Article: Who Will Be The Next Twins Manager?

[drjim]

People assume Dave Martinez speaks Spanish fluently and that he will automatically relate better to Latin American players but do we know for sure this is true? He was born in New York, played high school baseball in Florida and was drafted like any other American-born player.

 

This isn't to knock him, strikes me as a very strong candidate, perhaps my personal favorite from outside the organization.

[Winston Smith]

Thinking out side the box here. Maddon is only signed thru 2015 and has said he isn't sure he'd re-up. Low payroll, poor stadium and fan support I think play into this.

 

How about making a trade with the Rays for Maddon? The Red Sox did that a couple years ago why not?

[davidc3915]

I feel that the new manager has to be from outside the orginazation for it to be a true changing of the guard. Otherwise Gardenhire's firing was simply window dressing

[Willihammer]

People assume Dave Martinez speaks Spanish fluently and that he will automatically relate better to Latin American players but do we know for sure this is true? He was born in New York, played high school baseball in Florida and was drafted like any other American-born player.

 

This isn't to knock him, strikes me as a very strong candidate, perhaps my personal favorite from outside the organization.

I'm not sure its safe to assume the difference between NY culture and Puerto Rican culture is any greater than the difference between Venezueland culture and Puerto Rican culture, for example.

[Beezer07]

If the Twins hire Ozzie Guillen as their manager, I'll have to seriously reconsider my fandom.

[Brandon]

I got the impression that Rick Anderson was let go then Gardy followed him and this was reframed that Gardy was let go....Any ways, My 3 choices are Dave Martinez, Stienbach, and Dougie.  anyway you look at it, this will take some getting used to.

[DAM DC Twins Fans]

As an old guy who has been going to games for almost 50 years new mgr must be under 50 years old to relate to Sano,Buxton and the rest. Go with Dougie baseball who has managed them in the minors.

 

If its Molitar with his drug issues as a player and being too old now, I will consider switching allegiance.

[Craig Arko]

Whoever it is better like Piña Coladas, and getting caught in the rain.

 

Otherwise, I may have to escape to following Cricket.

[biscuit]

It may be a good idea to get a young manager because a younger guy can relate to young ballplayers.  Look at Gardenhire and Kelly: both were young when they were picked to manage.  In fact, Kelly was very young.  And look how well they relate to young ballplayers: famous for it.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Jake Mauer – Some will laugh that this name is on the list, but Mauer should manage in the big leagues. If not now, someday. For those that choose to look only at that last name and not the qualifications, it’s just too bad. Mauer is a very good baseball person. He was a leader on that St. Thomas baseball teams that won Division III titles.

Minor nitpick, but Jake Mauer only played on one DIII title-winning St Thomas team (2001).   They lost in the title game in both 1999 and 2000.  The school's second DIII title came long after Jake had left, in 2009.

 

Actually, maybe less playoff success would make him a better candidate to replace Gardy.

[Boom Boom]

If they stay in-house, my choice would be Steinbach.

 

That said, I know that TR said that familiarity with the organization is something he'll consider, but at this point I'm inclined to believe that familiarity is one of the main culprits that the Twins are in the situation they're in.  They shouldn't be afraid to bring in a manager who has no Minnesota connections.  To me, guys like Molitor, Mientkiewicz, Glynn, Mauer, and even the aforementioned Steinbach's organizational ties should be considered a net zero.

[USAFChief]

I think Martinez would be my first choice.  Working for Maddon for a few years is a great place to start with for a new Twins manager.  I would be OK with Mientkiewicz.  Others on the list seem fine as well.

 

I don't want Steinbach.  That seems like perpetuating the "Twins Way" to me, nothing about him indicates anything but old school and same old same old.

 

Ozzie seems like a disaster waiting to happen.  He had that little bromance going with Twins fans for a while which made him seem charming, but his personality seemed to get out of control eventually.  Once upon a time he would've seemed like the obvious choice, but that was probably 10 years ago.

 

I don't doubt Jake Mauer would theoretically make a great candidate and manager, but I think it would be a PR disaster for this team right now.  Joe is massively polarizing already, why would you want to double down on that?  It might not be fair to Jake, but we all know life isn't always fair.

Concur.

 

I strongly think Mauer would be a disaster waiting to happen.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

As an old guy who has been going to games for almost 50 years new mgr must be under 50 years old to relate to Sano,Buxton and the rest. Go with Dougie baseball who has managed them in the minors.If its Molitar with his drug issues as a player and being too old now, I will consider switching allegiance.

Given your screen name I'm not sure if you are local or not, but Jim Souhan, Strib columnist, wrote this again yesterday, and I wonder if this would soften your feelings against Molitor:

 

 

' This summer, I asked Buxton and Sano who they rely on in the Twins’ organization. Both said, “Molitor.”

 

' I asked, “Who else?”

 

' Both said, “Molitor.” '

 

http://m.startribune.com/sports/twins/277536121.html

[ashbury]

Given your screen name I'm not sure if you are local or not, but Jim Souhan, Strib columnist, wrote this again yesterday, and I wonder if this would soften your feelings against Molitor:

 

 

' This summer, I asked Buxton and Sano who they rely on in the Twins’ organization. Both said, “Molitor.”

 

' I asked, “Who else?”

 

' Both said, “Molitor.” '

 

http://m.startribune.com/sports/twins/277536121.html

Nice anecdote.  Great to have on the staff.  Not sure that it translates to being a manager.  Their views might change the first time he has to tell them "No" and make it stick.

[DJSim22]

1. Hale

2. Steinbach

3. McEwing

4. Ozzie

5. Doug

 

I fully expect them to hire Molitor and have Steinbach, Mauer, and Glynn on the staff.

[Mike Sixel]

Being old does not mean you cannot relate to younger people.......so I'd not automatically preclude an older person.

[cmb0252]

Things I'm looking for in a new manager:

 

1. Outside the organization. This franchise needs some fresh blood.

2. Players manager. I don't want to see a bobby valentine fiasco here.

3. Young.

4. Big league manager experience. Any form of it would do.

5. Speaks Spanish

6. Played professional ball. I would prefer big league experience but minor league experience would do.

 

Dave Martinez and mike Maddox would be my preferred targets.

[Willihammer]

Yeah I'm much more concerned about being "old school" than just old. I get the impression Mientkiewicz is as old school as they come, but I could be wrong about that.

[ashbury]

Being old does not mean you cannot relate to younger people.......so I'd not automatically preclude an older person.

Agreed, and that's not my objection.  Actually I don't have a specific objection, except that almost nobody gets their first managerial job at age 58.  Terry Ryan could probably explain why that is, and maybe finding the exceptional person is some kind of market inefficiency we should be exploiting.   But since there are a lot of good candidates out there, I'm not inclined to buck the trend.

[Squirrel]

Being old does not mean you cannot relate to younger people.......so I'd not automatically preclude an older person.

Thank you for that vote of confidence! 

[MplsFan]

As much as I want him to, I doubt Terry Ryan would hire from outside the organization.  I feel like we need a totally fresh set of eyes on this thing (and unfortunately, Ryan being retained makes this more difficult).  

 

So of the internal guys, my preference would go:

1. Mientkiewicz

2. Molitor

3. Glynn 

[jay]

1. Mientkiewicz

2. Martinez

3. Molitor

 

I'd be happy with any of them.  I do hope Bruno and Molitor stay on the staff regardless.

[Oldgoat_MN]

4 brief comments...

 

1. Martinez is my first choice, and primarily because he played on several teams, both AL and NL, and has worked with Maddon. I have no idea if he speaks Spanish. I suspect we all know people with Spanish surnames who don't speak Spanish. 

 

2. I don't think an older manager would be that big a deal. Nowhere is it written that the next manager has to keep his job for 10 to 15 years.

 

3. I cannot get behind bringing back any of the coaches except Bruno & Cuellar. Maybe I'm missing something, but those are the only two that look to me that they are making players better.

 

4. People ask, "Could another manager have lost fewer than 90 games with the rosters Gardy was given?"

I say yes. Gardy could have, too. Get better coaches to work with these players. That is a way to make a team better.

[Mill1634]

Derek Jeter

[drjim]

I have no doubt in my mind that Dave St Peter is touting Paul Molitor as the next Twins manager even trying to swing some influence on this deal. Dave should stick to marketing and try to improve the TV and radio advertising because it sure has not been very good the last two years. Especially the pres-season whiney kid egging on his dad, were Twins fans and we should go to Twins games because the Twins advertisement and past loyalty says so.

Molitor has primary responsiblity for baserunning, and If you look at the Twins base running this year and all of the pick offs, making bad turns, and getting caught in run downs by not paying attention, this was the primary point of having Molitor on staff, to try and improve the base running and base stealing. Base running this year and the mistakes by the players was bordering on the putrid level of mistakes for the 2014 season.

To me the Twins seemed to turn backwards and were worse off with Molitors influence and coaching on the base paths than they were in other years. For me this does not bode well or fortell that

he would be any good at being the next Twins manager. In fact I am of the opinion that Molitor on staff was a detriment to this years record and that Molitor should move on to coaching somewhere else. We were hearing the chest thumping for years how Twins base running and agessiveness would get better with Molitor on staff and for the most part it really didn' get better.

Here is hopin Meatsauce's source is wrong and that the Twins really do go outside he organization and bring in a new managerial influence to this clubhouse. Count me as a fan that suggests that Terry Ryan run as far away from Jim Souans friend Molitor as possible. Let him go manage in Toronto or elsewhere.

 

Without looking at all the stats I would caution that this critique is more anecdotal than reality.

 

Twins were 4th best team at taking the extra base and 2nd at percent time taking the extra base. This was balanced by being 12th in most outs on the bases. It seems with raw numbers they are more aggressive while also being successful more often than failures. I take this as a success not a failure.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2014-baserunning-batting.shtml

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I have no doubt in my mind that Dave St Peter is touting Paul Molitor as the next Twins manager even trying to swing some influence on this deal. Dave should stick to marketing and try to improve the TV and radio advertising because it sure has not been very good the last two years. Especially the pres-season whiney kid egging on his dad, were Twins fans and we should go to Twins games because the Twins advertisement and past loyalty says so.

Molitor has primary responsiblity for baserunning, and If you look at the Twins base running this year and all of the pick offs, making bad turns, and getting caught in run downs by not paying attention, this was the primary point of having Molitor on staff, to try and improve the base running and base stealing. Base running this year and the mistakes by the players was bordering on the putrid level of mistakes for the 2014 season.

To me the Twins seemed to turn backwards and were worse off with Molitors influence and coaching on the base paths than they were in other years. For me this does not bode well or fortell that

he would be any good at being the next Twins manager. In fact I am of the opinion that Molitor on staff was a detriment to this years record and that Molitor should move on to coaching somewhere else. We were hearing the chest thumping for years how Twins base running and agessiveness would get better with Molitor on staff and for the most part it really didn' get better.

Here is hopin Meatsauce's source is wrong and that the Twins really do go outside he organization and bring in a new managerial influence to this clubhouse. Count me as a fan that suggests that Terry Ryan run as far away from Jim Souans friend Molitor as possible. Let him go manage in Toronto or elsewhere.

And as long as we are talking anecdotal, I will suggest that many of the baserunning mistakes that form your opinion can be attributed to Chris Parmelee. He looked clueless out there several times, including that bad one in the final week against the White Sox where he didn't pick up the third base coach and ran up Hicksies backside at third base. Hicks incidentally took the blame for that one, but it was all on Parms. Also the third base coach probably won't be back next year.

 

Many other base running outs came from Dozier being overly aggressive, which was actually a good thing. This was a good year for him to test some limits. 

 

Also, Dozier and Plouffe give credit to Molitor for their improved defense. Gee whiz jamie dude, give Molly some credit!

[gmarais66]

I have no doubt in my mind that Dave St Peter is touting Paul Molitor as the next Twins manager even trying to swing some influence on this deal. Dave should stick to marketing and try to improve the TV and radio advertising because it sure has not been very good the last two years. Especially the pres-season whiney kid egging on his dad, were Twins fans and we should go to Twins games because the Twins advertisement and past loyalty says so.

Molitor has primary responsiblity for baserunning, and If you look at the Twins base running this year and all of the pick offs, making bad turns, and getting caught in run downs by not paying attention, this was the primary point of having Molitor on staff, to try and improve the base running and base stealing. Base running this year and the mistakes by the players was bordering on the putrid level of mistakes for the 2014 season.

To me the Twins seemed to turn backwards and were worse off with Molitors influence and coaching on the base paths than they were in other years. For me this does not bode well or fortell that

he would be any good at being the next Twins manager. In fact I am of the opinion that Molitor on staff was a detriment to this years record and that Molitor should move on to coaching somewhere else. We were hearing the chest thumping for years how Twins base running and agessiveness would get better with Molitor on staff and for the most part it really didn' get better.

Here is hopin Meatsauce's source is wrong and that the Twins really do go outside he organization and bring in a new managerial influence to this clubhouse. Count me as a fan that suggests that Terry Ryan run as far away from Jim Souans friend Molitor as possible. Let him go manage in Toronto or elsewhere.

 

Minnesota Twins 2014: SB 99, CS 36 (rank 11th in MLB)

Minnesota Twins 2013: SB 52, CS 33 (rank 25th in MLB)

 

Molitor is one of the best baseball minds anywhere. The Twins would be lucky to have him as their new manager.

[RedBull34]

I really hope it's Mientkiewicz!

[toosweet64]

How come nobody is considering Sandy Alomar Jr.??  He's coached under Terry Francona, is a former big league catcher, can relate and speak to the Latin players, and has gotten pretty good reviews from many of his peers. Not a bad candidate considering his resume...

[Mike Sixel]

From fangraphs:

 

Twins ranked 4th in Bsr......

Twins ranked 8th in wRC+....

 

So on offense and baserunning, they are darn good this last year....

 

Twins ranked 4th worst in defense

2nd worst ERA, 2nd worst xFIP, 

 

Sounds like Molitor did his job ok to me.....and like TR did not (given he signed 3 FA starters). The issue with this team is pretty obvious (and begs the question, why not try Meyer, instead of say, Swarzak, or most anyone).