Terry Ryan Interview - Submit Your Questions

[Thrylos]

Ask him whether he holds himself accountable after a 96 loss season. Or, in other words, does he think that leading the team to 96 losses last season was successful enough to warrant removing the "interim" tag?

[TheLeviathan]

Second Psuedo's question - it's absolutely excellent.

[East Coast Twin]

1. Was the drafting of "power" arms in 2012 the beginning of a change in team philosophy?

 

2. What caused the failure of the "Tsuyoshi Nishioka experiment"?

[Nick Nelson]

Ask him whether he holds himself accountable after a 96 loss season. Or, in other words, does he think that leading the team to 96 losses last season was successful enough to warrant removing the "interim" tag?

 

Yep, his acquisitions of players like Willingham, Doumit, Carroll and Burton certainly led this team right down the tubes. He should not only fire himself but commit seppuku on the mound at Target Field.

 

Do you ever get bored of posting some variation of the same "fire everyone" comment on every thread?

[Jeremy Nygaard]

Will all four of Butera's arbitration years be bought out with a long-term deal? Or just a couple?

[clutterheart]

I am interested in Ryan's thoughts on his legacy. Maybe something like:

 

"You left the team on a high note and were regarded as one of the best GMs in the league. Now you are back at the same job but expectations are higher, and the cupboard is not exactly overflowing.

In this new situation, how do you hope you are remembered by the fanbase when you decide to step down in the future?"

[ThePuck]

Ask him whether he holds himself accountable after a 96 loss season. Or, in other words, does he think that leading the team to 96 losses last season was successful enough to warrant removing the "interim" tag?

 

Yep, his acquisitions of players like Willingham, Doumit, Carroll and Burton certainly led this team right down the tubes. He should not only fire himself but commit seppuku on the mound at Target Field.

 

Do you ever get bored of posting some variation of the same "fire everyone" comment on every thread?

 

Here's the thing. Willingham and Doumit were brought in to replace the departing Cuddyer and Doumit. They weren't adding Willingham and Doumit and keeping Cuddy and Kubel. They were looking for a cheaper alternative to Cuddy and Kubel.and hoping it worked it. It did, which is nice, but they were replacing often productive players, not adding on to our list of productive players to improve the team. They didn't take the money saved and go get pitching, for example. Now, I was all for signing Willingham and Doumit. In fact, before last season's postseason was done, there were quite a few of us over on another site saying those two players were the exact two we needed to get. It was a pretty obvious move that needed to be made. But it was what it was.

 

Truth is, the pitching has been a problem for awhile, specifically starting pitching. THAT needed to be addressed, and it wasn't. And really, we all need to remember, Ryan wasn't exactly gone when Smith was GM. He was Smith's special assistant. He's also a big reason why our starting pitching staff is where it is today. Many of those guys are his guys.

 

So maybe his question isn't such a bad one...even if it is a common type post from him.

[clutterheart]

Two words: Anthony Slama

 

YES. With direct, follow up questionss to get a real answer out him.

[johnnydakota]

does he still think boof bonser was the key player in the a.j. trade? and 2 what kind of photos does he have of jimmy pohlad that allows him to keep his job?

[johnnydakota]

does curly ryan still think boof bonser was the key player in the a.j. trade? and what kind of photos does he have to blackmail jimmy pohlad with to keep his job?

[johnnydakota]

Why exactly isn't Paul Molitor a fit for the coaching staff? He was shot down as a candidate about two seconds after he said he was interested.

 

because if paul is with the team he might get near jim pohlad and wispher in his ear......curly ryan and larry gardenhire dont know what there doing

[old nurse]

Ask him whether he holds himself accountable after a 96 loss season. Or, in other words, does he think that leading the team to 96 losses last season was successful enough to warrant removing the "interim" tag?

 

Yep, his acquisitions of players like Willingham, Doumit, Carroll and Burton certainly led this team right down the tubes. He should not only fire himself but commit seppuku on the mound at Target Field.

 

Do you ever get bored of posting some variation of the same "fire everyone" comment on every thread?

 

Obviously not

[old nurse]

Please consider that you are different from a mainstream sports writer and ask questions from your point of view . Terry Ryan has appeared many places. Please use what makes you different from the mainstream and ask questions from that view. It would be a unique opportunity to shed a light on the Twins from a different perspective.

[SpantheMan]

What are the chances that Gardy and Anderson will be back for the 2014 season?

[East Coast Twin]

Ask him how often he visits twinsdaily.com. Does he visit other sites? What's his perception of sites such as twinsdaily.com?

[bird]

Ryan has indicated a dissappointment with the organization's Dominican player pipeline. What's being done to improve the results?

[lightfoot789]

I thought the Twins had an excellent draft and went away from their usual philosophy in 2012. Who are the players other than Buxton and Berrios in this years draft that you are excited about and which have a chance to become special players down the line (someday)? Patience is a virtue and this 2012 draft class seems to have produced well at thier respective MILB levels. Who surprisingly stood out at instructionals as well?

[Brock Beauchamp]

I thought the Twins had an excellent draft and went away from their usual philosophy in 2012. Who are the players other than Buxton and Berrios in this years draft that you are excited about and which have a chance to become special players down the line (someday)? Patience is a virtue and this 2012 draft class seems to have produced well at thier respective MILB levels. Who surprisingly stood out at instructionals as well?

 

I like the idea of the question a lot but I can already see the response... "There are a lot of kids we like in the draft and time will tell blah blah blah". Ryan isn't going to tip his hand in next year's draft.

 

On the other hand, if you make the question more about last year's draft and the implied philosophy change that went behind it, I think it would provide a more substantive answer.

[NoCryingInBaseball]

I realize that Ryan relies on his generalize and cover-all-the bases type of response to all questions, like “there are a lot of starters we need to look at” or “we need to make sure we put the right people in the right place”, but I too would be interested in more specifics.

 

The biggest question I have is about multi-year contracts for a starting pitcher. Given the reluctance to for a three of four-year contract in the past, does anything change with the Morneau contract going off the books in 2014? Regardless of whether Morneau is traded during the off-season or during the season, there seems little reason to resign him for 2014, which leaves $14 million available that could be part of a SP multi-year deal.

[TRex]

First off, I would like to thank Mr. Ryan for his generosity... both to the organization as a whole and to me personally. Once he allowed my family to trade seats with him at a pre-season game so that my 3-month old twin daughters could be in the sun rather than the shade on a very brisk 40º day. I am sure he cannot remember all the fans he has met, but he may remember this incident because it was the first game at Coor's Field in Denver in 1996... the day Kirby woke up blind in his right eye.

 

My question is a little more off topic but...

 

In light of the recent stories about Lance Armstrong getting away with doping for years in the sport with the most stringent rules and testing, what are Mr. Ryan's thoughts on PED usage and testing in baseball? Does he think that there will be 'Lance Armstrong's' in his sport that continue to taint MVP and Cy Young awards, as well as Division and World Series titles? If so, what does he think about potentially removing these achievements from individuals/teams that are caught breaking the rules?

 

Perhaps a more generic way to ask, that might get a more meaningful answer is to get him to compare his thoughts on these types of 'cheating':

 

A) Chicanery: Pitchers doctoring a baseball. Hitters corking a bat. Catchers framing pitches. Hrbek (TRex) pulling Gant's leg off first!

Mental acuity: Greenies, speed, caffeine, nicotine, ammonia, weight loss aids

C) Muscle repair/enhancement: Testosterone derivatives, HGH, HCG

[nicksaviking]

I thought the Twins had an excellent draft and went away from their usual philosophy in 2012. Who are the players other than Buxton and Berrios in this years draft that you are excited about and which have a chance to become special players down the line (someday)? Patience is a virtue and this 2012 draft class seems to have produced well at thier respective MILB levels. Who surprisingly stood out at instructionals as well?

 

I like the idea of the question a lot but I can already see the response... "There are a lot of kids we like in the draft and time will tell blah blah blah". Ryan isn't going to tip his hand in next year's draft.

 

On the other hand, if you make the question more about last year's draft and the implied philosophy change that went behind it, I think it would provide a more substantive answer.

 

Agreed, I'm only on board with Ryan staying because of this percieved change in philosophy on pitching.

 

I'd also like to know which of the 2012 pitching class will get a chance to start in 2013.

[Boom Boom]

Ask him whether he holds himself accountable after a 96 loss season. Or, in other words, does he think that leading the team to 96 losses last season was successful enough to warrant removing the "interim" tag?

 

Yep, his acquisitions of players like Willingham, Doumit, Carroll and Burton certainly led this team right down the tubes. He should not only fire himself but commit seppuku on the mound at Target Field.

 

Do you ever get bored of posting some variation of the same "fire everyone" comment on every thread?

 

I don't recall thrylos98 ever calling for Rick Stelmaszek to be fired.

 

It's really a valid question, I think. After a 96-loss season, Ryan gave himself a promotion. If Gardy says "I don't deserve a contract extension" then I think Ryan should at least be accountable enough to keep the interim tag (symbolic as it may be).

[Brock Beauchamp]

It's really a valid question, I think. After a 96-loss season, Ryan gave himself a promotion. If Gardy says "I don't deserve a contract extension" then I think Ryan should at least be accountable enough to keep the interim tag (symbolic as it may be).

 

On the other hand, being a lame duck boss makes it hard to instill confidence in the lower ranks. Removing the interim tag could be viewed as symbolic as well. As I've said all along, JR deserves more than 11 months to get this franchise back on track. If he fails to have a clear path forward a year from now, then it's time to think about moving in another direction. So far, he's done a pretty good job with the franchise. The last draft went off like gangbusters, most of the free agent acquisitions were either good or decent, and now he has his first full offseason to really lay out a plan.

[Mike Sixel]

You claim that you have never been denied money to add to the payroll. The Whte Sox GM says you would have won at least two WS earlier this century if you had added a player or two. Is it true that you decided to reduce payroll last year, and not the owner? Why did you not add a legit DH when this team was one hitter away earlier this century?

 

On a different topic.....if you do not acquire at least two proven starting pitchers, why should anyone pay their hard earned cash to go to a ballgame?

[Boom Boom]

It's really a valid question, I think. After a 96-loss season, Ryan gave himself a promotion. If Gardy says "I don't deserve a contract extension" then I think Ryan should at least be accountable enough to keep the interim tag (symbolic as it may be).

 

On the other hand, being a lame duck boss makes it hard to instill confidence in the lower ranks. Removing the interim tag could be viewed as symbolic as well. As I've said all along, JR deserves more than 11 months to get this franchise back on track. If he fails to have a clear path forward a year from now, then it's time to think about moving in another direction. So far, he's done a pretty good job with the franchise. The last draft went off like gangbusters, most of the free agent acquisitions were either good or decent, and now he has his first full offseason to really lay out a plan.

 

I agree with you on this - but can't it also be said that Gardy is a lame duck boss?

[Brock Beauchamp]

It's really a valid question, I think. After a 96-loss season, Ryan gave himself a promotion. If Gardy says "I don't deserve a contract extension" then I think Ryan should at least be accountable enough to keep the interim tag (symbolic as it may be).

 

On the other hand, being a lame duck boss makes it hard to instill confidence in the lower ranks. Removing the interim tag could be viewed as symbolic as well. As I've said all along, JR deserves more than 11 months to get this franchise back on track. If he fails to have a clear path forward a year from now, then it's time to think about moving in another direction. So far, he's done a pretty good job with the franchise. The last draft went off like gangbusters, most of the free agent acquisitions were either good or decent, and now he has his first full offseason to really lay out a plan.

 

I agree with you on this - but can't it also be said that Gardy is a lame duck boss?

 

Not really... He simply hasn't been extended. He has a full season left on his contract and he was allowed to keep his buddy as pitching coach. He obviously still has some sway in the organization and it appears that JR is going to try to get him some pitching so he can succeed in 2013.

 

If it's July 1st, the Twins are 15 games back, and a fire sale is starting to commence, then he's a lame duck boss for the rest of the season.

[DaveW]

My question:

 

I understand the organization likes Drew Butera, but what are the odds you shell out the 1 mil to keep him around next year? (Super 2 status) wouldn't it be better to simply cut him loose and then try to bring him back on a minor league contract. Also would it be too early to groom him into a coach for the org?

[Brock Beauchamp]

My question:

 

I understand the organization likes Drew Butera, but what are the odds you shell out the 1 mil to keep him around next year? (Super 2 status) wouldn't it be better to simply cut him loose and then try to bring him back on a minor league contract. Also would it be too early to groom him into a coach for the org?

 

My version:

 

Drew Butera. What the ****. Seriously. WHY?!?!?!?!

[scottz]

1) Scott Diamond had a solid year and was the best pitcher on the major league staff in 2012. Does the front office think he can be more than "solid"? That is, can he be significantly better than he was this year?

 

2a) Who is the highest ranking member of the front office who is fluent in Spanish or any language other than English? (Note from scottz: I have no idea of the answer to this...if anyone on TD knows, please feel free to reply.) 2b) Would the team be better served by having more language-speaking abilities in the front office, given baseball's global-reach?

 

3a) Is there a specific full-time role for stats-based player evaluation within the front office? Who handles that role? (Note from scottz: Again, if anyone here knows, feel free to reply.) 3b) Would the team be better served by having a full-time stats-based evaluator?

[SweetOne69]

My question:

 

I understand the organization likes Drew Butera, but what are the odds you shell out the 1 mil to keep him around next year? (Super 2 status) wouldn't it be better to simply cut him loose and then try to bring him back on a minor league contract. Also would it be too early to groom him into a coach for the org?

 

While I hope that Butera is non-tendered and that Hermann takes over his role on the bench, even if he is kept he will make no where near $1M next year (or ever in his career). Even though he is arbitration eligible, he will still make close to league minimum next year. MLBtraderumors estimates his Arb salary @ $500k.