Article: Is Paul Molitor the Right Man to Lead the Twins?

[tarheeltwinsfan]

 

 

I do feel that the Latinos on this club wear there emotions on their sleave 

I'm not so sure about this. Polanco is Latino. He seems to show absolutely no emotions. Sano also seems to hold it in in games. Remember both of them suffered the loss of close family members last year. It was an extremely tough year for them. If you looked at Pressley's face after the recent home run hit off him, you would have seen the face of agony. I believe some individuals, no matter where they may be from,  are more demonstrative that others. Eddie is just being Eddie. Who would want to stifle that personality? I feel the Twins have many players, Latino, German, African American, "good ole southern" , and "upper-midwest stoic" who are not very demonstrative individuals. But as Gardy used to say, "It's a long season". I understood, but did not like that saying, because he always said it after a loss. I look at it this way: We live one moment at a time. Each moment is a gift. That is why it is called the present. Play today's hand (game) to the best of your ability and give it all you have. Be a leader by example first, then by words. If Paul Molitor,  with his back ground told me something, I would be foolish not to listen. He wouldn't have to yell at me, nor cuss me, nor throw bats into the shower. He earned it, plus he is the manger and I am the player.  The Twins may have had the perfect storm of injuries and suspensions the first 2 and a half months of this season, but that is in the past and the Twins have a game today. Go Twins! Beat the ever living ___ out of the Red Sox! (Sorry, I got carried away there.)

[David HK]

No.

[bighat]

 

A slightly different point but.... I don't understand why, in 2018, the Twins haven't put more emphasis on bilingual (English/Spanish) major league coaches. They currently have Rudy Hernández (who's not allowed to be on the bench for games), Eddie Guardado and the MLB mandated translator.

 

No matter what happens with Molitor, I'd like to see the Twins bring in some coaches who can connect better with the Spanish-speaking players. And, if they do fire Molitor, they should absolutely put a high priority on hiring someone who can speak Spanish and make meaningful connections will all the players on the roster.

 

Completely agree, I think this should be a huge priority after Molitor's gone.

[Dave The Dastardly]

This Twins Fan Ain't Satisfied.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrIPxlFzDi0

 

 

Flavey and Levine. The pair in the Front Office. Although they both can’t be in there because there’s usually only one front office otherwise it wouldn’t be in front of the other offices. But let’s just say there’s two front offices and no back office. Which of course will make it hard to make a deal because the best deals are always made secretively; in the Back Office.

 

Maybe they got a hallway they can use for cutting a deal. Hell, use the executive bath room if you have to, just make a deal. And not just a deal, a deal-deal. It’s time to stop being cute, time to stop trying to prove you can find a gem in other teams’ junk just because you read a book on analytics. In short, it’s time for the pair of you to grow a pair; swing for the damn fences! Do or Die!

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcXpKiY2MXE

 

 

 

Bite the bullet. Give Molitor and the hitting coach a train ticket to Clarksville. Molly’s got a MOY Award and a nice three year contract to help him ease into retirement. He’ll probably thank you for it.

 

Now get a manager with fire in his eyes and a proven track record for getting the most out of young players.

 

Pick up the phone and call the Tigers. Throw yourselves at their feet. Everybody knows you’re desperate anyway. Just look at the standings. Look at the batting averages if you have the stomach for it. So put all pretenses aside. Tell the Tigers Front Office up front, preferably while they’re in their Back Office waiting to make a deal, that you want Dougie back. Tell them they can have anybody off the major league club but Berrios, Romero, Rosario, Escobar, Pressley and Hildenberger in trade. Make that two anybodies. Tell them they can have three current Twins if they throw Brian Harper in on the deal to be the new Twins hitting coach. Hell, tell the Tigers they can have six Twins off the major league club if they take Goodman, Wilson and LoMo off your hands. Maybe even throw in Sano if you have to. If they can find him down there in Single A. Just make the deal.

 

Then once you get ink on paper, steal your wives’ lipstick and start kissing Dougie’s... whatever. Throw yourselves at his feet, confess your idiocy. Admit you were getting all uppity, trying to prove your high-and-mighty analytic smartness when you dismissed Dougie, forgetting that the best “analytic” for a manager is how many games he wins, not how he wins them. Offer him a three-year contract equal to whatever the highest paid manager in the Bigs is getting. Throw in a few incentives; use of the Pohlad’s private jet so he can fly home on off-days to see his family, tell him he can select whatever minor league players he wants for the Twins roster no questions asked, no moaning about starting the clock, or losing options or any of that happy equine fecal matter that makes front office type sound smart but keeps talent down on the farm until they’re old enough to retire. And promise, carve it in a big frigging stone on Twins Plaza, you will not in any way shape or form claim major league cast-offs off the waiver wire, or screw around with Rule Five sucker bait or in anyway add any players to the 40-man or 25-man roster without Dougie’s prior approval.

 

Then stay out of Dougie’s way and let him build us a winning team. You can get in the team photo when he wins the Division. And when the Twins are in the World Series and the TV cameras are on the owner/front office box, you can nod wisely and knowingly when the announcers pronounce you geniuses.

 

So swallow your pride and make the deal. What have you got to lose? Your last ten fans?

[mazeville]

 

The injuries are a factor in his evaluation, as is the 103 loss season and the lousy start to last year, needing an incredible streak of lousy competition to eek in the last WC spot. No one want Molitor fired simply based on this year.

 

The injuries are a massive factor this year. Not just "A" factor. This team has four members of its starting lineup our in some form or fashion and its No. 1 starter. Please explain to me what team would not be reeling from losing more than half of the starting nine from the opening day roster. Please.

 

And keep in mind that three of those five are supposed to be the players who form the core that would lead this team to the promised land. Two of those three were the two single biggest factors that led to that run to the wild card last year.

 

And now you're blowing off last year's wild card simply to shoehorn last year's strong performance into your thesis that Molitor sucks. That was a strong improvement with relatively little help in the way of players from the front office. If you're going to hammer him for the 103 loss season you have to give him credit for the strong season last year. 

 

I will not argue that Molitor is perfect. But I sure as hell am not going to suddenly turn on a manager who helped get this team to the playoffs last year after the sheer number of problems the Twins have faced.

 

Beyond that, please explain where he's the problem. 

 

 

 

 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

It's hard for me to agree that he's got a high baseball IQ when every game, no matter what the situation, he goes on auto-pilot and pulls the starter at 100 pitches. There's no thinking to it. If a pitcher gets to 100 pitches during an AB (or 99), that's it for their day. If he's got a high baseball IQ, he really needs to learn how to use it. Because it comes across as daft and not knowing how baseball actually works to always pull a pitcher out based on a magic number.

 

Additionally, remember when he completely butchered a double switch...

 

Also, the time that he let Odorizzi hit. And then pulled him before the next inning started...

there’s a difference between baseball strategy and tactics. It’s clear he’s not effective at communicating or implementing the tactics. That doesn’t take away from his intelligence.

 

I firmly believe (with no solid proof of my own) that Molitor is a rocket scientist of baseball that may not relate very well to his players and gets paralyzed at times by overthinking the outcomes and not making the timely moves.

 

It also seems that Molly wears out bullpen arms and trots out injured players that he trusts and takes their word for it.

 

He’s not my guy, and I agree with the posters looking for relatable and bilingual

Edited June 19, 2018 by Sconnie

[Platoon]

The injuries are a massive factor this year. Not just "A" factor. This team has four members of its starting lineup our in some form or fashion and its No. 1 starter. Please explain to me what team would not be reeling from losing more than half of the starting nine from the opening day roster. Please.

 

And keep in mind that three of those five are supposed to be the players who form the core that would lead this team to the promised land. Two of those three were the two single biggest factors that led to that run to the wild card last year.

 

And now you're blowing off last year's wild card simply to shoehorn last year's strong performance into your thesis that Molitor sucks. That was a strong improvement with relatively little help in the way of players from the front office. If you're going to hammer him for the 103 loss season you have to give him credit for the strong season last year. 

 

I will not argue that Molitor is perfect. But I sure as hell am not going to suddenly turn on a manager who helped get this team to the playoffs last year after the sheer number of problems the Twins have faced.

 

Beyond that, please explain where he's the problem.

 

Injuries:

 

Santana: injured and so far well replaced. Off season decisions might have turned out quite differently if on hand. Quite possibly worse.

Polanco: suspended

Sano: sent down due to performance and ???

Buxton: mysteriously sent for rehab, injured, back, DL, rehab. And no production at any time.

Mauer. Good performance, out a month.

Castro: injured, but was really not making any difference, offensively.

 

When you get down to it, the end result is a pitch framing catcher, and Joe Mauer for a month, and Buxton defense. Polanco from late last year is likely missed, as is Buxton from late last year. Bottom line, the only known loss of consequence was actually Mauer for a month. The rest are "but what if's"

[wsnydes]

 

The injuries are a massive factor this year. Not just "A" factor. This team has four members of its starting lineup our in some form or fashion and its No. 1 starter. Please explain to me what team would not be reeling from losing more than half of the starting nine from the opening day roster. Please.

 

And keep in mind that three of those five are supposed to be the players who form the core that would lead this team to the promised land. Two of those three were the two single biggest factors that led to that run to the wild card last year.

 

And now you're blowing off last year's wild card simply to shoehorn last year's strong performance into your thesis that Molitor sucks. That was a strong improvement with relatively little help in the way of players from the front office. If you're going to hammer him for the 103 loss season you have to give him credit for the strong season last year. 

 

I will not argue that Molitor is perfect. But I sure as hell am not going to suddenly turn on a manager who helped get this team to the playoffs last year after the sheer number of problems the Twins have faced.

 

Beyond that, please explain where he's the problem. 

Yet, injuries can't be blamed for the lack of situational awareness, prevalent base running gaffes, defensive gaffes and poor bullpen management that have plagued the entirety of his managerial tenure.  The first three take no level of talent to understand or execute - it's simply being aware of what is going on in the game.  So simply saying that Molitor has been handcuffed with injuries or a lack of talent and should get a pass because of it is missing where the dissatisfaction stems from.  

[DocBauer]

In my opinion the vast majority of the impact a manager makes is beyond our ability to see. We can criticize bullpen management and some other aspects of their job but for the most part what they do is behind the scenes. I'm not sure Molitor is the problem but this is at least a valid attempt at some criticism. Too often the manager gets all the blame for things going wrong and none of the credit for things going right.

 

Personally, I put the vast majority of the blame for Sano and Buxton on the previous FO and their criminal neglect of the development process. And those two guys (And Dozier going pumpkin) are the biggest culprits for this mess.

I'm not going to disagree with this a bit. I think for both of them, things came so easily that flaws in their game...and developmental time lost here and there to injury...was ignored.

[KirbyDome89]

 

This is why, I believe, that great players make for terrible coaches/managers.  HoF type players have so much come naturally to them that it's difficult for them to understand that some things need to be taught.  Even if they understand that things need to be taught, they need to actually teach it in a way that players with less talent can understand and accomplish.

 

The best coaches/managers, in my view, are those that are borderline major league caliber players that must get by with doing the little things correctly to get every ounce of talent they have out.  They have to figure things out on their own to maximize their own abilities and that background helps others in the same situation when it comes to coaching them up down the road.

I've always pushed back against the notion that great players make poor managers because the game came naturally to them. I think that reasoning cuts both ways. Couldn't we just as easily say that great players should make great managers because they're able to perceive/understand aspects of the game that are beyond the scope of the average player? For the record I don't subscribe to either school of thought. 

 

IMO teaching is a skill, and some are just better at it than others. I don't think success during a playing career necessarily grooms or precludes anybody from being a great manager. 

 

I certainly agree that managers who were fringe players may have an advantage in relating to current players in a similar position, especially since a good chunk of every roster is made up of guys who have to wring out every ounce to stick in the big leagues. I would file that under interpersonal skills, and reiterate that success during a playing career isn't and indicator one way or another of an individual's ability to communicate. 

[Darius]

Frankly, he's a poor decision maker as a manager.

 

That said, the Twins FO and players aren't doing a lot help the guy.

 

I know everyone likes to believe that this team is the great one from the second half last. But, that was the outlier. This is a bad baseball team. It's possible that he should get loads of credit for getting a great second half out of an awful team. The roster was always hanging by a thread, and the thread snapped.

 

As far as the FO, adding Lance Lynn and Logan Morrison is kind of a joke. We're just so used to nothi happening, that we all thought it was amazing.

 

As much as I can't put the performance of the team entirely on Molitor. I still the awful bullpen usage, head scratching substitutions, etc. He's a great baseball mind, but I just don't think he's really cut out for managing a team. Maybe as a coach, or a FO position, he'd be wonderful.

[dbminn]

 

Yet, injuries can't be blamed for the lack of situational awareness, prevalent base running gaffes, defensive gaffes and poor bullpen management that have plagued the entirety of his managerial tenure.  The first three take no level of talent to understand or execute - it's simply being aware of what is going on in the game.  So simply saying that Molitor has been handcuffed with injuries or a lack of talent and should get a pass because of it is missing where the dissatisfaction stems from.  

 

Base Running (Based on 2018 BsR /2017 BsR ranking given for missing players)

Three worst baserunners - Kepler , Grossman, Wilson

Key missing players - Buxton (1), Polanco (2)

 

Twins are missing their two best baserunners. Grossman has taken a lot of Buxton's at bats. 

 

Defense (Based on DRS)

Three worst defenders - Esco (at SS), Garver, Sano

Key missing players - Buxton (1), Castro (2), Polanco (8)

 

Escobar has been forced to play SS with Polanco out of the lineup. He's a league-average 3B. Garver has replaced Castro. Buxton is one of the best but MIA.

 

RP Management (Appearances / IP - MLB Rank)

Current RP - Pressley (4/27), Hildenberger (26/48), Reed (37/38)

 

I won't comment on when RP are called in, but they aren't overworked by MLB standards.

 

 

[mazeville]

 

Yet, injuries can't be blamed for the lack of situational awareness, prevalent base running gaffes, defensive gaffes and poor bullpen management that have plagued the entirety of his managerial tenure.  The first three take no level of talent to understand or execute - it's simply being aware of what is going on in the game.  So simply saying that Molitor has been handcuffed with injuries or a lack of talent and should get a pass because of it is missing where the dissatisfaction stems from.  

 

What "defensive lapses?" What "poor bullpen management?" What "base running gaffes?" 

 

Are these your perception or do you have data to back up your contention? 

 

The defense has taken a hit this year. But you lose a Byron Buxton and a Jason Castro from a team for most of the year and your defense will take a hit.

 

People complain about bullpen management. I don't see that at all. What poor bullpen management? From what I can see, the problem has been mostly pitchers who should be entrusted to pitch an inning haven't done so often enough. And if you're talking overuse, which some people think is the problem, only two Twins are among the top 50 relief pitchers in games. So I'm not sure where people are getting that. 

 

 

The baserunning? I don't even know what to say about that. 

 

And injuries are going to make ALL of that worse by forcing the coach to insert replacement players. The good news for the Twins has been the emergence of Eduardo Escobar as an offensive force. But when your center fielder is Ryan Lamarre, your team is going to have some problems.

 

Back your contentions up. And if you simply point to the team's record, which is legitimate, you have to take into account injuries. 

 

Tell you what: I'll take that into account.

 

The loss of Ervin Santana, Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Jason Castro and Jorge Polanco removed 17 wins above replacement from the starting nine. 

 

As roughly, what, 40% of the season is done? That's about seven wins.

 

Twins would be in first place, theoretically, with those players in the lineup, playing simply at the level they performed last year. And we aren't having this conversation.

 

[jorgenswest]

I don't know. There is so much I don't see in his role.

 

It is critical that Falvey and Levine have made an accurate assessment. The Twins need a top 10 manager. Average isn't good enough. 

[mazeville]

 

Base Running (Based on 2018 BsR /2017 BsR ranking given for missing players)

Three worst baserunners - Kepler , Grossman, Wilson

Key missing players - Buxton (1), Polanco (2)

 

Twins are missing their two best baserunners. Grossman has taken a lot of Buxton's at bats. 

 

Defense (Based on DRS)

Three worst defenders - Esco (at SS), Garver, Sano

Key missing players - Buxton (1), Castro (2), Polanco (8)

 

Escobar has been forced to play SS with Polanco out of the lineup. He's a league-average 3B. Garver has replaced Castro. Buxton is one of the best but MIA.

 

RP Management (Appearances / IP - MLB Rank)

Current RP - Pressley (4/27), Hildenberger (26/48), Reed (37/38)

 

I won't comment on when RP are called in, but they aren't overworked by MLB standards.

 

All of this.

 

Outside of Pressly, none of the Twins relievers are anywhere near overworked. That's the one criticism I just don't get, and which just isn't based on any sound data whatsoever. 

[mazeville]

 

Frankly, he's a poor decision maker as a manager.

That said, the Twins FO and players aren't doing a lot help the guy.

I know everyone likes to believe that this team is the great one from the second half last. But, that was the outlier. This is a bad baseball team. It's possible that he should get loads of credit for getting a great second half out of an awful team. The roster was always hanging by a thread, and the thread snapped.

As far as the FO, adding Lance Lynn and Logan Morrison is kind of a joke. We're just so used to nothi happening, that we all thought it was amazing.

As much as I can't put the performance of the team entirely on Molitor. I still the awful bullpen usage, head scratching substitutions, etc. He's a great baseball mind, but I just don't think he's really cut out for managing a team. Maybe as a coach, or a FO position, he'd be wonderful.

 

Wow, is this comment wrong. Lance Lynn was one of the better starters on the market. Logan Morrison was a legitimate power hitter. Jake Odorizzi was also a solid mid-rotation starter. Frankly, the front office did far more than just about any previous front office did to improve the Twins over the offseason. The FO definitely did its job. 

[mazeville]

 

Injuries:

Santana: injured and so far well replaced. Off season decisions might have turned out quite differently if on hand. Quite possibly worse.
Polanco: suspended
Sano: sent down due to performance and ???
Buxton: mysteriously sent for rehab, injured, back, DL, rehab. And no production at any time.
Mauer. Good performance, out a month.
Castro: injured, but was really not making any difference, offensively.

When you get down to it, the end result is a pitch framing catcher, and Joe Mauer for a month, and Buxton defense. Polanco from late last year is likely missed, as is Buxton from late last year. Bottom line, the only known loss of consequence was actually Mauer for a month. The rest are "but what if's"

 

Santana + Buxton + Sano + Castro + Polanco = 17 WAR.  None currently playing. All of them have missed most of the season thus far, at least. Plus Mauer's absence, which hurt a lot and which I've never mentioned. 

 

Injuries matter. They matter a lot. 

 

And you're so wrong on Santana it's not even funny. He has not been "easily replaced." You do not "easily replace" a good starter like that. Santana's absence forced the Twins to go with Phil Hughes in the rotation early, then replace him with Fernando Romero. Romero was great early and has been exposed more recently. So no. He has NOT been easily replaced. 

[USAFChief]

 

All of this.

 

Outside of Pressly, none of the Twins relievers are anywhere near overworked. That's the one criticism I just don't get, and which just isn't based on any sound data whatsoever. 

The Twins have played 68 games. Pressly has appeared in 36, Reed/Duke 32, and Hildenberger 31.

 

At that pace, Pressly will make 85 appearances, Reed/Duke 76, and Hildenberger 73.

 

For reference, those numbers would have been 1st, 4th, and 5th in the majors last year. 79 appearances led the majors. Rogers led the Twins with 69 appearances (but only 55 IP), Matt Belisle was second with 62. No other reliever had more than 57.

 

All four of Pressly/Reed/Duke/Hildy are, or certainly appear to be, overworked IMO

[wsnydes]

 

What "defensive lapses?" What "poor bullpen management?" What "base running gaffes?" 

 

Are these your perception or do you have data to back up your contention? 

 

The defense has taken a hit this year. But you lose a Byron Buxton and a Jason Castro from a team for most of the year and your defense will take a hit.

 

People complain about bullpen management. I don't see that at all. What poor bullpen management? From what I can see, the problem has been mostly pitchers who should be entrusted to pitch an inning haven't done so often enough. And if you're talking overuse, which some people think is the problem, only two Twins are among the top 50 relief pitchers in games. So I'm not sure where people are getting that. 

 

 

The baserunning? I don't even know what to say about that. 

 

And injuries are going to make ALL of that worse by forcing the coach to insert replacement players. The good news for the Twins has been the emergence of Eduardo Escobar as an offensive force. But when your center fielder is Ryan Lamarre, your team is going to have some problems.

 

Back your contentions up. And if you simply point to the team's record, which is legitimate, you have to take into account injuries. 

 

Tell you what: I'll take that into account.

 

The loss of Ervin Santana, Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Jason Castro and Jorge Polanco removed 17 wins above replacement from the starting nine. 

 

As roughly, what, 40% of the season is done? That's about seven wins.

 

Twins would be in first place, theoretically, with those players in the lineup, playing simply at the level they performed last year. And we aren't having this conversation.

What defensive gaffes?  Rosario throwing to the wrong base or no base in particular.  Grossman airmailing cutoff men.  Throwing down to 2B to nab a slow as molasses runner stealing 2B while the runner on 3B scampers home to score.  These aren't physical errors, they're mental and they happen far too frequently for a professional baseball team.

 

What baserunning gaffes?  Logan Morrison getting picked off of 2B late in a tie game.  Rosario rounding 1B on a hit to RF and getting picked off when the throw goes behind him.  Getting in more rundowns than a Little League team.  These are mental errors and they happen far to frequently for a professional baseball team.

 

Neither of those two things require any particular level of skill, just awareness of what's going on.  

 

Poor bullpen management - I'll refer you to Chielf's comment (post #48) above since he already did the work for me.

 

These things contribute to the overall record and have no relation to the injuries you're using as an excuse.  

 

[mazeville]

 

The Twins have played 68 games. Pressly has appeared in 36, Reed/Duke 32, and Hildenberger 31.

 

At that pace, Pressly will make 85 appearances, Reed/Duke 76, and Hildenberger 73.

 

For reference, those numbers would have been 1st, 4th, and 5th in the majors last year. 79 appearances led the majors. Rogers led the Twins with 69 appearances (but only 55 IP), Matt Belisle was second with 62. No other reliever had more than 57.

 

All four of Pressly/Reed/Duke/Hildy are, or certainly appear to be, overworked IMO

 

Maybe they might be on pace to be "1st, 4th and 5th in the majors" but they are not remotely "1st, 4th and 5th" in the majors this year. Only Pressly is in the top 20.

 

And by the way, we're talking about a reliever whose ERA has improved by more than a full run over last year. So maybe he IS "overworked," as you say, but he clearly likes the way he's being worked this year because his numbers are vastly improved. It's a ridiculous complaint at this point. 

[mazeville]

 

What defensive gaffes?  Rosario throwing to the wrong base or no base in particular.  Grossman airmailing cutoff men.  Throwing down to 2B to nab a slow as molasses runner stealing 2B while the runner on 3B scampers home to score.  These aren't physical errors, they're mental and they happen far too frequently for a professional baseball team.

 

What baserunning gaffes?  Logan Morrison getting picked off of 2B late in a tie game.  Rosario rounding 1B on a hit to RF and getting picked off when the throw goes behind him.  Getting in more rundowns than a Little League team.  These are mental errors and they happen far to frequently for a professional baseball team.

 

Neither of those two things require any particular level of skill, just awareness of what's going on.  

 

Poor bullpen management - I'll refer you to Chielf's comment (post #48) above since he already did the work for me.

 

These things contribute to the overall record and have no relation to the injuries you're using as an excuse.  

 

And yet the injuries have had a far worse impact. And chief's reliever comments completely ignore that only one of those three relievers is currently among the top 10 in the league in appearances. 

 

You pointed to a few gaffes. That hardly counts as solid statistics. Give me a few minutes and I'll find some baserunning and defensive lapses by the Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs. 

 

And in any event, injuries mean you have more replacement players getting more playing time than they should, which exposes all of that. 

 

It is completely unfair to look at the first half of 2018 and simply say, "Well, bad managing ..." when the team has lost so many starters. Injuries happen. That many injuries to that many starters at one time is not usual.

 

Talk to me at the end of the year, after Polanco, Buxton, Sano and Santana have all returned and contributed a significant portion to the season. But simply pointing to a few mistakes and some very debatable statistics on bullpen use simply does not work. 

[jtkoupal]

Paul Molitor deserves a share of the blame for what has happened this year. He has made some very questionable in-game decisions. In particular, he has not utilized the pitching staff effectively at all times.

 

However, he has also come along in some aspects. For example, the lineup. He has finally gotten on board with Mauer as the leadoff hitter and dropping Dozier down, while leaving Rosario, the best hitter, in the #2 hole. Mauer in the leadoff spot should have happened 4 years ago.

 

He is not the ideal manager for the modern game of baseball. He is still stuck in his old ways in a number of areas of the game and is not analytics-driven. Undoubtedly, he is not Falvine's ideal manager. However, he will still be spared by the team's good record last year. 

[wsnydes]

 

And yet the injuries have had a far worse impact. And chief's reliever comments completely ignore that only one of those three relievers is currently among the top 10 in the league in appearances. 

 

You pointed to a few gaffes. That hardly counts as solid statistics. Give me a few minutes and I'll find some baserunning and defensive lapses by the Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs. 

 

And in any event, injuries mean you have more replacement players getting more playing time than they should, which exposes all of that. 

 

It is completely unfair to look at the first half of 2018 and simply say, "Well, bad managing ..." when the team has lost so many starters. Injuries happen. That many injuries to that many starters at one time is not usual.

 

Talk to me at the end of the year, after Polanco, Buxton, Sano and Santana have all returned and contributed a significant portion to the season. But simply pointing to a few mistakes and some very debatable statistics on bullpen use simply does not work. 

I gave you some examples, there are plenty more.  Were you expecting me to list all of them?  Sure, things happen to even good teams.  They happen more to bad teams.

 

At no point have I claimed that I was looking at just 2018.  In fact, I have clearly stated that I am looking at Molitor's entire managerial resume.  These are things that have plagued his teams throughout his tenure, not just this year.  His resume includes a .466 winning percentage.  I don't know where that sort of record, accrued over a handful of seasons equates to good; especially in a division as putrid as the Central has been during that time.

 

At this point, we're going to have to agree to disagree.  It's pretty clear that we won't agree on much regarding this topic.

Edited June 19, 2018 by wsnydes

[USAFChief]

 

Maybe they might be on pace to be "1st, 4th and 5th in the majors" but they are not remotely "1st, 4th and 5th" in the majors this year. Only Pressly is in the top 20.

 

And by the way, we're talking about a reliever whose ERA has improved by more than a full run over last year. So maybe he IS "overworked," as you say, but he clearly likes the way he's being worked this year because his numbers are vastly improved. It's a ridiculous complaint at this point. 

Check the number of games played by each team. Hint: The Twins have played the fewest games in the majors, so counting stats are going to be a little misleading. Rate stats, less so.

 

///

 

Also: Pressly's numbers by month:

 

Apr: 0.59 ERA, 1.109 WHIP

May: 4.15 ERA, 1.462 WHIP

Jun: 9.00 ERA, 1.833 WHIP

 

Some of that might be SSS noise, but the trend is pretty striking, no? So I'm not sure he really "likes" the way he's been worked. And I'd like to see where his ERA ends up at the end of the season if he keeps appearing in every other Twins game

as he has so far.

 

 

[Parker Hageman]

Buster Olney had a good blog recently about how managers have a shrinking role in the outcome of the modern game. He cited one unnamed veteran manager as saying "There’s almost nothing for me to do [during a game]. You change the pitchers, and you wait for somebody to hit a home run. You’re not doing nearly as much stuff as you used to. You don’t even think about doing some of that stuff."

 

When you boil it down, for better or worse, Molitor hasn't done a lot of tinkering.

 

He's called just 8 sac bunts this year, which is on the lower end of the AL (Gardenhire's Tigers have bunted just TWICE this season).

 

They've tried to steal just 32 times, fourth lowest amount in baseball. They also have been picked off 10 times, behind just the Nationals in that amazing category. 

 

They've had runners cut down at home an MLB-leading 13 times (they had 17 outs at home all of last year) but they have been fairly aggressive in this area, sending runners from 2nd home on a single or a runner on 1st home on a double at a higher clip than most teams. This is a similar trend that made them successful last year, albeit with different components thanks to injuries.

 

In 2016 and 2015, the Twins were not nearly as aggressive on the bases. They tried to swipe bases but they were not trying to push runners across like they have the last two years. I don't know if this is the manager imparting his will on the strategy to take more chances or not. (In 1992 Molitor was 2nd in the AL in outs at the plate with 6. He definitely tried to make things happen.) 

 

As far as bullpen management, outside of the love affair of Ryan Pressly, he's made reasonable decisions. He's called on Pressly 11 times on back-to-back days (which is one of the highest amounts in MLB). Part of it I actually understand too. Pressly's been called upon in late/close situations, often when there have been runners on base (19 inherited runners). At that point, Molitor is looking to miss bats and no one does that more frequently than Pressly. With one more bat-misser in the bullpen for the mid-to-late innings and he'd probably ease up on him.

 

 

(Also, it's amazing how much Gardenhire is redlining his bullpen in Detroit. Several guys at the top of the list of arms who are asked to go on consecutive days.)

 

 

[mlhouse]

I think if you gave Molitor a talented team of veteran players he would be a very good manager.  

 

I think the real problem with having Molitor as the manager is that he is not a rebuilding guy.  We need someone who can patiently work with the younger players, accept their mistakes and work with them to correct, and accept the ensuing losses.  

 

That the Twins have not committed to that manager and that rebuilding philosophy is why we are where we are today.  

[Platoon]

Santana + Buxton + Sano + Castro + Polanco = 17 WAR.  None currently playing. All of them have missed most of the season thus far, at least. Plus Mauer's absence, which hurt a lot and which I've never mentioned. 

 

Injuries matter. They matter a lot. 

 

And you're so wrong on Santana it's not even funny. He has not been "easily replaced." You do not "easily replace" a good starter like that. Santana's absence forced the Twins to go with Phil Hughes in the rotation early, then replace him with Fernando Romero. Romero was great early and has been exposed more recently. So no. He has NOT been easily replaced.

 

17 WAR? This year? Or all of last year?

[Platoon]

Check the number of games played by each team. Hint: The Twins have played the fewest games in the majors, so counting stats are going to be a little misleading. Rate stats, less so.

 

///

 

Also: Pressly's numbers by month:

 

Apr: 0.59 ERA, 1.109 WHIP

May: 4.15 ERA, 1.462 WHIP

Jun: 9.00 ERA, 1.833 WHIP

 

Some of that might be SSS noise, but the trend is pretty striking, no? So I'm not sure he really "likes" the way he's been worked. And I'd like to see where his ERA ends up at the end of the season if he keeps appearing in every other Twins game

as he has so far.

Add this: The other day Pressly was brought into a game with us up 6? That alone bordered on incompetence.

[Vanimal46]

I don't know. There is so much I don't see in his role.

 

It is critical that Falvey and Levine have made an accurate assessment. The Twins need a top 10 manager. Average isn't good enough.

I'm curious what you and others think what criteria is considered to be a top 10 manager?

 

It's tough for me to define how good a manager is. I believe there are some that are better than others like Francona. Does it boil down to intangibles that we as fans can't see and measure?

[jorgenswest]

I'm curious what you and others think what criteria is considered to be a top 10 manager?

It's tough for me to define how good a manager is. I believe there are some that are better than others like Francona. Does it boil down to intangibles that we as fans can't see and measure?

Tough for me to evaluate also but that doesn’t matter. It better be something Falvey does well and he can’t accept an average manager. They need better.