RockRaines Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 MINNEAPOLIS -- Terry Ryan's tenure as general manager of the Minnesota Twins is coming to an end. The 52-year-old Ryan is resigning after 12 seasons. The Minneapolis Star Tribune, citing three unnamed sources with the team, first reported the story on its Web site. The Twins have called a news conference for Thursday afternoon to announce a "major" reorganization of their baseball operations. Team spokesman Mike Herman wouldn't discuss details when reached by The Associated Press. ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney and the AP also are reporting Ryan's decision. Longtime assistant GM Bill Smith will succeed Ryan, the Star Tribune reported. Smith has been club vice president/assistant GM for the last 13 of his 22 seasons with the organization. The Twins won the AL Central title last season -- their fourth division crown in the last six years -- but they are currently 72-74 and out of the playoff chase. Ryan has long been highly regarded throughout baseball for his work in crafting a contender with a limited payroll. The Twins have received several awards for Organization of the Year this decade, but Ryan began to take some heat this year for the signings of some unproductive veterans and failures to lock up some of the team's stars to long-term contracts. "They should name the [new] ballpark after him," a rival GM told Olney. Superior scouting landed him players like Torii Hunter, Doug Mientkiewicz, Corey Koskie, Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer and Michael Cuddyer, all of whom have contributed to the Twins' rise from the baseball cellar to postseason contenders. Ryan also made one of the most lopsided trades in recent baseball history when he sent catcher A.J. Pierzynski to the Giants for starters Boof Bonser and Francisco Liriano and closer Joe Nathan three years ago. But the last two years haven't been as kind to Ryan. The Twins stumbled out of the gate last season when Ryan gambled on veterans Tony Batista and Rondell White to supplement a shaky lineup. It wasn't until he relented and put in younger players that the Twins made their stunning run to another division title. And this year, Ryan took a chance on rickety veterans Sidney Ponson and Ramon Ortiz to bolster a rotation that lost Brad Radke to retirement and Liriano to injury. But both Ponson and Ortiz flamed out early in the season. Ryan also has failed to get long-term extensions done for ace Johan Santana, Hunter and reigning MVP Morneau, putting the future success of the Twins in question as they get ready to move into a new stadium a few years down the road. Assistant general manager Wayne Krivsky, who was long lauded for his behind-the-scenes work as Ryan's right-hand man, left before last season to take over as Cincinnati's general manager. Krivsky was never replaced, though director of baseball operations Rob Antony added "contracts" to his title earlier this year and became more involved with Smith in negotiating with players' agents. On Smith, "He's one of the best administrators in the game. I don't know what kind of evaluator he is, but he is one solid individual, one of the best executives," the rival GM told Olney. "He'll rely on his people." Twins manager Ron Gardenhire signed an extension last fall that takes his contract through 2009. He was golfing Thursday morning, according to his wife, and didn't immediately return a call from AP. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. Ummm, fire KW? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory Pratt Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Holy s***. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted September 13, 2007 Author Share Posted September 13, 2007 QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Sep 13, 2007 -> 12:08 PM) Holy s***. Uh yeah. I would be power dialing him to see if we could get him on board somehow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory Pratt Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Oh yeah. I wonder what he could do with a little money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted September 13, 2007 Author Share Posted September 13, 2007 QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Sep 13, 2007 -> 12:10 PM) Oh yeah. I wonder what he could do with a little money. Terry Ryan with 0 money> KW with largest payroll. Terry Ryan with largest payroll> godzilla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowand44 Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Thank f***in god. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory Pratt Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 QUOTE(RockRaines @ Sep 13, 2007 -> 12:14 PM) Terry Ryan with 0 money> KW with largest payroll. Terry Ryan with largest payroll> godzilla Maybe. But does he have a ring? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSqwert Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Kenny should start packing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Sep 13, 2007 -> 12:29 PM) Maybe. But does he have a ring? Great Post. Would I trade the last 7 seasons with Minny? No Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OfficerKarkovice Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Nothing against Terry Ryan because he has been a great GM for the Twins but... KW would have been absolutely KILLED on this board if his biggest moves in the last two years were adding Tony Batista, Rondell White, Sidney Ponson and Ramon Ortiz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 QUOTE(OfficerKarkovice @ Sep 13, 2007 -> 10:44 AM) Nothing against Terry Ryan because he has been a great GM for the Twins but... KW would have been absolutely KILLED on this board if his biggest moves in the last two years were adding Tony Batista, Rondell White, Sidney Ponson and Ramon Ortiz. TR's biggest moves have never been in the FA market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Not to mention this part... Ryan also has failed to get long-term extensions done for ace Johan Santana, Hunter and reigning MVP Morneau, putting the future success of the Twins in question as they get ready to move into a new stadium a few years down the road. I still get the feeling that Minnesota did us a favor and overreacted here. Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of the Twins run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted September 13, 2007 Author Share Posted September 13, 2007 QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Sep 13, 2007 -> 12:56 PM) Not to mention this part... I still get the feeling that Minnesota did us a favor and overreacted here. Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of the Twins run. Well, he resigned. They didnt say he was fired. So it may just be his decision to go somewhere else. Also I always thought the subtraction of Krivsky hurt him a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthSideSox72 Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 I'd imagine that being a GM on any club is a long-hours, high-stress job. Perhaps after all his successes, he was looking towards what appears to be a long rebuilding process with the Twins, and decided to just walk a way for a while before dealing with that mess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 QUOTE(RockRaines @ Sep 13, 2007 -> 01:03 PM) Well, he resigned. They didnt say he was fired. So it may just be his decision to go somewhere else. Also I always thought the subtraction of Krivsky hurt him a bit. Reading the article, it sure leaves the impression he was "allowed to resign" versus just leaving to hang out with his family or some other BS excuse. The timing of this, coupled with the "major reorganization" added statement tells me this isn't just Terry Ryan thinking about golf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9347 Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 I love how the article pitts the failure to get a deal done with Santana as Ryan's fault. yeah, the Twins just throw around 200 million every offseason... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chisoxt Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 One of the best GMs in baseball, Terry Ryan of the Twins is reportedly going to resign. The hallmark of just about every player that comes through their system is fundamental soundness. I am not sure if Ryan is being forced out, or if there are other circumstance surrounding his departure. This is a big blow to the Twins. I know this will never happen, but here is a golden opportunity For the Sox to grab one of the sharpest GMs in the game. I just don't have faith in Williams turining this ship around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 There is a thread already started in the Diamond Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted September 13, 2007 Author Share Posted September 13, 2007 JR better be on the phone to see if there is some way to get Terry over here. I know that all the other teams with GM holes will be calling him, but lets offer him more leisure and more money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heads22 Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Terry Ryan won't be our GM, that's for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Honda Civic Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Sep 13, 2007 -> 01:27 PM) I love how the article pitts the failure to get a deal done with Santana as Ryan's fault. yeah, the Twins just throw around 200 million every offseason... Sounds like the Twins contract guy (their Rick Hahn position) was the real fall guy. Ryan may have been mulling retirement, and didn't want to mess with new underlings. Or he could have been shown the door as well. They're going to bring in a new guy to try and get things done with the young core/players worth keeping. Their development staff will remain in place, which is good for them. Though they have a similar dearth of hitting prospects right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29andPoplar Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Supposedly Ryan is staying with the Twins organization as a sr. executive. We'll see how it plays out but it sounds like he just wanted out of the GM job, after 12 years it's not surprising he'd want to step away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilliamTell Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 this is definately a shocker to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Would anyone trade the last ten years of Sox results with the Twin's results? I wouldn't. We see what he did in the free agent market the last two seasons. I'm not that impressed. So multiply those acquisitions ten fold with more money. Meh. I'm not saying KW is better, just saying I don't think he's the second coming where an organization should dump everything and follow. Perhaps if he had put together a team that won it all, then maybe . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
santo=dorf Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Nothing against Terry Ryan because he has been a great GM for the Twins but... KW would have been absolutely KILLED on this board if his biggest moves in the last two years were adding Tony Batista, Rondell White, Sidney Ponson and Ramon Ortiz. KW would've been eaten alive before that if he had the same start as Ryan. Minnesota had plenty of years like our 2007 under Ryan's first few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.