Article: With TR Gone, Can We Trust The Braintrust?

[nytwinsfan]

In the future, could you please put the word "braintrust" in quotes anytime you use it in relation to the Minnesota Twins? I know it is sort of implied, but it makes it hard not to laugh if I see that term applied to the Twins, without it being in quotes. That would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Edited July 20, 2016 by nytwinsfan

[Linus]

We have no idea what Jim pohlad is like or how good a businessman he is (I suspect very good). However he needs to not speak in public. I've never seen a high profile person say such dumb things.

[Vanimal46]

 

We have no idea what Jim pohlad is like or how good a businessman he is (I suspect very good). However he needs to not speak in public. I've never seen a high profile person say such dumb things.

Yeah he appears to just shoot from the lip without really thinking about what he's saying. If I were him, I'd probably hire someone with a PR background to prepare some statements for him if he's going to talk to the media. Nothing wrong with that. Not all owners want to be in the spot light. 

The Vikings owner comes to mind. He's terrible at public speaking, and unless there's a prepared speech for him, he delegates that responsibility to his brother. Something that Jim should think about. 

[HitInAPinch]

 

In the future, could you please put the word "braintrust" in quotes anytime you use it in relation to the Minnesota Twins? That would be much appreciated. Thanks.

In the next Pappy O'Daniel administration, these boy's are gonna be my brain trust!

http://www.movieactors.com/freeze-frames/oBROTHER/obrother227.jpeg

[tobi0040]

I think this is a bit unfair. Jim Pohlad has put on a business suit and gone to work early almost every morning since before a lot of people on TD were born. Obviously, he has had enormous advantages in life and in business. But he's not just showing up and treating Pohlad Companies and the Twins like they are some unappreciated toy. Jim Pohlad I think can be described as somewhat socially and interpersonally awkward, but that shouldn't cause us to unkindly paint him as either uncaring or inept, although it's understandable since he clearly invites criticism. He can actually be kind of engaging in person, self-deprecating, a little sarcastic even. I hate to see anyone demonized, even if they're guilty of saying some pretty stupid things.

I was referencing this portion of the article "Given his success in business world....it is inconceivable that he is so tone deaf..."

 

I am simply suggesting that we don't know whether or not he has been successful in the business world. That seems to be factual in my opinion.

 

We have very few concrete examples of his contributions to the Pohlad business or even what he has done. That isn't neccesarly a bad thing and doesn't mean that he has not been beneficial, maybe they feel no reason to share what he has done, his role with company x, y, or z. But it looks like he was on his own for three years after college when he worked in public accounting, then he joined the Twins as an analyst. It looks like he has some involvement in other family businesses as well.

 

All we really know is that his tenure as CEO has been a real tough stretch and we have articles here suggesting nobody trusts him to make the right call on about anything.

[bird]

 

Yeah he appears to just shoot from the lip without really thinking about what he's saying. If I were him, I'd probably hire someone with a PR background to prepare some statements for him if he's going to talk to the media. Nothing wrong with that. Not all owners want to be in the spot light. 

The Vikings owner comes to mind. He's terrible at public speaking, and unless there's a prepared speech for him, he delegates that responsibility to his brother. Something that Jim should think about. 

 

Yes!

[jctwins]

Serious question...is it possibility this ownership/management group is isolated at the owners' meetings because they are just plain hard to talk to? I seriously wonder if they are engaged in the game as a whole, or if they are just known as the "weird dudes from Minnesota that have a cute little club."

[twinsnorth49]

Lovable?...............Awesome.

 

 

Your new Twins GM

 

http://mediaocu.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/image-29-300x209.jpg

[ashbury]

Listening more to Goin and expanding his department isn't even necessarily a good thing -- do we have any idea whether Goin himself is actually fit for his position in modern MLB?  I want a new GM who can look critically at the work of Goin too.

Double-plus likety like like like, with sugar on top.

 

Goin has been pretty taciturn in his public comments on what he does, and nothing anyone else in the FO has said sheds much light either. I believe it's the case that he was tasked to assemble and manage a team of analysts. Goin is a St Thomas MBA, and I expect he's a good manager of people and understands business processes and can work a mean spreadsheet, but there is nothing I have seen to suggest he himself is any kind of "guru" in the analytics field, nor that his team consists of much more than interns and statistically inclined new grads with first jobs.

 

I remember Goin commenting one time about doing some primary scouting. It suggests to me that he would like to build up a resume covering all aspects of baseball operations, possibly toward an assistant GM role soon, or someday more.

 

Businesses often take an approach like what I'm describing, when establishing a new department or market or whatnot - employ generalists and see whether it's worth doing more. IMO Goin should be thanked for his work in getting analytics up and running, and then someone else needs to be brought in to take it to the next level. Goin can turn his attention to negotiating contracts, in furtherance of his presumed career aspirations. Good company man, valuable to have around.

 

 

[ashbury]

I guess I needn't have gone from memory on Goin. He's got a LinkedIn page, so anyone can see what he says about himself. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-goin-8a0bab49

 

"I oversee the baseball research department, advance scouting process, and development of our internal information systems in Baseball Operations. I also assist the GM and Assistant GM with roster management, arbitration preparation, negotiating player contracts with less than three years of major league service, and interpretations of the CBA and major league rules."

 

I'll stand by my assessment (except to clarify that Goin has been taciturn on what direction they are going analytically). And I hope it's clear I'm not throwing shade on Jack himself, but on the FO process that puts him in a position where he's unlikely to excel at one of the aspects MLB teams need to be good at in this day and age. The one caveat is that MAYBE he has hired people in his research department that I would be impressed with, and that they have kept their cards close to the vest somehow.

[Trov]

Had not seen the press conference.  What scares me is a guy who has been owning a team for several years, and basically was owning before his father passed, is NOW brushing up on how other clubs run their front office, by looking at their media guides.  This is ridiculous.  I always liked TR overall, but do feel he got stale and stuck in the old way of doing tings.  He did not appear to make the changes needed in the changing world of baseball.  I hope the Twins go for innovative thinkers when they look for new front office people.  No more of the this is the way it was done for years kind of thinking.  

[jimmer]

 

No more or less than before is my response to the question.

 

This

[tobi0040]

I guess I needn't have gone from memory on Goin. He's got a LinkedIn page, so anyone can see what he says about himself. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-goin-8a0bab49

 

"I oversee the baseball research department, advance scouting process, and development of our internal information systems in Baseball Operations. I also assist the GM and Assistant GM with roster management, arbitration preparation, negotiating player contracts with less than three years of major league service, and interpretations of the CBA and major league rules."

 

I'll stand by my assessment (except to clarify that Goin has been taciturn on what direction they are going analytically). And I hope it's clear I'm not throwing shade on Jack himself, but on the FO process that puts him in a position where he's unlikely to excel at one of the aspects MLB teams need to be good at in this day and age. The one caveat is that MAYBE he has hired people in his research department that I would be impressed with, and that they have kept their cards close to the vest somehow.

I agree completely. I would want the new GM to come in and assess every person on the staff. Growing the analytics department and adding resources here, with outside talent would obviously be a huge priority of any GM I can support.

 

It could be that Goin is an extremely bright guy who if given authority would be very valuable. But Terry never listened to him. I really don’t know. What does irk me is that the Twins stood up an analytics department years behind many other teams, then gave the head job to an internal person who I believe started out in ticket sales. The insular culture needs to stop with a new GM. Like the Bill Smith hire. And how Antony believes he should be a candidate. Please, please stop. If this was the Cardinals or another well run organization maybe you do stay in house after the GM retires. But we are miles from there.

[jimmer]

 

I agree completely. I would want the new GM to come in and assess every person on the staff. Growing the analytics department and adding resources here, with outside talent would obviously be a huge priority of any GM I can support.

It could be that Goin is an extremely bright guy who if given authority would be very valuable. But Terry never listened to him. I really don’t know. What does irk me is that the Twins stood up an analytics department years behind many other teams, then gave the head job to an internal person who I believe started out in ticket sales. The insular culture needs to stop with a new GM. Like the Bill Smith hire. And how Antony believes he should be a candidate. Please, please stop. If this was the Cardinals or another well run organization maybe you do stay in house after the GM retires. But we are miles from there.

With some of the quotes from Ryan, it seemed he would use the info given by Goin if it matched with his thought process and if not he discarded it (at least in player acquisition transaction). It may not have been really the case, but if it was, no point in even having an analytic department if used like that.

Edited July 20, 2016 by jimmer

[tobi0040]

With some of the quotes from Ryan, it seemed he would use the info given by Goin if it matched with his thought process and if not he discarded it (at least in player acquisition transaction). It may not have been really the case, but if it was, no point in even having an analytic department if used like that.

That would not at all be surprising. My gut tells me the Twins put an analytics department in place because not having one would have made for bad PR. It is likely understaffed, with less pedigree, and under utilyzed relative to our competition.

[Dave The Dastardly]

Sorry, but I just have to jump in here and throw a wet blanket over some of the posted opinions. If this gets rather lengthy, shoot me.

 

1) Regarding search firms. I have had some experience with search firms on a personal level and I have never been impressed. In my experience they are no better or no worse on selecting the "perfect" candidate than an organizational committee. Just take a look at both Mpls and St. Paul school boards record for hiring superintendents as well as the Univ. of MN when hiring AD's. All three use search firms and all three replace "perfect" hires almost yearly. The real role for search firms is to provide a scapegoat for when the new Messiah trips on his robe. Let's face it; hiring is always a crapshoot no matter who's making the decision.

 

2) Get over this bias against internal candidates. Just about anyone worth his salt is going to be an internal candidate at some point in his career. If he's not, why does he have a responsible role in the organization? Yeah, he may have followed along with his former boss' beliefs and methods, but what else do you expect from a trusted employee? But going along with the boss doesn't mean all internal candidates are clones of the former boss. A good organizational man/woman will have observed what works and what hasn't worked and formed their own ideas of what they would do different if they were in charge. That's a plus that no external candidate will have; that first hand knowledge within the organization.

 

3) What serious outside candidate would risk their career coming to the Twins? The owner has already "hired" the manager for next year, the major league club is pitiful and a long ways from posting another winning season, the minors are full of unproven "prospects" that may or may not pan out but need to be brought up to the Bigs in order to determine if they're major league material, the organization itself is dysfunctional and the ownership is notorious for doing things on the cheap. So if you're an up and coming GM candidate and anxious to prove your moxie so you can someday move on to a big name club, would you want to roll the dice and hire on with the Twins? As we used to say in my business, paraphrasing of course, the Twins are a ball club where GMs go to die, not build a career. So if the team can't attract serious external candidates, are we better off to hire a marginal candidate just because he's "external"?

 

4) Quit with the analytics. Yeah, its a helpful tool, but it's just that; a tool. One of many needed to run a ball club. You wouldn't hand a mechanic one wrench and expect him to overhaul an engine so why would anyone expect a GM to be a one trick pony with analytics? General Manager means the guy has to be good at overseeing an entire organization, not just one department. If the guy can't get all the departments on the same page, analytics isn't going to save his ass. Or put the Twins back in the "not-embarrassing" portion of the win column.

 

My advice, give Antony the next few months to prove he's not a Terry Ryan clone and instead of wasting time and money on "searching" for an outside candidate, let it be known external candidates will be considered and see who wants to throw his hat in the ring. It may be humbling.

[Mike Sixel]

There do seem to be a lot of conclusions being drawn, about things we know nothing about.....

[drivlikejehu]

Jim Pohlad is making me question my view of the estate tax.

[Parker Hageman]

Being the one who conducted the original interview with Rob Antony in 2010, I probably should clarify several things. During a spring training visit in 2010, I attempted to get time with Terry Ryan. I was told that he was unavailable (like he typically is outside of his pre-game huddles) and that Antony would gladly answer my questions.

 

My point was to gauge what the level of knowledge was for baseball analytics inside the organization. In addition to some current event questions, I added a few questions from the book Behind-The Scenes Baseball (the Doug Decatur book discussed what life was like as an analytics “advisor” to several teams in 1984) which would be telling of the mindset of a team’s GM. Those questions were something like, does he prefer RBI to Slugging Percentage? Does the GM know basic advanced stats (I used FIP and BABIP as mine)? As you can see in the link above, Antony shaded toward the old-school mindset, not very familiar with what were, at the time, advanced stat concepts. To be sure, Antony readily acknowledged this short-coming as well, remarking that the organization definitely slanted old-school and mentioned that they had just hired a guy to focus solely on analytics (Jack Goin).

 

Shortly after publishing the interview, Aaron Gleeman shared it on his site and it gained national steam. I was told that there was definite unhappiness about the interview and how it portrayed Antony. In fact, I’m told that the Twins reached out to Gleeman to have him sit down with Antony so he could clarify his position on analytics. Later on, several members within the organization told me later that the interview prompted Antony to educate himself on a lot of those stats and concepts.

 

I haven’t had the opportunity to sit down one-on-one with Antony since the interview was published. I would love to sit down with him again and revisit some of those topics but let me make this much clear: I have been around him during his time leading the pre-game media huddles, I’ve read all of the TwinkieTown interviews with him over the past several years -- he’s a very sharp guy.

 

Would he make a good GM? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[jimmer]

And now you know, the REST of the story.

 

Great info Parker, thank you very much.

[tobi0040]

Sorry, but I just have to jump in here and throw a wet blanket over some of the posted opinions. If this gets rather lengthy, shoot me.

 

1) Regarding search firms. I have had some experience with search firms on a personal level and I have never been impressed. In my experience they are no better or no worse on selecting the "perfect" candidate than an organizational committee. Just take a look at both Mpls and St. Paul school boards record for hiring superintendents as well as the Univ. of MN when hiring AD's. All three use search firms and all three replace "perfect" hires almost yearly. The real role for search firms is to provide a scapegoat for when the new Messiah trips on his robe. Let's face it; hiring is always a crapshoot no matter who's making the decision.

 

2) Get over this bias against internal candidates. Just about anyone worth his salt is going to be an internal candidate at some point in his career. If he's not, why does he have a responsible role in the organization? Yeah, he may have followed along with his former boss' beliefs and methods, but what else do you expect from a trusted employee? But going along with the boss doesn't mean all internal candidates are clones of the former boss. A good organizational man/woman will have observed what works and what hasn't worked and formed their own ideas of what they would do different if they were in charge. That's a plus that no external candidate will have; that first hand knowledge within the organization.

 

3) What serious outside candidate would risk their career coming to the Twins? The owner has already "hired" the manager for next year, the major league club is pitiful and a long ways from posting another winning season, the minors are full of unproven "prospects" that may or may not pan out but need to be brought up to the Bigs in order to determine if they're major league material, the organization itself is dysfunctional and the ownership is notorious for doing things on the cheap. So if you're an up and coming GM candidate and anxious to prove your moxie so you can someday move on to a big name club, would you want to roll the dice and hire on with the Twins? As we used to say in my business, paraphrasing of course, the Twins are a ball club where GMs go to die, not build a career. So if the team can't attract serious external candidates, are we better off to hire a marginal candidate just because he's "external"?

 

4) Quit with the analytics. Yeah, its a helpful tool, but it's just that; a tool. One of many needed to run a ball club. You wouldn't hand a mechanic one wrench and expect him to overhaul an engine so why would anyone expect a GM to be a one trick pony with analytics? General Manager means the guy has to be good at overseeing an entire organization, not just one department. If the guy can't get all the departments on the same page, analytics isn't going to save his ass. Or put the Twins back in the "not-embarrassing" portion of the win column.

 

My advice, give Antony the next few months to prove he's not a Terry Ryan clone and instead of wasting time and money on "searching" for an outside candidate, let it be known external candidates will be considered and see who wants to throw his hat in the ring. It may be humbling.

Regarding a search firm, they are not perfect. But I am guessing they have a rolodex of qualified candidates already established from past searches. And if given the choice between a search firm and DSP/Pohlad running a search, I am going search firm every time. Keep in mind that they are not completely outsourcing the process. The search firm is basically providing some names and an introductory calls with candidates to determine interest, then making recommendations, i.e. here are the five people we recommend you interview and why, who referred them, etc.

 

My general rule is if things are going good and a guy retires, then my bias is in house. When things are not going good and the guy gets fired, the clear bias is outside. A candidate who has worked as the #2 the last 7 years should not get a ton of consideration.

 

We have more losses than 28 other teams over the last 5.5 years. I can't think of one executive under TR that has been plucked from another organization. As others have noted, we have not heard Antony's name natioanlly considered for a single job.And we are viewed nationally as a bottom third on the analytics front and we are in a game that continues to rely on analytics more and more. Is it the only factor and the end all be all? No, but it should be a factor.

Edited July 20, 2016 by tobi0040

[gocgo]

 

It's laughable how St. Peter says whatever he can to keep his name out of the baseball part of the club...    Genius actually,    but I'm sure he'll be the first to take credit whenever the winning starts up again   

I agree...genious!  If I you were in his shoes, wouldn't you do the same?  Baseball team is losing...distance yourself from the baseball side.  Team is profitable...associate yourself with the business side.

[markos]

I feel like there is a recursive problem with suggesting that getting outside advice will help St. Peter and Pohlad make this important baseball decision. That all depends on them selecting the right people or search firm to provide the help! I recall that Glen Taylor reached out to a respected NBA executive for help hiring a GM, and the recommendation was to hire a David Kahn. So is the question "Who should I ask for advice about hiring a GM?" any easier (or less critical) than "Who should I hire as GM?"? I'm not sure that it is. 

[Mike Sixel]

 

Being the one who conducted the original interview with Rob Antony in 2010, I probably should clarify several things. During a spring training visit in 2010, I attempted to get time with Terry Ryan. I was told that he was unavailable (like he typically is outside of his pre-game huddles) and that Antony would gladly answer my questions..........

 

Would he make a good GM? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

 

good stuff, thanks. If I ran the Twins, they'd have pushed that follow up interview a lot harder. However, I'm not sure the casual fan cares......how much effort should they aim at improving their reputation with us, or the industry?

[alarp33]

 

Sorry, but I just have to jump in here and throw a wet blanket over some of the posted opinions. If this gets rather lengthy, shoot me.

 

1) Regarding search firms. I have had some experience with search firms on a personal level and I have never been impressed. In my experience they are no better or no worse on selecting the "perfect" candidate than an organizational committee. Just take a look at both Mpls and St. Paul school boards record for hiring superintendents as well as the Univ. of MN when hiring AD's. All three use search firms and all three replace "perfect" hires almost yearly. The real role for search firms is to provide a scapegoat for when the new Messiah trips on his robe. Let's face it; hiring is always a crapshoot no matter who's making the decision.

 

2) Get over this bias against internal candidates. Just about anyone worth his salt is going to be an internal candidate at some point in his career. If he's not, why does he have a responsible role in the organization? Yeah, he may have followed along with his former boss' beliefs and methods, but what else do you expect from a trusted employee? But going along with the boss doesn't mean all internal candidates are clones of the former boss. A good organizational man/woman will have observed what works and what hasn't worked and formed their own ideas of what they would do different if they were in charge. That's a plus that no external candidate will have; that first hand knowledge within the organization.

 

3) What serious outside candidate would risk their career coming to the Twins? The owner has already "hired" the manager for next year, the major league club is pitiful and a long ways from posting another winning season, the minors are full of unproven "prospects" that may or may not pan out but need to be brought up to the Bigs in order to determine if they're major league material, the organization itself is dysfunctional and the ownership is notorious for doing things on the cheap. So if you're an up and coming GM candidate and anxious to prove your moxie so you can someday move on to a big name club, would you want to roll the dice and hire on with the Twins? As we used to say in my business, paraphrasing of course, the Twins are a ball club where GMs go to die, not build a career. So if the team can't attract serious external candidates, are we better off to hire a marginal candidate just because he's "external"?

 

4) Quit with the analytics. Yeah, its a helpful tool, but it's just that; a tool. One of many needed to run a ball club. You wouldn't hand a mechanic one wrench and expect him to overhaul an engine so why would anyone expect a GM to be a one trick pony with analytics? General Manager means the guy has to be good at overseeing an entire organization, not just one department. If the guy can't get all the departments on the same page, analytics isn't going to save his ass. Or put the Twins back in the "not-embarrassing" portion of the win column.

 

My advice, give Antony the next few months to prove he's not a Terry Ryan clone and instead of wasting time and money on "searching" for an outside candidate, let it be known external candidates will be considered and see who wants to throw his hat in the ring. It may be humbling.

 

1) A search firm can be a useful tool, especially when the internal people charged with making the hire have the working baseball knowledge of "I have read other teams media guides".  The UofM just made by all accounts a hell of a hire, I'm guessing Mark Coyles name would not have come up without help of the search firm.  If there's even a chance it helps why wouldn't you spend the money to have them drum up a list of candidates for you?

 

2) The Twins have the 2nd worst record in baseball since 2011 and an organization largely considered as being well behind the times.  That's why you wouldn't hire internally.  

 

3) There are 30 GM jobs in all of baseball, and someone could do a hell of a lot worse than an organization with a good pipeline of young talent and seemingly endless job security if they can win even at an average clip. Even with the Molitor caveat (which i hate), they will have plenty of candidates. 

 

4) Huh? You are advocating not to use all the tools at the front office's disposal, why? Because you aren't familiar with how they work?

[gocgo]

What message do you think it sends to the rest of the organization if they hire internally?

 

What message do you think it sends to the rest of the organization if they hire externally?

[old nurse]

 

Hmm... not sure I want to start a new thread on this, but read this gem this morning on MILB.  A few parallels here, especially if Texas is selling low on Profar and Gallo.  Those are the types of moves TR would have been all over.  Sounds like it is as bad for Texas fans right now as Twins fans.

That is like trusting anyone here proposing a trade. A fanblog should not be deemed reality.

[tobi0040]

I feel like there is a recursive problem with suggesting that getting outside advice will help St. Peter and Pohlad make this important baseball decision. That all depends on them selecting the right people or search firm to provide the help! I recall that Glen Taylor reached out to a respected NBA executive for help hiring a GM, and the recommendation was to hire a David Kahn. So is the question "Who should I ask for advice about hiring a GM?" any easier (or less critical) than "Who should I hire as GM?"? I'm not sure that it is.

If memory serves, David Stern personally recommended David Kahn. I am not sure why the commisioner would be a great resource as to the aptitude of GM candidates. I think talking with well regarded GM's about who they recommend under the and why would be a better use of time.

[Darius]

I assume the title is a sarcastic/rhetorical question. They've been the worst franchise in baseball, and it's been the same group of people in charge for 25 years.

[markos]

 

If memory serves, David Stern personally recommended David Kahn. I am not sure why the commisioner would be a great resource as to the aptitude of GM candidates. I think talking with well regarded GM's about who they recommend under the and why would be a better use of time.

I thought Stern suggested that Taylor talk to Donnie Walsh for advice. Walsh recommended Kahn.