Article: Reports: Twins Leaning Toward Falvey As Baseball Ops Chief

[operation mindcrime]

As long as he is a blazer but no tie guy, I am good. No ties, but tie dye under the blazer would be ok.

He should dress like Bill Belichick or Phil Laak.

[nytwinsfan]

This is Falvey speaking and taking questions at a SABR convention 3 years ago. He sure is a good "communicator" as many reports have stated. Some interesting topics:

 

1) On balancing/merging defensive analytics and scouting, at around 27:00.

 

2) On scouting and developing power, at around 34:05.

 

3) On keeping players eating correctly and nutritiously, at around 39:05.

 

4) On trading good players (both prospects and established players), at around 51:45.

 

5) About the importance of makeup, at around 101:50.

 

 

 

 

[operation mindcrime]

Hurray to not doing it the "Twins way", and a fresh voice of leadership.

The first order of business should be to clean out the Twins clubhouse of its manager and coaches. Hire Omar Vizquel or Jim Thome as the Twins next manager. All of this losing and the complacency of being OK with losing has set in with just about all of the players. Once you accept your a loser it is hard to change. Any remnants of the Gardenhire coaching staffs needs the boot.

Don't forget about Dave Martinez! \m/

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

<--- Really glad I signed up today and staked this prime real estate!

 

You've been planning this for months...

[Joe A. Preusser]

Guys and gals. I am aware many of you feel negatively towards me and my simetimes overly optimistic opinions. However, I feel very strongly about this and just have to speak up.

 

Audra Martin must be retained at all costs.

[operation mindcrime]

TR seemed like a great communicator with everyone except the players.  Maybe Buxton and Sano, but you never hear players talk about any form of communication with the FO staff.  General Managers, Assistant General Managers, etc. - How well does management really know their players / prospects?  How do you groom what you don't attempt to know about?  All FO media quotes seem to come after a falling out conversations with players and never proactive conversations (from management)?

 

I hope new management finds it important to know their players and not just maneuver players.  Hicks, Buxton, Rosario, Vargas, Berrios, were treated like yo yo's during their career.  Not one had strong responses as to why they were demoted or what they were told in regards to demotions.  "Yeah - I was told ............."

You forgot Joe Benson and Darin Mastroianni. Oh wait ...I forgot Alex Meyer!

[Nick Nelson]

Here's the crazy thing to me. With this organization, and the way things have operated for the past few decades, it is hard to even conceptualize the idea of a 33-year-old outsider coming in with complete control and authority over the entire baseball operations department. That is such a far cry from the status quo that it really says something about the impression Falvey made upon them. 

 

I find it exciting. But still a bit tough to wrap my head around. 

[twinsnorth49]

Personally, I think he deserves a chance to do or not do whatever we think he will or won't.

 

For a week at least.

[Craig Arko]

Personally, I think he deserves a chance to do or not do whatever we think he will or won't.

For a week at least.

Canadian generosity is no myth.

[Thrylos]

 

Here's the crazy thing to me. With this organization, and the way things have operated for the past few decades, it is hard to even conceptualize the idea of a 33-year-old outsider coming in with complete control and authority over the entire baseball operations department. That is such a far cry from the status quo that it really says something about the impression Falvey made upon them. 

 

I find it exciting. But still a bit tough to wrap my head around. 

 

FWIW.  Andy MacPhail came in as an outsider when he was 31 years old and was promoted to the boss of baseball operations as a 32 year old.

 

Indeed pretty exciting times, but the new boss needs to have the ability to clean house since day 365, at latest.

[ShouldaCouldaWoulda]

His highest paid player just might actually be older than him? They are both 33, right?

[Brandon]

Will the Twins have to give Cleveland a prospect as compensation.

[Kwak]

 

Molitor should have stood up to his boss on that idea alone and said that is a bad to very poor "baseball" decision. There are times the boss needs to be told no you are wrong and that was one of those decisions.

 

I'm putting Sano at DH because that is what he is best at right now or putting him some on third base and rotating people. He Molitor should have also pushed for them to start Park in AAA to start the season. That is asking an awful lot a kid you think talented to bat cleanup and expect him to succeed with no experience facing any pitching at this level of baseball. The Park decision to sign him always was a curious choice. I like Parks bat but I think the Twins pushed to hard to start him at DH right away. They should have eased him into the line-up on a match up basis. Just to much force feeding of people at the beginning of the year. Keeping Michael Tonkin and Oswaldo Arcia also is perceived to be a mistake both being AAAA players, not major league players. The Twins need a new manager no matter what the ultimatum of DSP and Jim Pohlad says right now. Hopefully DSP is on his way out the door and all remminents of this losing leadership group will be gone.

Ryan would have responded: "I let you start Danny Santana....". Molitor's cred was shot.

[Kwak]

 

Will the Twins have to give Cleveland a prospect as compensation.

How about Molitor and his "baseball acumen"?

[Jordan1212]

Of course make the wrong move don't hire McLeod cause he comes from a proven tree very similar to vikings they finally got it right after firing Dennis green well the twins have never had it right. So not hiring McLeod was bad mistake....

[Deduno Abides]

Agreed. Especially when it comes to the analytics team. They need to basically double the staff, not eliminate and start completely over. For most every department, I'd be looking to add on staff, not subtract.

 

Ok, as long as the new staff is higher on the org chart than the existing staff. Almost every other team has much more sophisticated uses of analytics. The quickest way to improve would be to hire talented, experienced people, instead waiting for the current team to go through learning curves passed years ago by most other teams.

[ND-Fan]

Like any business there's risk in hiring a new manager and time will only tell how he does as manager for this organization. Contrary to what people think I believe there is a lot right about this organization and what I think is wrong with it is probably they have not hired enough people and created good communication system on player development and scouting. This means more people for analytical side, more scouts, and more people teaching down in the instructional leagues. Also whole new department of people for medical and physical training for players. I also think that coaching is behind to other baseball organizations in that analytics is part of the coaching young players today. I think were going to see how invested are Pohlads are when all this increases the cost of doing business. Also one thing I see with Cleveland is they have produced winning club this year but business side getting people to the ball park has not been good. This is going to be important in Minnesota because this was bottom line why Terry Ryan was fired cost were up and interest was going down. His successor will have some time but not the time that Terry had. This new head of baseball is going to need some luck in finding some pitching and better hope that some Terry Ryan past plan pans out in the future. Like Phil Hughes returning and being able to pitch like at least number 3 starter, Gibson developing into quality starter, Santanna continuing to pitch like he has, and for Berios to develop in quality starter, not to mention Mays, and Duffy. I think new Head can put together adequate bull pen by few signings and what is in the farm system. Offense is strong on this team and should continue improve with this young talent. Defense is another issue to many players above average offensively but are weak in the field. Also have some positions that are too deep at but hard to get value out them because of weakness on defense side or to expensive to keep around much longer and other teams know this. Team needs catcher and find shortstop that plays defense and supplies enough offense. I think this will be benefit of new blood or change we might find where some players are given chance at position and this brings me to having Molitor remain manager. I think he should be let go and let the new man choose his manager to fit how he wants to put this team together and style of ball he wants them to play. But getting back to all people wanting to blow up whole organization I think that would be big mistake and we would be looking at another 4 years of loosing baseball while rebuilding the team with new person and with possibilities that could altogether fail with that person. Then we would be looking at over decade of loosing baseball.

[old nurse]

 

Here's the crazy thing to me. With this organization, and the way things have operated for the past few decades, it is hard to even conceptualize the idea of a 33-year-old outsider coming in with complete control and authority over the entire baseball operations department. That is such a far cry from the status quo that it really says something about the impression Falvey made upon them. 

 

I find it exciting. But still a bit tough to wrap my head around. 

 

Owner sets the budget for the team expenses, player payroll and operation expenses.  Complete control is a myth.

 

[HitInAPinch]

 

Here's the crazy thing to me. With this organization, and the way things have operated for the past few decades, it is hard to even conceptualize the idea of a 33-year-old outsider coming in with complete control and authority over the entire baseball operations department. That is such a far cry from the status quo that it really says something about the impression Falvey made upon them. 

 

I find it exciting. But still a bit tough to wrap my head around. 

Start wrapping  

 

http://www.startribune.com/cleveland-s-derek-falvey-emerges-as-frontrunner-to-head-twins-baseball-operations/394833731/

[LaBombo]

 

It just kills me that Falvey is younger than me. What have I done with my life!?

If it's any consolation, you could imagine Falvey kicking himself for being five years older than Theo was when he got his chief executive baseball job.

 

Of course, Falvey may be too busy kicking himself for accepting a job in an organization that just lost its 100th game of the season.

 

In any case he's an outside hire, and the silly straw man argument that 'an outside hire is guaranteed to be the answer' notwithstanding, that's a good thing.

[h2oface]

<--- Really glad I signed up today and staked this prime real estate!

Funny! And clever. Make the new guy Falvey earn his cred.

[LaBombo]

 

And please don't forget to burn down the stadium and move to Mexico City while you're at it.

 

The Twins franchise started to become indistinguishable from a non-competitive entertainment product at virtually the exact moment that it was handed the stadium they had assured us for decades was the critical tool it lacked to make it perennially competitive.  That slide culminated in the Twins fielding the worst team in all of baseball this year.

 

If I were Jim Pohlad, I'd be grateful for any fans left to be upset with the Twins and hungry for change, even if that hunger could be mistaken for an impulse to commit arson.