Twins fans' column about Derek Shelton hiring will have Pirates fans nodding, sobbing

At the moment, Pittsburgh Pirates fans are not looking back on Derek Shelton's tenure as manager particularly kindly. It is certainly true that this roster has a number of problems that no manager could fix, but Shelton's decisions with the lineup and bullpen had fans wanting to pull their hair out more often than not. When the team ultimately decided to fire him midseason, there was a collective sigh of relief.

Time will tell if the Pirates' decision to bet on Don Kelly will work out, but what wasn't known until this week was where Shelton would end up. His time with the Pirates ended abruptly, but he is still an experienced coach who could work in the right situation. That situation just definitely wasn't in Pittsburgh.

Ultimately, Shelton landed the Twins' manager job, and while there is a chance he could do well there, it sure doesn't seem like Twins fans are overly optimistic about the hire, to say the least.

Hilarious response article from Twins fans is all too real for Pirates fans

First of all, well done by the fine folks at Twins Daily for this gem. While they could have gone harder after Shelton to extra bonus points, lines like, "He’ll just keep an unproven starter out there for another three innings of hot slop before bringing in a reliever who’s even worse. This is a man who understands the assignment," are both hysterical and also very relatable for Pirates fans who saw Shelton fumble through game after game.

In a lot of ways, the Twins and Pirates are very similar. While the Pohlads are (probably) not quite as villainous as Bob Nutting, they are an ownership group that is reviled by all but the most brainwashed fans, and a conglomerate who crushed fans' dreams by yanking the team back off the market last year. Pittsburgh would love the idea of Nutting selling the team, but at least he isn't pretending like that could actually happen.

Now, if Shelton goes to the Twins, who were truly terrible in 2025, and turn things around, Ben Cherington is going to have to be held accountable (hopefully). However, based on his decision-making with the Pirates, the odds of that happening are very small and Twins fans seem to already know it.