Kwak

Come September, the rosters expand and it is normal for teams to add several RPs. Use of more pitchers isn't as taxing on the overall bullpen when more are used as would be the case before September. The use of many RPs during the season (pre-September) can mask he deficiencies of some RPs--but comes at the price of a short bench. Short bench means players must adapt to play positions they aren't at the ML level, and severely limits the counter (a PH) to when the opponent brings in their specialist PR to gain a favorable matchup. September callups make situational RP matchups less likely because both teams have many options for pitching, hitting, defense, and even baserunning.

Play to win the rest of the way--use the best line-up(s) possible. In this way, proper assessment of all personnel can be performed. Adjustments or replacements can be made on said proper assessment. It is required to know the strengths and weaknesses of the team to move forward to long term success. Playing to lose would teach nothing. Playing to win and winning would be illuminative--so would playing to win but losing!

If "Gardy's guys" have to be the sacrificial goats, I fully expect Mientkiewicz to be promoted to the Twins serving as either a base coach or the dugout coach--irrespective who is the field manager. This will fufill the "experience requirement" to become a field manager (on any team!). Jake Mauer suffers from never having been a major league player on his resume and I believe that he will never be a full-time manager of a major league team. More likely, Jake would receive some kind of a Front Office job with the Twins.

So, would "the chief spin man" seek to identify scapegoats to protect the entire organization?

Answers: a) All of them still exist. The first two are under different ownership and the St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore and changed their name to the Baltimore Orioles. that owner (deceased) would have accepted contraction (alledgedly) for $125MM. Or, no longer inexistence.

Are we back to this myth? This issue has been addressed several times before and doesn't need repeating. Basically Smith was "a company guy" who ran errands, wrote reports, and signed documents for the whole rest of the Front Office (that stayed after Ryan "stepped-down") and Field management (Gardenhire et al).

The September callups fall into the "just bad" category. The others belong in a new category called misused. The Twins pitching philosophy is: starter goes ~100 pitches, then Gardenhire (The Grandmaster) mixes and matches the RPs until the (designated) closer enters the game to "save" the game. It's unusual to use a RP for more than an inning, and rarely more than two. As a consequence RPs get too many appearances (IPs is deceptive for RPs), and the element of surprise (what does he have again???) is minimized. They also wear down. Too many RPs (normal for Gardenhire era Twins teams) cause the rest of the bench to contract causing the use of defensively-challanged players.

Let me see...the premise of this article is: "it's the coaching staff that's at fault! Or maybe only one of the coaches is the problem. Just replace that coach and everything is 'fixed'." I guess if those coaches just were as loyal as the bloggers this mess would never have happened. What was that record from August again? And wasn't this post-ASG schedule "softer"? The W/L record should have improved not regressed. Is this the coaches fault? After all this team isn't laden with no-talent boobs, nor besieged by injury to key regulars that preven the team from (at least) duplicating the win percentage from before the ASG. The lineup used is nearly totally comprised of players that were on the Active Roster in July. Weren't Santana and Vargas promoted after the ASG and didn't both of them markedly improve the team? So what gives? The coaching staff didn't have time to corrupt them yet--so they are still very productive? One would have to have blind loyalty to management to suggest that the problem was caused by one (or more) of the coaches and that all that needs to be done is to replace those "ungrateful coaches" and the Twins' problems will be fixed. The attitude that "just a tweek or two and all will be fixed" is reprehensible and runs counter to all evidence. Failure doesn't imply that any of the people involved are "bad people", it simply means that "their bit doesn't work anymore" and new people with a fresh perspective, energy, and motivation are needed.

Mess left by Smith? Whoa partner, you make it sound as if Smith undid every good thing Ryan did and replaced things with junk--HE DIDN'T. A) Smith was a company man. Given Smith's lack of player personnel experience it is clear he wasn't AGM to help Ryan build a baseball team. I liken Smith to being the Asst. Principal in the High School--he is there to do mgmt's dirty work. There was a clear division between Player Personnel Manager n Ryan as GM. More than once Ryan emark that didn't get "involved" in he draft past the first round--he considered the draft "a crap shoot". Ryan trusted his own ability to scout players and properly evaluate their potential. This is why Ryan so frequently "shopped in the basement" seeking under-appreciated players thinking that they could help the Twins. Sometimes he was right, even very right. Do you honestly think Ryan would give any credence to Smith's player/personnel evaluations given Smith lack of experience in that area I sure don't--and I bet the rest of the organization didn't either. Smith's tenure was to "fill orders"--not give them! The Santana trade? Do you believe that Smith placed the highest priority for a CF himself?--Or perhaps from the combination of Gardenhire and Dir. of Player Personnel? [i forget his name]. The trade with Tampa for Delmon Young? Not Smith but far more likely the "real pros" in player evaluation in the FO and of course Gardenhire. The Rule 4 Drafts? Again no reason to think he was calling the shots when Ryan didn't. How about the lack of talent in the system? Smith, the org guy?-- or how about the player/personnel guys whose job actually was to stock the team with talent? I think Smith generally wasn't respected by the others in the FO (well Smith wasn't a BB guy was he?) It's just way too easy to blame the guy is gone (and since nobody in the org has ever come to his defense ) probably not all that liked. Smith clearly stated that his was just the last signature on the paper for the Nishioka "acquisition". I find it hard to believe that he could ram that down everybody's throat when two years earlier Gardenhire so clearly informrd everyone that re-signing Punto (as SS) was the team's #1 priority. I don't believe for a second that Smith had Napoleanic power and unilaterally made all of these player decisions. The whole Front Office (including the Executive committee) is to blame for this mess--and yes, that also includes Ryan. It wasn't just one guy (Smith)--it was everybody.

I've lived in several major sports markets. Often there has been "blind loyalty" to a head coach/ manager--but I have never encountered said feelings about a GM or Front Office (the management team). Many of these "sports teams" have had even more success than the Twins--yet nowhere near the "love" expressed like is for the Twins Front Office/GM. Perhaps there are many who are personal friends of said people or at least have some relationship that is/was not impacted by baseball. In that case I can certainly understand that these individuals would "rise to their defense", but strangers? It just doesn't happen elsewhere. The "management types" (suits) are generally viewed as machine components--not as people and entirely replaceable. They have a job to do, if they "do it", they stay (generally with a juicy raise), but if they "don't do it"--out they go and maybe with a few crocodile tears splashed. Management is (basically everyone else too!) is viewed by the mantra "what have you done for me lately?". Success in the previous decade?--they received their reward for that performance. The stew that this team is in had many cooks--and basically, they are all still in place.

Hurt? There was never anything reported about "hurt", pain, injury, etc. The Twins could (would!) have complained openly if the A's had try to pass off an injured player, so any claim of injury to Milhone has no evidence. Given the low price paid for Milhone, failure by Milhone doesn't stain Ryan's reputation. It's just one of those things. Sadly, all too often I read posts that a pitcher's problems are "hurt". Nolasco's injury? I don't believe it was anything of the sort. Given the guaranteed nature of his contract and the Twins aversion to paying large sums of money to a guy who doesn't play, they would have shut him down for the rest of the season if there was any danger to the rest of his career. Often, a guy is just "rested" to see if a little time off can "right the ship". Placing Nolasco in the IR would open a spot on the Active Roster--and wouldn't cost a playoff spot! It is common for players not to perform up to expectations that were not caused by injury. I don't know why this "hurt" is tossed around so frequently--though I have my suspictions.

I wonder if we will read that the FO is being "restructured" to better serve the "fans"?

Consider the following evidence: Twins' developed starting pitchers that were promoted to the majors. Baker, Perkins, Slowey, Blackburn, and I will include Garza. All "had a major league arm", but lacked the consistent "finish-'em-off" pitch. Each of them had "enough" of a fast-ball, but the secondary pitches really didn't make the grade to elevate these guys to "the next level". Liriano, when he camr to MN, already had his FB and slider going for him--but the Twins system was never able to build on that. Gibson wasn'r really developed by the Twins--the MiL was simply a proving ground which he zipped through until his injury. There was (still is?) a thread about Cedar Rapids being "in a bind" due to their SP reaching an innings limit--all were under 70 innings pitched! MLB SPs need to go 162 innings to "qualify". Pitchers will burn-out. But that's why teams sign so many of them every year. There is definitely a "survival of the fittest" element. But pitchers must be developed to succeed at the MLB level, not just get there.

Berrios is definitely ahead of Meyer--and likely several others. Meyer has been moved from "prospect" to "prayer" in the player rankings. If he can turn it around--great! But, pinning hopes on a shoulder-injured player who rarely pitches six innings? No, folks this guy is a prospect (at 24!) he is a prayer. I hope he makes it--but the probability as a dependible rotation guy is too long of a shot. No, I'm not advocating to "shoot this horse", but I'm not going to bet on him--nor should the Twins. Simply play him and hope (and pray).

So, I guess the Twins didn't screw the A's? Consider what is normally stocked in the bargain basement. Outright failures, overages, and outdated merchandise. Milone belongs in the outdated category. It looks OK on the surface because you've seen it before, but is only appropriate a couple of times a year. Good news--he cost next to nothing. But given Ryan the Twins will still frequent the basement in hope that leisure suits will come back into style.

Or, the Twins could do a KC and trade prospects for a top starting pitcher. KC sure turned themselves around by acquiring huge improvements in starting pitching. The shouting from the rafters "we've got the best MiL system" indicates that there is plenty of depth to make a trade or two and still have quality "in the pipeline". Money? They were willing to operate on a $110MM budget--and that was before MLB renogotiated their national TV contract. Hence, yes, there is enough money to afford a top starter.

It is true that the Twins scored many more runs in August than earlier in the season. Consider when they scored those runs. All too often they score a bunch when trailing by two bunches. Or, when with a nice lead--say the six-run 10th inning, when two runs would be considered "a lot". The Twins have far too few games where they score early and then grind down their opponent the rest of the game to secure victory by a small margin. Hitting stats can be very misleading. Sunday's 12-8 loss is an example--score was 11-2 at one point, the next six runs weren't all that useful. The lineup needs to be more productive early in the game to become a consistent winner.

Some of these promotions were definately rewards for performance in the minors rather than as a "look see" or "get your feet wet" or as a prelude to a future in the MLs. Ryn has always fancied his own scouting to try to obtain under-appreciated talent for possible use. By promoting these guys he ensures a steady stream of AAAA guys signing minor-league contracts with the Twins. Ryan does love "options".

The salient qqestion is: How many sucessful pitchers have been developed by the Twins' system? The "September ERA problem" will simply repeat itself. As for the proclamations about pitchers in the MiL system?--We've heard that story every year for more than decade. "We've got 'him' and 'him' plus 'these other guys' at [where ever]". "We're well positioned for the future." There is considerable evidence to doubt the reassurances.

A stat is needed to evaluate when the hitting numbers were performed. Things like: score at the time said numbers were generated, the inning, etc. But my vote is split between Vargas and Santana.

Santana should be the SS--but won't be this September. Santana was declared not ready (as a SS), Escobar is succeeding (modestly) at SS, and Escobar is the prize received for trading Liriano. But maybe the silver tongues can spin this position change to the public. Plouffe: an off-season trade would net the best return. We saw enough of him in the OF (yikes!), before his fortutitious move to 3B, to judge his OF "skill". A combination of Schafer/Hicks will suffice for now and next season. If Santana may only play in the OF--well, LF is as good of a field as CF. The OF doesn't appear to be Santana's best location.

Just can't have too many RPs with gardenhire as your manager.

I think that he doesn't handle pressure well [yet?]. His demeanor on the mound and facial expression changes noticeably when there are base-runners.

This thread is like walking into the middle of a conversation. Unless we have the start of it to define the context this quote is nearly meaningless. Why talk about the ASG now, or Mauer's "first half-season"? Until we know what was said before this "quote" all we have is a puzzle. OTOH, when I read the thread for yesterday's game and noticed Mauer wasn't in the line-up I thought "What Up?" Re: Bigger bus? As long as Gardy is riding on that bus!

I've been away for awhile. When I read the premise of this article I had to double-check I was on a Twins site. Gosh, this team is on track to lose 90+ again and there is only one open position? I would need the rosiest rose-colored glasses or be on the Twins payroll to think that this collection will improve so dramatically without a major influx of talent. I'm sorry I can't find even one postion that couldn't be improved. But reality must be observed. Concentrate resources (money and prospects) to obtain one superior player irrespective of position. Others can be moved as necessary to "fit" said player. If a second can be obtained--by all means! Don't be blinded by short-term contract flexibility. Superior talent is always in style.