JADBP

Many of you missed the point of this off-season. There are many high ceiling players on the Twins right now and only one position player who has reached his ceiling (Buxton). Maybe Jeffers is close, on offense, but probably not on D. But, look at all of these high ceiling players who are woefully short of reaching that ceiling: Lewis, Lee, Larnach, Wallner, and maybe even Martin and Keaschall. And, the entire bullpen. Imagine if Lewis were hitting 30 dingers a season (he was, at one time, plus at all 5 tools), or Wallner and Larnach hitting 20+ each, and Martin and Lee consistently hitting over .300. Imagine some combination of these playing superb defense. This is what we were promised as we drafted and developed these high ceiling players. But they are all sitting on the floor. Now, THIS IS exactly what I believe Zoll, Tom, Shelton, and the strategists are looking at right now....they are looking at a group of players that need to be retrained, reoriented, restructured, fixed, and coached up far closer to their ceiling. Because if just 3 or 4 of them achieve this, the Twins DO become competitive. Sure, there are still holes, 1B. The bullpen. Maybe a true vacuum cleaner at SS. But we have plenty of highly desirable talent close in AAA. But, if you squint, you could see a breakthrough with this fairly well stacked but largely underachieving talent! So, I credit Tom with cleaning the management and coaching houses and giving the new guys a crack at turning this horde of talent into something respectable, something "competitive." Rocco is gone--along with many of his minions. Falvey is gone, with his inane hole-patching trades. The problem was never that we didn't have talented players, it was that we never saw the talented players we already have reach their potential. We even saw great players come onto this team and regress to their floor (I'm looking at you, CC). There's a new sheriff in town....let's hope that they can turn this around. Tom is gonna give them a chance to do it. This doesn't mean that I am optimistic for a winning 2026....but it is the overarching strategy that Tom has put in place. It clearly explains the lack of off-season moves. It might work, but I expect it will take a culture cleansing in the clubhouse and that will take more than one season. Too much Maur-itis still exists in this clubhouse!

I am pretty sure that Tom Pohlad has said "Shelton....we have all these supposed great players many who we drafted in the first round, on this team...so its up to you to turn this thing around with these players. Get to work!" Meaning that at least Tom believes that there are several players on the team now with excellent potential. I have to agree. Lewis, Lee, Keaschall, Martin, Larnach and Wallner--we always talk about their great potential. And the next wave, Jenkins, Emma, Gabby, and Mendez, to go along with a ton of pitchers--Prielipp, Raya, Morris, Festa, Zebby, and Rojas. Can Shelton and his coaches turn around all of these players to reach their ceiling? Lewis should be popping 30+ homers and hitting .270+ every year. Larnach and Wallner should be bringing in 90 RBI or they should be moved out. Lee should be hitting over .300 consistently. Keaschall needs to learn to excell at one position in the field. All of this falls on Shelton. Its his team to build on. I think about it this way....go back a few years, when these players were in A ball--how lucky would have the Twins felt if they were to trade for all of these huge upside players? But they drafted (almost) every one of them and now they are in or near to the biggs and just fell flat. I think Tom realizes this and he changed everything, coaching staff, GM, etc to clear the way for a whole new coaching/training/management staff to come in and whip these players into star. I think he looked at what David Popkins achieved in TOR and realized that the problem was not Popkins, it was somewhere else on the coaching staff. So he cleaned house. I believe there are some stars in the mix here. I am still very high on Lewis, and still semi-high on Lee and some of the pitchers. I hope the new staff makes a difference. Otherwise, there is only one other variable, and that means the Pohlads have to go.

"As the Twins move forward yet again, I hope Derek Falvey is remembered not for the collapse, but for the progress, the ambition, and the moments that made fans believe again." YEAH,,,,NO! I won't remember the progress or ambition. I will remember all the losses, the bizarre coaching decisions, and the horrible trades. Yeah, he was an abject failure. That's all I will remember. Sorry, Derek!

Love the old truck/new truck analogy. Now, what that says to me is that the Twins have 187,000 on this team. They probably need new brakes, a timing belt and the tranny slips a little when its cold. Yeah...the old girl just surely not as zippy as that shiny new $85,000 truck, and there is a lot of rust that will never be repaired, but as long as the heater still works, I'll drive it to work every day! The beauty of the beater car is that you really don't care about the rust, or getting dinged, or spinning out on a snowy I-694. You just gather her up and continue on home. With a smile on your face thinking of all the money you are saving on car payments, insurance, plates, and worry! You save so much money, its almost like printing money. I guess this is exactly how the Pohlad's feel about the Twins. Plenty of rust and needs plenty of repairs, the engine is staring to go, and the heater is iffy at best. But as long as you hang on to it, you just keep printing money. Eventually it becomes a valuable classic car and you sell it for a boatload of money. I get it now!

soooo boring!

While I agree that the owners have been tough on Falvey, particularly Joe, he has made far more BAD decisions than good decisions. His trades have been strikingly bad overall with a very few good ones sprinkled about. His Free Agent signings have been a disaster. On average, every year, it feels like he makes 8-10 FA signings of which one is credible. But it is his inane stubbornness that is most frustrating. He will run these bad FA signees onto the field for the whole season, over and over, as they consistently fail, over and over. He will stick with failed strategies for years. He will defend his inane moves with misplaced hope and optimism. He grins foolishly while trying to justify yet another failed plan. Glad to see him gone!!!

Strategically, Falvey was on Planet Oz. He was trying some insane moves to succeed as a GM on a low payroll team...and it worked horribly. That's obvious with the poor drafting, signing, and trading. His many failures far outweighed his few successes. And, of course, he was in charge of the entire team...so he had decision control throughout the organization. But, here's the rub. WHY OH WHY did it take NINE years, with so many repeated failures, for the Pohlad's to wake up and DO SOMETHING about Falvey? Falvey's greatest success was in fooling the Pohlad's for so long! That's on the owners, not Falvey. Shame on them! But, I am giving them a chance with a tough talking Tom. If he fails, there is no hiding.

First, we need to give Tom P some time. He deserves a chance. He’s not Carl, not Joe, not any other Pohlad. He really does seem to be his own man. Let’s give him a little time. But yeah, he took his time to assess Falvey. That’s the fair thing to do for Falvey. And when he was able to see that Falvey made far more failed decisions than successful ones, he made his move. I like his approach: “F the calendar” because there really is no perfect time to fire the leader of your organization. It had to be done. Might as well as pull off the Bandaid and get it over with. The sooner you can move on, the sooner you can start to make the necessary strategic and organizational corrections. So far, good work, Tom. and I am not so sure Falvey will pop up as a GM elsewhere….

I agree. While he’s gonna strike out too much, make him a full time DH. He’s just not as good a RFer as others in the organization.

Wow, damn I forgot that!! Ouch! Worst trade ever for the Twins. Worse than trading (forced) of Carew or Big Papi!

I agree, but the kid Pohlad was still running (or ruining?) the team back in 24. Now his big bro is trying to clean up his messes!

Well, as mentioned earlier...there are very, very few jobs like this in MLB. Falvey would have to had been impossibly frustrated to walk and leave all that money behind! He's dumping on what...2 years of pay? I highly doubt it!!! But, as Dman said, it all comes down to results. The reality is that other small market, small budget teams do far better than Falvey. He just made far more BAD decisions than GOOD decisions. And, with limited payroll, there is little room for error. Tom saw through the BS. Good for him for stepping forward, going BIG, even at an inconvenient time!

Of course he was asked to leave. Probably politely, firmly, but Minnesota-nicely. This is all part of Tom cleaning up Joe’s messes! It’s obvious that Falvey just couldn’t bring consistency and growth to the team. And, the lack of an LA-style budget is just a convenient excuse. I still see small market teams win games.

Martin, maybe, but I believe this is really focused on E-Rod, Gonzo and Walker. As Shelton said, the step from AAA to MLB is massive. Whatever he does to help these three future Twins will earn his salary. Even if these three are average to good hitters, but excellent OFers because of MAT, then this was a genius move.

Wait...whatttt????? OK, please explain why moving Keaschall to the OF is a better plan than bring up either Jenkins or Rodriguez? These guys have to get their feet into the deep end of the pool sooner or later...and Keaschall has to master at lease one defensive position...so why not? As long as we can hold on with Larnach, Buxton, Wallner and Martin, fine...but if one of them goes down (or gets traded), bring on Jenkins! I'd actually watch a Twins game just to see Jenkins. Otherwise, not so much.

This is all very interesting. Lots of great opinions. I can't look at a single stat like rWAR or ERA or whatever....these do not quite fully represent the contributions to the team from that one player. For example, yeah, Kirby had a long, fabulous career in Minnesota. But, he brought more than just great plays and timely HR's to the team. He brought an infectious enthusiasm that we rarely see on this team. And, with Kirby proclaiming that he will carry the team on his back in game 6...and then backing it up with a masterful performance...that doesn't translate to WAR or BA or any stat. He was one of the greatest Twins ever--right up there with Walter Johnson (Yes, Topgun!) or Killebrew! So, if we just look at magnificent contributions to the Twins, then my list is as follows: 1. Walter Johnson (assuming we can include the Senators). 2. Jack Morris. Sure it was one year, but we don't win that 91 WS without him (or Kirby). And, not just because of games 6 and 7, but the whole season and playoffs. 3. Johann Santana. His dominance was real, and he was the best pitcher in MLB for 3 years with the Twins! I have to say it is not his fault that he was traded...he asked, begged for an extension. Cheap Pohlads (and Terry Ryan) gave away Santana for a ridiculous return. Then the Mets ruined him with overuse. I keep thinking about what the Twins would have done if they just extended him! 4. I'd have to go with Bert. He was just so good for so long and contributed so much to the team--even after retiring. I love Bert! 5. Kaat and Viola. Kaat made great contributions, for a very long time (14 years on top!). Viola was fantastic. 6. Joe Nathan. Was a workhorse. So, it doesn't come down to adding up WAR, it comes down to total contribution to the Twins.

Say it ain’t so, Max!

Yeahhhh....thanks for the kind words. Obviously, you don't get it...everyone here is opinionating. Sorry to have offended!

Yeah all very manic! Or Maniac! Just how horribly BAD are the Twins really? There are some telling signs on the Twins MLB site today. Its really quite embarrassing! Fellow MLB Execs rate fellow organizations and staff on various metrics. The Twins only placed on the leaderboard in one of 24 categories: Most Underrated Farm System. Best five farm systems were LAD, SEA, DET, MIL AND PITT--garnering 80% of all votes. Twins were also among 9 teams that "received votes,"-- meaning they probably got a vote from Falvey. In fact, the Twins were among teams who received votes in four additional categories: Almost sarcastically, the Twins also "received vote(s)" in Best at Acquiring Prospects in Trades. Best at Developing Pitchers. Best at Finding an Developing Sleepers. Best Farm system Now when I say they received votes, they were like the honorable mention at the bottom of the page... Other than those few votes, the Twins did not place in ANY of these polls: Best Use of the Draft Best Use of the International Market Most Underrated Farm System Hoards Prospects Best at Developing Hitters (maybe we would place if there were a worst at developing hitters choice?) Other polls tried to predict prospects and organization talent Rookie of the Year, zero twins #1 Prospect --Walker Jenkins received 2.3% of the votes Best Pitching Prospect Zero Twins Best Defensive Prospect (16 players mentioned but zero Twins!) Most Underrated Prospect (29 players mentioned but zero Twins!) Who will be breakout prospect of the year? Too many to count but zero Twins Which pitching prospect is the best future closer? zzero! Who is the best Minor League prospect you’ve seen over the last decade ...still zero Who is the best amateur prospect you’ve seen over the last decade? Of course, Zer0 Best prospect Hit Tool zero Best prospect usable power zero Most Speed zero Best Fastball zero Best Secondary Pitch zero Best Pitchability zero "Also Received Votes" ALL IN ALL PRETTY EMBARRASSING FOR THE TWINS! To say they are a floundering organization is an understatement. One note: our MLB Central mates placed in many categories, particularly Detroit and Cleveland. Of all the draft picks that Falvey and team have made, only ONE made any of the lists here. I'd have to say, that's just an abject organizational failure. The Twins are GOING NOWHERE. So, don't get so excited about Taj or Culpepper, because the rest of the league's management doesn't see anything interesting here beyond Walker Jenkins. Compared to DET and CLE, we look really really bad! Sorry for the bad news!

Buxton should be much, much higher! If you are looking at who can drive success in the future, it has to be the relentlessly faithful Buxton. He is the heart and soul of the Twins team right now. And, he is the single most talented players on the team in every way. He's our only five tool player on the field. Even as he is aging, he brings it every night. He has to be #1. He's expensive because he's earned it.

I have high hopes that the new Coaches will get Lewis back on track. That is apparently a top priority for them. The OFers are a much different story...with three really good high end replacements nearly (but NOT) ready in AAA. Both Larnach and Wallner should feel the heat to product this season. Wallner could be a really good DH--great arm but poor glove. Larnach just never broke out to be the start that his draft pick suggested. I am guessing that the Twins will expose Larnach in ST to trades only after they have a handle on how long before we bring up Jenkins or Rodriguez.

Kind of reminds me of Bo Jackson (obviously Bo was special, in many, many ways). He had a degenerative hip injury that forced him out of Pro sports completely. Sounds like that Daniels might also have a long term hip issue. Sorry to hear! I still love watching "The Throw" by Bo!

This is just more total BOREDOM from Twins management. But, here's the deal--we keep drafting (in the first couple of rounds) all these "superb athletes" listed as SS's. How many of them have actually become good SS's? I have a problem not with the Twins being forced to sign Arcia to back up weak shortstops, I have a problem with the management/coaching staff not being able to turn ANY of them into top shortstops! When have we last had a top SS before the Correa debacle? I liked Escobar, but I'd have to say Greg Gagne! This is amazingly frustrating...how can we possibly be that bad--even with all these top prospects, we can't seem to get one good one out of the bunch!!! Lewis, Lee, Polanco, Nick Gordon, Will Holland, Marek Houston, DeBarge, WInokur, Danny Andrade (who has in our top prospect list for what...ten years now???) etc etc. So, here is my question: WHY DO YOU EXPECT DIFFERENT RESULTS WITH CULPEPPER? Don't bet on it!

Right...but remember the goal of the Pohlads is to make money. This trade doesn't confuse me as much as spending $7 million on Bell. He locks up 10% of the payroll to do what? Both field and hit poorly? Don't we have enough of these unplayable players already (Gasper, Larnach, Julien, etc)? I keep saying this: Joe painted this team into a horrific corner. They have only two choices: 1. The can either go big--get the payroll up and field a contending team. 2. Or, the alternative--go full on rebuild. Dump all the salaries, trade Buxton, etc, and bring up all the kids. The problem is the make money goal don't allow either of these paths. The Twins have been bleeding losses and the banks are pissy, so they can't run out and spend big bucks to fill the stadium and excite the fan base. Nor can they go full on rebuild because the fans will abandon the team completely, and for years to come--which will run up huge losses. So what can they do? Just exactly what Falvey is indelicately trying to do...thread the needle with just enough signings/trades to build some hope. BUT HOW will this make money for the Pohlad family ? It won't because its not enough to contend. Its that simple. Sadly, every other team in the Central Div has already figured this out. I am sure they are laughing at Falvey's flailing away with these nonsense acquisitions! THEY are spending money wisely to make their teams better. We are just signing more 1/2 tool players.

One would think that Pete Maki would have already noticed this. Or one of the many other P coaches. But interesting comments...and should be fixable. I thought the easy solution was to throw the Slider less.