Terry Ryan is out

It's been a strange summer in Twins Territory with an underperforming team, a new ballpark on the way and hints that Johan Santana might actually be human.

Now this.

Terry Ryan is stepping down as GM and it's being sold as a simple matter of burnout.

According to the Twins' site:

"I felt a lot of elation when we won, and sorrow when we lost," Ryan said. "Now, all of a sudden, the defeats are getting a little harder to take, and the wins aren't as much fun. That's not a good thing to experience as a general manager."

Speculation that he's jumping ship before the off-season that will see the possible departure of Torii Hunter and Santana's free agent year in 2008 was clogging talk radio this afternoon.

Personally, I think spending summer afternoons hanging around minor league ballparks is worth whatever pay cut he's likely to take.