wsnydes

It's time to call up guys that have nothing left to prove in the minors. Clearing space for them as soon as possible should be a priority. Some of these moves don't even require thought. It's time to play for the future and get rid of guys holding this team back.

While I think this is a valid consideration, there are only 30 of these positions and not many open up a year. As much as I hate heat and humidity, if my dream was to be a MLB GM, I'd be willing to relocate to Arizona, Texas, or Florida without question. I'll adjust and make due if I have to. Besides, they'd be in Fort Myers by mid-February and someplace warm for the Winter Meetings in early December. Business can be done via phone or video conference if need be. That would cut the winter down enough to survive it.

So, basically what Bo Ryan did with Greg Gard. However it plays out for Antony, that's a classy move by TR and a humbling sign of loyalty if its true. It's hard not to respect that.

Payroll should go down just by virtue of going younger. I don't think it's really something to be paranoid or upset about, it should be expected. I would say if that is how you're reacting, that would be overreacting.

Yeah, I'm an idiot... I meant from KFAN's website. No need for iHeartRadio. Unless it's changed, there weren't as many commercials that way.

You can also stream it online.

For those interested, here's a statement sent to the Season Ticket holders: "On behalf of the Minnesota Twins organization, I'd like to take this opportunity to follow up regarding today's announcement of leadership changes within our baseball operations. As an important stakeholder, we value your support and passion for the Twins, while always striving to ensure you are up to speed on the long-term strategic direction of the franchise. Today's news that Twins Executive Vice President Terry Ryan has been relieved of his duties is challenging for all involved. Since joining our organization as a player in 1972, Terry has been a dedicated, loyal and respected member of the Minnesota Twins family. Terry has been a gifted leader of the baseball department for over eighteen seasons. It is impossible to overstate his contribution to our game, our team and the Upper Midwest baseball community. The decision to part ways with Terry was difficult, painful and not obvious. We are extremely grateful and very thankful to Terry, his wife Karilyn and their family for being a part of the Minnesota Twins. Beginning today, Vice President and Assistant General Manager Rob Antony will assume the General Manager duties on an interim basis. We have great confidence in Rob and his ability to provide strong leadership of our baseball operations throughout the balance of the 2016 season. Looking to the future, the Twins will immediately commence a search for a new head of baseball operations. Said search will be thorough, include a focus on external as well as internal candidates, and follow the hiring guidelines as provided by Major League Baseball. Today's announcement does not portend a personnel housecleaning throughout our system. The immediate focus of our executive staff and Terry's successor will be on ways to improve our system's policies and procedures. From that, change will inevitably follow, but its nature is unknown. For more information, please see the official press release announcing today's news. As always, I thank you for your incredible support of Twins baseball. We look forward to seeing you at Target Field again soon. Sincerely, Jim Pohlad Owner & CEO"

That's a good point. Now probably isn't the optimal time to sell a franchise after five 90+ loss seasons in six seasons. They may be trending up, but now hardly seems like the best time to sell.

This team isn't in quite the shape the Cubs were when Madden was hired as manager, but it's still in a position to win very soon given the right leadership. That should make it very appealing to very good candidates with experience.

Then why make a move? TR could have done that without doing a thing. I agree, Antony may not have full authority to wheel and deal at will, but I have to believe that he's in a position to do plenty otherwise a move wouldn't have been made in the first place.

Shine is overstating it, I agree. My point is that this is his audition for either this club or others. If he can show that he can make good baseball decisions and not get eaten alive by more seasoned GM's that will go a long ways to getting another job. Doing nothing seems foolhardy. Expecting him to do nothing makes the timing of the removal of Ryan even more questionable.

Personally, I'd look at that as a failure. With the position that this team is in, even mop-up duty is important. To look at it as anything else would appear to me that he's not taking it seriously. He has an opportunity to shine, he should take advantage of it even if it results in failure. This is an audition for him either with this franchise or another. He should take advantage of that opportunity.

Agreed, and by no means was I suggesting as such. I think that is a large part of why the timing goes back to your comment about it being a statement move. The timing complicates an already incredibly hectic time period for a franchise. It opens them to risk at multiple levels. All of this at a crucial point in this franchises future. I'm not sure I'd want to be Antony. He's is a sink or swim position. If he knocks it out of the park, he's sitting well even if the Polhad's decide to clean house. If he fails miserably, he could be ruined by it. That's one hell of a pressure cooker to be tossed into.

Agree completely. It's difficult to evaluate a GM in such a short window. Moves often take several years to realize their impact.

Bringing someone in from outside the organization isn't a great option either. I think that's what makes this such a statement move. The timing just doesn't make any sense otherwise. It definitely comes with it's fair share of concerns. Overall, I think it's a step in the right direction though.

This is a crucial time for this organization. Assuming the posting goes outside of the organization, it should attract some very talented applicants. With the talent in the farm system, this franchise is poised to go places with the right leadership in the FO and on the field. Hopefully the Polhad's take their time and consider their options carefully and thoroughly. Best wishes to Terry in the future, whatever it may bring.

Agreed. With the talent in the farm system, I would think it would be a very attractive position. Same with the manager's chair should it come to that.

Frankly, if I'm a player and get traded to a team playing meaningful games I'd be ecstatic. Any of the veterans that have been through all of the losing seasons have to be sick and tired of the treading of water. I'd think a contending team would even be rejuvenating to one's love of the game. The notion of having my feelings hurt because I was traded seems laughable.

I'd imagine the odds of Park getting moved are pretty slim. Not necessarily because of lack of interest, but because TR won't trade his loan big league offseason acquisition. Without throwing in something to sweeten the pot, acquiring starting pitching that would actually be worth trading for seems far fetched. Dozier might be the only big league piece that could acquire that sort of player in return.

Haha! You're probably right. That implies that he thinks that losing 90+ games a season over and over again is fair to them. Personally, as a fan, I find that very premise to be cruel and unusual punishment and against my Constitutional Rights.

This. This so much. Pick a direction and run with it. Not somewhere between two directions and waffling back and forth. The engine is redlining, but the gears aren't engaged, thus you're not going anywhere. If they wanted to make a playoff push last year, fine. Commit and make a couple of moves to seriously improve the roster. If that isn't in your comfort zone, sit tight and maybe unload a veteran or two to improve the roster.

As someone that didn't really want them to do anything, I didn't really get bent out of shape when they did. I understood the why. I DID get irritated that they didn't do more. If you're going to commit to making a run, you need to be fully committed. That didn't happen, IMO. That bothered me much more than the fact that they were doing anything at all. That goes back to my "stuck in neutral" comment earlier in this thread. That lone move just came off as half-a**ed and that bothers me infinitely more. One of the bigger knocks lately for me on TR is that he appears willing to simply appease the fan base instead of making solid moves to build a winner. Make sound baseball moves. Build a real winner and that will appease the fan base. That's what the fan base wants. People see through the half hearted stuff.

I believe that's why he gave you numbers from August 2nd to the end of the season compared to his career numbers. At least that is how I interpreted it.

I always enjoyed Perkin's use of Johnny Cash's God's Gonna Cut You Down.