The Twins organization just announced that general manager Terry Ryan is resigning. This is a huge blow for the franchise. More than anyone else over the past decade–Tom Kelly, Carl Pohlad, Torii Hunter, you name it–Ryan fostered a “Twins Identity” that relied on the farm system, pitching, and the most thorough scouting and information retrieval system in Major League Baseball to keep the ballclub competitive beyond its payroll.
What hasn’t been made clear yet is whether Ryan jumped or was pushed, and whether he wants to keep doing this sort of work or settle into a Kelly-like advisory role. The fact that Billy Smith has been announced as Ryan’s replacement would indicate that ownership is not unhappy with the Ryan Way, as Smith is in many respects a protege of Ryan’s. If Ryan simply wants to decompress his life, smell the roses or wander off and do something completely different, then the loss is probably minimized.
But if Ryan is unhappy, or lost out in some sort of power struggle, or (and I can really see this) held himself to such a high standard that he is leaving out of a sense of honor for not doing his job correctly, then it hurts the organization. First of all, Ryan engenders tremendous loyalty among his scouts, who are there because of the power they have through Ryan–it certainly isn’t the size of their paychecks. So if Ryan is ending his association with the Twins, or is thinking about doing the same thing somewhere else, the Twins scouting apparatus could be in for a major shake-up, and that is dire news.
Ryan’s critics will point out that he has been too timid about late summer infusions and personnel changes in the midst of pennant races; that his mentality is best suited for underdog small markets content merely to be respectable, as opposed to a team with the richest owner in MLB about to benefit from a new stadium. To that I say that investing in scouting remains the smartest thing an organization can do regardless of how much cash the owner or the stadium can generate, and that it takes a former scout to know best how to build and maintain a system that maximizes the benefits of scouting.
On top of which, I don’t for a moment believe that Carl Pohlad or his surrogates are going to become spendy. Remember all that hue and cry about having to pay off Land Partners for their oh so unfair exorbitant asking price on land at the Twins stadium site, and how it would shortchange other aspects of the stadium construction? Well, Pohlad could step in and absorb much more, or even all of that gap between what the landowners want and what the public can pay. But he’s too busy figuring out how to buy the Ford office and loft building overlooking the stadium site so he can maximize profits on parcels benefiting from the presence of the new stadium. The guy is as greedy as ever, folks.
And Terry Ryan isn’t. He’s a class act, one of the best GMs in the game and a man of honor and amiability. Short of some sort of medical or personal crisis aside from baseball, he will be fine, landing on his feet in a situation of his choosing. For the Twins, on the other hand, the outlook is far less certain.
UPDATE: That Ryan is staying on as “senior adviser” is bittersweet good news. It means he wasn’t pushed out, so there are still some brain cells functioning among the upper echelons of the ownership. But the resignation announced and the subsequent media interviews points to that a slow burnout–should be call it smoulder immolation or something?–and that’s a shame. Still, 13 years is a long time (although Kevin McHale has been running the Wolves’ personnel merely one year less) and somebody as detail oriented as Ryan, with as little margin of error to work with as the Twins job, probably should be expected to wear down to the nub after awhile.
Good news on the promotion of Mike Radcliffe, another clear signal that the franchise still highly values scouts.
What a name! 
You thought the Fringe was over — the 
Since 9/11 (before this, really, though less overtly) this country’s leaders (as well as the general public, at least initially) have declared a “war on terror” under the guise of securing our safety. Somehow, the general public failed to realize that war generally doesn’t mean safety. Sure, you can fight for ideals, you can fight for power, you can fight to stake your claim, you can even fight for your right to drive a Hummer. But it’s generally not about safety, and lives are indeed lost in the process — in this case, many. True, if you have enough power — or at least the illusion of it — then you might consider yourself relatively safe. And perhaps you are. But at the the end of the day, he with the most power, will always be challenged by he who wants more of it, or he who is simply fed up, of course (as we have seen time and time again). Don’t you watch 
, co-written with Jules Lobel. If you want to hear Cole’s take, rather than my meager one, go see him for yourself. I guarantee you’ll get a lot more out of it than this.
It’s different. It’s creepy. It’s engaging. And it’s even quite pretty. I love that I pay absolutely no attention whatsoever to the lyrics. They might even be good. I have no idea. Her voice and style are captivating and distracting enough. I consider that a good thing. Let me know if you’re disappointed. 