Terry Ryan said he didn't read the critical and skeptical comments Twins players made Monday after he traded Luis Castillo to the Mets.
"I've got to keep blinders on," Ryan said. "I've got a job to do. I've got to keep focused on the job the general manager of a baseball team is supposed to do. I can't let reaction out of a clubhouse affect the overall landscape of an organization."
Yes, Ryan is responsible for the organization's future. So this time, he might want to listen.
These were Johan Santana's words Tuesday after the non-waiver trade deadline passed without another trade: "I'm not surprised. That's exactly how they are. That's why we're never going to go beyond where we've gone."
The Twins acquired two minor league prospects for Castillo, saved $2 million in payroll and did nothing to bolster this year's chances.
"It's not just about hope," Santana said. "In a realistic world, you have to really make it happen and go for it.
"You always talk about future, future. ... But if you only worry about the future, then I guess a lot of us won't be part of it," Santana said.
The two-time Cy Young Award winner wasn't smiling.
"Why waste time when you're talking about something that's always going to be like that? It's never going to be beyond this point. It doesn't make any sense for me to be here, you know?"
Torii Hunter will be a free agent at season's end. Santana and Joe Nathan will be free agents after 2008. Asked what message Ryan's latest decisions had sent to that trio, Santana continued firing.
"I've been here for eight years, and I've seen a lot of those kind of things," he said. "I've seen a lot of those guys [like Castillo] come in and leave. [The decision makers] don't care. They always talk about caring about it; I don't think they care.
"Because if you're always talking about having young players that's the philosophy the team has, and I respect all that but it's been proven that it's not enough to go all the way to the World Series."
The Twins had chances to add another hitter. Houston acquired Ty Wigginton. San Diego acquired Morgan Ensberg. Atlanta acquired Mark Teixeira.
Once again, Ryan decided it wasn't worth the risk, even with his team starting Tuesday six games back in the wild-card race.
"We've got some problems," Ryan said. "Detroit and Cleveland are awful good, and then if you look at the other things that are going on in our league, we've got an awful lot of work to do."
In other words, one more hitter might not have been enough to put this team over the hump and justify the cost to the organization's future.
But for Hunter, Santana and Nathan, the future is now.
"We've been close," Santana said. "And in all those times, we seem to be a couple players away from winning it all. So I respect all the decisions they make, but I won't say that they're right all the time.
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