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mazeville

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Everything posted by mazeville

  1. mazeville
    Let me, in fact, remind you of my quote: " ... some sort of return." That is not "immense trade value." He could generate a return, which you could not have said about Ricky Nolasco 24 hours ago. And as I've said before, it's entirely possible that Alex Meyer figures it out and turns into a quality MLB regular. But there is almost no way that happens with the Twins organization. And Ricky Nolasco has been the worst starter in the majors since the Twins acquired him. I will give Rob Antony considerable credit for this.
  2. mazeville
    Please show me the quote where I said that Hector Santiago has "immense trade value."
  3. mazeville
    Hector Santiago has a better career ERA and gets way more strikeouts than Tommy Milone (8.2 K/9 v. 6.4). He is also a former all star. He walks too many people and gives up too many home runs. But he could definitely fetch something in return. I'm not saying they would get an Andrew Miller return. But he is a considerable upgrade over Ricky Nolasco. And if you think that Alex Meyer was somehow going to figure things out in Minnesota, I have some oceanfront property in Arizona to sell you ...
  4. mazeville
    He changed my mind in that I did not think he -- and the Twins organization as a rule -- was capable of making aggressive, creative trades like this. Whether you like it or not, this was a good, creative trade. On the surface, Antony upgraded the rotation for this year and next with a younger, better starter in exchange for one of the worst starters in the league and a failed prospect. Don't get me wrong: I do not like the way the Twins have treated Meyer. I think he should have been in the majors in the second half of 2014, and believe their failure in this area will come back to haunt this team. It would not surprise me if he went on to be a solid MLB pitcher. But there is no question at this point that he is a failed prospect, a 26-year-old who has spent three years in AAA in an organization with one of the worst pitching staffs in all of baseball. And remember: They can flip Santiago at the trade deadline next year if need be -- and generate some sort of return. So yeah, I'll call this a good trade.
  5. mazeville
    Rob Antony has changed my mind. He won all three trades. And the Nolasco deal was the type of creative trade this organization has desperately needed for decades. I would have definitely preferred to trade Brandon Kintzler and Kurt Suzuki. But I'm still OK with the team holding onto Ervin Santana and Brian Dozier. Both can be traded in the offseason - and contenders this year don't need second basemen so Dozier really wasn't a trade deadline target, anyway. I'd still rather the new regime assess the team and its ability to contend and make deals. Still, three trades were two more than I expected. And getting rid of Nolasco's contract was incredible.
  6. mazeville
    I like "Idea No. 2," but only because I'd rather the new regime trade Dozier in the offseason to make way for Polanco. Having him play every day will give the Twins enough of a look to determine if he really is going to be ready to take the second base job next year.
  7. mazeville
    Keep your expectations low. And, to be honest, maybe that's a good thing. Rob Antony is unlikely to get the full time job. Assuming that someone else is coming into this position, wouldn't it be best for him (or her, should the new GM end up to be Kim Ng) to be the one making trades? I think this team would be better off letting Antony trade the lower value assets, like a reliever or two or Kurt Suzuki or Eduardo Nunez (though I'm less inclined to trade him). And then the new person could look at the roster and the organizational needs and work on trading Ervin Santana and, in particular, Brian Dozier, this offseason. There's no rush to trade either of those guys. Dozier is a far better offseason trade candidate, anyway, and there's not much in the way of free agent pitchers to be had, so perhaps Santana could attract some interest -- especially if the team kicks in a few million bucks.
  8. mazeville
    The trade for Milone was pretty solid, too. Don't forget that. The common denominator here is that they are under-the-radar deals. TR works best on small finds and small trades. He doesn't do well with major free agent signings. Or at least he hasn't since his return.
  9. mazeville
    Nope. The main problem with this theory is that there's no way to determine whether a trade works or not in the weeks or months after the trade is made. Again, this is not an audition for Rob Antony. It's not his job to lose. He is a known commodity, and the Twins' history suggests that he would simply be given the job if the team thought he was good enough for it. At best, he's working to stay in the organization after whomever is named to be the GM or the POBO or whatever we're calling it these days.
  10. mazeville
    It's not an audition for this job. That's the point. It may be an audition for another job, sure. But certainly not for this one.
  11. mazeville
    Again, as a reminder: Ryan chose the timing of his firing, not Pohlad. That renders a lot of the speculation here moot. It means this isn't truly an "audition" for Rob Antony as it is simply the fact that someone needs to fill the seat for the rest of the year. And so I'm going to buy into Reusse's theory. And remember that Reusse was correct when he speculated multiple times that the Twins would get rid of Ryan in the offseason because, in his words, "Pohlad is not stupid." Lots of other people, including those who cover the team on a regular basis, refused to believe the idea that the Twins would get rid of Terry Ryan. And then they got rid of Terry Ryan. Logic suggests they go outside the organization on this hire. If they were going to hire from within, they'd simply hire Rob Antony now. They know what he can do because he's worked with the organization for 30 plus years. If you're going to go through with a search, why just hire the guy you know and put in the interim position? This is no audition.
  12. mazeville
    Well, sometimes it's difficult to tell on comment sections when people are being facetious -- the number of ridiculous comments tends to be high. My perception of St. Peter is that he is doing a good job on the business side. I don't believe he is the one who hired Bill Smith or Terry Ryan. (And keep in mind that hiring TR for a second go-around wasn't entirely out of line, though at the time I preferred they hire someone else). The problem to me all falls back on Jim Pohlad, not Dave St. Peter. It is entirely possible I might be wrong. While we can judge the GM based on how the team fares agast other baseball teams, we don't have access to the financials that could help us judge St. Peter. And using the team's record on the field to judge St. Peter and what happens off the field is not fair.
  13. mazeville
    No problem. But seriously, if you look at other baseball departments, they have executives in charge of business operations. Like other organizations, some are flatter than others. But you're going to have executives in charge of these functions. The Chicago Cubs has a president of business operations, for instance. He is not as big a figure as Theo Epstein. But he is still important. You could hire someone who would be on the same level as Dave St. Peter and it would be fine. I'm guessing that the search firm will help influence what kind of structure the top candidates will demand. But either way, there is no reason to get rid of him. Baseball operations are very different from business operations.
  14. mazeville
    This is an utterly ridiculous and nonsense comment.
  15. mazeville
    Fine. Their promotions are interesting -- A Sano Globe is fabulous -- their marketing is strong; many of their advertisements are hilarious. They do a ton of community events. And they do a lot on game days to make it enjoyable. They also brought in a lot of local restaurants to sell food inside of Target Field. And please name one executive from a local, professional sports team who is on Twitter all the time, interacting with fans -- as Dave St. Peter is. The issue is the on-field product. Not the business. Frankly, given their record these past six years, attendance should be total garbage. It's definitely dropping like a brick, but it's not anywhere close to the worst in the majors. At the end of the day, what happens on the field is what draws people to the ballpark. And that ain't Dave's department.
  16. mazeville
    I think you're overthinking it. The Twins do a fine job from a marketing/business standpoint. They just haven't had anything to sell recently. You could bring someone in to be in charge of baseball operations and not mess with St. Peter.
  17. mazeville
    I certainly wouldn't buy all that much into the "lovable" comment, which was likely a weird effort at a joke. I have no problem with Dave St. Peter playing a role in the search, nor with them using a search firm. Just because Dave isn't a "baseball person" doesn't mean he'll do a bad job hiring one. A search firm could also bring in a little more credibility in the process. So I'm OK with that. I would not be OK with Antony. This team just badly needs an outside voice.
  18. mazeville
    All of this ^ is absolutely true, though Buxton was earned because the Twins were so bad in 2011. But a lot of the team's top prospects were signed under Smith's watch, not Ryan's. And the problems since then are probably indicative of an organization-wide failure more than Smith on his own. But that's usually the case, I think, and it's all the more reason to bring in an outsider and change thinking there.
  19. mazeville
    Many of the managers hired in the minors are people who grew up with the Twins, so to speak. And simply creating an analyst department at a time when literally every team in the majors has one is hardly indicative of an organization that is not insular. All of the top jobs are the same but for Steil's. The same team has been at the top of this organization for many years. And even when Terry Ryan left the organization, he was a "special assistant" helping out. Yes, this organization is insular. Just because they've hired a few people does not make that untrue.
  20. mazeville
    I'll give you Ned Colletti. But Doug Melvin left on his own. Regardless, I don't like it.
  21. mazeville
    The Twins from the get-go told both Smith and Gardy they have roles in the organization if they want them. If someone can point me to the management book that says it's a good idea to take a major voice in your organization and keep him there even after you "fired" him I'd like to see it. Again, I get they have talents. Gardenhire was a good manager for a long time. Smith should not have been hired in the first place. But the fact is, they failed the team and as sad as it is, their departures were necessary. At that point, you have to get them out of the organization. You need to send messages to people throughout the organization that there are actual penalties for failure. You also don't want any mixed messages in the organization, either.
  22. mazeville
    Oh, and one side note: If the Twins do bring in fresh blood, the result will almost certainly be a major organizational shakeup as many people leave the team. That always happens whenever a company appoints new leadership or when a city elects a new mayor or when a new president is inaugurated. New leaders ALWAYS bring in their own people.
  23. mazeville
    Wolfson's tweet said the opposite. Said there was NO rift in philosophy about what to do at the August 1 trade deadline.
  24. mazeville
    If you're going to fire someone, fire someone. Don't short-arm the move by giving Smith or Gardy a "special assistant" position somewhere else in the organization. If they are as talented as you say they are, they'll find positions elsewhere. Someone please name another organization in major professional sports that gives recently fired managers and general managers the title of "special assistant" somewhere else in the organization because of their "talents." It's indicative of a bigger problem in the organization. At that point it becomes too country club-like. It also demonstrates a real fear of making the hard decisions these guys often have to make. So yes, hard as it may be -- and no, I don't like firing anybody and it always makes me sad when it happens -- those are the things that good organizational leaders have to do. And professional sports is way too competitive for wimpy decision makers.
  25. mazeville
    I'm not the biggest fan of current ownership. But I don't think they're stupid, either. They are in a market in which the Vikings are Super Bowl contenders opening up a brand new stadium, where the Timberwolves have some of the best young talent in the NBA and a proven winner as the head coach, and where the Wild hired a brand new coach. They're competing for sponsorship dollars from corporations and for ticket dollars from the sports loving public. They HAVE to make a move. But, as I said before, I will believe that this team will do the right thing with the subsequent hire when I see it.
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