The Great Hambino

They've also never in their ownership history taken on limited partners in order to service the debt they've accumulated. History can be a good reference point, but I think we might already be in uncharted territory here. Any opinions optimistic, pessimistic, or somewhere in the middle are going to remain purely speculative until we see them in action, but I don't think the limited partners are investing without an expectation of a return on their investment. And in a business venture like this with some degree of fixed revenue (they get their national broadcast revenue even if they go 0-162), the quickest path to getting that return is cutting costs, at least in the short-term

Apparently he hit his hand on the follow through of one of the throws into the end zone last week. The soundbites I heard from KOC downplayed it and made it sound like he isn't at risk of missing the game.

And there's the rub ... the longer we go with this uncertainty regarding the limited partners and the ultimate budget for the offseason, the more pessimistic the outlook for the budget becomes. We're not quite to the point in the offseason where this uncertainty almost certainly drives them toward a more cautious, budget-conscious path. But that point is coming up pretty quick. It' not ideal if they have to finalize tender/nontender decisions without having the ownership situation resolved, and if the owners meetings come and go without limited partner approval, then it gets really dicey

Weaponizing expedited review against false starts would go a long way toward officiating this play properly. It's apparent immediately, and they have a window of time to look at it as players untangle themselves from the scrum

To me he looked exhausted, especially toward the end. Even subbed himself out on the final drive. Just looked off all day to me, I wouldn't be surprised if it came out later that he was battling an illness or something. 4 catches on 12 targets. Some of those were definitely on McCarthy (2 point conversion, for example) but definitely not all of them. Some of those a receiver of his caliber just needs to make. The post at the goal line needs to be caught. You can't just fall down one on one going deep (on no planet was that PI, he just fell). JJ operated the 2 min drill like it was under college timing rules. The first run was a fine play. The other one and throws underneath over the middle were not.

I'm gonna have to start wine tasting now. I'll pass on the walking

Is it just me or has this ref been saying personal foul instead of false start?

In addition to having converted from starter to reliever, his background with having experience with several different roles as a reliever - closer, set up, lower leverage, etc - should give him a chance to provide firsthand experience in helping guys out with those roles. That can't hurt

Eric Wilson blowing up that monster fullback on an iso makes my 2008 football sensibilities very happy

Sheesh, tell us how you really feel, Rum Bunter: "Pirates fans eventually realized that Shelton’s greatest flaw wasn’t strategy, but rather accountability. Under his leadership, poor fundamentals, base running blunders and defensive lapses became routine. He rarely called out mistakes publicly or benched repeat offenders. It created a culture where mediocrity festered. Even talented players stagnated because the standard never rose. For a Twins club that prides itself on development and discipline, this could be a rude awakening." That all sure sounds pretty familiar, doesn't it? Hopefully these were the things he was reflecting on during his micro-sabbatical.

Agreed - a good trait for any bullpen coach to have, but especially with the amount of starters soon to be transitioning to relievers the Twins are likely to be working with in 2026

Man alive, Falvey has a giant head. He looks like wouldn't be out of place on Easter Island. Good thing, too. He needs all the space he can get for that galaxy brain of his. Also, I loved Shelton as Boris the Blade in Snatch. Now there's a guy who knew how to get things done

As an extension to the Tigers/Skubal situation, I wonder if there's a world where the Tigers could trade Skubal and turn around and trade for Ryan. Ryan isn't Skubal, but it could be a way for them to thread the needle of remaining competitive in their open window while not allowing Skubal out the door for only a comp pick in return. I don't know exactly how much the extra year of control Ryan carries would translate for value purpoeses, but the Tigers probably net out positively in terms of prospects in that kind of sequence of events. If Skubal is made available, then lots of teams will be interested. Only one of them will get him though, and all those other teams plus the Tigers could potentially turn their interest toward Ryan

The bolded portion of the quote also stuck out to me (I didn't listen to the whole thing beginning to end but did catch this passage), but for a very different reason. This was the first time this offseason that there has been an indication from someone in leadership (owner, FO, manager) that there is some semi-concrete idea of how they were going to proceed going forward. Before it was "we expect/hope" to retain certain players or they "need to consult with the limited partners" or whatever vague platitude they put in its place. Now, this quote tells me a few things: 1. A general plan actually exists. I highly doubt hearing more complete unknowns made Shelton really want this job. 2. Something about the plan works in Shelton's favor. That could be increased investment and an intent to be competitive right away. However, it just as easily (more easily, IMO) could be an indication that he isn't going to be judged on the W/L record in the short-term and has the job security that would come along with that; that a more extended rebuild is coming. Maybe he's excited to be able work with younger players on a timetable that doesn't require immediate success. So we know there's some sort of plan, and that Shelton is on board with it. So why do I think this means a longer rebuild is upcoming as opposed to immediate investment? That leads me to point 3: 3. If they know the general direction they're going to be taking ... why would they continue to be so evasive about it if it was something that fans would see as a positive? Fan morale is at its lowest since probably the contraction saga, and I'm sure they've noticed it with their 2026 season ticket/MyTwins membership sales. Fans are dying for positive news. The team is dying for something that could be used to sell some tickets. They'd have no reason to withhold that plan if it was something they thought fans would want to hear. Pairing this info with the rest of their messaging they've put out since the trade deadline makes me see a window of contention that does not open in 2026. I'm guessing we won't be getting confirmation either way until the winter meetings, but I'm preparing myself for this.

I'm still trying to understand why familiarity was such an important trait in a potential manager for an organization that needs a complete change in voice and direction

To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what some were expecting from him, especially with Falvey staring at him from like 18 inches away as he answered every question. Were we really expecting rogue honesty? That's not very realistic. Though it was funny that most of the questions were clearly questions for Falvey/ownership. I'm pretty sure Shelton isn't the one dictating payroll level and deciding which starting pitchers to trade. There was one interesting point he made buried within all the scripted Falvey-approved gobbledygook. When talking about player development, he talked about how elite high school prospects are being funneled more and more into these showcase-type events where the emphasis is on talent and skills and not on in-game fundamentals like proper baserunning, defensive rotations, etc. It's something that has been going on for some time in basketball with the proliferation of AAU and all-star competitions, but I hadn't thought about how much it's happening in baseball now too. Paraphrasing here, he said when a player comes up to the majors now, you can't assume they know those things. If there's any positive to be taken from the press conference, I think it was that passage. Plus, we (or at least I) got confirmation that Jeremy Zoll is a real live person and not just Falvey's imaginary friend

That was a refreshingly competent half of football

For Falvey: What made familiarity such an important criterion in your search given this team has missed the playoffs in four of the last five seasons?

Interesting question Part of me says yes. 21-24 Baldelli even more likely. What gives me pause is a) he seemed to back off the early pinch-hitting this year b) Hrbek was a much better hitter than any of the lefties that were getting the quick hook under Baldelli and c) they were already ahead even before the grand slam and Hrbek was also a better defender than the lefties subjected to Baldelli's quick hook

For what it's worth I tried poking around the Twins website to see who they're featuring in their marketing materials for 2026 tickets. Obviously a lot of Buxton. There's some Lopez and Lewis featured there as well. One guy I didn't notice anywhere? Joe Ryan Maybe it's nothing. Probably nothing. But maybe another possible indicator of where they might be headed.

This discussion of his family didn't mention him, and it seems like it would've come up if they were. However, both have been involved with the Italian WBC team at different times, so maybe cousins or something?

If the whole point of the article is to point to him being "a fitting choice to lead Minnesota’s next wave of stars" (direct quote from the conclusion) and none of his young hitters developed at the major league level, then yeah, he deserves some of the blame. Not all of it or even most of it, but nothing to indicate that he has the skillset that is being claimed or that he should be receiving any sort of positive marks from it.

So he gets no blame for the wholesale failure of the lineup but credit for the success of a single generational pitching talent? I'm not buying it. This write-up glosses over the fact that the Pirates played considerably better once he was fired to a degree that the interim manager was given the job permanently. Steadiness when things are spiraling out of control isn't necessarily a positive. The dog saying "everything is fine!" while the house burns down around him is also showing steadiness. Fine line between steadiness and complacency. This hire feels like it's on the wrong side of that line. I get that someone has to write the positive-spin article, but this one kinda strains credulity for me

My theory: Falvey didn't want to fire Rocco in the first place. Pohlads insisted on a change because they think that will placate the fanbase because they don't understand their fanbase at all and are very bad at what they do. Falvey then hires the absolute closest thing to Rocco that he can find. The Pohlads sign off as they are unaware that he used to coach for the Twins.

Oh. Neat.