Sell The Team

[lecroy24fan]

6 hours ago, Original_JB said:

Yup. I'm well aware of that. Makes me wonder if (like I've heard they might) the MLB, NHL, and NBA leaderships are actually thinking about/pursuing a buyout of Diamond; at the same time, I've also heard that the leagues have resolved themselves as to needing a 'viable'  broadcaster and while not liking Diamond, they have a (semi-) working product in place.

It has been reported they are not interested in buying them. Can't blame them.

One problem for teams like the Twins is there is no other local sports channels to move the games to. Sure they could go on a broadcast channel and their subchannels, but that would pay a lot less than Bally. If only Victory Sports One had succeeded....

 

[bksim0n]

On 12/26/2022 at 5:56 PM, Jkinsma27 said:

What did I say that was incorrect? All of what I said has been proven to be true. Did you watch the last 12 years of Twins baseball? If you can't see it for what it is, I can't help you

You start your post with "As a 20-year fan" but then want to focus on the last 12 years, which, by the way, included the winningest team in Twins history. Remind me what happened from 2002 to 2010?

[Whitey333]

Wow.  Excellent comments and opinions by all.  My opinion, and I realize it's my opinion, just like your comments are your opinion.  Mine isn't so much the payroll total as to how the FO distributes the payroll dollars.  IMO I believe they have done a poor job of managing the payroll.  The last two seasons + have been horrendous.  They not only lose a lot, the play boring uninspired games.  They rest star players too often for home games.  To me this organization shows no direction to develop good talent.  Not just talent you can name because they are prospects.  Many are unproven at the major league level.  To me compound the fact the Twins are boring and very fundamentally unsound is the way major league baseball has changed the past few seasons.  We now have a new wave of baseball nerds that think they best know how baseball should be played.  I think they are wrong.  Baseball thrived for decades until these egg heads decided to change it.  It is not the game I grew up enjoying for decades.  IMO it's much worse.  I e been a Twins fan for decades and will continue to be albeit begrudgingly. And that is not the fault of the Pohlad family.

[mamcginnis]

It's their team and will run it how they see fit. I you don't like it there are 29 other teams.

[Paul Walerius]

On 12/26/2022 at 8:46 PM, sun said:

Why would anyone be angry with the owners?

They went out of their way to sign Buxton and aren't responsible for his injuries.

There have been plenty of other injuries too that the owners didn't cause.

Twins fans know that there's too many to list.

If someone wants to be irate with the Twins then walk away and take a break.

Baseball isn't for the faint of heart and the team isn't a charity either.

The team profits only amount to a small percentage of the overall gross which they probably squirrel away for bad economic times like during covid.

They went ahead and signed Correa and then made him a fair long term offer considering all of the circumstances.

We'll see what happens when Lewis, Kirilloff and others return from their injuries.

And what kinds of trades and transactions can be made going forward.

If someone wants to complain that only makes them look like they have sour grapes.

Twins fans should feel lucky that the team hasn't relocated and is a source of local pride & entertainment.

 

 

 

 

 

If they would have spent more money the injuries wouldn't have happened.

[Mike Sixel]

14 minutes ago, Paul Walerius said:

If they would have spent more money the injuries wouldn't have happened.

Wut?

[Paul Walerius]

21 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Wut?

It was a joke.   ??

[NebraskaTwins]

On 12/26/2022 at 8:00 PM, Irishman said:

I’ve been a Twin fan for almost 55 years.  Pohlad family doesn’t care as long as they make money.  I decided not to show up.   Those owners, agents and players are greedy.   Their salaries are out of control.    Not fun watching professional games.  I only watch college games.   

Show me a list of owners of professional sports teams that lose money every year and I will show you a blank piece of paper. It doesn't matter what sport, what market or what their perceived interest in competing is. These owners did not buy these organizations to lose money and be a source of goodwill for the community. They purchased these franchises because the value of the organization appreciates at a rapid rate and NEVER loses value. Its an investment dream. 

If you are a Twins historian like you claim, you would know that the current ownership leadership and front office are in the best spot they have ever been in. Period. They spend average or better on payroll every single season. They just signed the highest AAV contract in baseball history last season and offered the biggest free agent contract in Twins history this offseason. Are they spending like the Dodgers or Yankees? Absolutely not. But, one could argue the amount of spending those two franchises have done should have resulted in more World Series titles than they have. Simply spending more is not a sure fire way to win. 

[TheRealZach]

On 12/26/2022 at 5:04 PM, Jkinsma27 said:

As a 20-year fan of the Minnesota Twins, I am hoping to connect with other longtime fans who are disgusted and fed up with the direction of the franchise under the Pohlads. This family has done nothing but take our money and give us dog**** baseball for most of our lives. It's time for the team to be sold. Steve Cohen overnight turned the Mets into contenders by spending legitimate amounts of money geared towards on-field success, something the Pohlads have never done, even when they were gifted a brand-new ballpark paid for by us, the Minnesota taxpayer. 

To think of the Twins as "small market" is close-minded at best. The Twins make a ton of money every year. The Pohlads don't ever lose money on this ballclub. They simply don't want to spend money on the Twins because they do not care about us, the fans. All they care about is lining their own pockets. And they can do that without negatively affecting Twins fans after they sell the team and are compensated for that sale. 

The Pohlads have taken all the joy out of Twins baseball. I used to love this team, and now there is nothing in my heart but negativity and anger when I think about the Minnesota Twins. I would hope that those with season tickets consider not renewing until the team is sold. There is no reason to reward the Pohlads for the years of good baseball they kept from us with their avarice. 

I would love for anyone who writes about the Twins in local publications to float this possibility to the reading public. It seems as though keeping press passes and clubhouse access is more important than being an actual journalist who speaks truth to power. 

The Minnesota Twins are irrelevant, are an afterthought in the local sports scene, and they deserve to be until the team is sold and new ownership shows a commitment to the passionate fanbase that kept this team alive during the lean years. The Pohlads didn't save the Twins. They tried to get them contracted or moved to North Carolina. Twins players and Twins fans kept this team alive. I know that the Twins could be and should be a premier MLB franchise that contends for World Series titles. If the Padres can do it, the Twins surely can. But they need owners who give a ****. And the Pohlads never will. It's time for them to sell the team and until then, I strongly suggest Twins fans make their voices heard in 2023 by not showing up to games or showing up to games with the express intent of voicing their discontent with the ownership. 

If any other Twins fans have suggestions on how to voice our collective anger and discontent towards present ownership, I'd love to hear your ideas. 

Thank you. 

Absolutely correct.  I remember when Carl tried to have the team abolished just to blackmail his way into more money.  Cohen spent more money on free agents this year then I believe the pohlads have in the history of free agency

[Parfigliano]

44 minutes ago, TheRealZach said:

Absolutely correct.  I remember when Carl tried to have the team abolished just to blackmail his way into more money.  Cohen spent more money on free agents this year then I believe the pohlads have in the history of free agency

Cohen has gone off the deep end concerning free agents.  I say that as a NYM fan 2nd and Twins 1st.  Got a first round exit for all that money last year.

[DJL44]

On 12/28/2022 at 8:42 PM, lecroy24fan said:

One problem for teams like the Twins is there is no other local sports channels to move the games to.

I don't know what a "local" TV channel is anymore. I can watch WCCO's news broadcast anywhere in the world. The team could move all broadcasts to MLB.tv streaming and make a ton of money in subscriptions.

[Craig Arko]

I was going to make an offer to buy the team to add to Electric Company and Water Works, but unfortunately hit the hotel on Boardwalk and went bankrupt.

 

C’est la vie. Happy New Year!

[Mike Sixel]

Rumor has it two teams will be sold this year. I'm guessing Minnesota is not one. 

[BillyBallLives]

Could not agree more. I use take trips every year just to see the Twins play on the road. Now I won't even drive 30 miles. This FO can't trade their way out of a paper bag.Team was better with Molitor at the helm. 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

35 minutes ago, BillyBallLives said:

Could not agree more. I use take trips every year just to see the Twins play on the road. Now I won't even drive 30 miles. This FO can't trade their way out of a paper bag.Team was better with Molitor at the helm. 

But Molitor wasn’t in the FO. Terry Ryan was the GM that hired Molitor.

[howeda7]

On 12/28/2022 at 2:12 PM, NotAboutWinning said:

The upcoming TV contract is likely to be much less lucrative. Diamond, the company that runs Bally, is drowning in debt and considering bankruptcy.

They won't be re-upping with Bally most likely. They will either go to direct streaming via the team/MLB or try and get a deal with a different sports network if they are willing to come into the market (AT&T etc.)

[howeda7]

On 12/28/2022 at 2:28 PM, Mike Sixel said:

People keep saying this, and every contract is higher

Yep. Live sports and news are the only thing keeping linear TV networks/providers alive.

[howeda7]

On 12/28/2022 at 8:42 PM, lecroy24fan said:

It has been reported they are not interested in buying them. Can't blame them.

One problem for teams like the Twins is there is no other local sports channels to move the games to. Sure they could go on a broadcast channel and their subchannels, but that would pay a lot less than Bally. If only Victory Sports One had succeeded....

 

They can try to launch their own network again, but they will need at least one of the Wolves/Wild with them. That was their fatal error last time. They only had the Twins and Gopher basketball, which is no longer an option. Realistically. a direct streaming app with a package of games on over the air TV on Sunday afternoons or something is more realistic.

[Parfigliano]

22 hours ago, BillyBallLives said:

Could not agree more. I use take trips every year just to see the Twins play on the road. Now I won't even drive 30 miles. This FO can't trade their way out of a paper bag.Team was better with Molitor at the helm. 

Still go see them somewhere every year.  Last year it was at Dodgers and at Target.  Then again live in NM so its all toad trip to see them.

[rv78]

Every year we hear the same thing from ownership, that there really is no limit to payroll. Yet every year the FO does it best impersonation of scrooge as they watch the 1st and 2nd level of Free Agents go to other teams and then they pick from the left-over scraps. Having them hand out $11M to a Joey Gallo who can't hit his weight and then have them say guys that can hit that cost 3 or 4 million more are too expensive just screams "you get what you pay for and the FO are idiots". Wasn't Shoemaker. Happ, Archer, Bundy enough the last 2 seasons to prove those moves are absolutely worthless? Not, let's try it again with Gallo. As I said before in another article on this site. With Gallo, Kepler and Buxton in the outfield they can have 3 guys that can't even hit .230 and it'll cost them over $34M. And chances are none of the 3 will play a full season. Talk about a waste of money.