http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=3064
BP 最近刊出與我們的 GM Terry Ryan 的訪談。
內容主要提到 Ryan 如何以有限的預算經營球隊，
如何由球員的斥候、選秀和養成來建立深厚的農場系統，以保持球隊競爭力；
也談到 Ryan 的建隊方針 — 為了因地（Metrodome）制宜
所以對防守、運動力和侵略性的重視程度更甚於長打力和耐性；
此外還有 Ryan 對於球員品格上的要求。
Part II 則將會談到新秀們的登場時間表，還有對於長約的決策。
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等我有空再來翻譯。
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July 12, 2004
Prospectus Q&A
Terry Ryan, Part I
by Jonah Keri
With a stadium that struggles to generate revenue (largely because of its co-
football tenants), cash-conscious ownership and ever-stiff competition from
other teams, this major league general manager makes tough decisions every
year, keeping his team in contention the last few seasons and earning multiple
playoff berths along the way. The similarities between Billy Beane and the
latest in Baseball Prospectus' series of GM Q&As mostly end there.
Terry Ryan's scouting background and the success of his scouting and player
development staff have helped the Minnesota Twins build one of the best farm
systems in the game. A staunch proponent of defense, athleticism and
aggressive play over power and patience, he strives to tailor the Twins to the
quirky Metrodome and its unique characteristics. Ryan recently chatted with BP
about the challenges of running the small-revenue Twins, the importance of
makeup in ballplayers, the trade-offs of offense for defense, and more.
Baseball Prospectus: How does your own scouting background show up in how the
Twins draft and develop players, and how the major league squad is formed?
Terry Ryan: Well, first of all you adjust your club based on your market and
what type of payroll you're working with. In Minnesota, the Twins will always
rely on scouting, drafting and development, bringing our own players up to form
the nucleus of the team. I was the scouting director here for six years, and I
believe in that method because it's worked.
It certainly helps with camaraderie, developing confidence and chemistry on
your roster. You have players who come through it all together, from
instructional leagues to winter ball, Arizona Fall League and throughout the
minors. They're taught by the same coaches and instructors, who watch them and
evaluate them closely every step of the way. There aren't too may surprises on
your 25-man big league roster when you do things that way. We certainly
supplement, get guys via the trade route here and there. But our roster is
almost all homegrown.
BP: You mentioned building confidence and chemistry. How much importance does
the organization place on a player's personality and how he fits in with the
team? How are the Twins able to size up an 18-year-old kid out of high school
or a 21-year-old out of college and learn everything you need to know about his
makeup, especially before drafting or signing him?
Ryan: You have to start before the draft. Our scouts are responsible for trying
to find out each player's makeup and work ethic, getting the necessary off-
field recommendations before we draft him--you want to find out if your guy is
a winning baseball player. The scouts will talk to the player, his coaches and
people close to him to learn as much as they can. Then after four or five years
at the minor league level, you'll find out if they have the type of mentality
that can help you on a big league level. If you look at our club, for the most
part, we don't have too many guys who are selfish or not team-oriented.
BP: The system seems to be full of hitting prospects right now. You've got
Morneau, Restovich, Mauer, Cuddyer, Ryan, Ford--all these young guys who can
hit, either in the minors or already at the major league level. What about the
Twins' approach do you feel has allowed the organization to stockpile so many
promising bats at once, or is a lot of it luck and good timing?
Ryan: It goes mostly back to the people recommending these players, and really
back to when the Twins were bringing up guys like Puckett, Hrbek and Gaetti.
Then of course if you look at a Joe Mauer or a Justin Morneau, those guys could
hit when they signed.
We've heard some criticism about not having enough power here. I've always
thought run production was the most important, rather than power. And we've
been ateam that's relied on pitching and defense more than perhaps some others.
But we've had our good share of hitters over the years. Tom Kelly always
favored an aggressive approach--we've never been ones to wait long. The
approach has been if they see a pitch they like, take a whack at it. You may
not get on-base percentages that are average or above. Sometimes it works out
and is conducive to scoring runs, and other times it might not work out as
well. But we want to keep that aggressiveness.
BP: As far as defense goes, is that something you'll stress all the way
through, where you might draft, sign or trade for a player with a good glove,
even if it means sacrificing some offense?
Ryan: In the amateur ranks, in the minor leagues, and in our major league
personnel--if you're going to come here, you have to cover some ground. That's
why we have Doug Mientkiewicz, Corey Koskie, Jacque Jones, Shannon Stewart,
Torii Hunter, Luis Rivas, Cristian Guzman, Mauer. To play on this surface it
takes athleticism and speed, and we feel we have that. We've had a good
defensive club for years. Even when we struggled here for a few years, we felt
like we always played good defense. We've got several Gold Glove candidates,
Mientkiewicz and Hunter, but also Koskie, Jones and Ford. These are guys who
can get the ball, and most of them can throw too.
We're always looking for that complete player--everyone is. But we may have to
give up a little power production to get a little more on defensive side. There
are a few special guys like Vladimir Guerrero and Ichiro, Griffey, A-Rod who
have that combination. But those kinds of players are so few and far between.
BP: Looking specifically at the roster, then, how closely are you watching the
offensive struggles of some players and considering replacements? At second
base you've got Rivas, where maybe Cuddyer will provide more hitting. At first
base it's Mientkiewicz, with Matt LeCroy, Morneau and some others who could
play there or at DH. At what point does the balance swing to where you're
giving up too much offense to be getting the most out of a position?
Ryan: We don't have a prototypical ballclub here. With most clubs, you expect
the first baseman to hit 30 homers. Doug doesn't do that, but the runs he saves
down there...invariably there's a play or two per game where you say 'not many
people could have made that play.' With Koskie, that gives us great defense at
the corners. Hunter gives us a little different look because he gives us more
homers than some other center fielders, plus his defense. So we're not exactly
built like a stereotypical team, but we live with this, because it does win us
games.
With Mientkiewicz, we do expect him to drive in runs. With Rivas, there may be
a question of RBIs, of run production. But watching these guys every day, even
if they might not give you ideal run production all the time, they do it on the
other side of the field, and they also do things that don't show up much in box
scores. Believe me, we're hoping Rivas matures as a hitter, and he's only 24.
I have to remind myself that at 24, 25, many guys are just getting to the big
leagues, whereas with Luis he's always been a level or two above what you'd
expect for his age.
When there's a competitive situation where we try to sign a guy and 10 other
clubs are bidding, we're not going to win that battle. So we give the people we
have every opportunity to show they can play. Rivas at times has rewarded us,
and at times it's been frustrating. But he'll turn the double play, he's
athletic enough to play on turf, he'll steal a base, take the extra base--these
are things he does that can overcome some of his shortcomings in on-base
percentage or strikeouts. Just (the other) night he laid down a bunt that got
us going.
BP: It sounds like you're clearly trying to tailor the ballclub around the
stadium you play in. You mentioned speed and defense, what are some other steps
you've taken to build the club for the Metrodome? With all the talk of possibly
getting a new stadium, how would that help or hurt the Twins?
Ryan: We are very athletic defensively, and playing in the Metrodome that's
vital. We changed the turf this year to a slower surface, but there's still
plenty of ground to cover. We really pay attention to left-handed bats and
pitchers; you've got the short right-field fence, then the left-field wall and
left-field gap are quite deep. In our drafting and acquisitions, we lean toward
the left-handed side just because of our building. Also, one of our objectives
is that our left fielder almost has to be a center field-type, because left
field's so vast here. That's part of why we went out and got Shannon Stewart.
As far as a new stadium goes, I've always asked that whatever happens, before
they finalize the plans, we'd like to have some say, hopefully make it somewhat
similar to the Dome so that we don't have to change our organizational strategy
or set-up. Left-handed pitching is already harder to find anyway, so we value
our approach. It's one of the reasons Glen Perkins was attractive to us in the
draft. You can go further back to guys like Denny Neagle or Mark Guthrie and
it's the same thing.
Coming soon, Part II of BP's Q&A with Terry Ryan, including the team's
timetable for bringing up top prospects, its decision-making process on long-
term contracts, and the Twins' strengths and weaknesses as they vie for a third
straight AL Central division title.