Twins baseball-speak hasn't changed much, from Calvin to 'Falvine'

The Twins introduced baseball CEO Derek Falvey, a graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., and General Manager Thad Levine, a graduate of Haverford College on the Philadelphia Main Line, to head their baseball front office on Nov. 7, 2016.

In a way, the Twins were going back to their roots. Calvin Griffith was the president and general manager from the franchise's arrival in October 1960 until a sale to Carl Pohlad in September 1984. Calvin also was Eastern-educated, attending Staunton (Va.) Military Academy and then George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

As the Twins went through the late July fire sale, now followed by the go-home-Byron Buxton controversy, we have monitored their comments. And it has been impossible not to wonder what Mr. Griffith, the original Eastern-educated Twins decisionmaker, might have offered on these issues.

FALVEY, on the trades of Brian Dozier, Eduardo Escobar, etc.: "We played north of 100 games, and when you get to a certain point in the season — we try not to let one day or a few days to sway the decision. I don't expect the players to always understand …"

What Calvin Once Said (WCOS): "We ain't America's farm team. I think we're smarter than Hades to get rid of those players."

LEVINE, on not recalling Buxton: "The decision really for that is driven off of three mean factors."

WCOS: "The way I look at it, sports owners don't owe an athlete anything. The athlete owes everything to the sport he's participating in."

WCOS: "A guy will become a man over the winter. We have a few ballplayers I'm hoping will become men over the winter."

LEVINE, on two other factors in the Buxton decision: "Two, there is a performance standpoint factor … and three, quite frankly, it's just a playing time situation. As we look to the major league team right now, we obviously view Byron Buxton as a starting outfielder. Those at-bats were not necessarily prevalent at this time …"

WCOS: "The trouble is, we baseball people can never be trusted to do anything sensible."

LEVINE, on Buxton's unhappy reaction to the decision: "From this day forward, I think we recognize a responsibility to make amends. And we're going to need to invest in the Byron Buxton relationship moving forward …"

WCOS: "If you keep a player a little hungry, he'll play better for you. If you grease his palms all the time, there's no incentive for him."

WCOS (on collaboration): "I am the boss and the only one in the organization who can hire and fire people as I desire."

More WCOS: "I don't mind being called a dinosaur. A dinosaur from what I've seen on TV is a pretty powerful person. A dinosaur usually pushes himself around to where he doesn't get hurt."

LEVINE, on a possible grievance and other actions by Buxton's camp: "In terms of conversation with his agent — displeased, disappointed for sure. Their recourse has not been laid out for us."

WCOS (on grievances): "The more pressure put on me, the more stubborn I get. And when I get stubborn, I don't change my mind. I just say, 'No.' "

More WCOS: "Most lawyers are paid to get people out of trouble. [Baseball] lawyers are paid to get us in trouble."

And there is also this comparison between today's Twins and Calvin's Twins on marketing.

Twins 2018 advertising campaign: "This Is How We Baseball."

WCOS: "We got rid of it. You spend $250,000 to $300,000 a year telling people, 'Come on out and see us, we're great.' Then, you win five out of 15 and make yourself look like a horse's rear end."