ashbury

The Twins are in search of a new manager. Regardless of whom they pick, I'm glad they are interviewing a bunch of people. Hopefully most of them, in the process of explaining how they'd run things in the dugout and in the clubhouse, will give their frank view of "what's wrong with the Twins at present?" I wish they had done a similar interviewing process when they elevated Zoll to the (meaningless) GM title on the nameplate on his desk, instead of apparently reflexively hiring from within. Now I hope Falvey is capable of synthesizing from these snippets of what they must be saying all around the league, because he's driven this franchise into the ditch and currently qualifies as at best a competent but below-average major league executive. I know it's throwing red meat out there, to dare call Falvey "competent," but that's what he is, no less but no more. I would consider firing him if I knew of a slam-dunk above-average alternative; but the likelihood is to replace him with some other eager up-and-coming member of somebody else's FO, and that's how we got here in the first place. If I were in Joe Pohlad's shoes, I would want a debriefing from Falvey as to what he's learned from the managerial interviews, and what in particular he plans to do to get better, himself. What's going to be his Special Sauce, going forward? Because it sure hasn't been drafting, or trades, or development - some hits but an awful lot of misses. The talk of sustained excellence back in 2016 had me hoping he really had ideas on that front; turns out he told them that just to get the job and is just like anyone else who depends on tanking and rebuilding every decade or so - same as any other executive not in a large market. Fool me once, shame on you, right?

Regardless of whom they pick, I'm glad they are interviewing a bunch of people. Hopefully most of them, in the process of explaining how they'd run things in the dugout and in the clubhouse, will give their frank view of "what's wrong with the Twins at present?" And I hope Falvey is capable of synthesizing from these snippets of what they must be saying all around the league, because he's driven this franchise into the ditch and currently qualifies as at best a competent but below-average major league executive. I know it's throwing red meat out there, to dare call Falvey "competent," but that's what he is, no less but no more. I would consider firing him if I knew of a slam-dunk better option; but the likelihood is to replace him with some other eager up-and-coming member of somebody's FO, and that's how we got him in the first place. If I were in Joe Pohlad's shoes, I would want a debriefing from Falvey as to what he's learned from the managerial interviews, and what in particular he plans to do to get better, himself. What's going to be his Special Sauce, going forward?

Wow, what a nice surprise! I try to click "Like" more frequently than I receive them myself, and I hope others follow a similar practice. The old political joke, "vote early, vote often!" is actually great advice at TD - the Like button is an important part of community-building and I feel its absence at other websites I haunt. (Then again, I can't explain Facebook.)

A simple "it was a poor analogy that wasn't even central to my point, I withdraw it, let's move on," would have sufficed. 😀

Elaborate.

Only after one or more of the prospects actually establishes himself as better than Ober as a starter. Ober, even in his currently diminished state, has served the role of "innings eater" - second most IP on the staff this past season. You only miss that sort of capability when you no longer have it.

Rough? Certainly not a hill I plan to die on, a good-field no-bat player joining the franchise. I was mainly noting that the headline could be read two ways.

Twins Captain for 2026, and Twins Hall of Fame, are two entirely separate concepts. Most of your argument sounds like the latter.

More minor? I don't think it's humanly possible to make a more minor move than claiming Kreidler.

A power hitter who slugged as many HR as Larnach. Fewer than Buxton, Wallner, or (ulp!) Klemens. And that's about all he brings to the table by this point in his career, which is in decline phase. Larnach hit better overall in 2025 and probably will again in 2026. Pass, even if he's free.

What's your interpretation of their trading away essentially all the good bullpen arms under team control through 2027? As soon as they traded both Duran and Jax, the rebuild was evident. Trading Varland as well was merely the chef's kiss to the recipe.

The 18th, eh? Made me look.

There have been worse starting points for humor. Let's suppose the author's underlying point was that the sign itself was wimpy and ineffectual, and maybe even ultimately harmful to the cause. If the aim is to be Swiftian about it, then come up with something that would work better than the sign - then write the article about someone from Blaine* who does the exact opposite, and write it with seeming sincerity. * Randballs Stu's go-to, if I'm not mistaken.

Satire must above all choose a worthy target. It's not even clear what the target here is, but if it's an anodyne ballpark sign reminding us that we can do better as a society, and/or its removal, I question the choice.

The guy is just a placeholder and will be DFA as soon as the Twins sign Pete Alonso.

Sudden Onset High BABIP Syndrome is not a plan. 😀

Ding dang it. The TD user interface when replies go to a new page got me again.

I trust then that, if a ton of people are "uncomfortable" with Torii as manager because of what he said, it should be given weight too.

Wait, I hadn't heard about this on top of everything else. Pretty dire diagnosis.

Yes, because high draft pick position players like Buxton, Correa, and Lewis rarely get injured.

Cut to the chase and just promote Byron Buxton to player-manager, then.

Sad.

We're getting creative at 1B, and no mention of Aaron Sabato? Uh, yeah, I guess not.

Maybe it's obvious to everyone, but I didn't see anyone (including the OP) explicitly bringing out the headline's connection to the legendary Soul Patrol of 2000-01: Jacque/Torii/Matt. Nicely done.

I disagree. What is a spreadsheet but a list with a college education?