{"id":101425,"date":"2025-10-01T15:22:47","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T15:22:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=101425"},"modified":"2025-10-01T15:22:47","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T15:22:47","slug":"%f0%9f%9a%a8-insider-opinion-as-drama-swirls-in-minnesota-neal-argues-baldellis-exit-could-be-a-blessing-in-disguise-sparking-fierce-debate-about-the-twins-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=101425","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udea8 INSIDER OPINION: As drama swirls in Minnesota Neal argues Baldelli\u2019s exit could be a blessing in disguise sparking fierce debate about the Twins future"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div data-testid=\"article-body-item\">\n<p>The Twins clubhouse underwent a massive transformation by Tuesday, just two days following the end of the regular season. Players\u2019 stalls had been completely cleared out and the manager\u2019s office had gone dark.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"article-body-item\">\n<p>That office used to belong to Rocco Baldelli.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"article-body-item\">\n<p>But in a somewhat surprising decision, Baldelli was fired as manager on Monday following a two-hour meeting with team President Derek Falvey. Falvey met with the Pohlad family, the team\u2019s owners, before the decision was made.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"article-body-item\">\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve collectively arrived at this being the right time for a new voice in a new direction. It\u2019s not about Rocco,\u201d Falvey said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"article-body-item\">\n<p>Moments later he added: <em>\u201cThis is a collective underperformance from our group and it starts with me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"article-body-item\">\n<p>But Falvey gets to stay while Baldelli goes. So it is about Rocco.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"article-body-item\">\n<p>My reaction to this development: Baldelli should feel relieved that he is out of this mess.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"article-body-item\">\n<p>To be clear, when you don\u2019t make the postseason in four of five seasons, with optimism about reaching the playoffs in several of those seasons, the manager should be in jeopardy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After leading the Minnesota Twins for seven years, Rocco Baldelli was fired on Monday after posting a career .511 winning percentage (527-505).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":101432,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - 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