Paying your respects to a dead man? Not all that relevant to Scott Miller of CBS Sports.

Pohlad is given credit for saving baseball in Minnesota when he purchased the Twins in 1984, and maybe that’s true. But during his time in the owner’s chair, the remarkable thing is that he didn’t kill baseball in Minnesota.

Lord knows, he tried.

His volunteering the Twins for contraction during baseball’s despicable 2001 scheme remains one of the most reprehensible actions of any owner in recent memory.

We used to hang out frequently with the Baseball Friend, and in our annual salary cap debates, he would always note that Pohlad was a terrible owner because he was a billionaire who wouldn’t spend money to retain players. And our argument was: No, he’s a business owner, and his primary goal is to make money. If the seats are going to fill up no matter what team he trots out there, why spend more money? He’d have to spend an extra $75 million to get near the teams that spend, and there’s no guarantee that his team will make any more money than they would if he only spend his usual $50 million (or whatever)?

So we asked the Baseball Friend for his thoughts on what this might mean to the Twins, who have traditionally been one of the more thrifty teams in the league:

Pretty much everything I’ve read about Carl Pohlad has been positive. He and his family give tens of millions of dollars to charity every year. The guy’s story is a classic American tale of ‘guy who grew up with nothing and lived through the Depression becomes a billionaire.’ The only problem with that is … well, the guy was a BILLIONAIRE! So WHY could he not pay Johan Santana? He bought the club for a little over $40 million and it’s worth roughly eight times that now. Even for a billionaire, that’s a hell of a return on your investment. And this is the guy who was OFFERING to sell his team to MLB so it could be contracted in 2001!

For those of us who were not friends/family of Mr. Pohlad, we have to immediately wonder how this might affect the Twins in the long term. No one knows yet who will take over the team, whether or not it stays in the family. One can only assume, or hope, however, that whoever DOES take over is willing to put a bit more cash into the team than Carl did. This is a team that won four division titles in five years from 2002-2006 but after one mediocre season in 2007, actually CUT their payroll by over 20%. The 2008 Twins went into battle with a payroll of $58 million. In this day and age, for a team that has been to playoffs as often as they have in recent years, that’s criminal. I’d argue that’s worse for baseball than the Yankees spending what they do, but I digress.

I think the biggest effect this may have on the Twins is the status of Joe Mauer. There are already reports out there that the Red Sox are targeting him two years from now (the way the Yanks did with CC Sabathia,) but perhaps the new owner of the Twins will stand by Mauer the way the old one didn’t with Santana. The Twins move into their new ballpark in 2010, which is also Mauer’s walk year. You’d have to assume that someone who was playing to win and working with the increased revenue that a new stadium brings will take care of the team’s signature player.

So call this The Baseball Friend’s open letter to the new boss of the Twinkies, whomever he/she may be. Spend some money. Lock up Mauer. He’s a once-in-a-generation talent at his position. And follow the model of the 90’s Indians and take care of your young players as early as you can. If Francisco Liriano’s arm holds up this year, buy out his arbitration years and 1-2 FA years. If Scott Baker or Delmon Young break out this year (Fantasy Preview Alert!!! I’m predicting one of them will … you’ll have to wait to see who,) lock them up as well. Get Mauer and Morneau a hitter to help out. Your OF is weak. Sign Bobby Abreu for goodness sake! The fans of the Twin Cities are great fans and they’ve proven that when you provide them with a winner, they show up. Take the team to the next level and spend to compete. You’re in a very winnable division!

In the meantime, our condolences go out to the Pohlad family. Congrats to Mr. Pohlad on a long, successful life (he did win 2 WS titles!) See you all in February/March for the fantasy previews …