Interesting interview with Terry Ryan

[glunn]

This article contains some interesting statements by Terry Ryan, including the following:

 

Pohlad said last fall that Ryan’s job is safe as long as he wants it. Ryan said he appreciates the sentiment, “but everybody’s got a breaking point,” and he doesn’t believe he deserves such loyalty. “I would never hold Jim Pohlad to that statement, because it wouldn’t be fair to him,” Ryan said. “We’re losing way too many games here for anybody to put that kind of faith in anyone.”

 

I admire Ryan's admission that there is some basis for terminating him and hiring a different GM.  Maybe this is false modesty, but after reading the entire article, my sense is that Ryan is being sincere.

[diehardtwinsfan]

I'm a pretty big fan that he's willing to accept responsibility. That seems lost these days. That said, this is a rebuilding effort and you cannot just snap your fingers and it's done. The biggest mistake he made this season was the CF/Bartlett situation, but I don't think that miraculously transforms this team into a 90 win team. He's righting the ship in the minors, for that reason alone I'd keep him around another year... not so sure when the team gets good, but when it comes to building a farm, Ryan knows what he's doing.

[old nurse]

Ryan comes across as a pretty straight shooter. Then you remember something about not rebuilding the other year and temper your opinion.

[TheLeviathan]

I think Ryan has always just been really good at seeming to be good at public relations. The guy knows how to say the right thing, in the right way, with the right timing that makes you think it's his true opinion when it's really little more than the same fluff anyone else in his position says.

 

The longer he sticks around the less seriously I take anything he says.  Which is to say nothing about his performance and there is a talent in what he does, but the longevity of his tenure here has exposed that seemingly honest approach for what it is.

[USAFChief]

I'm a pretty big fan that he's willing to accept responsibility. That seems lost these days. That said, this is a rebuilding effort and you cannot just snap your fingers and it's done. The biggest mistake he made this season was the CF/Bartlett situation, but I don't think that miraculously transforms this team into a 90 win team. He's righting the ship in the minors, for that reason alone I'd keep him around another year... not so sure when the team gets good, but when it comes to building a farm, Ryan knows what he's doing.

On the flip side, he's also the guy who was in charge during the time when the minor leagues atrophied and left the Twins with little to prevent the half decade (at a minimum) disaster we're in the midst of.

[SweetOne69]

This article contains some interesting statements by Terry Ryan, including the following:

 

he doesn’t believe he deserves such loyalty.

If he doesn't deserve that kind of Loyalty from Pohlad, then Gardy doesn't deserve it from Ryan either.

 

If have 2 people saying the exact same thing:  Pohlad said that Ryan is the GM as long as he wants and Ryan says that Gardy is the manager as long as he is the GM.

 

Neither one should be the case.

[LewFordLives]

No doubt rebuilding takes time and requires patience, but it's frustrating to watch the Twins cut ties with players and then watch them go be successful someplace else. This tells me there is some serious problems within the organization.

 

Also, it's no secret that starting pitching has been the biggest weakness for the last several years.  I give credit to Ryan for at least trying to address it, but he has failed.  I still don't see the light at the end of the table. What we've seen over the last several years should not be acceptable to anyone. It's time to clean house in the front office and the field staff.  Enough is enough.

[Squirrel]

I've been an advocate for a change from the top on down for a some time.  While I can acknowledge that Ryan does have talents and has begun to 'right the ship,' he saw the ship go awry to begin with.  I think the minors are in good shape and now is the time to let go.  The only worry I would have with his departure would be if the Twins replaced him internally.  I think not only is it time for Ryan to step down, I think it's time for a fresh perspective.  If the Twins are only going to replace him from within, I'd rather he just stayed.  What's that saying ... better the devil you know, than the devil you don't?  (And I'm not saying Ryan is the devil here, it's just a turn of a phrase.)

[tobi0040]

If he doesn't deserve that kind of Loyalty from Pohlad, then Gardy doesn't deserve it from Ryan either.

 

If have 2 people saying the exact same thing:  Pohlad said that Ryan is the GM as long as he wants and Ryan says that Gardy is the manager as long as he is the GM.

 

Neither one should be the case.

 

That is a good point.  In Terry's case, you can at least point to our standing in farm system rankings, success in the draft (Buxton, Kohl, Burdi), and success via trade (Meyer, May), as well as signings like Thorpe.  Hughes has been a coup.

 

Gardy's record has been bad, obviously.  But it is hard to point to any wins. He has not won and it appears he has been making decisions to try and win over develop young players....so that is not a good combination. 

[tobi0040]

I've been an advocate for a change from the top on down for a some time.  While I can acknowledge that Ryan does have talents and has begun to 'right the ship,' he saw the ship go awry to begin with.  I think the minors are in good shape and now is the time to let go.  The only worry I would have with his departure would be if the Twins replaced him internally.  I think not only is it time for Ryan to step down, I think it's time for a fresh perspective.  If the Twins are only going to replace him from within, I'd rather he just stayed.  What's that saying ... better the devil you know, than the devil you don't?  (And I'm not saying Ryan is the devil here, it's just a turn of a phrase.)

 

I think Terry is too loyal to Gardy and I wish he had more power in the organization to not allow Santana and Pinto to play out of position in a throw away year (probably an owner issue ). But I doubt we would find someone better at drafting, trading, and signing guys than Terry Ryan.  So I would probably keep him and can Gardy.

[Mike Sixel]

this is pretty much what he has said since he came back. It hasn't changed much, from what we can observe. 

 

Not better at signing players? He has added several FA SP to the rotation since he came here, and they still have one of the worst starting staffs in the majors. I see little evidence he's any better than other GMs at signing FAs.

 

Trades? Hard to say, so far Worley and May have not looked all that good (at least not in MN). And Meyer isn't good enough to crack this rotation yet (and there is talk on these boards he might not until late next year either). So, I'd say the jury is still out on how good he's been at trading.

[Brock Beauchamp]

On the flip side, he's also the guy who was in charge during the time when the minor leagues atrophied and left the Twins with little to prevent the half decade (at a minimum) disaster we're in the midst of.

I agree that part of the 2011-2014 collapse is on Ryan.

 

On the other hand, does Ryan trade Garza going into a season where he's also going to lose Santana? Does he trade Wilson Ramos?

 

If the Twins have/had those two players, how different is 2011-2014?

 

Bill Smith took a bad situation and made it so much worse. I can not see a situation where Ryan trades an up-and-coming young starter and a promising young catcher. With those two pieces, the past eight years look a whole lot different.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I see little evidence he's any better than other GMs at signing FAs.

To be completely frank, I think there's plenty of evidence that he's awful at FA signings. That is easily the most glaring weakness of Ryan, in my opinion.

 

You want a guy to build a farm? Ryan's your guy. You want a steady hand to see a rebuild through to completion? Ryan's your guy. You want to trade away assets for valuable pieces in the future? Ryan's your guy.

 

You want to finish off a build from the outside? I don't think Ryan's your guy.

[drjim]

I've been an advocate for a change from the top on down for a some time.  While I can acknowledge that Ryan does have talents and has begun to 'right the ship,' he saw the ship go awry to begin with.  I think the minors are in good shape and now is the time to let go.  The only worry I would have with his departure would be if the Twins replaced him internally.  I think not only is it time for Ryan to step down, I think it's time for a fresh perspective.  If the Twins are only going to replace him from within, I'd rather he just stayed.  What's that saying ... better the devil you know, than the devil you don't?  (And I'm not saying Ryan is the devil here, it's just a turn of a phrase.)

 

If the Pohlads decide to let Ryan go, it would be an absolute stunner to replace him internally.

 

I'm pretty confident they won't let him go, but maybe the drop in season tickets forces the issue.

[Platoon]

I've been an advocate for a change from the top on down for a some time.  While I can acknowledge that Ryan does have talents and has begun to 'right the ship,' he saw the ship go awry to begin with.  I think the minors are in good shape and now is the time to let go.  The only worry I would have with his departure would be if the Twins replaced him internally.  I think not only is it time for Ryan to step down, I think it's time for a fresh perspective.  If the Twins are only going to replace him from within, I'd rather he just stayed.  What's that saying ... better the devil you know, than the devil you don't?  (And I'm not saying Ryan is the devil here, it's just a turn of a phrase.)

Totally agree, and would add this. Is it possible that like many others TR missed the job, thought it would be different if he went back, and found out it isn't? If you remove his blind loyalty to Gardy, I would keep him. He understands patience in building an orginisation. And if you want long term success that is a necessity. But patience only goes so far, and Gardy has worn his out. He looks beat down by the losing, the team plays poor fundamentals, and frankly if the players love him so dearly, they should quit missing cutoff men, running into stupid outs, and all the other mistakes that are now a daily occurrence!

[gunnarthor]

Ryan, Lunhow and Hoyer were all hired at roughly the same time.  I think it's fair to say that if you think those two deserve more time, Ryan certainly does.  

 

When he stepped down in 07, Ryan had the team fairly well established at the ML level.  We had a strong nucleus of guys and several top 100 pitchers ready to help out (Garza, Perkins, Swarzak, Slowey and Liriano were all top 100 in 06/07).  I don't think it's fair to assume that things that happened under Smith/Johnson would have happened if Ryan remained.  

[Lazarus]

Don't agree that Ryan was responsible for the rotting of the minor league system - that responsibility falls squarely on Ryan's overmatched successor.  When the Pohlad's brought Ryan back, I figured it would be a 3-4 year process to get back to respectibility and competing for the post-season.  The model has fundamentally changed in that you can't do it solely through free agency anymore.  There are a few players that Ryan might have signed to shorter contracts that would have made watching this team more palatable over the last three years, but those players would have had to be willing to sign here.  I don't believe there were many upgrades that were willing.  That probably changes a little in the upcoming years as the prospects are starting to arrive and potential free agents can better see how the team will be competitive during their contract period, but now we can be more selective - don't need 32 to 35 year olds larding up the roster.

[drjim]

I agree that part of the 2011-2014 collapse is on Ryan.

 

On the other hand, does Ryan trade Garza going into a season where he's also going to lose Santana? Does he trade Wilson Ramos?

 

If the Twins have/had those two players, how different is 2011-2014?

 

Bill Smith took a bad situation and made it so much worse. I can not see a situation where Ryan trades an up-and-coming young starter and a promising young catcher. With those two pieces, the past eight years look a whole lot different.

 

In my opinion the biggest contribution of Ryan to the current mess was not the farm system atrophying, that is over stated as there was still some talent on the farm and young pieces on the mlb roster, but the fact he didn't provide better resolution to the Hunter and Santana situations at the 2007 deadline. He had an opportunity to move guys that weren't going to stay and punted, did a half baked sell job instead, and limped to mediocre a finish leaving Smith in a tough spot to begin his tenure.

[zenser]

Just out of curiosity, who were some of the FAs that he wasn't able to sign that would have actually signed here to help finish the build?

[Brock Beauchamp]

In my opinion the biggest contribution of Ryan to the current mess was not the farm system atrophying, that is over stated as there was still some talent on the farm and young pieces on the mlb roster, but the fact he didn't provide better resolution to the Hunter and Santana situations at the 2007 deadline. He had an opportunity to move guys that weren't going to stay and punted, did a half baked sell job instead, and limped to mediocre a finish leaving Smith in a tough spot to begin his tenure.

Absolutely. Ryan left Smith in a bad situation. Smith proceeded to fumble through all those moves - which is on him - but it doesn't absolve Ryan from leaving Smith in that position in the first place.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Just out of curiosity, who were some of the FAs that he wasn't able to sign that would have actually signed here to help finish the build?

IMO, the Twins are a long way from "finishing up the build"... I'm just skeptical that Ryan is the guy to do that when the time comes.

 

Right now, the Twins are on the tail end of a rebuild... Maybe they're at the 75% mark. Next season, they *should* be around the 90% mark if things break right with Buxton and Sano.

 

Which means the 2015 offseason is when things should get really interesting. Do you start building for a winner or sit on your hands for another season?

[JB_Iowa]

Terry Ryan has responsibility for what happened under Smith's tenure.  He was his designated replacement and he left difficult issues on the table for him to deal with.

 

You can't say that Ryan's tenure started in 2011 -- his tenure as GM started in 1994.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Terry Ryan has responsibility for what happened under Smith's tenure.  He was his designated replacement and he left difficult issues on the table for him to deal with.

 

You can't say that Ryan's tenure started in 2011 -- his tenure as GM started in 1994.

Sure, but you also can't blame Ryan for Smith trading a young starter for a problem child outfielder who can't play the outfield.

 

We can't know for certain but I'm comfortable in saying there's a 99% chance Garza is on the Twins through his control seasons if Ryan stays at the helm. He traded one pitcher worth noting during his long tenure with the Twins - Kyle Lohse - who was pretty awful in his last season and had been relegated to the bullpen. As far as I can remember, he has never traded a young starting pitcher with upside.

 

Garza is one player but he's a 2-4 win player. He makes the Twins better from 2008-2011 and given the collapse, the Twins probably move him and the rebuild is that much stronger at this point.

[JB_Iowa]

Sure, but you also can't blame Ryan for Smith trading a young starter for a problem child outfielder who can't play the outfield.

 

We can't know for certain but I'm comfortable in saying there's a 99% chance Garza is on the Twins through his control seasons if Ryan stays at the helm. He traded one pitcher worth noting during his long tenure with the Twins - Kyle Lohse - who was pretty awful in his last season and had been relegated to the bullpen. As far as I can remember, he has never traded a young starting pitcher with upside.

 

Garza is one player but he's a 2-4 win player. He makes the Twins better from 2008-2011 and given the collapse, the Twins probably move him and the rebuild is that much stronger at this point.

 

I'm not blaming Ryan for specific moves in Smith's tenure -- but for its overall results.  There were some good things under Smith, some bad things under Smith and some things that Ryan left hanging that were pretty much guaranteed to turn out badly..  

 

Overall, I see Ryan as generally responsible for what happened during his sabbatical.

[gunnarthor]

In my opinion the biggest contribution of Ryan to the current mess was not the farm system atrophying, that is over stated as there was still some talent on the farm and young pieces on the mlb roster, but the fact he didn't provide better resolution to the Hunter and Santana situations at the 2007 deadline. He had an opportunity to move guys that weren't going to stay and punted, did a half baked sell job instead, and limped to mediocre a finish leaving Smith in a tough spot to begin his tenure.

The Twins were only 6 GB at the deadline, had been a pretty good second half team the previous few years and were stuck in a weird season - Mauer and Cuddy were constantly nicked up and Morneau faded badly.  I don't think he could have moved Hunter at the deadline.  And Hunter was going to get us two draft picks at a minimum.  (Also, stat heads thought Hunter was wildly overrated at that time.  It was after he left us that b-r tweaked WAR and showed that he was a 3.5-4.0 WAR guy).  When he traded Castillo (so that promising rookie Castilla could get some playing time and got us Drew Buetera), fans went nuts about the team throwing up the white flag.  

 

As for Santana, he couldn't have moved him w/1.5 years left on his contract while the taxpayers were about to agree to build the team a new stadium.  He may have been able to get a better trade than Smith though in the offseason.  

[tobi0040]

The problem with placing blame on the GM is we don't really know what strings are being pulled by the ownership group.  What the budget was, etc.  Terry says every year we can do everything we can every offseason, but he can't really say anything else.

 

For example, if it is true that Bill Smith came in and presented his 2012 plan that included doubling down on aging vets that won 66 games and was canned.....then Terry was hired for a rebuild.....he has done about as good of a job as he could  have done.   Under that scenario, 2/10 for Corriea and the Pelfrey signing was probably all that he had in his budget for. If ownwership wanted a rebuild, which by all actions is appears, I think it is unfair to say the signing of Correia did not do exactly what we wanted and had the budget for (eat innings at around an MLB average ERA). 

 

Regarding the trades, Meyer will be starting game 1 of our next playoff game and Span has aged/regressed a ton.  That was a great trade regardless of when Meyer is up.   Revere is hitting .310 with a .690 OPS (all singles), career .660 OPS, stealing bases and has a noodle arm in the OF.  I would rather have May right now regardless of how his first few starts have gone.  His floor is a very good bullpen guy which I would rather have for Revere, especially given that Revere would be fighting for a corner spot on our team and you just can't have him in a corner.

[Mike Sixel]

Don't agree that Ryan was responsible for the rotting of the minor league system - that responsibility falls squarely on Ryan's overmatched successor.  When the Pohlad's brought Ryan back, I figured it would be a 3-4 year process to get back to respectibility and competing for the post-season.  The model has fundamentally changed in that you can't do it solely through free agency anymore.  There are a few players that Ryan might have signed to shorter contracts that would have made watching this team more palatable over the last three years, but those players would have had to be willing to sign here.  I don't believe there were many upgrades that were willing.  That probably changes a little in the upcoming years as the prospects are starting to arrive and potential free agents can better see how the team will be competitive during their contract period, but now we can be more selective - don't need 32 to 35 year olds larding up the roster.

 

if it takes 4 years for a player to make the majors......and in Smith's time there weren't enough minor leaguers to call up....who was the GM when those guys were drafted, Smith, or Ryan? this isn't actualyl a hard question to answer. Ryan was.

[TheLeviathan]

I agree that part of the 2011-2014 collapse is on Ryan.

 

On the other hand, does Ryan trade Garza going into a season where he's also going to lose Santana? Does he trade Wilson Ramos?

 

If the Twins have/had those two players, how different is 2011-2014?

 

Bill Smith took a bad situation and made it so much worse. I can not see a situation where Ryan trades an up-and-coming young starter and a promising young catcher. With those two pieces, the past eight years look a whole lot different.

 

He probably doesn't make those specific trades as constituted, but he also might have done absolutely nothing and watched Garza's injury issues and attitude problems turn him into a far less valuable player.  

 

Smith actually did very well building that 2010 team using FA in a way Ryan had never managed even a fraction of.  The bang he got for his buck was simply outstanding.  Not to mention the fact that we like to absolve Ryan of his failures due to "luck" - reports were that Cliff Lee was all but signed, sealed, and delivered for Hicks and Ramos before Ramos got hurt.  (A pattern that has hardly changed in his career)

 

Even still, Smith bungled some moves horribly, but I'd argue none of them were as impactful as stringing along Hunter and Johan into the debacles those turned out to be.  Those were two premium talents that Ryan basically let get away by hard line negotiating tactics and low-ball offers.  Ramos and Garza pale in comparison, talent-wise, to those two mistakes.

[Boom Boom]

The buck ultimately stops at the GMs desk on player trades.  Smith deserves some criticism.

 

However, the GM is often working at the recommendation of scouts and other advisers, and the ones that Smith had to work with are largely the same ones that are still working under Ryan, including Ryan himself. 

[tobi0040]

If some criticize the moves he did make, I think it is fair to look at the moves he didn't make.  Maybe he didn't have many better options?