Article: Message to Twins: Accountability Means Change

[glunn]

For the most part, any other franchise in modern history has fired their manager after 3 consecutive 90 loss seasons, whatever the many circumstances that played into the outcome, and it wouldn't occur to me to label their front offices "uninformed" or "reactionary".

 

Some were no doubt fired because they were bad managers, but many were probably competent to very good managers who were stuck with very little talent to manage. And yet they were all let go, regardless of where they ranked on their franchise's problem list.

 

Rather than dismiss calls for the removal of a generally well-regarded manager, maybe an article about accountability without management changes would be better served by explaining how the Twins' situation is so unique that they should perform a nearly unprecedented act of faith by letting Gardy return.

 

It seems to me that this has been addressed. Some people believe that Gardy should be retained because the recent troubles are due mainly to having poor talent to work with. If these people are correct, then keeping Gardy makes more sense than holding him accountable for something that is not his fault. Just because other teams scapegoat managers who are not at fault does not mean that this is a necessary component of accountability.

 

Personally, I wish that the Twins and Gardy had come to a mutual decision not to renew Gardy's contact, but I understand the arguments for renewing the contract.

[jokin]

1) This thread is about accountability.

 

 

Where is the evidence? 2) They were already winning division titles, batting titles and Cy Youngs before Target Field. They breached the contract and need to be held accountable.

3) How do we hold those off the field accountable for what HASN'T happened on the field?

 

 

Great post, may I add:

 

1) ......"or the lack thereof"....

 

2)......Don't forget 2 MVP winners in that Metrodome-ensconced talent-laden group.....and a Reliever of the Year winner, besides.

 

3) ....It's going to ultimately end up in the Pohlad's hands to finally do something about FO accountability, and nobody else. I suspect that the fact that they had little incentive in the deal they cut for Target Field to be held accountable themselves to fulfill their PR promises means they won't have much incentive to hold the FO accountable---as long as the cash flow stays positive. This operation has been pretty much on auto-pilot since Andy McPhail and TK were running the show, anyway.

[The Wise One]

 

As far as I'm concerned, the ownership made a public contract when they entered into the stadium agreement with the taxpayers of Minnesota.

 

If it isn't on paper, it isn't much of a contract. You and the others who go on about this sort of thing have got to realize there is no such contract. No sane baseball team would ever enter into that sort of contract. The Twins were a break even or lose money franchise until 04. They are not so stupid as to realize with attendance going down what will happen to their bottom line. That drives the product on the field.

[Mr. Brooks]

If it isn't on paper, it isn't much of a contract. You and the others who go on about this sort of thing have got to realize there is no such contract. No sane baseball team would ever enter into that sort of contract. The Twins were a break even or lose money franchise until 04. They are not so stupid as to realize with attendance going down what will happen to their bottom line. That drives the product on the field.

 

That is not exactly true, verbal contracts can be binding, they are just obviously tougher to prove.

[drivlikejehu]

If it isn't on paper, it isn't much of a contract. You and the others who go on about this sort of thing have got to realize there is no such contract. No sane baseball team would ever enter into that sort of contract. The Twins were a break even or lose money franchise until 04. They are not so stupid as to realize with attendance going down what will happen to their bottom line. That drives the product on the field.

 

This is a very straightforward legal question. Verbal promises are equal in weight to written promises, period. That carries down from English Common Law and remains 100% the case in every state in the US (except for the notional exception of Louisiana due to its French origins).

 

The Twins actually put their promises in writing as well, in the form of team statements to politicians and the media. But either way, the promises were completely unambiguous.

 

They entered into a contract with the public and have broken that contract.

[Zarathustra]

If it isn't on paper, it isn't much of a contract. You and the others who go on about this sort of thing have got to realize there is no such contract. No sane baseball team would ever enter into that sort of contract. The Twins were a break even or lose money franchise until 04. They are not so stupid as to realize with attendance going down what will happen to their bottom line. That drives the product on the field.

 

Although the two posts above take it further and say there is, if demonstrable, a legal basis for enforcing verbal contracts, my point (and I chose my words carefully) wasn't that accountability meant charging someone with a crime, or suing them for 'our' stadium money back (although in some cases e.g. Miami, I would like to see it happen). I said they - the Pohlads, TR, even Gardy (remember the quotes from that '06 era when the Twins got bounced) - made a public contract and we, the fans - not lawyers or legislators - should hold them accountable.

 

While they certainly don't answer to me, they ultimately answer to us. I offer that the best way to hold them accountable is a distortion of the starfish on the shore story. I'm sure several who read my comment about my declining participation responded 'B.F.D. - I'm sure the Pohlads miss you'. However, enough fed-up starfish being thrown back into the sea and we just might make some waves. Why do people excuse what's happened/ing?

 

Participation isn't equivalent to fandom. I've read TD several times a week since its inception. I used to read Nick's pre-TD blog every day. What I don't do since '10 is buy mlb.tv (I'm out of market now), licensed apparel, or attend games when I visit MN. Go Twins.

[LaBombo]

Lead paragraph of espn insider article:

 

Since taking over the reins of the Atlanta Braves from Bobby Cox in 2011, Fredi Gonzalez is 72 games over .500, and has led his team to two consecutive postseason appearances. But last season the Braves were bounced out of the playoffs in a wild-card loss to the Cardinals, and this year they were knocked out in four games by the Los Angeles Dodgers. In spite of his fine regular season record, given the team's postseason struggles, there must be at least some question as to whether the Braves will retain him.

 

Italics are theirs.

 

By comparison, Gardenhire entered his 10th season coming off three seasons that netted 50 wins over .500, two playoff sweeps and a tie-breaker loss.

[JB_Iowa]

This is from an SI article by Tom Verducci today on how the Red Sox "turned it around":

 

The offseason plan was built on four cornerstone ideas: hold contract lengths to three years, even if it meant overpaying on an average annual value; find a manager, unlike the last one, familiar with the Boston landscape and AL baseball from, oh, maybe the last decade or so; seek out extroverted baseball rats who would watch the game from the top step of the dugout and not behind a bucket of fried chicken in the clubhouse; and pack the lineup again with hitters who grind out at-bats. That last cornerstone turned out to be the most important reason why the Red Sox dispatched the Tampa Bay Rays in four games in the AL Division Series.

 

Read More: Relentless Red Sox grind their way into ALCS - MLB - Tom Verducci - SI.com

 

Don't get me wrong -- I don't think that the Twins are in the same place that the Red Sox were last season. They've lost more, have little on the current shelves and less overall money BUT, I do think there are some interesting concepts here:

 

1. Shorter term Free Agent contracts with an acknowledgment that they may have to "overpay" per year. The Twins have the "short term contracts" idea down pat -- they just don't seem all that willing to overpay (put Mr. Pohlad's money to work, Mr. Ryan). Not going to rehash this but there was a good Twinkie Town article recently about overpaying free agents.

 

2. Manager -- well the Twins definitely have a manager familiar with Minnesota and AL Baseball but somehow implicit in the Boston turnaround was also the need for a NEW manger;

 

3. Extroverted Baseball Rats -- this is an area where the Twins are lacking. Even Gardenhire has acknowledged the lack of a clubhouse leader and the Twins often seem dead in the dugout (I know, losing does that to you but you gotta turn it around sometime and the Twins seem to grind down extroverts);

 

4. Pack the lineup with hitters that grind-out at bats: drives me nuts to watch a Boston game cuz it takes forever but they clearly do grind out bats as opposed to strikeout, strikeout, strikeout (and quick at that)

 

Is this a game plan for the Twins to turn things around? Not by itself but there are clearly some concepts here that the Twins could adopt.