What Questions Do You Want Answered at Derek Shelton's Introductory Press Conference?

[Blyleven2011]

Here's one for falvey  , you were  hired in 2017 close enough and  you've had a couple of good years but alot more bad than good ,

Mr falvey ( sign of respect he doesn't deserve ) ,

When are we going to have the privilege and the pleasure to  see you resign ,  do you face yourself in the mirror in the morning and see a competent coordinator  ...

Mr Falvey we are tired of your lies to the fans and now your lying to yourself  , you are an incompetent baseball executive  ....

[CRF]

It's gonna be a 10 minute baloney fest, filled with Falvey's time tested special brand of word salad. Wouldn't miss it for the world!🤪

[dberthia]

I forgot one:

Who will be the position player you pitch a couple of times a week when we're getting pummeled?

[Riverbrian]

I'd love to have the opportunity to ask questions. I'd come up with a lot of them but I wouldn't want the press conference answer. 

I'd start with... what went wrong in Pittsburgh... Followed by what went right? What would he do differently if he could do it again? Was there interference from the front office or ownership? How much control does a manager really have? Why wasn't or isn't Pittsburgh able to do what Milwaukee has been doing with a similar budget? What went wrong with Minnesota last year. How are you different from Baldelli? 

I'd probably have about 150 additional questions on development, platooning, rotations. bullpen usage. you name it. 

I would probably need 12 hours straight and I'd probably need to inject him with a stimulant periodically to keep him awake and participating. 

 

[Parfigliano]

Anyone to answer:  Why wasn't Falvey fired?

[Permanent Twins Fan]

I would enjoy seeing some dysfunction right off the bat from Shelton. You have to imagine that the front office would have told him one way or the other how they plan to move forward with the future of the ballclub, and I would love to see Shelton just come right out, and let fans know what the plan is for the future, and whether or not a rebuild is coming. While I don't think that will happen, I want fans to be able to come out of watching the press conference knowing exactly where he stands on issues surrounding the ballclub. I'm tired of hearing the front office, and the Pohlads just dodging questions. If the Twins are going to rebuild, that's fine, but I want to hear it straight without any of the double talk that normally comes out of press conferences interviews. I'm excited to see what Shelton brings to the table as the Twins manager, and I hope that he will be able to make a difference in the development of the Twins' many young hitters.

[DocBauer]

What do I WANT TO ASK? LOL.

"Has ownership told you they won't trade Lopez or Ryan before the season begins because they'd like to compete in 2026"?

"Has ownership given you a $120-130M payroll that might allow the FO to give you a 1B, backup catcher, and a couple FA RP to help build and at least competent bullpen"?

That's just never going to happen.

So my #1 question is: "How much control will you have over your coaching staff"?

OBVIOUSLY the FO has input and recommendations. And they might be good ones. But Shelton needs control over hitting and defense if he doesn't like what's on hand.

[Sjoski]

3 hours ago, Nshore said:

After the dysfunctional situation in Pittsburgh in which he was not given the tools to succeed and from which he was eventually fired, why on earth would he apply for what is virtually the same toxic job in Minnesota?

Answer:

“Because nobody else wanted it. And let’s be honest... where else can you manage a team that’s rebuilding every other year and still call it ‘progress’?”

[Blyleven2011]

29 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

What do I WANT TO ASK? LOL.

"Has ownership told you they won't trade Lopez or Ryan before the season begins because they'd like to compete in 2026"?

"Has ownership given you a $120-130M payroll that might allow the FO to give you a 1B, backup catcher, and a couple FA RP to help build and at least competent bullpen"?

That's just never going to happen.

So my #1 question is: "How much control will you have over your coaching staff"?

OBVIOUSLY the FO has input and recommendations. And they might be good ones. But Shelton needs control over hitting and defense if he doesn't like what's on hand.

 

 

Sure hope Watkins is on his way out , no reason to keep him , we made a change at manager , we need changes in coaching , sheltons choices with a new direction  ...

Falvey just stay out of the game and tend to what executives are supposed to do ( construct a roster the manager has something to work with ) ...

[Kevin Sheehan]

These aren't questions but just a couple of things I looked at. Maybe I'm old school but I figure good defense and range greatly affect starters pitch counts and bullpen usage. A pitch here and there in the course of a game might go unnoticed but over the course of a season I think it adds up. Anyway,  one of my previous comments in another post was about the "Twins Way" and it has to change. Hopefully I'm mistaken as it relates to Shelty as the stats reveal something but I'm not an expertFor 2025 see below

Drs - Dodgers #3, Jays #4 Bucs #10 Twins #29

OAA Bucs #8, Jays #9 Dodgers #11 Twins #20

Overall Defense Jays #1, Bucs #9, Dodgers #17, Twins #22

I'm not expert and development should happen in the minors but even major leaguers need practice to stay sharp. Hopefully Shelty will keep them sharp. 

 

 

[the_brute_squad]

Unlike the previous manager. Does he have any emotion other than "droopy dog"?

[Richie the Rally Goat]

13 hours ago, ashbury said:

There are questions I'd try to ask him in a relaxed private setting, and then there's the ones that aren't a waste of time in a public forum.  Anything that smacks of throwing certain players under the bus, even by omission in talking about others, will be answered in ways that are not useful. "Which players do you most look forward to working with?" would be an example.  Ditto for disparagement of his predecessor, and certainly of the present FO top to bottom (or his prior employer for that matter). And he's not going to divulge whatever secret sauce he may feel he has for running a cohesive clubhouse.

Still, gotta try to glean something useful from the new guy. How about:

• Compared to other managers, what do you delegate, and where are you most hands-on?
• What's the biggest change fans will notice about the team, apart from W/L you hope for?
• What are your thoughts on batter platooning, and conversely L/R matchups for your pitchers?
• What's the most important thing you learned as a manager the first time around?

I dunno, maybe I'll think of some others.

 

To piggy back on 1 and 4, what do you look for in hiring coaching staffs? especially bench coach? Do you self scout in the process? Do you look to build on your perceived strength? Do you hire complementary skills? 

[Doctor Wu]

.... as well as other familiar faces from their days as players, such as Nick Punto and Torii Hunter. Nelson Cruz and Ehire Adrianza were also speculated to be intriguing options in fan circles, but like Hunter, neither were confirmed as actual candidates for the job.

First time I'd heard Adrianza's name mentioned. But hey, I don't do the social media thing, so I guess I'll always be out of the loop. But a few of those guys could qualify as good coaches. 

[ladrossetwin]

For Falvey: What were the qualities that made Derek Shelton your choice to be the manager,

[rv78]

The biggest question that will give me the most answers:  What are you going to do differently than Rocco?

Because if he says he's not going to change much, then I know he just Falveys puppet #2. If he says everything, then I will expect meaningful change. Anything in-between those 2 answers and I don't have much hope because pretty much everything needs to change to get the ship back on the right track. I fully expect that he would say, we are going to continue the process we have in place and try to get better results. Because that is 99.9% why he was hired in the first place over someone without organizational ties.

[Mahoning]

Will you commit yourself to winning ONE series from the Yankees?

[jharaldson]

1. You went 12-36 (.316 Win%) this year and your replacement went 59-65 (.476 Win%) with the same team. Why did the Pirates perform so much better when you weren’t there?

2. 30% of the league speaks Spanish and 6 of the last 10 World Series winners have had managers with the ability to speak Spanish including non-native speakers like Joe Maddon and Dusty Baker who put extra effort into learning it.  What have you done since you last worked with the Twins to improve your Spanish speaking skills?

[Senior Softball Guy]

17 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Will your players bunt in order to advance runners? What will be your emphasis on bunting in spring training? Will your players frequently be asked to hit behind the runners, in order to advance the runners? What are you looking for in a leadoff batter? Who will call the pitches on your team? Who will be your infield defensive positioning leader...a player or a bench coach? What  criteria are you looking for in a hitting coach? In a pitching coach?  In a first base coach? In a third base coach? What do you do for exercise during the season? Who have been your mentors ? (This is  a tricky question.) What do you see as your role in when to promote and demote players? Who are some examples of leaders whom you admire and why? What qualities  does a good leader posses?  What do you have to say about UCLA coach, Red Sanders, quote that "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing" ( Lombardi was not the originator of that quote.),

Will he continue the agressive base running style that emerged after the big trade off?

[Jeff K]

15 hours ago, Parfigliano said:

Anyone to answer:  Why wasn't Falvey fired?

If I could ask one question at all...recognizing it wouldn't be answered it would be; "Derek, aren't you accountable for the current status of the organization, and if so, why are you still here?"

[Jeff K]

14 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Sure hope Watkins is on his way out , no reason to keep him , we made a change at manager , we need changes in coaching , sheltons choices with a new direction  ...

Falvey just stay out of the game and tend to what executives are supposed to do ( construct a roster the manager has something to work with ) ...

And set expectations for the minor league organization.

[jjswol]

To Derek S - do you see yourself taking over a playoff contender or a team in a rebuild?

[BillyBallLives]

5 minutes ago, Jeff K said:

"Derek, aren't you accountable for the current status of the organization, and if so, why are you still here?"

The Falvey non-firing was the giveaway in my mind. Any organization serious about contending would have cleaned house after this pattern of mediocrity....It’s like the Pohlads have studied the Pirates’ business model and said, “Hey, why spend to win when we can profit by pretending we’re trying? "    

It's become painfully obvious has it not?

[Sjoski]

Q: Are you willing to shave your beard so at least you look a little less like Rocco's twin brother? 😀

[Original_JB]

"Sheltie" -- Do you really like people calling you that? And as a follow up: "will you be getting your legs shortened"?

Did you meet/interview with any of these new "shadow partners" ? And their names are?

You finished runner-up to Rocco the 1st go round and saw how that played out, and yet you willingly came back? Can you explain/elaborate?

Did you make sure that all the promises that were made to you were actually written into your contract? And that contract length is how long exactly?

 

[ashbury]

I know he likes the taste of bourbon, but why are people assuming Derek Shelton will arrive at his own press conference drunk?

[DannySD]

How do we get the defense good enough to compete?

[Craig Arko]

1 hour ago, ashbury said:

I know he likes the taste of bourbon, but why are people assuming Derek Shelton will arrive at his own press conference drunk?

Perhaps they have him confused with the secretary of war.

[Woof Bronzer]

I'd love a media member to ask Zoll something like "what was your role in the hiring process" to try to get a sense for what he actually does.  

[The Great Hambino]

For Falvey:  What made familiarity such an important criterion in your search given this team has missed the playoffs in four of the last five seasons?

[weitz41]

I'd ask what....is air speed velocity of an unweighted swallow...

{MP the holy grail reference)