Terry Ryan received word Monday that the Houston Astros' internal communications regarding possible trades had been leaked, or their database hacked, and published on the Internet. And he was thankful, he said, to learn no contact with the Twins had been included.
"There are some people whose feelings are going to be hurt today after they read their names," Ryan said. "I've certainly talked to the Houston Astros about various things, but I guess I went unscathed in this one."
Still, Ryan said, it was a reminder that some information needs to be kept confidential. "There's nothing worse than having somebody out there telling people what you're doing," he said. "It's certainly not advantageous for what I'm trying to accomplish."
General managers are in relatively frequent contact, Ryan said, by e-mail, phone calls, or text messages — the latter more so than ever these days. "A lot of us are traveling, and it's easy just to reach for your phone and text somebody," he said. "It's handy, but it's also a little dangerous, if people get ahold of your passwords. It's dangerous when you get too many people involved who don't really have a vested interest."
The Twins have discussed communications security internally, he said, but Ryan doubted that the team's systems or procedures will change because of the Astros' situation.
Remembering Castillo
Bobby Castillo specialized in throwing the screwball during his three seasons with the Twins, and that was appropriate.
"I'm not going to say that pitch described his personality, but maybe a portion of it," Tim Laudner, who caught 39 of Castillo's 77 games with the Twins from 1982 to '84, said of his former teammate. "He always had this look on his face like, 'I've got something that nobody else has, and you know I'm going to get you out with it.' So he kind of carried that smirk with him."
Castillo, who went 38-40 during a nine-year major league career, died of cancer Monday in Los Angeles. He was 59.
