Bill Smith is doing it his way.

All day, I was planning on either a "Johan Santana was traded" or a "for the love of Pete, trade Johan Santana already" post this evening. That was, of course, until this happened (and I'm honored just to link to Peter Gammons). Now all those teams planning to invest all those prospects in Miguel Cabrera can turn back to the Twins and Santana and try to knock Bill Smith's socks off. In a way, the Tigers did us two favors by acquiring Cabrera and Willis for 6 players (6!). First, as I mentioned, they opened up the possibility of more suitors for Santana. Second, they weakened themselves considerably in the long run, because, as I said, they traded 6 players. 6!. !.
But I digress. This is all about Santana and the Twins (oh, by the way, the Twins signed Mr. Jennie Finch, Casey Daigle to a minor league contract yesterday, meaning another decent prospect and an excuse to have a picture of Jennie Finch up on this post). I think the way Bill Smith is going about this is fantastic. He hasn't backed down, to our knowledge, from his original demands, and in the mean time, has made another huge trade. Whether or not they work out well remains to be seen, but it's an important step in the right direction in my eyes. Smith views the Twins as HIS team and will do whatever it takes to get it to line up with his vision. Terry Ryan seemed to operate to keep his job. Don't make too many big splashes, groom your prospects and don't stick your neck out. The Twins were never bad, per se, after he got them back to the playoffs, but he seemed reluctant to make the deal that would push them over the top. It drove his players and fans nuts.
Now we have Bill Smith who is operating with a strange sense of urgency, having completed two trades with another apparently on the way (Of the two most prominent on the table, I prefer the Yankees' deal for Santana. I have no idea what the big deal is with Ellsbury. The sample size is too small in the majors, and his minor league record is reminiscent of Rich Becker. Actually, Becker was a little bit better in the minors than Ellsbury, at least at triple A.). I appreciate that urgency and his blowing up the team while keeping enough talent on the roster to ensure they will be competitive. If he keeps to his plan, he will worry about the team, and make the necessary deals to keep the Twins on the right track. It's an all or nothing tactic.
It's what the Twins organization needs.