mluebker

Sadly few of us are as good at this as we claim to be Thank heavens that being “good at it” isn’t a requirement, because there’s no way to objectively measure that. But there certainly are those who see things differently and too often imagine their opinions are right, and anyone who disagrees with them is wrong.

Whatever else there is on the list, I probably should add you to it.

No, but you suggested I wasn’t paying attention because of “a couple of division championships, a couple of wild card appearances and a winning record.” If you’re not satisfied with that, why hold it up like it’s a notable accomplishment? I’m not twisting anything, I’m responding to what you wrote. How about this? Would you be happier if I were to say, “Falvey doesn’t know how to assemble a _consistently_ winning team or hire a competent manager”? Because fielding teams stocked with a rotating cast of other teams’ cast-offs and reclamation projects that average a few games over .500 and until a couple of years ago hadn’t won a playoff game this century isn’t much for them to hang their hats on.

That’s pretty much the definition of every baseball fan. Baseball is an entertainment business, made for fans. Of course we’re all armchair managers. If we weren’t, there wouldn’t be places like Twins Daily.

I’m paying attention. I’m just not as easily satisfied as you.

My problem with Gardy had little to do with his gut, and more to do with his lack of imagination, his playing favorites and inconsistency handling young players, a lack of ability to inspire, and his infernal preference for pitching to contact regardless of whether there was a strong defense on the field. His laid-back, by-the-book managing meant he went by conventional wisdom instead of numbers, and he got results that weren’t a heckuva lot different than what Rocco and his iPad seem to get. I can’t remember ever wishing for more reliance on analytics, but I do remember being disappointed that they hired Molitor who, like Ted Williams was an amazing ballplayer but had little idea how to manage or teach. And then Rocco, who didn’t have much of a record on the field, and whose performance in the dugout has been adequate on his best days and frustrating on the rest. So no, he’s been nothing like what I was clamoring for. Terry Ryan was an Andy MacPhail wannabe without the baseball savvy and judgment, and Falvey has been a guy who does what he’s told by owners who care more about making a profit than winning. So no, I wasn’t clamoring for him, either. What I’d like to see in a manager would be a reincarnation of Billy Martin. A manager who takes chances, thinks outside the box, and knows baseball well enough to skip both the iPad and the conventional wisdom and makes the calls himself. A guy who’s not afraid to call out the front office and ownership when they make bad decisions. A guy like that can win with less talent than the Twins have been putting on the field, but he’ll also make a lot of enemies and only last a year. But it would be a fun year.

They say Rocco is a fan as well! Well, I guess a guy can have good taste and still not be good at his job. But still, I might have to choose my words more carefully when his name comes up from now on.

A Twins fan and a Deadhead!!?? I thought I was the last of a dying breed! My profile pic was taken at Terrapin Crossroads back in 2018

Best analytic piece I’ve read in weeks. Five stars!

Then the problem is even simpler: Falvey doesn’t know how to assemble a winning team or hire a competent manager. Winning can cure a lot, but if you don’t have a team that looks out for one another and wants to win, they’re never going to be champions. Teams like the 1987 and 1991 built their chemistry by playing together through difficult years, not just because they finally were winning regularly.

They hired him and keep renewing his contract.

And that, in a nutshell, is one of the biggest things wrong with the way Falvey thinks you build a team: It’s just a bunch of interchangeable guys you can swap around based on their statistics, with little or no regard for things like team chemistry, individual satisfaction, ability to inspire, or leadership qualities. It’s like paint-by-numbers, just matching up what you can see on the surface, but with no heart.

Joe Pohlad: "I’d rather have passionate fans than fans who are disengaged." He’ll get both: fans who hate ownership with a passion and who disengage from coming out to see the team. As family with deep roots in banking and financial services, they still managed to turn the Twins into one of the most debt-ridden franchises in baseball, spend too much on the “stadium experience” instead of the team that’s on the field, then want us to believe what they SAY they’re doing instead of what anyone can plainly SEE they’re doing. I’m too old and set in my ways to change my allegiances, but boy do they suck.

Yes. Regardless of whether they're in banking or real estate, they aren't in baseball to field winning teams.

They aren’t interested in winning, they’re interested in making a profit. Time for the Pohlads to refocus on their banking business and find somebody to buy the team that actually likes baseball.

Well, we're f***ed.

It's stunning to me that, generally speaking, Twins territory doesn't get this. I'm certainly not saying everything that's gone wrong is his fault, but there's no clear reason why he should still be managing this team. Rocco is what a manager looks like in an era where analytics are the basis of so much on-field strategy and fan discussion. There seems to be little regard for things like team chemistry, trusting one’s gut, or defying conventional wisdom. The human element of baseball and the unpredictability it creates used to make the game fun. That pretty much seems to be gone.

That’s what’s alarming.

If that was Falvey’s idea of a “baseball trade,” no one ever should trust his baseball judgment again.

If he didn’t have the no-trade clause, they’d have long since thrown him overboard.

Yeah, but remember, MLB is an entertainment business--think Bill Veeck and Charlie Finley. It doesn't have to be about maturity, just putting butts in seats for the show!

I might not pay attention at all if they do that. C'mon, you'd have to take a look for curiosity's sake, if nothing else! We're in uncharted territory already--why not the moment when, "Just when everyone thought it was safe to return to the ballpark, but ... HE'S BACK!"

Sorry (not sorry) to keep mentioning it, but this looks like a team ready for Doug Mientkiewicz. Even if you hate him, he'd be better than Rocco, the team would be more fun to watch, and outside of the improvement, we'd never know the difference (to quote Groucho).

Sshhhh, don't say that within earshot of the front office or he'll be gone before we know it.

How could he not call for the bunt in that situation? Surely, that's what his iPad would tell him.