stress. Nobody will let that slide to spare my feelings. Me ranting at the inquirer would only get me fired.

 

My point: if you're so fragile that you can't be expected answer legitimate questions about your poor performance....you have serious issues. You have the mental wherewithal of my three year old when he hasn't had a nap. Same can be said for treating a reporter punitively for taking a 5 minute break from hand-feeding you grapes and fanning you with palm leaves.

 

It's spineless behavior on both sides.

[Major League Ready]

 

Aren't there a few more figures that in the US budget. After all that MF teen (by maturity) running  this country does not appear have the traits you listed

 

1. Hiring decisions and those made by popular vote are two very different things.

 

2. I made no reference of politicians.

 

3. The premise in the original posts suggests the primary qualification for a leadership position is the ability to deceive. Do you really support the notion that getting a great education, amassing skills, and an excellent track record are subordinate to the ability to deceive if you want to ascend to a position of leadership? I guess I am teaching my kids the wrong lessons if I want them to excel in business.

[Major League Ready]

Is this what people want ....

 

Reporter: Mr. Pohlad, Did the F/O make poor decisions leading to the failure on the field this year.

 

Jim Pohlad: Geez Mr. Reporter, where do I start? I don’t know why Derek and Thad did not anticipate losing Ervin Santana or Jason Castro for the season. For that matter, they should have known Polanco would be suspended for PEDs. And, what were they thinking trading for Odorizzi and signing Lance Lynn. They should have known those guys would not perform to their careers norms. They should have signed the other top FA pitchers.

 

Reporter: Mr. Pohlad, Do you realize Darvish is out for the season and Cobb has been really terrible.

 

Pohlad: Oh. Well, starting pitching is easy to find. The rebuilding teams have lots of great starters. Derek and Thad should have negotiated a trade for a font of the rotation SP for a couple C+ prospects in return.

 

Reporter: Why didn't your F/O know Dozier would decline so much this year? Shouldn't they have been able to replace him with another All-star caliber 2B?

 

Pohlad: Yep, I don't know how they failed to see that coming?

 

Reporter: The national media gave heavy praise to your teams off season moves. Were you buying into the same hype?

 

Pohlad:  What do they know? The players we signed under performed. Free agents always meet expectations, right. They are almost a sure thing and they always pan out for other teams.

 

Reporter: What about Sano and Buxton? Shouldn’t the F/O take the blame for their dismal performance?

 

Pohlad: You bet. Never mind they had nothing to do with drafting or developing them. Derek and Thad should have magically cured all of their flaws or replaced them. Guys with superstar potential are a dime a dozen. Our F/O should have come up with a couple others who would have salvaged this season.

 

Reporter: What about Morrison under performing? Why didn’t your F/O see that coming?

 

Pohlad: No excuse for a F/O taking a chance he would perform like he did last year. I don't know what they were thinking. This stuff is easy. You have to wonder why we the league pays GMs over a million dollars a year. There are lots of guys on Twin's Daily that could make us a contender immediately and they would never make these mistakes. I bet none of them wanted to sign Darvish. 

 

[Mike Sixel]

I am curious why Belisle is on the roster.

 

I am curious if they tried to get a RH OF.

 

I am curious what they see in Grossman, current or future. (he's no OF)

 

But I expect no answers.

 

As for injuries, the Twins have less WAR lost to injuries than most teams.....I'm pretty tired of the injuries excuse.

[Major League Ready]

 

I am curious why Belisle is on the roster.

 

I am curious if they tried to get a RH OF.

 

I am curious what they see in Grossman, current or future. (he's no OF)

 

But I expect no answers.

 

As for injuries, the Twins have less WAR lost to injuries than most teams.....I'm pretty tired of the injuries excuse.

 

I may have missed it but I don't recall anyone posting that injuries were the reason for the bad season. I have seen post suggesting that the injuries combined with several players under performing as well as losing Polanco to a suspension are the cause. 

 

What should they have done to remain in contention? What plan could have possibly overcame the injuries, the play of Buxton, Sano, Kepler, and Dozier as well as Polanco's suspension?

 

If the failure is a product of what the F/O did or did not do, it should be eeasy enough to articulate a plan that would have succeeded.

 

Most here would have spent a huge chunk of our FA money on Darvish so we would have been even worse off. Our entire infield other than Mauer has drastically under performed. As you have reported, Mauer is one of the worst offensive 1B in baseball. Obviously, $23M of our payroll is tied up in him which of course the current regime has no account in that matter.

 

So, which is it, is there a plan that would have likely resulted in us winning the division or are you complaining for the sake of complaining? We would have needed an entirely new infield and a front of the rotation SP as well as at least a couple elite BP arms. To be fair, most people would have started with Darvish so let's see your plan with Darvish as the answer to one of our SP spots. That would have given us 3 very good starters we would still need two more

[Mike Sixel]

 

I may have missed it but I don't recall anyone posting that injuries were the reason for the bad season. I have seen post suggesting that the injuries combined with several players under performing as well as losing Polanco to a suspension are the cause. 

 

What should they have done to remain in contention? What plan could have possibly overcame the injuries, the play of Buxton, Sano, Kepler, and Dozier as well as Polanco's suspension?

 

If the failure is a product of what the F/O did or did not do, it should be eeasy enough to articulate a plan that would have succeeded.

 

Most here would have spent a huge chunk of our FA money on Darvish so we would have been even worse off. Our entire infield other than Mauer has drastically under performed. As you have reported, Mauer is one of the worst offensive 1B in baseball. Obviously, $23M of our payroll is tied up in him which of course the current regime has no account in that matter.

 

So, which is it, is there a plan that would have likely resulted in us winning the division or are you complaining for the sake of complaining? We would have needed an entirely new infield and a front of the rotation SP as well as at least a couple elite BP arms. To be fair, most people would have started with Darvish so let's see your plan with Darvish as the answer to one of our SP spots. That would have given us 3 very good starters we would still need two more

 

I literally didn't complain, other than the injury thing, and that's about fans. Lots of fans on this site have said it is the injuries. If you read my sig, I too thought this was a better roster than they've had in a long time. 

 

For the FO? I said I was curious. That comes from being interested in how they make their decisions....

[Doomtints]

The Twins front office owes us two things. One is Jack, and one is the other end of Jack.

 

Also, this season isn't as bad as we are making it out to be. We always heard "Next year!" on fan forums since 2010 ... but you could actually say that this year and have it be true.

[ewen21]

 

I don't know why a manager blowup is mentioned as a reason to not ask tough questions that fans want to know.

Why are these people held to a different standard than normal people? As a CPA, if I screw up a tax return or an audit, I'd have to answer some tough questions that would likely make me feel some stress. Nobody will let that slide to spare my feelings. Me ranting at the inquirer would only get me fired.

My point: if you're so fragile that you can't be expected answer legitimate questions about your poor performance....you have serious issues. You have the mental wherewithal of my three year old when he hasn't had a nap. Same can be said for treating a reporter punitively for taking a 5 minute break from hand-feeding you grapes and fanning you with palm leaves.

It's spineless behavior on both sides.

Not only that, by being evasive and terse they are insulting the diehard fans that basically are the bread and butter for the organization.  As fans, they need us more than we need them.  Everyone is accountable here.  THe ownership, management, the players, the media and YES us the fans.  If we are just going to stand idle and operate under the pretense that these guys are paid to lie and deceive us then we get what we deserve.

 

This doesn't mean rant and rave like a maniac, but for heaven's sake.....can someone ask a follow up question in an interview?  One of the most absurd notions I have ever heard is that reporters covering this team are worried they'd lose access if the Twins got "mad at them" so they best play along.  What kind of baloney is that?  If the Twins EVER cut off the media because they were "too hard on them" for asking tough baseball questions they would be ostracized by the entire major league fan base and every media outlet in the country.  

 

I so appreciate your words here, Darius.  Show me a manager or administrator feels they are above the fray when the organization is failing and I will show you someone who isn't fit for the job.

[Tom Froemming]

 

Is this what people want ....

 

Reporter: Mr. Pohlad, Did the F/O make poor decisions leading to the failure on the field this year.

 

Jim Pohlad: Geez Mr. Reporter, where do I start? I don’t know why Derek and Thad did not anticipate losing Ervin Santana or Jason Castro for the season. For that matter, they should have known Polanco would be suspended for PEDs. And, what were they thinking trading for Odorizzi and signing Lance Lynn. They should have known those guys would not perform to their careers norms. They should have signed the other top FA pitchers.

 

Reporter: Mr. Pohlad, Do you realize Darvish is out for the season and Cobb has been really terrible.

 

Pohlad: Oh. Well, starting pitching is easy to find. The rebuilding teams have lots of great starters. Derek and Thad should have negotiated a trade for a font of the rotation SP for a couple C+ prospects in return.

 

Reporter: Why didn't your F/O know Dozier would decline so much this year? Shouldn't they have been able to replace him with another All-star caliber 2B?

 

Pohlad: Yep, I don't know how they failed to see that coming?

 

Reporter: The national media gave heavy praise to your teams off season moves. Were you buying into the same hype?

 

Pohlad:  What do they know? The players we signed under performed. Free agents always meet expectations, right. They are almost a sure thing and they always pan out for other teams.

 

Reporter: What about Sano and Buxton? Shouldn’t the F/O take the blame for their dismal performance?

 

Pohlad: You bet. Never mind they had nothing to do with drafting or developing them. Derek and Thad should have magically cured all of their flaws or replaced them. Guys with superstar potential are a dime a dozen. Our F/O should have come up with a couple others who would have salvaged this season.

 

Reporter: What about Morrison under performing? Why didn’t your F/O see that coming?

 

Pohlad: No excuse for a F/O taking a chance he would perform like he did last year. I don't know what they were thinking. This stuff is easy. You have to wonder why we the league pays GMs over a million dollars a year. There are lots of guys on Twin's Daily that could make us a contender immediately and they would never make these mistakes. I bet none of them wanted to sign Darvish. 

I think there are a lot of people who don't understand why a lot of Twins fans are frustrated. I guess I can only speak for myself, but I'm not so much mad that they're losing. I understand it would have been difficult to prepare for all the unforeseen things that have happened. What bothers me is how they've reacted and how they're going forward each and every day.

 

When it's apparent it's just not going to be your year, you can do your best to make the most of it and try to get better for the future or you can trot out Bobby Wilson, Matt Belisle and Co in an effort to try to get to 82 wins and hope that Cleveland completely collapses. This is an organization that's simply far too comfortable with mediocrity.

[Tom Froemming]

 

I don't know why a manager blowup is mentioned as a reason to not ask tough questions that fans want to know.

Why are these people held to a different standard than normal people? As a CPA, if I screw up a tax return or an audit, I'd have to answer some tough questions that would likely make me feel some stress. Nobody will let that slide to spare my feelings. Me ranting at the inquirer would only get me fired.

My point: if you're so fragile that you can't be expected answer legitimate questions about your poor performance....you have serious issues. You have the mental wherewithal of my three year old when he hasn't had a nap. Same can be said for treating a reporter punitively for taking a 5 minute break from hand-feeding you grapes and fanning you with palm leaves.

It's spineless behavior on both sides.

Yes, but would the tough questions you'd have to answer be to a reporter/third party? Or would they be to your boss and to your client? For all we know the front office/manager/coaches/players are all having to answer/own up to any of their shortcomings behind closed doors.

 

Paul Molitor, Derek Falvey and Thad Levine all work for Jim Pohlad. They don't work for the fans. The reporters in the clubhouse all work for their respective media outlets. They don't work for the fans. 

 

Yes, Jim Pohlad wants the fans to show up and support his team so he can make money. But having his manager and front office be transparent with the media really isn't going to help him achieve that goal. Yes, media outlets provide coverage of sports in the hope that fans will consume their product. But having their reporter risk getting their credentials pulled, or at least damaging a relationship, isn't going to help them achieve that goal.

[Otto von Ballpark]

The Twins front office owes us two things. One is Jack, and one is the other end of Jack.

 

Morris? Cressend? Kralick (RIP)?

 

Do they owe their French speaking fans Jacque (Jones)?

[markos]

 

I think there are a lot of people who don't understand why a lot of Twins fans are frustrated. I guess I can only speak for myself, but I'm not so much mad that they're losing. I understand it would have been difficult to prepare for all the unforeseen things that have happened. What bothers me is how they've reacted and how they're going forward each and every day.

 

When it's apparent it's just not going to be your year, you can do your best to make the most of it and try to get better for the future or you can trot out Bobby Wilson, Matt Belisle and Co in an effort to try to get to 82 wins and hope that Cleveland completely collapses. This is an organization that's simply far too comfortable with mediocrity.

I agree with this take. At a macro level, the results of the season have definitely been beyond the control of the front office. However, the struggles have certainly shed a lot of light on the micro, day-to-day decisions, and there are a lot of areas that the front office has struggled. For example, there continues to be a disconnect between which players are put on the active roster by the front office, and whether or not Molitor is willing to use them. Additionally, one of the most important "small" things that a front office can do is acquire pre-arb players off other teams' scrape heaps and turn them in to quality big leaguers. This front office has been in place for almost two full years now, and their best acquisition of that ilk is either Jake Cave or Ehire Adrianza. By contrast, the Dodgers picked up Max Muncy and Chris Taylor for (almost) free. The Yankees just acquired AJ Cole for essentially nothing, and he has been lights out in their bullpen. Brewers picked up Jesus Aguilar off waivers.

 

Anyway, this season hasn't given me a lot of confidence that this front office will be able to make the small moves that can be so valuable in a pennant race where every win matters.

[ewen21]

 

Yes, but would the tough questions you'd have to answer be to a reporter/third party? Or would they be to your boss and to your client? For all we know the front office/manager/coaches/players are all having to answer/own up to any of their shortcomings behind closed doors.

 

Paul Molitor, Derek Falvey and Thad Levine all work for Jim Pohlad. They don't work for the fans. The reporters in the clubhouse all work for their respective media outlets. They don't work for the fans. 

 

Yes, Jim Pohlad wants the fans to show up and support his team so he can make money. But having his manager and front office be transparent with the media really isn't going to help him achieve that goal. Yes, media outlets provide coverage of sports in the hope that fans will consume their product. But having their reporter risk getting their credentials pulled, or at least damaging a relationship, isn't going to help them achieve that goal.

Not sure where you are going with this.  I am a teacher and I have bosses (administrators) but my salary is paid for by the taxpayers.  For you to say that Falvey, Levine and Molitor don't work for the fans is like saying I don't work for the parents in my district.

 

They most certainly do work for us.  If this team sucks for another few more years, and we are forced to deal with do-nothings and evasive tactics and fan interest begins to wane even more then it has maybe more people will begin to understand that the game is for the fans.  Why do you think all that money went into building a new stadium? Why are television contracts so big?  

 

It is rather impersonal, and quite ridiculous, for these men to take us (the fans) out of the equation.  

 

As far as, the underlined comment about "having credentials pulled" what exactly would that entail?  Short of unprofessional behavior and some sort of other incident, how could a team pull a journalist's credentials for simply asking questions about the team?  Are you assuming that people who want the tough questions asked need a reporter to behave like Atilla the Hun?  I would prefer a calm, but persistent style of reporting. Someone who isn't likely to play along with the BS.  Someone who understands that they write for the people who read their column.  Someone with INTEGRITY.

[h2oface]

 

If your premise is correct, this would sure simply the assessment of personnel decisions. I have a hard time believing anyone who participates here believes as you do that the quality of a decision (baseball decision) can’t be judged on the merit of that decision at the time?  There are threads that last for many pages based on the relative merit of signing or trading for a given player. Your premise renders all of these opinions and discussion meaningless.

 

BTW … There are a lot of journalists who believe the merit of personnel decisions can be assessed even before they are consummated. 

 

Should I assume you have not and will not offer any opinions on the relative merit of any personnel decisions until the result of those decisions have been realized?

 

Well, they are.... meaningless. A lot of fun, most times, and an outlet for many things, but you hit the nail on the head. They are meaningless. I am not in denial. And that is OK with me. The meaninglessness. It is an obsession and addiction that we are all here. We chose to pretend we are all so smart and form community of sorts. Folks that are extreme fans, and like to argue. But in the end, it is pretty meaningless. But a lot of fun is. And assumptions are always a self trap.

[Major League Ready]

 

 

When it's apparent it's just not going to be your year, you can do your best to make the most of it and try to get better for the future or you can trot out Bobby Wilson, Matt Belisle and Co in an effort to try to get to 82 wins and hope that Cleveland completely collapses. This is an organization that's simply far too comfortable with mediocrity.

 

I don't understand the Belisle thing myself. That aside, what should they do about catcher that would be a long-term solution? They don't have a prospect that's even close to being ready. I guess you could bring Navarreto up but I don't see how that would have any long-term impact. You could make a case for bringing up a BP arm but it makes no sense to stop playing guys you want to move.

 

So, what should they be doing pre-deadline that can't wait another week until the roster construction going forward is known?

[ewen21]

i really would like to see Pohlad or whomever with the Twins attempt to "have a reporter's credentials pulled" for being a hardliner.  They would get hit so hard by the national media they wouldn't know what which end was up.

 

If a reporter is thorough, persistent and asks follow up questions that is not grounds for any action on the Twins part.  If the reporter is vile, rude and dishonest or whatever then you have grounds.  This fear of the Twins 'pulling credentials'  from reporters for being too thorough is completely asinine.  They have no grounds to do it unless certain ethical or moral issues were in play.

[h2oface]

 

Not sure where you are going with this.  I am a teacher and I have bosses (administrators) but my salary is paid for by the taxpayers.  For you to say that Falvey, Levine and Molitor don't work for the fans is like saying I don't work for the parents in my district.

 

They most certainly do work for us.  If this team sucks for another few more years, and we are forced to deal with do-nothings and evasive tactics and fan interest begins to wane even more then it has maybe more people will begin to understand that the game is for the fans.  Why do you think all that money went into building a new stadium? Why are television contracts so big?  

 

It is rather impersonal, and quite ridiculous, for these men to take us (the fans) out of the equation.  

 

As far as, the underlined comment about "having credentials pulled" what exactly would that entail?  Short of unprofessional behavior and some sort of other incident, how could a team pull a journalist's credentials for simply asking questions about the team?  Are you assuming that people who want the tough questions asked need a reporter to behave like Atilla the Hun?  I would prefer a calm, but persistent style of reporting. Someone who isn't likely to play along with the BS.  Someone who understands that they write for the people who read their column.  Someone with INTEGRITY.

 

I get your point. I would like the fans to have that kind of power. But unless the "state" owns the team, the private ownership is solely the person or corporation paying the bills. The fans are just the revenue source. There is no profit sharing, and the losses and and risk is not shared.

[Tom Froemming]

 

Not sure where you are going with this.  I am a teacher and I have bosses (administrators) but my salary is paid for by the taxpayers.  For you to say that Falvey, Levine and Molitor don't work for the fans is like saying I don't work for the parents in my district.

 

They most certainly do work for us.  If this team sucks for another few more years, and we are forced to deal with do-nothings and evasive tactics and fan interest begins to wane even more then it has maybe more people will begin to understand that the game is for the fans.  Why do you think all that money went into building a new stadium? Why are television contracts so big?  

 

It is rather impersonal, and quite ridiculous, for these men to take us (the fans) out of the equation.  

 

As far as, the underlined comment about "having credentials pulled" what exactly would that entail?  Short of unprofessional behavior and some sort of other incident, how could a team pull a journalist's credentials for simply asking questions about the team?  Are you assuming that people who want the tough questions asked need a reporter to behave like Atilla the Hun?  I would prefer a calm, but persistent style of reporting. Someone who isn't likely to play along with the BS.  Someone who understands that they write for the people who read their column.  Someone with INTEGRITY.

You don't work for the parents of your district. Did they hire you? Can they directly fire you? I get what you're saying, but do you get what I mean? I'm being very literal. 

 

And the questions you've laid out, especially the one about building the stadium, is definitely something that should be aimed at ownership, or maybe Dave St. Peter at least, but not the baseball operations guys.

 

Let's just say they're hanging on to the veterans because ownership has instructed them to try to squeeze out as many wins as possible this season, what are they supposed to say?

 

"Yeah, we totally want to rebuild, but Jim invested a lot of money in this team and he wants attendance to be as high as possible through the rest of the year, so we're just hoping Cleveland keeps from taking off so there's some illusion we're still in contention." I don't think that'd go over real well.

 

As far as reporters getting their credentials pulled, it happens.

 

If a reporter writes something that doesn't shed a positive light, they could get get blackballed by the team, it happens.

 

I'd have to imagine if you are consistently a person who asks the type of questions people don't feel comfortable answering or develop a reputation as someone who's sniffing around for dirt, it's going to hurt your ability to be a good beat writer one way or another. So the incentive's not there to stick your neck out.

[Riverbrian]

 

Why are these people held to a different standard than normal people? As a CPA, if I screw up a tax return or an audit, I'd have to answer some tough questions that would likely make me feel some stress. Nobody will let that slide to spare my feelings. Me ranting at the inquirer would only get me fired.

 

 

When you screw up my tax return. I may make you squirm and your boss might make you squirm if I go over your head and everybody in the Twins organization will be held accountable in that sense, just like you are because they all report to someone. 

 

The Major Difference is this: You don't have a reporter taking the information of your screw up, asking you tough questions and passing along that information to millions. 

 

Imagine you got a reporter asking you: What happened on Riverbrian's Tax Return?

 

With the same transparency that you demand from the Twins brass you explain it for the reporter.

 

"In 2017,  "Riverbrian made $1,000,000. During the course of the year, he spent a little over $100,000 on nude photographs of Chief that were legitimate business purposes and should have been a standard deduction according to section Q5 Page 147 of the U.S. Tax code. I mistakenly changed the $100,000 to $100,000,000 and this triggered an IRS audit and during the audit, it was discovered that Riverbrian has been investing in chemical weapons that will target old people and dogs. 

 

The reporter than reports the information you have given and you can imagine what happens next. 

 

I don't think Chief or I are going to very happy with you for starters and all those potential future clients who have read this report are going to think twice before they pick up the phone with your kind of public transparency.  

 

Potential Client: Hey Darius, I'm looking for a CPA

 

Darius: Perfect... however, you should know that if anything goes wrong, your personal information will be  shared with everybody in the entire world. 

 

Potential Client: No Problem... Where do I sign? 

[mlhouse]

 

There has to be a standard.  For example, if Byron Buxton can't hit his weight then how long do you simply stick him out there to "learn at the major league level"??  We are supposed to allow players to be really bad for entire seasons with no concern for demotion?  If that is what you are saying I don't agree with it.  That isn't a sound development plan.  I think we have been doing that already because there is zero competition in the high minors.  There are very few options due to a horrendous lack of depth in Rochester and this is a big issue I have with Falvey and Levine.

 

That is why you need a developmental manager up at the major league level taht can work with these young players.  You have to give these kids more than a few ABs or IPs and the constant up and down to the minors. 

 

But, your point is a good one and it is also one of the reasons why you "rush" players.  You have to sot out th egood players and hte bad.  The original rebuilding shortstop for the  1987 ChampionTwins was Lenny Faedo.  The original CF for that group was Jim Eisenriech.  The Twins moved these guys up quickly through the minors.  Eisenreich went from low A minors in 1981 to Twins starting CF in 1982.   If the Twins take the current approach of moving their players, Eisenreich doesn't reach the majors until 1984-85 at best.  Then he doesnt have his problems until 86.  More importantly, that means Kirby Puckett doesnt arrive until later........

 

When you rebuild, get them up early.  Take whatever look you need.  If they struggle and there is someone else ready, theyn you have more options.  

[curt1965]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply, and your post is a good thumbnail sketch of an important difference between the pastime of following a team and the job of covering a team. 

 

And maybe this point has been covered already in this thread, but I'll apologize if it has and raise it anyway. For me, at least, it's not that a Matt Belisle or a Bobby Wilson is ruining the Twins' season, it's just that the presence of players like them makes it difficult to understand just what it is that the Twins' front office is trying to accomplish at this point.

 

As Joker reminded us in The Dark Knight, "Nobody panics when there's a plan, even when the plan is horrifying". I'd prefer a non-horrifying plan for the Twins, and they should have the resources to come up with one.

 

But as long as the Twins retain guys like Belisle who can't really help them either contend or rebuild, it's likely that many heads will continue to be scratched, and much consternation will continue to be voiced.

Exactly!!!

The origin of my post came after reading an article about Max Muncy. The Dodgers GM was looking for players to stash in the minors for depth purposes. Muncy had been in Seattle without any success,and was cut. But there was enough information available on Muncy that the Dodgers GM thought he’d be great insurance for any major injuries to the Dodgers starters. The rest, as they say, is history. And the reason for my post was this:

1.) There was obviously no plan or contingency for an injury to Castro. Having a catcher like Wilson- batting around .120 for a large portion of the year, is embarrassing.

2.) The Twins had spent an enormous amount of capital in drafting relievers, especially those who threw hard.

They have many who have achieved some success, but have been by-passed by choosing options like Matt Belisle, which would be fine if Mr. Belisle had been successful.

3.) The entire roster construction is baffling, from the 4th outfielder question to having relief pitchers being over-used or not used at all!

I agree that the FO probably doesn’t owe us an explanation, but I think it’s better to be concerned about these issues than to care nothing about your major league franchise!

[KGB]

 

 

 

Let's just say they're hanging on to the veterans because ownership has instructed them to try to squeeze out as many wins as possible this season, what are they supposed to say?

 

"Yeah, we totally want to rebuild, but Jim invested a lot of money in this team and he wants attendance to be as high as possible through the rest of the year, so we're just hoping Cleveland keeps from taking off so there's some illusion we're still in contention." I don't think that'd go over real well.

 

 

 

 

I have no proof, but I find it hard to believe that ownership is forcing them to hold on to players.  Next year Mauer may be an exception.  I'm not sure why a FO trying to rebuild would want to hold on to a mid- 30 player who in the bottom third of his position, but I can understand why the ownership would want to keep Mauer if he wants to continue to play.

 

The FO was hired to turn the losing operation around.  If they were hired to do this and they are either not able to get ownership to buy into their plan or are just puppets for the ownership, it doesn't speak highly of the skills of this FO.