A.J. Pierzynski goes scorched earth on Twins owners over not spending money
By Josh Hill
It's no secret that the Minnseota Twins are a frugal franchise, but the degree to which the team pinched pennies this offeason might be an all-time low.
The Twins have refused to spend money in the past, but slashing the payroll by $30 million after going on the best postseason run in two decades almost feels too on-the-nose. Minnesota had a chance to improve its roster after reaching the ALDS last October, winning its first playoff game since 2004 in the process, but decided not to.
Fears over lost future revenue over television rights drama was cited as the reason for cutting the budget, which is lame even by the Twins' standards. Payroll wasn't the only thing slashed by ownership's actions, as hope was dashed as well.
That's the biggest casualty of the team bizarrly retreating when it had a chance to push ahead in ways we hadn't seen before. There was so much hope around the team, the kind fans hadn't felt in years, and it all went away in less than a few months.
It's not just Twins fans who remain annoyed and betrayed by what happened, as former player A.J. Pierzynski knows better than most what everyone is going through.
A.J. Pierzynski goes on rant about Pohlads not spending money to improve Twins
Pierzynski had a front row seat to the frugalness of the Pohlads, playing for the Twins for six years and being part of the first good team Minnesota had since the 1991 World Series. He was traded in 2003 but has always remained vocal about just how much he dislikes the way the Twins are run.
In a recent episode of Foul Territory, Pierzynski once again set his sights on the Pohlads and roasted them for refusing to invest in a team that could be so much better than it is.
"Why can't the Pohlads go out and give [general manager Thad Levine and president of baseball operations Dere Falvey] money and say, 'Hey, keep Sonny Gray, go get another hitter,' and hey, maybe you got a chance to actually get to next level," Pierzynski said. "This honestly has been going on since I was there and I came up in 1998. It's always like, 'oh we don't have any money.' They have money, they just don't want to spend it."
This isn't the first time Pierzynski has called out Twins ownership. He blasted the team after trading Jorge Polanco back in January and his sentiments haven't really changed over the years.
He remains a divisive figure among fans, but this feels like the center of the Venn diagram of those who dislike him and those who don't mind him because he's saying exactly what everyone feels.
Love him or hate him, hearing him rant was a little cathartic.