When you have a season like the Minnesota Twins are having, something needs to change. The front office ran back virtually an unchanged roster from the one that fell apart down the stretch last season. Not shockingly, the results have been the same.
A year ago Derek Falvey put the blame on coaching and canned David Popkins. He’s now leading baseball’s best hitting team in Toronto. This time around firing another hitting coach doesn’t make much sense.
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In fact, firing a coach at all probably doesn’t begin to address the problem. At least that’s what Jim Souhan thinks.
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Minnesota Twins change must start at the top
If Popkins was the problem for Minnesota, he’s absolutely been the answer for the Blue Jays. Derek Falvey, who currently is baseball’s most powerful executive, could fire Rocco Baldelli or his coaching staff this offseason. As the Star Tribune’s Jim Souhan put it though, that would be missing the real issue.
Should they keep firing coaches, or should this failed exercise teach us about the nature of hitting coaches and organizational scapegoats?…In baseball, firing coaches is like putting makeup on a rash.
Front offices aren’t going to fire themselves. That buck gets passed down to the coaching staff. Falvey, Jeremy Zoll, and the rest of a collection that has orchestrated terrible baseball for the better part of a year-and-a-half now, need accountability focused on them.
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Unfortunately the Pohlad family is not selling the team at this moment. Hopefully that doesn’t mean they are asleep at the wheel. While spending money on players isn’t something they seem to have any interest in doing, hiring the right people to maximize what they have should be.
Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
If there is a case study as to why Falvey, Zoll, and the current Twins front office is a large part of the problem, they’ve outlined it well of late. Firing Falvey and Zoll may result in a new batch of coaches being brought in as well. In that scenario though, it would be done in logical succession rather than a response hoping to spark change while not actually differing procces.
Related: Joe Ryan Exposes Pohlad Budget Cut That Killed the Twins
This offseason should be a fascinating one for Minnesota. It’s unlikely that the payroll will increase, or even remain the same. With the opportunity for new young talent to play their way to the big leagues, process and execution must be at an all-time high.
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Should the Twins avoid a path that includes sweeping changes, they best hope that the execution on the fringes gives them a chance for much better results. If that doesn’t wind up being the case, we’ll be right back here next September wondering why another 365 days was spent wasted.
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