Q&A with Terry Ryan
Q&A with Terry Ryan: Playoff exit stung more this season
http://www.startribune.com/stories/509/5035774.html
La Velle E. Neal III / Star Tribune
October 17, 2004
Instead of watching the Twins in the American League Championship Series,
Twins General Manager Terry Ryan spent last week watching his son, Tim, play
football for Eagan High. It was a personal respite for what promises to be an
extremely busy offseason.
With only four players under contract, two significant free agents and several
other high-profile players eligible for arbitration, the offseason will be
pivotal for a team that for now at least will be expected to win a fourth
consecutive AL Central Division title.
In an interview after the Twins were eliminated from the postseason, Ryan
outlined what lies ahead as he prepares for the 2005 season.
Q: Does this postseason burn a little more because you played two extra inning
games and were so close to forcing a Game 5?
A: They all burn, but this one is a little different flavor because we were
within grasp.
Last year, when we got eliminated, those were games weren't pretty, and they
put some numbers up against us. We had this one in our grasp for eight
innings. We needed six outs and just didn't get it done, which made it much
more abrupt. We were all looking forward to going to New York and seeing what
would happen in the fifth game. It came to a screeching halt.
Q: Brad Radke wants to get his situation figured out as soon as possible. Is
he a top priority with you?
A: One of the many because he's a pending free agent.
Q: Will you be in contact with his agent soon?
A: Probably. There isn't anything holding us back from addressing that
situation. It's a business decision. I'm not going to take anything for
granted.
Q: Do you foresee making cost-effective trades -- like you did with Eric
Milton last year -- in order keep the players you want to keep?
A: That's always a possibility. It's apparent that our payroll is going to be
in the neighborhood of what it was this year. There's going to be some sizable
raises through the arbitration process. So we're going to have to juggle this
thing around to try to figure out how it all is going to work. We have some
baseball decisions, personnel-wise, to make that are going to be imperative
that we make the right ones. It wasn't easy last year. It is not going to be
easy this year.
Q: What are the chances that your payroll could go up some next year?
A: If it is, it is not going to be sizable. It may trickle up a little. It's
always been a little bit of a floating number, but I'm going to sit here and
say it will not be sizable.
Q: Has Johan Santana met your criteria for approaching him about a multiyear
contract extension?
A: That's something I'm not going to divulge. There's no use in starting in on
that now. That has not been decided on. I haven't got enough depth to look at
his numbers to see where he will be on a one-year more or less beyond one
year. I'm not sure how to respond to that, other than the fact that nobody has
any problem rewarding him for the production he provided, and he provided a
lot of production.
Q: How much of a challenge will it be to bring back Corey Koskie and Cristian
Guzman? (The Twins on Friday bought out Guzman, essentially making him a free
agent.)
A: To fit everything under payroll, we've got challenges. Not singling out
those two gentlemen, but we have challenges. Before we start responding on who
will be back and who won't be back, I think it is important that I get input
from anybody and everybody. As I do every year I will sit down with the staff
and get those thoughts.
Q: Terry Tiffee, Jason Bartlett, Jason Kubel. Have they advanced to the point
where you think you have options if you can't afford to keep everybody?
A: Sometimes it doesn't matter if they have advanced or not (chuckles).
Sometimes we have to force-feed them. I never would have thought that Jason
Kubel would have been a piece to this puzzle. A year ago today we were talking
about putting him on the 40-man roster. So you put people out there and see
how they respond. Years ago, we force-fed Guzman, we force-fed Radke, we
force-fed Milton, we force-fed [Joe] Mays. And they responded.
Q: You're trying to win now ...
A: True, but there's no one who would have told you back then that Radke was
going to help you win, and that Milton was going to give us good years, and
that Guzman would be an All-Star in 2001. We are in a position where we have
to force-feed players more often than others.
Q: Do you see a way in which you could re-sign Radke and bring back people
like Koskie without having to make up for it elsewhere?
A: It's going to be a juggling act. You're getting into specific guys now, and
I haven't talked to Gardy yet about our personnel. Those are all guys I have
to make a decision on. As soon as we sit down, we will prioritize and figure
out the path we're going to take. Some people are going to make decisions for
us. ... You don't know what the market is going to be like this year, either.
Q: How confident are you that Joe Mauer will be a full-time catcher next
season?
A: Confident. Because no one has told me any different. The doctor in
Cleveland, the last time we were in there, I went in there with ears open, and
he stated emphatically that there's no reason he can't catch. Now if he has
setbacks, that's a different issue. There's no need to think he can't catch,
and he mentioned that he doesn't even have to wear a knee brace. That was a
pretty good feeling, walking out of there.
Q: So last week's developments don't concern you?
A: It was just the process his knee is going through. That's what I was saying
all along.
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