Is It Only a GM Search?

It sorta comes back to what DSP actually does. He is the best person in the front office at communicating to the press (low bar).

So if he hasn't been involved in the baseball decisions it maybe hard to fire him.

I would also find it bizarre to publicly communicate that DSP will be involved in the GM hiring process if he too knows his days are limited. But bizarre, peculiar, etc is sort of par for the course right now

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't commented in a while, but I remain a faithful reader.

Part of me is bummed. I thought what happened last year (the .500+ record) should have occurred this year, but improvement (and degradation) are rarely linear. This is especially informative when considering prospects, which is something that Seth and so many others in this community have taught me.

I'm a consultant, so I love change. I embrace the bejeezus out of it. So I'm ready for Ben Cherington. I'm ready for Kim Ng. I'm ready for whatever is next. Because being a fan isn't always easy and is never fair. We all signed up for this, and now we wait.

#WorldSeries2019

Try "Win it all" as a vision.

I'm still wondering why TR chucked it in before the trade deadline. Did he take a couple deals up the ladder for approval and get squashed? Was he ready to deal prospects (or alternatively certain vets) and encounter disagreement? I'm thinking that while Antony may have the apparent authority to do deals, he may think long and hard before doing anything this year if he really wants serious consideration for the Twins GM job.

What I want to know is what changed in the last 9 months from letting TR go then to letting him go now.  Just the fact that the Twins got lucky in 2015 and challenged for a wildcard?  Usually if you "fire" your GM you don't do it right before the trade deadline, you wait that out til September then cut the cord.

 

Then this whole hub-bub of Twins already stating they are keeping Molitor for 2017 no matter what the new GM wants.  Is that the same treatment the new guy/girl is going to get?  Can they not bring in their own people, scouts, coaches?  If so, then what should be a very attractive job opportunity gets alot hairier and the possibilities lessen.

 

I think one can all assume is whomever it is, get used to seeing them the next 30 years since the Twins never let anyone go. (jokingly...kinda)

 

But splitting operations up would be a HUGE move in the right direction for the organization

I think the timing is being overblown a little bit. Yes, it is a little unusual, but not unprecedented or even that rare. Just off the top of my head, the Diamondbacks, Royals and Padres all fired GMs pre-All-Star break in the past 10 years. Also, it doesn't necessarily mean that good candidates won't be available. Neal Huntington was part of the Indians front office in 2007 when they went to the ALCS, but he left in September to lead the Pirates. David Stearns did the same thing last year when he moved from the Astros to the Brewers. Assuming the Twins do a 4-6 week interview process, they will be hiring the next GM in September at which point every candidate should be available.

Please qualify this.  My take is that they are pigeonhalling themselves as a Minnesota/Dakotas team as far as marketing goes.

Isn't that exactly what they are?    That's the group that watches on tv and goes to games at least

Fine. Their promotions are interesting -- A Sano Globe is fabulous -- their marketing is strong; many of their advertisements are hilarious. They do a ton of community events. And they do a lot on game days to make it enjoyable. They also brought in a lot of local restaurants to sell food inside of Target Field. And please name one executive from a local, professional sports team who is on Twitter all the time, interacting with fans -- as Dave St. Peter is. 

 

The issue is the on-field product. Not the business. Frankly, given their record these past six years, attendance should be total garbage. It's definitely dropping like a brick, but it's not anywhere close to the worst in the majors.

 

At the end of the day, what happens on the field is what draws people to the ballpark. And that ain't Dave's department.

If the only thing that matters to attendance is what happens on the field, why do they even need a VP like St. Peter who's job is apparently to come up with ballpark foods and "Sano Globes"? Couldn't his salary + marketing dollars be better spent on the VP of Baseball Ops and GM (and players)?

come on, he didn't say it was the ONLY thing that mattered.....do people disagree that attendance is largely driven by the quality of the team?

He said at the end of the day what matters is what happens on the field.  And frankly I agree.  I am genuinely wondering why we are giving St. Peter credit for his ballpark food and promotions when people aren't coming to the game, and the "brand" has been pretty heavily tarnished.  

Was St. Peter not responsible for Bill Smith being hired and the 2nd Terry Ryan stint? Can we criticize him for that?

The new GM will have a lot of roster work to do.  When the 2015 roster veterans (Mauer, Dozier, Plouffe, Escobar, Suzuki, Hughes, Santana, Nolasco, Gibson, Perkins, etc.) would have a hard time making most MLB teams, there shouldn't have been much optimism coming into 2016.  

The minor leagues have not delivered players with solid fundamentals in spite of their lofty expectations.  Basic fielding and throwing to the cutoff have been missing.  Strikeout ratios and plate discipline, inability to bunt or advance runners also missing. Some fans have been hopeful of Dougie Baseball as the next manager, but he has had these guys at A and AA ball.  Pitcher development is non-existent.  

Yes, there need to be changes in the entire team management structure.  Loyalty is a reward for a job well done.  The job "well done" has to focus on winning, not just profits.  Butts in the seats and sales of merchandise and food will occur at Target Field with a competitive product on the field.  I hope Pohlad gets this basic concept.

The Target Field experience and Twins brand (non-baseball) is adequate so if they separate St. Peter from all baseball activities,    keeping him around is ok and a non-issue in my book

This is an utterly ridiculous and nonsense comment. 

Ok.  Thanks for the response and feedback

No problem. 

 

But seriously, if you look at other baseball departments, they have executives in charge of business operations. Like other organizations, some are flatter than others. But you're going to have executives in charge of these functions. The Chicago Cubs has a president of business operations, for instance. He is not as big a figure as Theo Epstein. But he is still important.

 

You could hire someone who would be on the same level as Dave St. Peter and it would be fine. I'm guessing that the search firm will help influence what kind of structure the top candidates will demand. But either way, there is no reason to get rid of him. Baseball operations are very different from business operations.

Sure, I thought it was fairly obvious I was being facetious when I suggested having no Marketing or Ops Manager.  

My issue with St. Peter is people acting like he is doing a good job because new food gets introduced and they have interesting promotions.  He is the President, the Owner just said whoever comes in will work under him, and that he will have a large part in picking the new GM.  Totally unqualified for that by everything I can tell, and he is O for 2 with 2 big strikeouts picking GM's thus far... 

Hopefully it is only a GM search and think they've found their man.  66.67 winning percentage under Antony, hard to argue with those results. Clearly they've identified and addressed the problem. I'm getting my 2017 season tickets today!