Tom Pohlad Is on a Mission to Rebuild Trust. A Critical Juncture Lies Ahead.

[TheLeviathan]

3 minutes ago, LastOnePicked said:

The one thing I have zero interest in is Twins fans going after Twins fans. If you're actually spending valuable time at TwinsDaily, chances are you're a fan. Congratulations, you're in the club.

Some of us still have some optimism left in the tank and some of us don't. I'm fine with that. Not a single one of the Twins' problems have anything whatsoever to do with the fandom.

It is the lowest form of sports discussion.  The absolute worst.  You've lost whatever position you hold the moment you start that lecture.  

[TL]

15 minutes ago, HarmonK03 said:

He purposely doesn't put a number on it, but you decide to.  Is so you can be upset if he doesn't hit your perceived number.  Let's see where it ends up and who it gets us, then we might have a reason to get upset, but setting a preconceived goal when he didn't is a set up to be angry later.

Not about having a reason to be angry, I’ll watch regardless and I can appreciate and even enjoy (within reason) trying to win without spending like a large market team.
 

Just reading between the lines. He has to realize the reaction he would get from a lot of fans if payroll is less than 2024, let alone 2023. Or maybe he’s anticipating being forced to increase payroll because of a floor. Whatever it is, he is expecting to spend some money. And I don’t think this team is very far away so a ~20% increase can make a real difference. 

[D.C Twins]

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       “Let me just say, I have been very vocal about what our ambitions are. I have been vocal, and to some degree critical, of where we’ve been. And so you can take some comfort in the fact that, with payroll, wherever we land is cognizant of both those things and will be commensurate with what we’re trying to accomplish.”

(Narrator's Voice): The Twins fans are 'cognizant' and do not 'take some comfort'

[bean5302]

I have zero faith the Twins will be in a position to be aggressive at the opening of free agency in a way that makes sense, at least. If Zoll is behind the wheel, I have no doubt we'll see signings early.

Jake Bauers
Nathaniel Lowe
LaMonte Wade, Jr.
Dominic Smith
Adam Frazier

Once we get those sub$10MM lefty DH/1B on the roster, we'll be unstoppable.

Joc Pederson will be out there, too, but Zoll will probably draw the line at $10MM and he'll command more than that. We need at least 10 lefty defensively challenged guys for sure.

[nicksaviking]

1 hour ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

All 3 of those starters are very much upgrades over our 5th best starter, no? I mean, like you know you'll get a baseline with any of them, and that's never a bad thing. Peralta is someone I like because he is known as a good clubhouse guy. Adding someone like him helps the rotation and helps the clubhouse.

Trevor Rogers is very much statistically a pretty big upgrade too. I can't imagine anyone arguing otherwise.

Case Mize this year was more fine than great. But would I take him over Dean Kremer and Bailey Ober? Yes I very much would.

So we’d take from the front of the rotation so they can add to the back?
 

Ryan, Lopez, Bradley and via trade (like how they acquired all of the above) add another arm to the TOP of the rotation and #5-7 can be the higher upside Priellip, Rojas and Abel.

[Vanimal46]

1 minute ago, USAFChief said:

Don't let the door hit you in the a$$ on the way out.

Because that’s the solution… Booting out the existing fans. 

[D.C Twins]

4 hours ago, USAFChief said:

First...The level of mindless vitriol from a subset of Twins "fans" is nauseating. 

Second, and on topic. He's said, and done, a lot of good things since taking over. He clearly recognizes there's been a huge erosion of trust in ownership and management. His team acted correctly at the deadline. 

It's a bit unfair, since the FA class is thin, but I'm willing to give them a chance to prove it. 

Let's see what the opening day roster looks like, whenever that is.

I so wish that it was 'mindless vitriol' but alas, it is 'absolutely well earned vitriol'

Part of the well-earned vitriol is that the team most certainly did not act correctly at the deadline which was plain to see real time for those of us in the 'mindless vitriol' camp

[USAFChief]

Just now, Vanimal46 said:

Because that’s the solution… Booting out the existing fans. 

I'm not the one who asked out.

[Vanimal46]

1 minute ago, USAFChief said:

I'm not the one who asked out.

You’re taking it upon yourself to dismiss and boot any fan who wants a direction for the organization. I have no doubt Tom P will be grasping at straws for 82 wins until he sells the team. 

[Vanimal46]

Tom P still hasn’t figured out yet that the first step is building a young core of talent. Then supplement them with the big money FA signings. He’s gonna try the raising the floor method with middling veterans to be relevant 

[nicksaviking]

Before this gets out of hand, I’d like to mention that I honestly enjoy Chief being the optimist in this conversation. 

[Cory Engelhardt]

18 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

So we’d take from the front of the rotation so they can add to the back?
 

Ryan, Lopez, Bradley and via trade (like how they acquired all of the above) add another arm to the TOP of the rotation and #5-7 can be the higher upside Priellip, Rojas and Abel.

Before this season Peralta was every bit an ace level pitcher. I think he still has that in him

[D.C Twins]

14 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Before this gets out of hand, I’d like to mention that I honestly enjoy Chief being the optimist in this conversation. 

[LastOnePicked]

8 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Before this gets out of hand, I’d like to mention that I honestly enjoy Chief being the optimist in this conversation. 

The battle lines are drawn.

Those of us who wanted a full offseason rebuild are going to point to every lost potential prospect as the difference-maker we needed down the line. Those who wanted to take a shot with what we had are probably living by the idea that it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Can't keep your powder dry forever. Something like that.

If Lopez, Ryan and Buxton have a great year in 2027 and the team makes a real playoff run, I will welcome a massive avalanche of "I told you so"s. It would be fun. But right now, Team '26 Rebuild has a solid 1-0 lead. 

Chief is great. None of this stuff is ever personal from my perspective.

[Major League Ready]

1 hour ago, NYCTK said:

Yeah, but Christian Yelich has been a pretty vital player in the Brewers recent sustained success. 

We traded for Lopez.  Perhaps I should have stated specifically that trading for an established can be a great move.  Of course, that was not the point.  The point was that trading for established players is not essential as sometimes stated here and generally contributes far less than trading for prospects.  

BTW .... Just to put Yehlich in perspective, he had 2 really good seasons for Milwaukee.  Yehlich has average exactly 2 fWAR over the last 7 seasons.  Solid but not a needle mover.

[TheLeviathan]

20 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

Tom P still hasn’t figured out yet that the first step is building a young core of talent. Then supplement them with the big money FA signings. He’s gonna try the raising the floor method with middling veterans to be relevant 

So I'm honestly chuckling out loud as I type this.  I asked for "wise decisions" and "clear vision and purpose" and this justifies the description that I am "asking out".  Like...how ridiculous is that?

If that's the conclusion anyone draws than they are not only accepting that neither of those things are on the horizon, but is acting defensively AND aggressively against any fan who espouses that those expectations should exist.  

I find that to be the bare minimum for my full-throated support.  Otherwise, I'm absolutely going to remain a skeptic and a critic of this team's leadership along with being a fan.  

[ashbury]

Quote

In a vacuum, I'd love to level-set and set expectations for the fan base. 

Pohlad's words are less important than actions.  But nevertheless I'm tired of the particular words I keep seeing spewed out.  This may not rank up there quite with Joe Pohlad's infamous "right-sizing" the payroll, but it's cut from the same cloth.

Truly successful people know how to shift gears from the corporate audience to the general public.  If they can't do it, they need to share some of their salary with people competent in public relations.  PR earns snickers when it speaks in hollow generalities (as hollow as the remainder of Tom's quoted remarks, actually), but good PR is worth a great deal - relationships with the paying public are vitally important.

With Joe it felt like we were hearing a deeply insecure person trying to convince anyone within earshot that he's an insider on a par with other business heavyweights.  Tom doesn't seem the same, but slipping into manager-speak is no less off-putting.

[LastOnePicked]

1 hour ago, ashbury said:

Pohlad's words are less important than actions.  But nevertheless I'm tired of the particular words I keep seeing spewed out.  This may not rank up there quite with Joe Pohlad's infamous "right-sizing" the payroll, but it's cut from the same cloth.

Truly successful people know how to shift gears from the corporate audience to the general public.  If they can't do it, they need to share some of their salary with people competent in public relations.  PR earns snickers when it speaks in hollow generalities (as hollow as the remainder of Tom's quoted remarks, actually), but good PR is worth a great deal - relationships with the paying public are vitally important.

With Joe it felt like we were hearing a deeply insecure person trying to convince anyone within earshot that he's an insider on a par with other business heavyweights.  Tom doesn't seem the same, but slipping into manager-speak is no less off-putting.

Yes, yes and yes.

Something like this would be music to my ears:

"We know where the holes are going to be in this roster. The GM's job will be to identify the best candidates to fill those holes. My job will be to work with our partners to get him the resources to bring these guys in. Can't say how much money that will involve yet because I don't know. And by the way, it's just not the roster. We've got to get this entire system up to speed. And fast. We took a risk last offseason that we intend to make pay off. And we've got teams in our own division that are already a few steps ahead of us."

Took me 30 seconds. This stuff isn't rocket science.

[Woof Bronzer]

13 hours ago, twinssporto said:

I also don't think you can fairly criticize his first year. When did he take over? February or March? 

He first appeared in a Twins press conference in September.  The below article quotes Tom and was published on Oct 5.  I really wish fans would stop giving Tommy this excuse.  They reason they didn't do anything last offseason was because they actively decided not to, not because of the timing of the change in figurehead. Tom was involved the entire offseason, and likely longer.

 

 

 

 

[1985Fan]

I’m not angry at TP or the family for past mistakes. I don’t blame them for past trades made/not made, FA signings, and FA missed. Those specific decisions are the POBO/GM. It would be great if the payroll was Dodger level or near that, but that is not required to field a winning team. Twins had the highest payroll in the ALC for several seasons under Falvey and were not competitive vs. Cleveland or Detroit. That’s on Falvey. The draft and player development under Falvey is what created the current roster, good and bad. TP made the right decision in letting him go.
I’m willing to give him and Zoll some time to prove that they can turn the team into a contender. I doubt they’ll go from 70 wins to championship in one deadline or one offseason. You can’t turn the titanic on a dime. 
I understand the frustration of several seasons of watching this team collapse down the stretch. I’m frustrated as well. They improved to 77 wins this year. Yes, that’s an improvement. They have the young kids here with more near ready to step up. I’m optimistic for the future and the outlook this year is much better than last year.
If you’re still angry at TP for making the decision to go for it this year and make trades at the deadline, I understand that position. Fans can criticize Zoll for specific moves and be frustrated with Pohlads, but I don’t understand how fans can be angry when he says he’s going to increase payroll. If he doesn’t and it’s just hollow talk, then be angry. I’ll wait to see what happens this offseason before judging TP or Zoll. 
 

[Whammy]

14 hours ago, twinssporto said:

I understand the skepticism. The family still has majority ownership of the team, and changing the person at the top doesn’t automatically mean a change in philosophy. But it doesn’t mean the leadership change is meaningless, either.

Having owned and operated businesses, I’ve seen how different leaders can set different priorities, even within the same ownership structure. Family businesses aren’t always of one mind. Neither of us knows exactly how much authority Tom has or how those internal decisions are being made.

I also don't think you can fairly criticize his first year. When did he take over? February or March? I’m not arguing that he’s earned unquestioning trust; I’m arguing that he deserves to be judged on his own decisions and follow-through. Calling him a figurehead assumes the very thing we’re debating.

This offseason is an opportunity to show whether his stated intentions translate into meaningful action. If they don’t, criticism is warranted. My optimism isn’t a blank check, it’s a willingness to give him a reasonable chance.

I'll bow out after this post. 

Go Twins in 2027!

No. Don't bow out. I wholeheartedly agree with your posts. I actually also started to look into season tickets about a month ago, but I found it to be kind of clunky in-season and decided to wait for the offseason to dig into it more.

The thing that drives me crazy is people being "pre mad." Setting up a negative scenario in their heads (like... a 125M payroll), then proactively being mad at leadership for this scenario that your glass half empty brain expects to happen. I'm a die hard Gleeman and the Geek listener but this is a classic Gleeman technique.

Skepticsim is fine, but if all someone has to contribute to a thread is "Pohlads suck. I'm out" or "Different first name. Same Family" then why are you here? Come back when your brain will allow you to enjoy nice things again. Your Pohlad whining is tired. 

And yes... I'd like them to sell the team too.

 

[Whammy]

14 hours ago, TheLeviathan said:

Man this thread confuses me.  Several people keep asserting that actions by Tom have "rebuilt" trust and been "good steps".  By what metric?  Did attendance increase after their "bold" deadline?  Have casuals starting tuning in to more games?  Have they seen a surge in season ticket purchases?  On what basis should I believe this rhetoric?  By all means, enlighten me on what basis these claims are made.

Here's the thing about attendance. None of us can ever really know. It's all anecdotal. 

Did they juice the reported number this year? Yep. But it's not like this is a new thing. 

What really matters is people coming to the stadium. Selling tickets is great, but getting people in the door is just as important. Like I said though, we don't have a good way to measure this. As someone who attends about 10 games per year and watches most of them, it felt to me like people actually in the stadium was down in early 2026 compared to early 2025, but the opposite in the second half of the season. Anecdotally, it felt to me like more people were showing up in August and September 2026 than in 2025. 

What does that mean for 2027? No idea. It's just my impression. 

 

Side note: Please point me to the people you claim are saying that Tom has rebuilt trust. 

[Whammy]

14 hours ago, Czelgert said:

For goodness sake Zoll was talking today about how he hasn’t decided whether to tender Jeffers the QO.  What more sample size do you need, Jeremy?  The season is over.  We know who is in the system and who the FAs are.  Jeffers is the best option available, at a position of need, in a very thin FA crop.  
 

As Yoda once said “Do or do not.  There is no try.”  The Twins need results to back words.  

People seem to always be confusing people SAYING they haven't decided, with them actually not knowing. 

I'm guessing he's 99% sure he knows what he's going to do, but a) something drastic might change (I don't know what that might be, but who knows) and b) there's no value in him giving a firm answer.

[Woof Bronzer]

13 minutes ago, Whammy said:

The thing that drives me crazy is people being "pre mad." Setting up a negative scenario in their heads (like... a 125M payroll), then proactively being mad at leadership for this scenario that your glass half empty brain expects to happen. I'm a die hard Gleeman and the Geek listener but this is a classic Gleeman technique.

Skepticsim is fine, but if all someone has to contribute to a thread is "Pohlads suck. I'm out" or "Different first name. Same Family" then why are you here? Come back when your brain will allow you to enjoy nice things again. Your Pohlad whining is tired. 

 

Fan policing is the absolute worst part about sports.  Quit telling people what kind of fan to be.  

If fans who have different views than you upset you so much, why are you here?  Come back when your brain will allow others to have different opinions than you.  Your fan whining is tired.  

[TheLeviathan]

5 minutes ago, Whammy said:

Here's the thing about attendance. None of us can ever really know. It's all anecdotal. 

Did they juice the reported number this year? Yep. But it's not like this is a new thing. 

What really matters is people coming to the stadium. Selling tickets is great, but getting people in the door is just as important. Like I said though, we don't have a good way to measure this. As someone who attends about 10 games per year and watches most of them, it felt to me like people actually in the stadium was down in early 2026 compared to early 2025, but the opposite in the second half of the season. Anecdotally, it felt to me like more people were showing up in August and September 2026 than in 2025. 

What does that mean for 2027? No idea. It's just my impression. 

 

Side note: Please point me to the people you claim are saying that Tom has rebuilt trust. 

The first four paragraphs in Nick's article implies that Tom realizes he needs to rebuild trust and has taken the "first steps" towards doing so.  Completely rebuilt?  No, but there are clearly a camp of people here at TD that are buying into that rebuilding narrative.  Matthew Taylor trusts him enough to "buy in".  So, yes, people are having their trust actively rebuilt right now.  For better or worse.

I grant your problem about knowing if the attendance numbers are "juiced" or not, but the available evidence we have does not support the idea that there was any meaningful bump this season.  (That's with primo matchups with Philly, Atlanta, and New York that clearly drove out non-Twins fans to fill the stands)

[Whammy]

10 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

The first four paragraphs in Nick's article implies that Tom realizes he needs to rebuild trust and has taken the "first steps" towards doing so.  Completely rebuilt?  No, but there are clearly a camp of people here at TD that are buying into that rebuilding narrative.  Matthew Taylor trusts him enough to "buy in".  So, yes, people are having their trust actively rebuilt right now.  For better or worse.

I think he's working on rebuilding trust and he's had some decent small steps towards that. I think there's a decent sized faction of people that feel that way.

It's probably the tense our your original statement that I disagree with. I read that as people feeling like trust is completely rebuilt, but that might not have been your intended implication. 

[Whammy]

17 minutes ago, Woof Bronzer said:

Fan policing is the absolute worst part about sports.  Quit telling people what kind of fan to be.  

If fans who have different views than you upset you so much, why are you here?  Come back when your brain will allow others to have different opinions than you.  Your fan whining is tired.  

Fair. I wrote that then looked at the first post from page 4 of comments as was like "oof... that's not going to go over well"

Oh well. What can I say. Permanently negative fans drive me crazy.

[Whammy]

Really, it's probably more that I feel a little sorry for fans that have the same amount of passion for this team than I do, but can't enjoy the good parts because they let the bad parts overwhelm their overall attitude. 

If I ever got that way about something, I'd probably just peace the hell out. 
 

[TheLeviathan]

10 minutes ago, Whammy said:

I think he's working on rebuilding trust and he's had some decent small steps towards that. I think there's a decent sized faction of people that feel that way.

It's probably the tense our your original statement that I disagree with. I read that as people feeling like trust is completely rebuilt, but that might not have been your intended implication. 

It's a spectrum though right?  Which makes it hard to tense because people could be in various stages ranging from mistrust to blind trust.  Nick sounds like he's trending towards trust.  Matthew Taylor is in full trust.  I'm at zero trust right now.  

The paragraph you clipped was meant to ask for some evidence for why people have given up those varying degrees of trust so quickly.  I'm not convinced there is much good evidence to have accepted any steps and I'm confused why people have so quickly framed things positively. given the outcomes don't support that.

[Whammy]

2 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

It's a spectrum though right?  Which makes it hard to tense because people could be in various stages ranging from mistrust to blind trust.  Nick sounds like he's trending towards trust.  Matthew Taylor is in full trust.  I'm at zero trust right now.  

The paragraph you clipped was meant to ask for some evidence for why people have given up those varying degrees of trust so quickly.  I'm not convinced there is much good evidence to have accepted any steps and I'm confused why people have so quickly framed things positively. given the outcomes don't support that.

I've read enough Tweets from Nick over the years to know he's only at the beginning of that spectrum. 😜

But I do agree that his overall attitude on the Twins over the last couple weeks has perked up quite a bit, so maybe he's got more trust in TP than I'm giving him credit for.