Smith, who took over as the Twins’ GM at the end of the 2007 season, will be replaced on an interim basis by Terry Ryan. Ryan has been in the Twins’ organization for more than 28 years, including 13 seasons as the team’s GM from 1994-2007.

Tough to argue with that move.

Smith has been GM longer than I remembered. He does not have a very impressive record, but maybe I am forgetting some of his moves.

This never would have happened, if he had chosen to go by the first name 'Will'.

Maybe they can convince Ryan to keep the job for a couple more years.

Worked out well enough the first time around.

This is the first time in team history that a GM has been fired. Crazy.

Santana prospects didn't pan out, Delmon for Garza/Bartlett was a letdown, trading Hardy to keep Capps looks bad, letting Hudson walk for Nishioka was a mistake, trading Ramos for Capps when Butera was the only reinforcement was a disaster, letting Guerrier, Crain, Fuentes, and Rauch walk and whiffing on every bullpen acquisition was bad. Despite all of that, I think he keeps his job if the player development was up to snuff. They have lots of raw talent that is not progressing like it should. Liriano and Delmon at the big league level, Hicks, Revere, and several arms in the minors. It adds up, and when the Pohlads decided to finally spend some money, I'm sure they didn't intend to lose 99 games.

Last week didn't Twins deny Baltimore permission to talk to Twins scouting director Mike Radcliffe about their GM position? Now that makes sense. Ryan will probably settle things down for awhile with the idea Mike Radcliffe would maybe take over down the road.

#6 pretty strong indictment of Smith. Don't forget to add the possible disaster that is Joe Mauer's contract. But at least that was understandable at the time.

Yeah, anyone who faults Smith for signing the hometown hero, face of the franchise to a market contract is practicing revisionist history. Plus, I'm an optimist, I think Mauer returns to a 5+ win player for several years.

Yeah, anyone who faults Smith for signing the hometown hero, face of the franchise to a market contract is practicing revisionist history. Plus, I'm an optimist, I think Mauer returns to a 5+ win player for several years.

The signing should have come with a switch to 3B.

I'm assuming all fans hate their team's GM, and I'm a Twins fan, but...I actually do think Bill Smith made a lot of really bad decisions.

His biggest moves:

* Nov 2007: Garza and Bartlett to Tampa for Young: Obviously terrible now, but it made a lot of sense at the time. So, meh.

* Feb 2008: Santana to the Mets for prospects: Well, the best prospect in the trade is a 4th outfielder (Carlos Gomez). But even at the time, Conventional Wisdom held that the Mets fleeced them. And of course, they would miss the playoffs by a single game that year.

* Feb 2008: Signed Livan Hernandez to a $5M contract. Just made no sense at all with the previous move. If you're punting 2008, don't waste $5M on Livan. And if you think you can compete in 2008, you don't trade Johan (you keep him and then keep the draft picks). You can't do one without the other! It was insanity!

* In the 2007-2008 offseason, they traded Johan Santana for prospects, and also spent $11.3MM on these 3 free agents: Livan Hernandez, Mike Lamb, and Adam Everett. It made no sense at all at the time.

* December 2008: Signed Nick Punto to a 2 year, $8mm deal. This made no sense at the time, and it makes no sense now.

* Trade Deadline 2009: Picked up Orlando Cabrera, Carl Pavano, Jon Rauch, and Ron Mahay for absolutely nothing. The 2009 Twins won the Central Division by winning their last 5 games, including a play-in game in the bottom of the 12th inning. Every single run counted this year--and all 4 of those guys contributed. Gotta give credit here--flags fly forever.

* November 2009: Traded Gomez for Hardy. Tough trade for me--Carlos Gomez is my favorite player in the league--and a bit of a wash. Slight win for Minnesota.

(Offseason): Signed Jim Thome and Orlando Hudson for $6.5MM combined. Now these are the type of moves a team makes when they decide they want to compete for the playoffs. The two combined for 5 WAR that year.

* Trade Deadline 2010: Traded Wilson Ramos for Matt Capps. This was fun: Wilson Ramos was a super prospect, but a catcher--completely blocked for the next decade by Mauer! I'd forgotten the race was still close at the time of this trade (Minnesota was actually a game back of Chicago when they made it), but....even at the time, I felt they were getting too little for him. Especially because they already had a great bullpen that year! The extra 27 innings of Matt Capps didn't really seem like it could be a difference-maker. Bad trade, in my book.

* 2010-11 Offseason: Traded JJ Hardy for peanuts, (presumably) refused to match San Diego's $4MM contract on Orlando Hudson. The Hardy trade made no sense--it was a clear salary dump--and letting Hudson go just exposed their biggest weakness: A lack of middle infield depth.

* (Pure Davo/BBTF Conjecture): Refused to trade Francisco Liriano for prospects. We obviously don't know if he had any real offers--or what they were--but this seemed like a super obvious Sell High candidate. Their chances of competing in 2011 did not look good, and he was at his peak value. And for an oft-injured, frequently erratic player like that (who was about to become very expensive through arbitration...) it made a ton of sense to retool for 2012.

So all in all....I don't know. He made a lot of decisions that looked really bad at the time, and remained bad. And he's left them as a complete question mark. It's difficult to see where Ryan takes them from here.

Looking back at what I wrote: The 2007-08 offseason was a ########### of epic proportions. He's been pretty solid since then.

Thanks for the reminders, yeah bad to meh. More specifically started horrific and got better. Still one thing that makes evaluating GMs tough (tougher than Managers and Players) is it is harder to see the things NOT done. All the terrible trades not done and conversely all the great trades not done for some stupid reason. We only see what is done and have really no idea what else was available.

As a Royals fan I though Bill Smith was extraordinarily bad, especially in comparison to his predecessor Terry Ryan. I'm sorry to see him go.

* (Pure Davo/BBTF Conjecture): Refused to trade Francisco Liriano for prospects. We obviously don't know if he had any real offers--or what they were--but this seemed like a super obvious Sell High candidate. Their chances of competing in 2011 did not look good, and he was at his peak value. And for an oft-injured, frequently erratic player like that (who was about to become very expensive through arbitration...) it made a ton of sense to retool for 2012.

Is it just me or does it seem like they've kinda squandered Kevin Slowey's value? Last year he seemed like a decentish, cheap option for a team needing pitching, now he seems like damaged goods.

I'm assuming all fans hate their team's GM

I don't think this is right.

Fans who like their GM: Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, Blue Jays, Tigers, Rangers, A's, Mariners(?), Phillies, Mets, Braves, Marlins, Nats(?), Brewers, Cardinals, Cubs, Pirates

Most fans like their GM, in contemporary baseball. It's not like hating the manager.

Funny that you listed the Red Sox, and Cubs since both just started about two weeks ago.

Personally, most fans probably don't know who the GM is. Its not like he's on TV everyday, or talked about unless he's a celebrity like Epstein. The only reason you would know about him if he made a dumb trade and everyone knew he made a dumb trade like Tony Reigins.

After the record this year, my lead in might have been "The Twins got 99 problems....Bill Smith ain't one."

They have lots of raw talent that is not progressing like it should. Liriano and Delmon at the big league level, Hicks, Revere, and several arms in the minors.

There are plenty of things to criticize Smith about, but Liriano post-surgery (without his slider) was bound to be very problematic, and Revere has advanced faster than I expected. He's 23 and played most of the year in the majors and wasn't particularly over his head. He hasn't developed any power, but he's young and tiny....it's not a surprise. Considering the skepticism (including mine) when Revere was drafted, and how slowly the Twins tend to move players, I'm surprised he's gone as far as he did. I don't know how you judge a GM by how a couple guys do in the minors after only 3 years of drafts, especially considering the entire scouting team was the same as before. Blame him for the bad trades and lack of direction, but most of the development issues are beyond his influence.

The signing should have come with a switch to 3B.

You just don't do that with a great defensive catcher.

You take him out from behind the plate, and made him a mediocre 3B, you just ruin his value. Probably knock 2 WAR a year off of his value.

They never should have rushed him back though.

Fans who like their GM: Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, Blue Jays, Tigers, Rangers, A's, Mariners(?), Phillies, Mets, Braves, Marlins, Nats(?), Brewers, Cardinals, Cubs, Pirates

Might be just where I have gone on the internet, but Tigers fans seem to hate Dombroski and Leyland...which makes no sense to me.

You just don't do that with a great defensive catcher.

You take him out from behind the plate, and made him a mediocre 3B, you just ruin his value. Probably knock 2 WAR a year off of his value.

They never should have rushed him back though.

The contract was dubious when offered. He basically needs to stay at C for the contract to really work for them.

I don't think this is right.

Fans who like their GM: Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, Blue Jays, Tigers, Rangers, A's, Mariners(?), Phillies, Mets, Braves, Marlins, Nats(?), Brewers, Cardinals, Cubs, Pirates

It is a temporary thing though. Of the names on your list most of those teams had GM that most fans did not like recently.

Red Sox: Dan Duquette
Rays: Anyone not named Friedman
Blue Jays: JP Ricciardi
Phillies: Ed Wade
Mets: Omar Minaya
Nats: Jim Bowden
Cubs: Jim Hendry
Pirates: Last two or thre


Cardinals: I think the jury was still out on Mozeliak but with a WS win it is hard to hate your GM unless his name is Krause.
Yankees: Cashman has bee there forever
Marlins: Hard to hate the GM when it is so much easier to hate the owner


I think the Rangers, Yankees, Braves, A's (though he is declinging) and Marlins have had good GM that the fans have respected for a long time. For the rest of the names it simply depends on where the team is in the standings that determines how the fans treat the GM.

* 2010-11 Offseason: Traded JJ Hardy for peanuts, (presumably) refused to match San Diego's $4MM contract on Orlando Hudson. The Hardy trade made no sense--it was a clear salary dump--and letting Hudson go just exposed their biggest weakness: A lack of middle infield depth.

* (Pure Davo/BBTF Conjecture): Refused to trade Francisco Liriano for prospects. We obviously don't know if he had any real offers--or what they were--but this seemed like a super obvious Sell High candidate. Their chances of competing in 2011 did not look good, and he was at his peak value. And for an oft-injured, frequently erratic player like that (who was about to become very expensive through arbitration...) it made a ton of sense to retool for 2012.

The Liriano stuff may be easy to say now, but at the time I don't think most intelligent baseball people thought that trading Liriano for prospects would be a good idea. He definitely wasn't a sell high candidate imo. He was coming off a season where his ERA was almost a full run higher than his FIP and his velocity was finally getting back to what it was before TJ. He was looking poised to have a great 2011. Also almost everyone considered the Twins to be in at least a 3 way race for the division with the White Sox and Tigers. Go back and look at pre season predictions. No one was expecting the Twins to get next to no value from their ace, their 2 best players and their new Japanese import. This was why the Hardy trade was bad as well. They should have kept him because they were playing to win in 2011 and were in a tight division.

You mock Smith for trading away Santana and signing Livan in the same offseason, but have no problem saying that he should have traded Liriano for prospects while keeping Hardy and Hudson. Your being very results orientated.

Didn't he almost trade Denard Span for a reliever this summer? I seem to remember him insisting on Drew Storen and thinking that the Nationals being crazy to pass that up.

You mock Smith for trading away Santana and signing Livan in the same offseason, but have no problem saying that he should have traded Liriano for prospects while keeping Hardy and Hudson. Your being very results orientated.

I don't think you can say criticism of the Santana trade is "results orientated". Considering his results with the Mets, getting rid of him certainly has turned out OK. The issue is that they got sweet ### all in return. And if anything even close to the rumored packages from the Yankees/Sox was actually on the table, it doesn't take any hindsight at all to be critical of the deal.

You just don't do that with a great defensive catcher.

You take him out from behind the plate, and made him a mediocre 3B, you just ruin his value. Probably knock 2 WAR a year off of his value.

They never should have rushed him back though.


The contract was dubious when offered. He basically needs to stay at C for the contract to really work for them.

The hit in WAR he'd lose by leaving catcher would make up for the missed playing time he's had/going to have at catcher.

You also have to consider that if you move Mauer, you wouldn't have to DH him for the 20-30 games he would need to 'rest' from catching.

The hit in WAR he'd lose by leaving catcher would make up for the missed playing time he's had/going to have at catcher.

But would it make the contract worth it? It seems like it would, perhaps, but just barely.

The hit in WAR he'd lose by leaving catcher would make up for the missed playing time he's had/going to have at catcher.

Assuming he's equally valuable defensively at 3B or C, he'd need about 100 more PA to be of roughly equal value. So 150 games instead of 125 or so? Seems reasonable.

Also, I think Tango did research that showed that catchers hit better when not catching, so he might pick up a bit of value that way. They could also use him as the backup C 30-40 times a season in lieu of weaker-hitting backup which would add even more value.

The Liriano stuff may be easy to say now, but at the time I don't think most intelligent baseball people thought that trading Liriano for prospects would be a good idea. He definitely wasn't a sell high candidate imo.

Oh, it was sort of a joke. Back in January, that sort of trade--Liriano to the Yankees for prospects--was brought up here, and in the Lounge I argued in support of it til my face turned blue.

It's pretty silly to discuss without knowing what was on the table, of course. I don't really consider it a mistake.

They could also use him as the backup C 30-40 times a season in lieu of weaker-hitting backup which would add even more value.

Wouldn't it be harder to adjust to catching 2 times a week while playing 3b the other 4-5 days?

I think the Rangers, Yankees, Braves, A's (though he is declinging) and Marlins have had good GM that the fans have respected for a long time.

Oh, how quickly is the John F. Hart Era in Texas forgotten?

Travis Hafner for Einar Diaz. Enough said.

The interpretation from here is that Smith was the key decision-maker feeling as if the Twins could fix their problems with minor changes in the operation. And that the Pohlads, while not officially signing on to rebuilding, were convinced that significant problems had to be addressed in player evaluation, in player development and in how to get injured players back on the field.

From Reusse's column in the Strib. I will reiterate my earlier argument that Smith's bad trades got him into this mess, but if the organization had managed to maintain its internal development, he would have kept his head above water. Whether it is fair or not to hang that on him, that's what the Pohlad family values, and that's the standard to which he is held.

They could also use him as the backup C 30-40 times a season in lieu of weaker-hitting backup which would add even more value.

If you're going to still have him catch, I think you're better off going 90 games at C, 60 at DH.

Assuming he's equally valuable defensively at 3B or C

Why would you assume that? Isn't Mauer's rep that he's an excellent defensive C?

I'd be hard pressed to project him as better than avg. at 3B.

I'd be hard pressed to project him as better than avg. at 3B.

Mauer certainly has the tools to play 3B. He was pretty good at 1B in limited duty this year and he has a terrific arm.