Wasn’t really expecting this, but can’t say I’m too shocked.
Strauss
At least the Twins had the balls to make this change. Whoevers in charge of the white sox sure don’t.
brushbackmlb
I’m with you on that 100%. As a Sox fan I read this & thought, “damn, the Twins have the jump on us in hiring our next GM.” However, I don’t think anything’s gonna change on the south side til ownership changes.
dsteig
What a tremendous move by the Twins. Never thought they would
TwinsVet
Best news all year.
Now God Help Me they better use this time to do a thorough search OUTSIDE the organization for a replacement.
nattytom
Hear, hear!!
dsteig
Now they should hire Tori Hunter
wintwins11
stop
A'sfaninUK
You know they’re going to…ugh
TwinsVet
In all seriousness, I could see a bench coach role for Hunter.
2017 new GM will likely retain Molitor. But if young players continue to underperform at the MLB level, Molitor likely (and rightfully) gone in 2018. Enter Torii as an assistant manager role – the only guy proven (in 2015) to keep a bunch of young guys loose and having fun in the clubhouse, leading to them meeting/exceeding their potential on the field.
Bob M.
tons of talk from insiders that Molitor and his staff are trying to change a lot of the younger players approaches. Specifically Buxton. Molitor may be better off with a veteran club.
TwinsVet
That’s been going on for years. The entire “Twins way” is based on a bunch of the good-ole-boys club preaching opposite field hitting. Ortiz
TwinsVet
Ortiz and Gomez are two prominent examples who cited it as a reason for their poor play in MN and subsequent success.
thebigdrat
I think the Jim Thome and Orlando Hudson signings were done by Bill Smith.
Steve Adams
Yeah you’re correct on that. I struck that from the post.. Mental gaffe in hastily trying to recall all of Ryan’s transactions off the top of my head.
TwinsVet
Given that TR was a “special assistant” to Billy, it’s probably not unreasonable to assume he still had a major hand in all BS’s bs moves…
jd396
The major ones like Delmon Young or the ridiculous Santana Gomez-Hardy-Nishioka sequence of related moves were so far outside of anything Ryan would have done, though.
Niekro
Will they target one of the 20 GM’s in the dodgers org?
A'sfaninUK
lol, too real!!!!
basquiat
Great post. Hilarious.
gamemusic3 2
We can pay them to take Ned Coletti for the lulz
Acuña Matata
Not saying Tsuyoshi Nishioka was going to suddenly become a stud 2b but Swisher is the one who made the signing ill-fated. He broke his leg/ankle on a hard slide into second
jd396
I was wondering when this would finally come… It HAD to happen eventually but it seemed like the Pohlads would follow him to the ends of the earth.
Now the question is, will they promote Rob Antony or hire from outside.
Sky14
If Anthony is the internal choice, I really hope they look outside the organization. It’s probably not a bad idea to look outside either as the Twins FO has been relatively stable for a long time, doesn’t hurt to bring in some fresh voices.
jd396
Stable can equal stagnant, though.
twins33
Have a feeling it will be Antony, but they desperately need a new voice. They need many new voices.
Sky14
While Ryan made some moves I strongly disagreed with, the Nolasco signing in particular, I thought overall he was a quality GM. Hopefully whoever replaces him will do a good job, Bill Smith proved the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
nattytom
You just can’t miss so often in this league. It also seems like the Twins are having a really difficult time developing their good farm-system into quality long-term solutions. This should be the beginning of an overhaul of the front-office. However, I can’t see “The Twins Way” allowing for much change that doesn’t include in-house options. I can totally see them hiring Ron Gardenhire as GM. Totally a Twins-type move.
joefriday1948
This is the worst news in the history of professional sports. The Twins are primed and ready. Ryan is rumored to be taking over the Yankees. No one will sleep tonight!
hamelin4mvp
I’d at least check in on A’s Assistant GM Dan Kantrovitz. Small market experience with an analytical background.
Twinsfan79
My money is on Rob Antony.
TennVol
Have one name for you: Alex Anthopoulis
fenamo
#1 on my wishlist. I’m pretty sure he’s just collecting a paycheck at this point and waiting on an Expos resurgence.
Twinsfan79
So long TR.
TennVol
Twins should look hard at the reigning GM of the Year, Alex Anthopoulis, who is part of the crazy large Dodger front office, but, has an out if he has a chance to be a GM again.
adshadbolt
The twins job probably would be appealing to Anthopoulis and others because they have a strong minor league system they have a decent payroll and a young big league team to build off of
Zack35
ALEX ANTHOPOULUS!!!!!! Coming from a Canadian who loves the Jays I would really love to see Alex as a GM once again.
disgruntledreader 2
I wonder if this will sideline the Twins from trade deadline activity, or if they’ll allow Antony to fully take the reins for the next 13 days. The Padres are the only other team I can think of that have had an interim for a trade deadline in recent years, and they came out of the 2014 period with one clear win (Headley for Solarte/DePaula) and one ugly loss (Street for a set-up reliever with no command, two guys who will be out of baseball after this season, and a possible future 25th-man utility infielder).
twins33
Sounds like full reign. Antony has always been heavily involved in everything pre-firing, so it’s not like he doesn’t know what’s going on or what needs to be done. It’s just will he do it…
tenillusions
I thought Johan Santana was traded from the Marlins. I used to use this over my Marlins friends.
TwinsVet
Technically, you’re right. But just as a technicality. Twins had the first pick in the Rule 5 draft, and Marlins the second. They made a deal before the draft for the Twins to take Jared Camp and Marlins take Santana, but then immediately trade.
Bob M.
Who ever the new GM is needs to seriously think about if Molitor is the man for the job.
dirtymike
Class act, great guy, but behind the times, and they get in their own way too many times. Time to dump the Twins Way of doing things, or at least draft or get players that do things the Twins Way already and stop changing them. The Twins way is fairly legit, it’s just for some reason this front office can’t teach it anymore and is too bull headed to recognize a players talent and how he got to the big dance to begin with..
Be smarter-every starting pitcher should at the VERY MINIMUM have a different release point and a different scheme of how they get batters out. Wear white at home ALWAYS, ever hear of hiding the ball? Sano to 3rd, Plouffe to the outfield or gone. Mauer should bat 1, 6, 7.
You cant beat teams who use advanced analytics and every statistic against you on every pitch. It just wont happen. Every weakness is exploited today. Spend a million a year on an analytic group, you will recoup that cost by finishing above 500 every single year..
TwinsVet
I agree with everything up till your last sentence. Analytics nowadays are so prevalent that you really don’t get an advantage for doing it, you simply suffer if you fail to do it. And spending a million on a staff isn’t nearly as important as leveraging the information in balance with traditional scouting. The Twins 2 man analytics staff spends half their time right now preparing game film, and the front office certainly isnt giving them a seat at the decision making table. Only a new GM with a new management philosophy will change that.
notagain27
Whoever gets the GM job will clean house. Players that are coming up from the minor leagues are fundamentally inept. Hitters seem to lack having a plan. Pitchers can’t repeat a delivery or make adjustments. Baserunning, Outfield Routes, Infield angles and instincts are atrocious. Stat gurus will always point to some type of analytical analysis to prove a point. Plays that don’t get made, pitches that fail to be executed, or a failed advancement on the base paths along with other key fundamentals of the game that don’t show up in box scores wreak havoc on a organization if not kept in check, and it has.
nattytom
I would love to see the Twins clean house and I agree 100% about their minor leaguers being fundamentally inept. I just don’t see the Twins doing it. They need to. But they probably won’t, unfortunately.
jd396
Not to toot my own horn but I’ve been complaining about a systemic failure of the Twins farm system for years… player development in this organization is agonizingly bad. With the level of talent and athletic ability on this team there is no reason in the world things should be this dire. Terry Ryan was great at identifying talent and bringing it into the organization but was miserable at actually molding them into legit major leaguers.
mnbob1
I went to a presentation a one of the Twins road show tour stops in 2015 and it was early in Ryan’s speech where he jabbed about how much he had to pay Hunter.
It’s my opinion that Hunter is the biggest reason for the increased success of the Twins in 2015. They probably would have continued after the all star break except Ryan prematurely brought in young players like Buxton and Sano who weren’t ready but Ryan sold them to the people of Minnesota like PT Barnum.
It’s no coincidence that Hunter was inducted into the Twins hall of fame over the weekend and Ryan was fired today. Look for an announcement about Hunter this week. Not as Ryan’s replacement but a position that he has wanted and deserves except he refused to work for Terry Ryan.
twins33
Where are you getting this information that he didn’t want to work for Ryan? I think when he first retired he said he’d like to learn under Ryan and be in the front office someday.
Also one of the reasons he re-signed with the Twins is because Ryan was the GM. He really respects him. And he also said he likely would have never left the Twins for the Angels if Ryan had stayed the GM. Hunter hated Bill Smith. Now he could have just been blowing smoke with all that, but I do believe he respects and likes Ryan. All of these things were said to the media probably in the last five years or so.
TwinsVet
Star Tribune reporting Jim Pohlad as saying Molitor’s job secure for 2017.
jd396
Not that Molitor hasn’t had his share of “Huh?” moments this year, but this isn’t on him. With the roster Ryan issued him I don’t know who could have done any better than he has. Molitor might not be the long term answer but he hasn’t done anything that I’d fire him over at this point.
twins33
I have mixed feelings about that. I don’t think most of this is Molitor’s fault, but he does some very boneheaded things as a manager that as an ex player you think he wouldn’t do. Guess I’m expecting too much, but I do know that no manager is perfect…especially in a fan’s eyes.
chesteraarthur
Good for him, he wont have to watch that dumpster fire every day
3768902
To be fair to Smith. He did sign Sano, Polanco, and Kepler.
twins33
Trading FOR Hardy was a plus too. That’s about it.
jd396
To be fair, considering when they signed, it’s almost certain TR did almost all of that scouting.
twins33
Outside voice please. Please.
I doubt it will happen. Then again, I thought Ryan would have to retire again instead of being fired…so I guess anything is possible. Just takes too long for much needed change.
Respect TR. Have talked to him a few times. Great guy, but a new voice/way is absolutely needed.
Comments for this post have been closed by the site administrator.
johncena2016
Wasn’t really expecting this, but can’t say I’m too shocked.
Strauss
At least the Twins had the balls to make this change. Whoevers in charge of the white sox sure don’t.
brushbackmlb
I’m with you on that 100%. As a Sox fan I read this & thought, “damn, the Twins have the jump on us in hiring our next GM.” However, I don’t think anything’s gonna change on the south side til ownership changes.
dsteig
What a tremendous move by the Twins. Never thought they would
TwinsVet
Best news all year.
Now God Help Me they better use this time to do a thorough search OUTSIDE the organization for a replacement.
nattytom
Hear, hear!!
dsteig
Now they should hire Tori Hunter
wintwins11
stop
A'sfaninUK
You know they’re going to…ugh
TwinsVet
In all seriousness, I could see a bench coach role for Hunter.
2017 new GM will likely retain Molitor. But if young players continue to underperform at the MLB level, Molitor likely (and rightfully) gone in 2018. Enter Torii as an assistant manager role – the only guy proven (in 2015) to keep a bunch of young guys loose and having fun in the clubhouse, leading to them meeting/exceeding their potential on the field.
Bob M.
tons of talk from insiders that Molitor and his staff are trying to change a lot of the younger players approaches. Specifically Buxton. Molitor may be better off with a veteran club.
TwinsVet
That’s been going on for years. The entire “Twins way” is based on a bunch of the good-ole-boys club preaching opposite field hitting. Ortiz
TwinsVet
Ortiz and Gomez are two prominent examples who cited it as a reason for their poor play in MN and subsequent success.
thebigdrat
I think the Jim Thome and Orlando Hudson signings were done by Bill Smith.
Steve Adams
Yeah you’re correct on that. I struck that from the post.. Mental gaffe in hastily trying to recall all of Ryan’s transactions off the top of my head.
TwinsVet
Given that TR was a “special assistant” to Billy, it’s probably not unreasonable to assume he still had a major hand in all BS’s bs moves…
jd396
The major ones like Delmon Young or the ridiculous Santana Gomez-Hardy-Nishioka sequence of related moves were so far outside of anything Ryan would have done, though.
Niekro
Will they target one of the 20 GM’s in the dodgers org?
A'sfaninUK
lol, too real!!!!
basquiat
Great post. Hilarious.
gamemusic3 2
We can pay them to take Ned Coletti for the lulz
Acuña Matata
Not saying Tsuyoshi Nishioka was going to suddenly become a stud 2b but Swisher is the one who made the signing ill-fated. He broke his leg/ankle on a hard slide into second
jd396
I was wondering when this would finally come… It HAD to happen eventually but it seemed like the Pohlads would follow him to the ends of the earth.
Now the question is, will they promote Rob Antony or hire from outside.
Sky14
If Anthony is the internal choice, I really hope they look outside the organization. It’s probably not a bad idea to look outside either as the Twins FO has been relatively stable for a long time, doesn’t hurt to bring in some fresh voices.
jd396
Stable can equal stagnant, though.
twins33
Have a feeling it will be Antony, but they desperately need a new voice. They need many new voices.
Sky14
While Ryan made some moves I strongly disagreed with, the Nolasco signing in particular, I thought overall he was a quality GM. Hopefully whoever replaces him will do a good job, Bill Smith proved the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
nattytom
You just can’t miss so often in this league. It also seems like the Twins are having a really difficult time developing their good farm-system into quality long-term solutions. This should be the beginning of an overhaul of the front-office. However, I can’t see “The Twins Way” allowing for much change that doesn’t include in-house options. I can totally see them hiring Ron Gardenhire as GM. Totally a Twins-type move.
joefriday1948
This is the worst news in the history of professional sports. The Twins are primed and ready. Ryan is rumored to be taking over the Yankees. No one will sleep tonight!
hamelin4mvp
I’d at least check in on A’s Assistant GM Dan Kantrovitz. Small market experience with an analytical background.
Twinsfan79
My money is on Rob Antony.
TennVol
Have one name for you: Alex Anthopoulis
fenamo
#1 on my wishlist. I’m pretty sure he’s just collecting a paycheck at this point and waiting on an Expos resurgence.
Twinsfan79
So long TR.
TennVol
Twins should look hard at the reigning GM of the Year, Alex Anthopoulis, who is part of the crazy large Dodger front office, but, has an out if he has a chance to be a GM again.
adshadbolt
The twins job probably would be appealing to Anthopoulis and others because they have a strong minor league system they have a decent payroll and a young big league team to build off of
Zack35
ALEX ANTHOPOULUS!!!!!! Coming from a Canadian who loves the Jays I would really love to see Alex as a GM once again.
disgruntledreader 2
I wonder if this will sideline the Twins from trade deadline activity, or if they’ll allow Antony to fully take the reins for the next 13 days. The Padres are the only other team I can think of that have had an interim for a trade deadline in recent years, and they came out of the 2014 period with one clear win (Headley for Solarte/DePaula) and one ugly loss (Street for a set-up reliever with no command, two guys who will be out of baseball after this season, and a possible future 25th-man utility infielder).
twins33
Sounds like full reign. Antony has always been heavily involved in everything pre-firing, so it’s not like he doesn’t know what’s going on or what needs to be done. It’s just will he do it…
tenillusions
I thought Johan Santana was traded from the Marlins. I used to use this over my Marlins friends.
TwinsVet
Technically, you’re right. But just as a technicality. Twins had the first pick in the Rule 5 draft, and Marlins the second. They made a deal before the draft for the Twins to take Jared Camp and Marlins take Santana, but then immediately trade.
Bob M.
Who ever the new GM is needs to seriously think about if Molitor is the man for the job.
dirtymike
Class act, great guy, but behind the times, and they get in their own way too many times. Time to dump the Twins Way of doing things, or at least draft or get players that do things the Twins Way already and stop changing them. The Twins way is fairly legit, it’s just for some reason this front office can’t teach it anymore and is too bull headed to recognize a players talent and how he got to the big dance to begin with..
Be smarter-every starting pitcher should at the VERY MINIMUM have a different release point and a different scheme of how they get batters out. Wear white at home ALWAYS, ever hear of hiding the ball? Sano to 3rd, Plouffe to the outfield or gone. Mauer should bat 1, 6, 7.
You cant beat teams who use advanced analytics and every statistic against you on every pitch. It just wont happen. Every weakness is exploited today. Spend a million a year on an analytic group, you will recoup that cost by finishing above 500 every single year..
TwinsVet
I agree with everything up till your last sentence. Analytics nowadays are so prevalent that you really don’t get an advantage for doing it, you simply suffer if you fail to do it. And spending a million on a staff isn’t nearly as important as leveraging the information in balance with traditional scouting. The Twins 2 man analytics staff spends half their time right now preparing game film, and the front office certainly isnt giving them a seat at the decision making table. Only a new GM with a new management philosophy will change that.
notagain27
Whoever gets the GM job will clean house. Players that are coming up from the minor leagues are fundamentally inept. Hitters seem to lack having a plan. Pitchers can’t repeat a delivery or make adjustments. Baserunning, Outfield Routes, Infield angles and instincts are atrocious. Stat gurus will always point to some type of analytical analysis to prove a point. Plays that don’t get made, pitches that fail to be executed, or a failed advancement on the base paths along with other key fundamentals of the game that don’t show up in box scores wreak havoc on a organization if not kept in check, and it has.
nattytom
I would love to see the Twins clean house and I agree 100% about their minor leaguers being fundamentally inept. I just don’t see the Twins doing it. They need to. But they probably won’t, unfortunately.
jd396
Not to toot my own horn but I’ve been complaining about a systemic failure of the Twins farm system for years… player development in this organization is agonizingly bad. With the level of talent and athletic ability on this team there is no reason in the world things should be this dire. Terry Ryan was great at identifying talent and bringing it into the organization but was miserable at actually molding them into legit major leaguers.
mnbob1
I went to a presentation a one of the Twins road show tour stops in 2015 and it was early in Ryan’s speech where he jabbed about how much he had to pay Hunter.
It’s my opinion that Hunter is the biggest reason for the increased success of the Twins in 2015. They probably would have continued after the all star break except Ryan prematurely brought in young players like Buxton and Sano who weren’t ready but Ryan sold them to the people of Minnesota like PT Barnum.
It’s no coincidence that Hunter was inducted into the Twins hall of fame over the weekend and Ryan was fired today. Look for an announcement about Hunter this week. Not as Ryan’s replacement but a position that he has wanted and deserves except he refused to work for Terry Ryan.
twins33
Where are you getting this information that he didn’t want to work for Ryan? I think when he first retired he said he’d like to learn under Ryan and be in the front office someday.
Also one of the reasons he re-signed with the Twins is because Ryan was the GM. He really respects him. And he also said he likely would have never left the Twins for the Angels if Ryan had stayed the GM. Hunter hated Bill Smith. Now he could have just been blowing smoke with all that, but I do believe he respects and likes Ryan. All of these things were said to the media probably in the last five years or so.
TwinsVet
Star Tribune reporting Jim Pohlad as saying Molitor’s job secure for 2017.
jd396
Not that Molitor hasn’t had his share of “Huh?” moments this year, but this isn’t on him. With the roster Ryan issued him I don’t know who could have done any better than he has. Molitor might not be the long term answer but he hasn’t done anything that I’d fire him over at this point.
twins33
I have mixed feelings about that. I don’t think most of this is Molitor’s fault, but he does some very boneheaded things as a manager that as an ex player you think he wouldn’t do. Guess I’m expecting too much, but I do know that no manager is perfect…especially in a fan’s eyes.
chesteraarthur
Good for him, he wont have to watch that dumpster fire every day
3768902
To be fair to Smith. He did sign Sano, Polanco, and Kepler.
twins33
Trading FOR Hardy was a plus too. That’s about it.
jd396
To be fair, considering when they signed, it’s almost certain TR did almost all of that scouting.
twins33
Outside voice please. Please.
I doubt it will happen. Then again, I thought Ryan would have to retire again instead of being fired…so I guess anything is possible. Just takes too long for much needed change.
Respect TR. Have talked to him a few times. Great guy, but a new voice/way is absolutely needed.