benji21

I've always wondered, and this isn't a shot at Nolasco, why major leaguers pitching in the minors don't completely demolish lower league hitters. I always expect a line like 7 IP, 3 hits 9 K. Anyway, another tough day on the farm.

Can you expand on why you believe he is a good GM? We have had veteran-laden teams in the past, playoff teams even, that he would not or could not supplement to tip them over the top. Remember the Johan years? We were saying we're just one big bat from a World Series. He did nothing. He has never gotten the 'one guy' to get us over the hump. Bill Smith was way better at supplementing, not so good at other things. For all the reasons you listed, you should not be in that camp. TR is a dreadful GM, dreadful. Among the worst in the league. You can't have his record and call him a good GM. I can't even call him a good scout. Not anymore, not with his tired beliefs. He is antiquated. Pohlad needs to get some stones and erase him. Biggest problem the Twins have an a macro level is loyalty. Pohlads are loyal way beyond a fault. They destroy themselves with loyalty. It's past time for TR to go.

No. No he does not, nor has he in many many years. As I wrote in a previous thread, this guy is finished. Done. He hasn't had a good or fresh idea in years, maybe a decade. He trots out the same tired old philosophy and tactics year after year after dreadful year. He is obsessed with "veterans" at the expense of better, younger, cheaper options. His bullpen is a steaming, hot mess. He has better options at AAA and that was obvious to everyone but him. How he constructed the bullpen this year was an atrocity. Hicks has been jerked around to the extent that he doesn't know what way is up. He has signed multiple average to below average aging pitchers to multi-year contracts. He has committed an entire draft to college-age relief pitchers that he refuses to use. This man is poisonous to the organization. We cannot improve with him at the helm. The game has passed him by. This was true ten years ago. When we were contenders, he was unwilling, or more likely, unable to improve the roster mid-season to put us over the edge. People say he restocked the farm. I find this to be false. Sure, he drafted Buxton, but what GM wouldn't have? He also passed on Mike Trout. So did many others, I know, but so did he. He drafted Wimmers and Eades, and other soft-tossing, "ready" pitchers who are dreadful. There are reasons why certain teams remain foul such as the Padres, Phillies, Marlins (usually), Royals, Cubs, Pirates, Knicks, Clippers or the TWolves. It doesn't matter what sport. Bad GM's kill teams. I know not all of the teams listed are terrible now, but the ones that aren't have new GM's. It's not just GM's, the owner is just as culpable because they repeatedly put the wrong GM's in place. Unfortunately, TR is a Supreme Court Judge-the job is his until he doesn't want it. He CANNOT be fired. This franchise cannot soar for a sustained period with TR in charge. F him.

I think the action that needs to take place is putting stubborn, outdated, antiquated Terry Ryan out to pasture. This guy's finished. He's got no good ideas left and baseball has passed the man by. He has not adapted to change in the game and has been trotting out the same tired crap year after year after year. Say that he built the system back up all you like but I could have done that too given those high picks and done a better job by not committing an entire draft to a bullpen I won't ever use. This guy is poison to the team. There's a reason bad teams stay bad. Bad front office.

Listening to this episode makes me wonder if John even pays attention to baseball. How can he and still have those takes? I was as frustrated as gleeman.

Thanks for the report, I think I saw someone ask for something like this in another thread. BTW, I asked if writers would start putting player names with their pics in articles and it happened soon after. Its really helpful and much appreciated, thank you! Good luck on continued growth! *** How could you grow Vikings Journal? I have started commenting there because I'd like to support the great stable of writers over there. Theyve got really good content!

The article does not exactly back you up. In your quoted section it states that its inconclusive. Part of the reason Detroit and Verlander, etc. Lose is because all the playoff teams have their own Verlanders to trot out. If they dont, they may have a huge offense or crazy D or whatever and if theyre a TR constructed team they get steamrolled. The titular ace gives you the best shot on a given night, however, part of the trouble with all the predictive models is the timing and streaks so common in sss/baseball. And absolutely luck is involved, youd have to be silly not to give luck its due but through it all, can you really tell me you'd say no thanks Scherzer, waino, Clemmons in the day, randy Johnson et al in favor of Kyle Gibson or Duensing in a given playoff game? I can't do that, give me an ace.

Yikes, you really gotta watch out when trading with this team, they're pretty savvy.

Do you have any evidence to back that up or is that just postulating? True or not, it's a helluva statement to just say. If one had the desire, I think Grantland may have actually done some work on the correlation between ace caliber pitching and winning the WS. Edit: Here is some good reading on the topic: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/mlb-playoff-myths-to-ignore/ The paragraph that starts with "it helps to have good pitching" He is saying that teams that make and win in the playoffs have superior pitching and that the differences in staff quality is compressed in the playoffs; everyone has aces and great staffs. http://grantland.com/features/mlb-detroit-tigers-oakland-as-rotations/ The paragraph that starts with "so why doesn't the quality" Here he is saying that a playoff team that doesn't have a superior starting staff succeeds in the playoffs because it is highly likely that they excel in another area, ie the Royals and their bullpen/defense.

Hi, my name is Madison Bumgartner, it's really nice to meet you. Yes, you need an ace to win in the MLB. I would call James Shields an ace and I would do the same of Yordano Ventura. Those two are some damn fine pitchers. The Giants just road their ace to the World Series and didn't he pitch in like 3+ games in it? I may not be remembering correctly but I probably am. To speak to Johan, yeah he was the best, but you can't just have crap behind him and an incomplete lineup. If properly constructed, a team anchored behind him could definitely win the WS. It's a pretty weak argument to say that 'well we had the best pitcher in the game and didn't wind the WS' and when I say pretty weak I actually mean very weak. You need an ace, but not only an ace.

I understand all of that however, that being said, I don't even want him to make the team, become a guy like Burton, or anything else because I personally want to see them aggressively promote the minor league guys. It would be another thing if the Twins had a strong history of flipping players at their peak value, but they don't. If he could become a nice useful piece then be traded at the deadline, then yeah I'm all in. But that's not what they do. Also, I don't care about the money he would be paid, Twins are rolling in it.

I really disagree with signing any bullpen arms this offseason, much less an average one. Last I checked, our favorite club used something like ALL of their draft picks on relievers. We have so many guys waiting in the wings or knocking on the door to do what Villareal does, or anyone else for that matter, better and for less money (not like money should matter for the Pohlads). Who comes to mind? Burdi, Logan Darnell, AJ Achter, Yohan Pino, Z. Jones, J. Reed, amongst others. What this does is block some of these likely suspects. Not the worst thing in the world, but it would be nice to see these guys.

Oh the Twins, (sigh) the AL Central's dorky little brother. Again, a team does not need to be 'right there' in order to acquire good/great players as some here think. Doing so gets you out of the cellar and for a good price as the Sox just did. They will contend much sooner than we will. Good job for them. Terry just doesn't get it.

I don't think he'd be interested with his age and health issues. Would he want to uproot whatever he has here and start a brand new job with all new people? I personally wouldnt, but who knows. Since he can't get fired this would be the next best thing. Get gone bro. He can go sink the Jays! We detest him locally because we see his crap every day every year. The man doesn't evolve with his sport nor utilize all avenues available to him and for me, that's strikes 1-3.

Well I suppose his K/9 is what most disappoints me about him. Sure, he had a sterling ERA-- and, while I couldn't find his ground ball rate, I'll assume it's good-- but my gut just tells me 'not dominant'. And that might be fine for most pitchers, but for a top pick such as he is, it feels underwhelming despite his age. The Twins have had plenty of guys with good ERA's and no K's and will never make it such as BJ Hermsen, Albers, Hendricks. Now, Stewart obviously comes with much higher clout, time, and projectability, but that just summarizes my concern for him.

I'd really like to be there with ya on Stewart but I can't do it. I'm pessimistic on him thanks to his pedestrian showing last season. Contrary to popular belief (I think) he only withheld his slider for the first month or two, and after reintroducing it, did not see a sharp uptick in results. Heres hoping though.

I don't think he comes off as a crackpot at all. His questions are completely topical as his free agency has been linked from the beginning to his comments on gays, his political beliefs, and his outspokenness. He was asking if he got turned away by teams for his beliefs. I agree with others here that say it's refreshing to see a Twin get grilled and for a MN reporter to ask an uncomfortable question. Torii has been in countless interviews, if he didn't want to come off like a thin-skinned prick himself, it would have been easy to sidestep. Great to have you on board Torii.

Fun read Cody! That's a lot of reasons to pay attention to the Twins. If that group is supplemented in the appropriate and savvy way, we could potentially be right there with the powers of the AL. I would switch Garver for Turner on your list despite Garver's numbers being against a bit younger competition. I'd hate to have Butera back there again. That bullpen, if people stay healthy, makes me dizzy. I mean, with that group the game could end after five innings! The starting rotation, soley with our prospects, still looks a bit iffy to me. I think the FO needs to keep plugging away by all means possible to create a modern successful core of hurlers. Crossing my fingers, but I'd bet about anything that Thorpe is in for TJ this year.

At once unbelievable and totally believable. I really believe there was absolutely nothing the other candidates could have said or done to change this outcome. I have wanted ryan out and this further cements that for me. This clubs is either in love with its own brand or deathly afraid of the outside, I really do believe that. I wanted Lovullo, then Mientysjdhdjwitz, then Molly. Best of luck to him, hope he doesn't stay a decade.

Wonderful. Anything having to do with the hands or wrist probably will be bothersome for a while. I wonder if, as CRArko did, if it might be prudent for him to wear braces on his wrists. I know that if a couple of clunky braces stood between me and superduper stardom, I'd be wearing them yesterday. Some athletes get labled "soft" or "fragile" for getting multiple injuries. Sometimes unjustly when said injuries are traumatic in nature, but this may be the case for Buxton. Multiple wrist and hand injuries would lead me to believe that either his style of play, body type, or a combination of the two will lead him to an injury-plagued career unless he changes something. Or he might recover and not miss another game for five years. Whatever the case may be, I think it would be prudent for the Twins and Buxton to look into SOMETHING with this guy. It's not like he's the future or anything.

Well this encouraging report would seem to indicate that the first interview was more than just a cursory look for PR purposes. I really hope he gets the job. I am firmly in the camp of 'from outside the org' as a prerequisite on the resume and here's why: as Gleeman has stated on his podcast, it's really hard to judge a manager's skill or effect on the game, especially managerial candidates. With that in mind and all things being equal, I'll take the candidate without the stink of this organization on them. Good luck to Lovullo.

What, if any, is the policy on hiring externally? It feels as though the Twins are more averse to outside hires (and ideas) than just about any other club. What are the dangers of hiring from the outside versus hiring internally? Groupthink can be a poisonous aspect of company life and, from the outside, the Twins seem to suffer from aspects of it. What would your comment be to the accusation that groupthink has set in? In summary, my line of questions (obviously) has to do with the Twins history, or lack thereof, of hiring externally. Parker, when you interview, please be sure to follow up on questions. Too many times do these guys get slow pitch softball questions that they give form answers to or the political style answer of answering a question that was not asked or answering his own question. Please don't let him evade direct questions that you ask. The Twins have been putrid for far too long and hardcore fans who seek out Twins content online and casual fans alike have questions that they would like addressed. It would be nice to get honest, straight answers. I'm mad at the Twins and at the Pohlads way of business. Thanks for opening this up for questions and getting this interview!

Yeah, he is pretty awful at FA signings. I wish we could combine him and Billy Smith. Smith seemed to be pretty adept at adding complementary pieces in the way that we begged TR to do when Santana, Nathan, M&M and the bunch were rolling. Remember "we're just another starter and power bat away from a dynasty"? TR couldn't pull the trigger. Smith could on stuff like that. If this really is a devil you know situation, I'd maybe like to dip my toe into the devil you don't know pond. I always have to have what's behind door #3......Even if it is Antony (blech!)

Yes, yes, and yes. Their credibility is dreadful. The Twins are frequently wrong and, I think the arrogance lies in their failed philosophies. They really struggle with bringing along top end talent. They fail miserably with timing frequently overcooking or undercooking their prospects. It is really hard to pin down what they are thinking when they promote Santana, Vargas, and (albeit briefly) Polanco, but drag their feet with Meyer, May, Gibson et al. Perhaps it is the pitchers that they can't get a good read on. I hope they bring in some fresh eyes from other successful organizations to help them.

I think this is just a tad condescending as you don't have to be on the Twins organizational staff to have knowledge and good opinions. Quite frankly, I don't really trust their opinions much anyway. They've lost a lot of credibility. Meyer does not equal May. Sure, May is currently taking his lumps with the Twins, but that is exactly what he needs to do in a throwaway year. I'd rather have him get beaten up a little this year than next. Just because May and Meyer were roughly on the same trajectory does not mean that Meyer will suffer the same pitfalls as May. But along those parallel lines, I'd like Meyer to get the initial anxiety and adjustments out of the way this year. Exactly! It will be the rare prospect who hits the ground running in the MLB (Shelby Miller?). Meyer will never be as "prepared" as Ryan wants him to be. I really don't care what he looks like right now. I don't have to have ever seen him pitch one pitch. He's done in AAA this year. Let him throw the rock in the show, get some things to work on, and if need be take those lessons to AAA to start next season for a couple weeks or a month. But God help me if that turns into half a season.