Comments on: Transcript of Twins president Dave St. Peter on “Gleeman and The Geek”
Baseball news, insight and analysis from Aaron Gleeman
Fri, 01 May 2026 05:19:27 +0000
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By: BR
#comment-34781
Wed, 06 Feb 2013 17:43:54 +0000
I’m certain that some guys look at back-to-back 90+ loss seasons and don’t want any part of that. Or theymight be willing to stomach it in a more interesting/exciting location. But St. Peter doesn’t really want to acknowledge either of those points, which is why he backled off of it and went with the “years and money” assertion, which really are the two main factors for most players.
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By: Karl Noel
#comment-34773
Tue, 05 Feb 2013 23:51:03 +0000
“I’ve worried often during that period that it was less about the Twins’ regard for these players and more that the Twins’ organization wasn’t regarded by players and agents as one for which they would want to play, which is a far more damning proposition.”
No disrespect, but total BS. There is zero probability that worthwhile guys like Marcum and Myers are all just avoiding the city, stadium, or franchise while pitch-to-disaster guys like Marquis and Correia just happen to be the wacky contrarians who like it here. The Twins are getting the wrong guys, blaming their market for it, and even managing to contradict that lame excuse in the same paragraph with the ‘years/dollars’ comment.
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By: Breaker
#comment-34771
Tue, 05 Feb 2013 23:39:17 +0000
Aaron, I would love your take on the Rays signing of Kelly Johnson. If there is payroll flexibility, even if you had to surpass the $2.45 mil and go all the way to $3 mil, Johnson might look pretty good at 2B in this lineup. He’s not great, as evidenced by his availability and signing a 1 year deal at that price, but he would have provided additional power and stability in our infield.
I’m certainly not looking at him as though he would have made a great impact and ‘saved’ 2013 or anything, but I think he would have been a reasonable addition to improve the product on the field this year.
Thoughts?
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By: Ted
#comment-34770
Tue, 05 Feb 2013 23:32:06 +0000
If they are shrinking payroll because of poor fits with available free agents, etc, and not because of limitations imposed by ownership, then how about reducing ticket prices to reflect the quality if the on-field product? In other words, if payroll is not limited by revenue, then how about pass some of those savings off to us consumers? They had no problem inflating their revenues with increased ticket prices after the move to Target Field (this in addition to the increased revenues from owning a tax payer-financed stadium with dedicated concession fees).
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By: spoofbonser
#comment-34769
Tue, 05 Feb 2013 23:02:02 +0000
I like St. Peter and I like his responses. Truthful enough for me and, I think, he is being very honest with Twins philosophy whether you agree with it or not.
I always come back to the same thing though, they don’t have much respect for stats or sabermetrics. Stats aren’t the end all in my opinion, but neither is scouting, especially when it comes to free agency. Great scouting is almost omnipotent in drafting guys and minor league trades. In free agency, throw much of the scouting to the back of the line. Guys that hit free agency, have already put down on paper, everything you need to know about their on-field performance. And the biggest factor with stats, is that they are driving the market place of free agency. The reason most “bloggers” don’t understand the Correia signing is because it makes no sense in the market. All guys that are similar or slightly better are being got for cheaper and less years. The Twins misjudged the market, because they were listening to evaluators and ignoring advanced scouting (statistical analysis)
Look at Twins free agency history in the past 6 years, its filled up with questionable aquisitions like Jeff Cirillo, Mike Lamb, Ramon Ortiz, Sidney Ponson, Jason Marquis, Matt Capps (last year), Kevin Correia, and a few good ones too Thome, Hudson
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By: Falcon Punch
#comment-34768
Tue, 05 Feb 2013 23:01:42 +0000
I would like the following question answered: Who was responsible for the Nishioka debacle?
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By: Peter Benedict
#comment-34767
Tue, 05 Feb 2013 18:57:40 +0000
Thank. You. For the transcript! I don’t podcast, and this is great stuff.
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By: JR
#comment-34766
Tue, 05 Feb 2013 18:27:45 +0000
“We don’t view payroll as the problem.”
Until, of course, it reaches that mystical 52% of revenue. Then it’s a huge problem and there is no way they can spend another cent, no way, this is a business, 52% is a very fixed number, small market, blah blah blah. And fans/media can’t even bring it up.
Of course it’s not a problem right now. They are absolutely raking in profits because 81% of season ticket holders are either masochists, idiots, or the most generous group of citizens on the planet.
“We don’t focus a lot on payroll.”
This is perhaps the biggest lie I have ever heard from the Twins, and they have a “rich history” of lying to the people who line their wallets.
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By: BC
#comment-34764
Tue, 05 Feb 2013 18:11:52 +0000
“Silver lining” — if there is one — to the Twins being victim of a disparity in regional sports network fees: local MN fans won’t experience it in the monthly cable bill. In LA/NY, the cost of broadcasting the Dodgers, Lakers, or Yankees typically gets passed on by cable / sat operators to the end consumer. So in LA, you’re talking about $7+ a month added to your cable bill to have 2 channels for Lakers and Dodgers.
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By: EricMN
#comment-34763
Tue, 05 Feb 2013 17:45:03 +0000
“You might identify a player who’s a high-profile guy, but you’ve got to understand he also has to want to come play in Minnesota, play at Target Field.”
This.
Over the past three off-seasons, there have been dozens of the mid- to budget-level players, signed elsewhere to short-term, affordable contracts, who may have helped this team not lose 90+ games per season. I’ve worried often during that period that it was less about the Twins’ regard for these players and more that the Twins’ organization wasn’t regarded by players and agents as one for which they would want to play, which is a far more damning proposition.
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