Jim Pohlad with Sid - is it really not about the money?

[Richie the Rally Goat]

http://www.startribune.com/twins-owner-jim-pohlad-fired-up-and-fearful-of-playoff-push/512687682/?refresh=true

 

It's a good read, and kind of a relief that if a newspaper with an editorial staff and a seasoned veteran pro writer can spell Thad Levine two different ways in the same article, I don't feel so bad if i screw it up every now and then....

 

On to the business of baseball: Is this just a PR piece? Or does the money really not matter as much in the second half of the year? 

[Brock Beauchamp]

The truth of the matter is that we haven't seen how Jim will react to a truly competitive team. Everything we saw in the past was Carl, except for the 2010-11 seasons.

 

While I'm not exactly optimistic about future spending, I'm not going to complain before they give me a reason to complain, either.

[Otto von Ballpark]

On to the business of baseball: Is this just a PR piece? Or does the money really not matter as much in the second half of the year?

The money generally doesn't matter much in the second half. For example, Bumgarner, Smith, Stroman, Giles, and Wheeler are due only about 4, 1.5, 2.5, 2.1, and 2 million, respectively, over the last 2 months of this season.

 

Fortunately for Pohlad, there doesn't seem to be any big contracts on the trade market this year, like past cases of Verlander, Hamels, etc. The closest appears to be Greinke, and he already did Pohlad the favor of putting us on his no-trade list.

[JW24]

 

On to the business of baseball: Is this just a PR piece? Or does the money really not matter as much in the second half of the year? 

 

I think the money matters (especially to the Pohlads) whenever it is spent. The front office has done an incredible job with maintaining spending flexibility for the upcoming extensions needed to keep Buxton, Rosario, and Berrios. When it comes to spending money in the second half of the season, it should be looked at as an investment that will return a much higher value if the Twins make the playoffs and go on a run. It only hurts if you spend significantly and fail to make the playoffs.

 

This piece felt to me like a bit of PR trying to rehabilitate the Pohlad name. Only time will tell if Jim is actually willing to invest in a continuously high-quality product.

[SpicyGarvSauce]

I LOL'ed at the thought that the money doesn't matter to the Pohlads.

[gunnarthor]

It's PR. We've had 25+ years of Pohlad ownership. Jim isn't any different from his dad. He keeps moving the goalposts. He said he couldn't spend when we were rebuilding but doesn't spend when we're competitive. In 2015, we were almost a playoff team, doesn't spend money in the offseason compared to the rest of the league. We're constantly a bottom third payroll team. No one should expect the Pohlads to change their stripes until they actual do something for more than one season that shows they are committed to building a winning team. They've never done that.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

It's PR. We've had 25+ years of Pohlad ownership. Jim isn't any different from his dad. He keeps moving the goalposts. He said he couldn't spend when we were rebuilding but doesn't spend when we're competitive. In 2015, we were almost a playoff team, doesn't spend money in the offseason compared to the rest of the league. We're constantly a bottom third payroll team. No one should expect the Pohlads to change their stripes until they actual do something for more than one season that shows they are committed to building a winning team. They've never done that.

While I haven't been happy with the Twins payroll over the past few years, "bottom third" is kind of underplaying what they spend.

 

According to SportTrac, their 2017-2019 payrolls ranked 19th, 21st, 20th. It's my opinion the Twins should be more toward the 14-17 range but they're not exactly the Marlins, either.

[gunnarthor]

 

While I haven't been happy with the Twins payroll over the past few years, "bottom third" is kind of underplaying what they spend.

 

According to SportTrac, their 2017-2019 payrolls ranked 19th, 21st, 20th. It's my opinion the Twins should be more toward the 14-17 range but they're not exactly the Marlins, either.

Isn't that pretty much bottom third in a 30 team league? Cots has them slightly different. 

 

In any event, if ownership was going to spend money, Dallas Kuechel would have been the obvious get. They didn't even try. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

Isn't that pretty much bottom third in a 30 team league? Cots has them slightly different.

 

In any event, if ownership was going to spend money, Dallas Kuechel would have been the obvious get. They didn't even try.

Keuchel was the obvious get in your opinion. Big difference there. Lots of us were lukewarm at best on Keuchel, myself included.

 

And if ownership is telling the baseball guys to go get a specific player, this franchise operates bass-ackwards. None of us should want that to happen.

[amjgt]

 

Isn't that pretty much bottom third in a 30 team league? Cots has them slightly different. 

 

In any event, if ownership was going to spend money, Dallas Kuechel would have been the obvious get. They didn't even try. 

 

You could just as easily call it "middle third"

[nicksaviking]

 

While I haven't been happy with the Twins payroll over the past few years, "bottom third" is kind of underplaying what they spend.

 

According to SportTrac, their 2017-2019 payrolls ranked 19th, 21st, 20th. It's my opinion the Twins should be more toward the 14-17 range but they're not exactly the Marlins, either.

 

I don't like that they seem to try to bracket themselves with similar sized clubs every single year. Can't they spike into the top 10 in payroll some time when it's needed?

 

As others have said, money isn't much of an issue this time of the year, but there are a couple of financially sticky guys who might be available. I'd like to see the front office make Jim put his money where his mouth is and go get Ian Kennedy. I'd personally be squeamish about Zack Greinke, but it sure would be fun to see the Pohlad's prove us doubters wrong, even if it turned out to be a bad move down the road.

 

Keuchel was the obvious get in your opinion. Big difference there. Lots of us were lukewarm at best on Keuchel, myself included.

And if ownership is telling the baseball guys to go get a specific player, this franchise operates bass-ackwards. None of us should want that to happen.

 

Yeah, and the Twins have removed the sinker from Martin Perez's repertoire and limited it from Kyle Gibson's. I don't think the front office was interested in that kind of pitcher, so I wouldn't judge that one based on salary.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I don't like that they seem to try to bracket themselves with similar sized clubs every single year. Can't they spike into the top 10 in payroll some time when it's needed?

It might be hard for them to hit top 10 very often given their awful TV contract but they should certainly spike into the top 15 regularly. That's my biggest beef with how the franchise has been run for the past... basically forever, really. Only in 2010-11 did they make any kind of effort to legitimately spend.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Yeah, and the Twins have removed the sinker from Martin Perez's repertoire and limited it from Kyle Gibson's. I don't think the front office was interested in that kind of pitcher, so I wouldn't judge that one based on salary.

I'm pretty confident the Keuchel decision was 100% Falvey and Levine. It aligns with their general modus operandi, especially because they didn't even make a half-assed offer to him. Everything points to them just not wanting him at all.

[David HK]

Heh....

 

His name is Pohlad.  

 

Of course it's about the money, over anything else.

[IndianaTwin]

The Cardinals certainly haven't played themselves into Sell mode, but this is an intriguing option: 

 

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Cardinals are "open" to moving right-handed reliever Carlos Martinez.
Rosenthal also mentions that the Cardinals are willing to consider moving their young outfielders like like Lane Thomas and Tyler O'Neill, as well. Martinez would be an intriguing option for teams looking for relief help, and you can add in the fact that he could be moved into the rotation next year. A team would likely want to do that, as they'd be paying Martinez $11.5 million each of the next two years, with club options for $17 million and $18 million the two years after, respectively. It'd be a relatively big risk, but there's obvious reward potential.

RELATED: Tyler O'Neill
SOURCE: The Athletic
Jul 16, 2019, 11:05 AM ET

[Mike Sixel]

It's a business, it is about money. Now, whether that means there is money still to be spent, we'll see in three weeks or so. And this off season

[mickeymental]

charlie brown and football?

[SpicyGarvSauce]

Now someone like Carlos Martinez is something I can get behind.

[gunnarthor]

 

Now someone like Carlos Martinez is something I can get behind.

Was he hurt? He was moved to the pen, I guess. Is he able to start anymore?

[Vanimal46]

charlie brown and football?

Bingo. Groundhog's Day came early this year. Every year Pohlad says there's no budget constraints, and every year there's a new reason not to add to the budget. 2014-17 there were no budget constraints, but they were rebuilding so no reason to add to the budget. Now that they're rebuilt, there's no budget constraints but they don't want to trade prospects. There's always an underlying BUT after they say money is available.

[nicksaviking]

 

Was he hurt? He was moved to the pen, I guess. Is he able to start anymore?

 

Yeah, this one seems a bit odd. The Cardinals had a pretty good rotation coming into the year so it wasn't a surprise that one of them got squeezed into relief duty, but now Michael Wacha is being sent to the pen so you'd think they'd want Martinez around for depth if anything. 

 

Matinez's velocity isn't down, so I don't see any red flags there, but unlike other suggested trade scenario's, this one sounds too good to be true, something has to be off doesn't it?

 

Maybe the Cardinals already decided that Ponce De Leon is the 5th starter going forward and Martinez made a stink about not getting another shot in the rotation? Perhaps it's just disgruntled starter syndrome? I'd love to have him.

[ChrisKnutson]

The Cardinals certainly haven't played themselves into Sell mode, but this is an intriguing option: 

 

 

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Cardinals are "open" to moving right-handed reliever Carlos Martinez.

Rosenthal also mentions that the Cardinals are willing to consider moving their young outfielders like like Lane Thomas and Tyler O'Neill, as well. Martinez would be an intriguing option for teams looking for relief help, and you can add in the fact that he could be moved into the rotation next year. A team would likely want to do that, as they'd be paying Martinez $11.5 million each of the next two years, with club options for $17 million and $18 million the two years after, respectively. It'd be a relatively big risk, but there's obvious reward potential.

RELATED: Tyler O'Neill

SOURCE: The Athletic

Jul 16, 2019, 11:05 AM ET

As much as I want Vazquez, I can’t deny the fact that C-Mart could possibly fill both of the Twins biggest needs; an effective reliever to pair with Rogers for the rest of this season and a controllable starter for the next several seasons while our competitive window is open.

 

I want both, but Martinez might be our biggest need. Hopefully Pohlad isn’t too cheap...

[LimestoneBaggy]

 

I'm not going to complain before they give me a reason to complain, either.

 

I'm not sure you know how the internet works Brock   

[Otto von Ballpark]

Was he hurt? He was moved to the pen, I guess. Is he able to start anymore?

Martinez missed some time to injury in 2018, and when he came back in August, they just put him in the pen since they had a pretty good rotation otherwise.

 

2019, Martinez had some shoulder issue during spring training, so they put him back in the pen when he returned in May, just to be safe. There were some rumblings about moving him back to the rotation this summer, but they still have other SP options while their closer is out after TJ surgery. It seems like they don't want to have to stretch out Martinez midseason.

[MABB1959]

I may have read a different article but I picked out 3-4 reasons they are saying we shouldn't spend.  Based on the least 20 years or so I may be reading too much into it.

• They are concerned the team went 9 -11 over the final 20 before the ASG game.  "I mean, am I worried?  I get worried anytime we lose a game, even 1".  

He goes on to pump up Cleveland even though we won 2 of 3 over the weekend.  Where was that big 1 game worry over the last 10 years.

• ".....money isn't the issue"  "It is what you need to give up, really, and its not what you have to give up in terms of money it's what you have to give up in terms of players"  And while he thinks the team could use some strengthening for the most part he likes the current club.  He wants to get the most out of what they have now.

• Target Field upgrades coming....."We are going to have to spend a lot of money to replace all the equipment, including a main board"

 

The fans are coming and they are pocketing the money again!

 

And I spent my one article per month on that for the Strib!

 

 

[nicksaviking]

 

 

• Target Field upgrades coming....."We are going to have to spend a lot of money to replace all the equipment, including a main board"

 

I didn't catch that the first read. Who cares about the scoreboard? Yeah, I don't like that, why bring it up at all? It has nothing to do with payroll or the playoff push.

 

Well it shouldn't anyway. Maybe it was out of context, Syd was the interviewer after all.

[USAFChief]

Who knows?

 

The one thing I'm pretty confident in...Jim Pohlad does himself and the franchise no favors when he's interviewed.

[SpicyGarvSauce]

 

Who knows?

 

The one thing I'm pretty confident in...Jim Pohlad does himself and the franchise no favors when he's interviewed.

 

Foot, enter mouth. Repeat

[Riverbrian]

First off... I don't think this is simple PR as suggested by some.

 

I think Hartman called him, asked him questions and he answered those questions and then Hartman put the responses in a column. 

 

PR suggests that his message was crafted and circulated intentionally. I think it might be as simple as agreeing to talk with Sid. I'd be willing to bet that Sid has a little cred with the Pohlad's. 

 

I don't think anything surprising or outlandish was stated.

 

I fully believe that Money won't be the issue when it comes to trading for (example) Stroman... I Fully believe that the prospect price to acquire (example) Stroman will be the primary issue. The front office will have to be as prudent as possible while under pressure to upgrade and that will be a delicate dance. 

 

Regardless of where they rank specifically in payroll... The Twins will be in the same range as other clubs like Milwaukee and Cleveland. They will spend more when they are competing and less when they are not but there will be a certain range that all these teams belong to that will pull them forward and backward to the center as the years go by. 

 

 

 

 

[IndianaTwin]

 

Was he hurt? He was moved to the pen, I guess. Is he able to start anymore?

 

He had a shoulder strain midseason last year. When he came back, they moved him to the bullpen to protect his arm, where he was pretty effective. When he wasn't going to be stretched out at the start of this season, I think they basically said that, given how effective he was last year, he was going to be their bullpen solution and the odd man out in the rotation.

 

But all along, the plan has been to go back to the rotation. Perhaps it will be a Trevor May situation, but he's had three seasons with 29+ starts. I always think of the Cardinals at being one of the best organizations at bringing someone back (or starting them out) through the bullpen and then getting them back into the rotation. Even within the last month, there was talk of trying to stretch him back out, but the early success of Daniel Ponce de Leon may have changed that.