I was bouncing off the walls and smiling with delight back in early November when it was announced Terry Ryan was returning to be the Twins General Manager again. Bill Smith is a very nice man but clearly made some very bad decisions affecting the future of the organization. I honestly believed at the time Smith was replaced because of his inability to evaluate talent but clearly it was more than that. I’m starting to play devil’s advocate and think the main reason was all about MONEY. I think Pohlad, St. Peter, and the boys met with Smith and asked him about his off-season plan to turn a team around that had lost 99 games. My belief is Smith looked at them and said he wanted to resign Cuddyer, Kubel, and Nathan to deals. Smith also indicated he planned on signing 1-2 free agents on the market as well. Smith told them the only way he could do this is if the team increased payroll by about $10-15 million. This is where the conversation ended immediately. Pohlad knew he wanted to cut payroll but nobody could of imagined it would be by $20 million.

What has Terry Ryan done with his limited payroll? He let Cuddyer leave and replaced him with a cheaper more powerful Josh Willingham. He let Nathan and Kubel leave as free agents and both were All-Stars this year with their new clubs. He signed free agents Jamey Carroll, Ryan Doumit, Matt Capps, Jason Marquis, and Joel Zumaya. Right now only Willingham and Doumit look like quality signings. Carroll has been solid but is hitting .242 and at times really shown his age. Capps, Marquis, and Zumaya were all just terrible deals. The trade deadline is approaching fast and Ryan appears to have missed his opportunity to deal players at their peak value. The Twins refuse to trade Morneau or Willingham for some unknown reason. Span was hitting over .300 in May and now his average is down to .280. He has suffered with some dizziness and has dropped several fly balls for no reason. Liriano should have been dealt before the game in Chicago tonight but instead he was allowed to pitch. The end result is he was shelled and gave up 7 runs, 3 HRs, in 2.2 IP. The bottom line is the team can’t give Liriano away after his latest clunker and he could turn into the next Delmon Young. Last year Young was given away to Detroit in August for two career minor leaguers Cole Nelson and Lester Oliveros. Capps should have been traded in May when he was racking up saves but instead Ryan waited and now he is on the disabled list. The Twins look to be heading into a trade deadline heartache and Ryan needs to be held accountable for the massive mistake of holding on to players for too long.

there are several points that I would like to make about this blog:

1. I really like the Carroll signing because it brings stability and defense to the infield.

2. Zumaya's deal wasn't horrible, it was just a low-risk, high-reward kind of deal that went towards the low risk.

3. I believe that the Twins are actively shopping both Morneau and Willinghammer, but that don't mean that they have found the right one yet.

4. I think most GM's, like me, would put last night's debacle with Liriano up to one of those bad starts that all pitchers have sometimes (Verlander in All-Star Game , but you are right, it probably does lower his trade value

5. Lester Oliveros, when healthy, hasn't been that bad and looks like a fairly good bullpen guy if he can keep injuries and walks under control. With Cole Nelson, you are probably right; but then again, we all thought the Billy Bullock for Diamond deal was the wrong move to make.

6a) Nobody was expecting Capps to get injured, as he had stayed relatively healthy while with the Twins

6b) Not many people would be giving away a "proven" (for what it's worth) reliever/ closer in May, because the likelyhood of you getting a good deal that early in the season is very low.

7. Ryan isn't holding on too players too long, he is (hopefully) letting them build up their trade value so that other teams would be desperate to get their hands on them so they might give up more for the Hammer or Morneau than we might think they should.

8. If we could have spared the payroll, I wouldn't have minded the Twins resigning Nathan, because he has been deadly while with the Rangers this year.

9. The Capps deal was all right and was fairly effective until he got injured

10. the Marquis deal, again, was one of the low-risk, high reward kind of deals that made Ryan look like a genius the last stretch he was GM

11. I have to believe that Span is just going through a slump and/or dealing with the same kind of stress at the Trade Deadline that he did last year.

12. I would say that Josh Willinghammer's peak value is right now, actually, because there are so many teams that are desperate for a righty power bat that the Twins, if they get the right offer (and believe me, the Twins should make sure the deal for them is like the Hershel Walker deal was for whoever traded with the Vikings), might actually be willing to part with Willingham.

there are several points that I would like to make about this blog:

1. I really like the Carroll signing because it brings stability and defense to the infield.

2. Zumaya's deal wasn't horrible' date=' it was just a low-risk, high-reward kind of deal that went towards the low risk.

3. I believe that the Twins are actively shopping both Morneau and Willinghammer, but that don't mean that they have found the right one yet.

4. I think most GM's, like me, would put last night's debacle with Liriano up to one of those bad starts that all pitchers have sometimes (Verlander in All-Star Game , but you are right, it probably does lower his trade value

5. Lester Oliveros, when healthy, hasn't been that bad and looks like a fairly good bullpen guy if he can keep injuries and walks under control. With Cole Nelson, you are probably right; but then again, we all thought the Billy Bullock for Diamond deal was the wrong move to make.

6a) Nobody was expecting Capps to get injured, as he had stayed relatively healthy while with the Twins

6b) Not many people would be giving away a "proven" (for what it's worth) reliever/ closer in May, because the likelyhood of you getting a good deal that early in the season is very low.

7. Ryan isn't holding on too players too long, he is (hopefully) letting them build up their trade value so that other teams would be desperate to get their hands on them so they might give up more for the Hammer or Morneau than we might think they should.

8. If we could have spared the payroll, I wouldn't have minded the Twins resigning Nathan, because he has been deadly while with the Rangers this year.

9. The Capps deal was all right and was fairly effective until he got injured

10. the Marquis deal, again, was one of the low-risk, high reward kind of deals that made Ryan look like a genius the last stretch he was GM

11. I have to believe that Span is just going through a slump and/or dealing with the same kind of stress at the Trade Deadline that he did last year.

12. I would say that Josh Willinghammer's peak value is right now, actually, because there are so many teams that are desperate for a righty power bat that the Twins, if they get the right offer (and believe me, the Twins should make sure the deal for them is like the Hershel Walker deal was for whoever traded with the Vikings), might actually be willing to part with Willingham.[/quote']

 

I agree with most of these. In general Ryan isn't making any moves until he feel the time is right and the package is a win for the Twins. Comments on a couple of your items:

 

8. Nathan had no intention of coming back to the Twins. He felt the Twins would not be winners in the next few years and immediately signed with the Rangers before giving the Twins a chance to counter.

9. While Capps pitched decently for the Twins, they could of had him (or someone similar) had they been patient and wait a few months. Instead, they misjudged the closer market and overspent on Capps early.

10. The Marquis deal was bad from the start. Comp pitchers were signing minor league deals, no way Marquis should have got the money he did, even if it did work out.

 

I too believe Ryan is pushing this team in the right direction. Ryan made fixes where he could, and is working through the starting staff. Remember he has the Pohlads directing him financially and he has to work within their guidelines. Outside of Tampa, name another organization and GM that has done historically more with less.

I must be missing something because I'm not aware of any offers for Capps in May and as far as questioning Ryan's decisions, I'm inclined to trust his judgment much more than the author of this post. Ryan's focus is building an organization that is able to sustain success long term, as it should be.