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After announcing the firing of GM Terry Ryan earlier today, Twins owners Jim and Joe Pohlad and President Dave St. Peter met with reporters to discuss the decision and what their plan is moving forward. What we learned from the meeting is, basically, they don’t have a plan and they’re not really sure what to do next.
Does that make you nervous? You’re not alone!
Asked if he's nervous about process of finding new GM, Pohlad: "Well, I'm certainly not cocky or over-confident. Yes, I would say nervous."
— chipscoggins (@chipscoggins) July 18, 2016
Feel better? No? Well, the good news is that Jim Pohlad has been studying up on other organizations.
I asked Jim Pohlad if he has studied other team's organizational structures. He said he's looked at every team's media guides. Not kidding.
— chipscoggins (@chipscoggins) July 18, 2016
Oh boy.
Pohlad mentioned that they haven’t officially started searching for a new GM yet, even though they made the decision to remove Terry Ryan about a month ago. They hope to have a new GM before the end of the season, but are also willing to wait until after the season ends if they have to. They are considering hiring a search firm to find a new external GM, but Dave St. Peter and the Pohlads get the final say. They’ll ask Tom Kelly his opinion too. On the other hand, however, they always wanted to promote from within and consider current interim GM Rob Antony a prime candidate.
Got all that? Yeah, me neither.
The only point Jim Pohlad was extremely firm about was Paul Molitor. He made it very clear he will not fire Paul Molitor. “I have faith and confidence in Paul,” Pohlad told reporters. “I was all in on the decision (to hire him). … I stand behind that, and he will continue to be the manager in 2017.”
That seems like an odd restriction to place on whoever the new GM they hire will be, but whatever. A lot of this doesn’t seem to make sense yet.
It seems clear the Twins management, despite having known this change would be occurring for awhile, haven’t done much to prepare for it. They almost sound scared about what’s going to happen. Many fans had been clamoring for the Pohlads to fire Terry Ryan for awhile, but I’m not sure they expected things to go like this.
Be careful what you wish for.