Who Deserves the Blame for Another Second-Half Collapse by the Twins?

[MeleMouth]

4 hours ago, JADBP said:

You are right....Zoll has had a part in this for many years.  That's why I assigned him 90%--I was going to go 80/20 for Zoll/Falguy,  But then I realized he is probably far more to blame than we can see.  Day to day operations, lack of training facilities, poor minors coaching/training, lots of problems from one end to the other.  And, if it is really this messed up (just look at all the roster f'ups!), then WHY didn't Zoll change anything/fix anything?  He just kept on doing what Falvey taught him to do.

There is only one long term fix that is absolutely imperative for the Twins:  replace the Zoll organization--starting with Zoll.  Its the only way we ever get out of this mess.  

The LAD Dodgers are a fantastic team NOT because of an owner that throws massive money at the players payroll (see, for example, the NY Mets)--its because the owner built a great team from end to end.  Great facilities, great scouts, great management, great marketing, great, smart everything!

I don't blame Zoll too much. Put yourself in his shoes. Your longtime boss just got the heave-ho for disagreeing with the new owner, so now you report directly to the new owner, who tells you to rebuild for the future while being competitive enough today to put fans in the seats. That means that you can't really trade your players with the most trade value, in order to build for the future, because they are assumed to be needed to keep people coming to the park.

You are given some encouragement to spend money, but it comes after the team is 98% baked and years of history suggest that it could be more talk than reality. Oh, and you're on a one-year contract, the new owner seems to have the difficult combination of no experience and complete confidence, and pleasing the new owner is more important for your immediate career prospects than using your expertise to implement a long-range plan that you might not see to fruition.

Most people, even if they think it's a mistake, would do about what Zoll did, which is nibble at the waiver wire and then make moderate acquisitions when given approval/instruction at the trade deadline. 

[jkcarew]

They were 8 games under 500 mid June, and made a mini-run to get to one game under at the break. Now they’re 6 games under. I don’t think that’s a collapse, it’s just being consistently not that good.

The record with Buxton playing is also under 500…so…just not that good any way you try to slice it.

And we added very little at the deadline…no needle movers…so, you just spin. Again.

[Vanimal46]

29 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

They were 8 games under 500 mid June, and made a mini-run to get to one game under at the break. Now they’re 6 games under. I don’t think that’s a collapse, it’s just being consistently not that good.

The record with Buxton playing is also under 500…so…just not that good any way you try to slice it.

And we added very little at the deadline…no needle movers…so, you just spin. Again.

If the Twins wanted to truly take advantage of a vulnerable AL, they would have made those modest trades they made AND call up Jenkins + E-Rod ASAP. It’s not a huge stretch of imagination to think Jenkins would have held his own in MLB all throughout August. 

[Bangkok Twins Fan]

The culprit is our old nemesis: runners left on base. 

[jkcarew]

3 hours ago, Bangkok Twins Fan said:

The culprit is our old nemesis: runners left on base. 

No. The Twins have the 3rd FEWEST runners left on in the AL. 

[jkcarew]

13 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

If the Twins wanted to truly take advantage of a vulnerable AL, they would have made those modest trades they made AND call up Jenkins + E-Rod ASAP. It’s not a huge stretch of imagination to think Jenkins would have held his own in MLB all throughout August. 

They don’t want to do ANYTHING “truly”. Say what we will about Falvey, he had (finally) made a plan…and got fired for it. As long as the Pohlads are in control, I’m afraid it’s forever all about the illusion of ‘competing’ in a horrible-to-mediocre (depending on the year) division in a league where 40% of teams now make the postseason. Anything more will be random based on the possibility of 3 or 4 real stars coming through. Before they leave.

[Milwaukee-Jeff]

The AL Central is a weak division, challenged only by the even less impressive AL West. If the Twins can't be competitive in the AL Central, they are, by definition, mediocre (or worse). 
Personally, I think Shelton has done a decent job and deserves to return. Three years is enough time to see how he handles a MLB roster.
Pitching is the key to winning. This year's injuries to pitchers killed any chance the team had to challenge for any post-season success. Last year's house cleaning, particularly by getting rid of Varland, Duran and Jax, decimated the bullpen and it has been as bad as expected. 
The position players? This team has no real stars. Buxton has been the most talented player but can't be relied upon to play regularly. His age is increasingly a factor too.
Most of the other veterans than have had multiple opportunities over the past few years to step up. Some need to be traded/released.
The younger players currently on the roster (Keaschall, Lee, Jenkins, Ross, Culpepper, Bradley, Abel, etc.) should be the core next year. I think the fans wouuld rather see a bunch of hungry younger players than second-rate veterans. 
Pohlad needs to provide Zoll with enough resources to field a better team in '27. This might/should include trading for a legit top-of-the-order SP. 

[jkcarew]

10 minutes ago, Milwaukee-Jeff said:

Pohlad needs to provide Zoll with enough resources to field a better team in '27.

Pohlad needs to do one more thing…the most important thing. He needs to let the GM do his job. The job is to build a strong team. Not sell tickets for this year’s campaign, or next year’s or any years. The marketing team or short term cash flow can’t be the tail wagging the dog. But, it has been and continues to be.