We got what we wanted, right? Bill Smith is history as the Twins’ General Manager. Not only that, but he’s being replaced by Terry Ryan, the man credited with turning the Twins in to a contender through most of the past decade. All’s well in Twinsville, right?
Not so fast.
Before everyone spends the next week partying in celebration, I think we should look a little deeper in to what led to Smith’s departure.
Sure, the JJ Hardy trade, itself, was probably grounds for dismissal and there were plenty of other questionable personnel decisions to build a sound case for “termination for cause.” But that’s not why Smith is no longer the GM. Not according to Dave St. Peter and Jim Pohlad anyway.
No, they essentially trotted out the, “we just weren’t on the same page,” cliche. I’m beginning to think that means Smith wasn’t going along with the Pohlad family philosophy of, “slash the payroll.”
If Terry Ryan was replacing Smith because of Smith’s failings, I’d sponsor a little party, myself. I’ve always been a Terry Ryan fan. Like a lot of Twins fans, I’ve always wondered what Ryan could have done as a GM if he had been given some money to build a real roster with, instead of having to implement a system where he had to develop all of his talent internally, fully aware that he’d eventually have to watch every player worth a crap walk away as soon as they got the least bit expensive.
But that’s not why Ryan’s taking over and, based on what he’s saying, he’s not going to be given the same payroll that Smith had to work with.
In response to questions about payroll during the press conference, Ryan alluded to potential payroll levels between $90-$100 million. Those figures would be somewhere 10-20% LESS than the Twins’ 2011 payroll. Put another way, the Twins are going to let Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel walk away via free agency and use the money to bring in… absolutely nobody!
And we’re all supposed to jump up and cheer because it will be Ryan overseeing this crap instead of Smith?
It amazes me how so many Twins fans take the BS that the front office hands out, without a question.
Toward the end of the season, a lot of people were talking about what the Twins could do to rebuild their roster if the Twins payroll was allowed to grow just a modest amount… say from $115 million to $118-120 million.
Then Jim Pohlad was quoted in media reports as saying the 2011 payroll was a bit higher than he was comfortable with and likely would be just a bit lower in 2012. Fans and media didn’t seem to bat an eye. Everyone just accepted what Pohlad said and started looking at what could be done with a $112-115 million payroll.
Now, not-exactly-new GM Terry Ryan says the payroll will probably be in the $90-100 million range and again it’s just going to be accepted with little question? Why?
Throughout this whole process, I’ve yet to read or hear a single member of the media ask the Twins WHY they feel payroll should be reduced. Not once. If someone can show me a link to such a question, I’d be grateful, but I’m not holding my breath.
Maybe the Twins project revenues to drop? Not likely, given that they’ve got enough of a waiting list for season tickets to more than make up for the number of people who were so disgusted by what they saw on the field in 2011 that they couldn’t stomach the thought of watching something similar in 2012 and there’s been no hint of a drop in broadcast rights fees or any other revenue source.
Is it asking too much of the organization to suggest that slashing payroll after just two seasons in a new ballpark (largely publicly funded) should warrant some sort of explanation to the fan base? Shouldn’t they at least offer some kind of reason?
Apparently not.
Some people are suggesting that cutting payroll is fine because it reflects an acknowledgment that 2012 will be a rebuilding year and the focus will be on building a team to compete a couple of years in the future.
Seriously?
You’re paying Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau a total of $37 million a year and you’re not even going to try to put a team around them to be competitive for a couple of years (by which time Morneau will be gone, by the way)? And that’s OK with Twins fans?
The Twins are just one injury-plagued season away from having won the AL Central Division. Explain to me again why the organization shouldn’t spend the money coming off their books on players that could propel them right back up in to contention if some of the health issues work out better next year than in 2011.
Because they may be losing Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel and Joe Nathan? Nathan wasn’t even on the field in 2010 when they won their division, while Kubel and Cuddyer both had pretty mediocre seasons, posting almost identical OPS figures at around .750.
Don’t get me wrong… the Twins have significant holes to fill. Smith’s mistakes need to be corrected.
But if Terry Ryan, Dave St. Peter or Jim Pohlad use the misguided roster moves of Bill Smith as an excuse to slash payroll, they’re doing it for one reason and one reason only… to prove that this generation of Pohlads is every bit as cheap as the last.
And from I’m reading from various blogs and other social media responses, most Twins fans are just fine with that.
I’m not.
– JC
Jim Caple says that Smith is the first GM to get fired in Twins history (I assume he means, since the club moved to Minnesota). So, clearly some major disagreement, some power struggle, has happened behind the scenes, because the Twins literally NEVER fire the GM just because the team had a losing season–or even a string of losing seasons.
The budget for 2012 seems like a good guess as to the point of dispute. Presumably Smith would have liked a budget increase to help him right the ship ASAP. On the other hand, Terry Ryan has a history of working within tight payroll constraints, building the roster from the farm, without complaints. I’d take his return to the GM post as a sign of what we can expect of the budget and organizational strategy going forward, too.
Hopefully things work out before too long, but one note of caution: Terry Ryan himself resigned after a losing season in 2007, when it had seemed that he’d been kind of phoning it in for his last 2-3 years on the job. I think I’d be happier about Smith leaving if this “interim” arrangement with TR doesn’t last too long.
Great post JC. I agree with most of it. Except for “all those people on the waiting list hoping to buy season tickets.” In reality those people no longer exist. They put down $100 to get on the waiting list and now they know they can buy tickets to any game for $10. Twins attendence is going to take a severe hit next season to an average of 30,000. Jim Pohlad is going to fill up his saddlebags with cash while the getting is good. Keep in mind this team is headed for 90 losses in 2012. 90 losses and a really putrid schedule for 2012 spells DISASTER.