Grading Molitor's Early Returns

Fine article. Not mentioned are a few points I consider key parts of Molitor's success:

Teaching situational awareness (base running, hitting the cutoff man, shifting, etc) as much as implementing the system.

Raising young players' confidence. In just the past week, Molitor has sat down with Vargas and told him not to worry about getting sent down. He also moved Buxton to leadoff even as Buxton looked overmatched in his first eight games. I don't think Gardenhire would've done the same.  

Hiring a fine pitching coach. Neil Allen has stressed the development and use of off-speed pitches. As with Molitor, Allen seems to be a teacher as much as a coach.

I don't think Molitor makes as much difference as many people think though I do think he is doing a fine job. Gardy needed to go because he was definitely getting stale but managers in general are overrated IMO.  

  The guy I believe has more influence is Chad Allen.   Biggest difference between this year and the prior 4 is not the use of the bullpen, or the offense.  It is the starting rotation.   Now maybe Allen doesn't deserve full credit for that either since Pelfrey and Gibson have benefited from health they haven't had in the past but it is the rotation that has made the difference so far.  Does Molitor get credit for that or is it Ryan?

Molitor is showing some creativity and that's good. I think his instincts are to be a little more aggressive than Gardy, and he's a little less rigid in his use of players. It would be good for TR to give him a little more flexibility on the roster with a smaller pitching staff. Let's be honest: there's no real reason for us to carry 12 pitchers, let alone 13.

Very frustrated and disappointed in Mauer as well. And while I am not playing the "then who else" mantra for the 3 hole, I do have to take issue with the reference to the detriment of the team comment. Its easy to say he has shortened innings by failing/flailing when there is nobody on base...but...you also have to weigh that against the way he has hit and producedbruns when there is someone on base. In other words, 2 rights make up for 1 wrong. More or less.

 

  The guy I believe has more influence is Chad Allen.   Biggest difference between this year and the prior 4 is not the use of the bullpen, or the offense.  It is the starting rotation.   N

Repeat to ourselves:  Neil Allen, Neil Allen, Neil Allen

The other day I referred to Rick Allen in a game thread.  I really meant Rick Anderson.

As far as I know, Chad Allen is still the hitting coach in Chattanooga.

Chad Allen hasn't helped our pitchers much.  

Repeat to ourselves:  Neil Allen, Neil Allen, Neil Allen

 

The other day I referred to Rick Allen in a game thread.  I really meant Rick Anderson.

 

As far as I know, Chad Allen is still the hitting coach in Chattanooga.

Ahhh...Rick Allen.....the greatest 1-armed drummer in the history of Rock-N-Roll.

Maybe it's just the new uniforms with the Klondike gold trim. Which I like a lot! (And I will continue to say Klondike gold because it's cool, it's fun, and I can't remember what in the hell the Twins tried to name it)

I don't just like the results, I like what Molly and his staff have done overall. Ryan, Molly, everyone in the organization present and past, have always been very good and very coy in regard to the truth/reality of certain situations. I don't mean they lie! Being coy and overly optimistic while dusting over bad stuff isn't exactly lieing. For instance, the inexcuseable way CF was handled this past offseason..."fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, shame on you. TRY to fool you a third time, I should be looking for an island somewhere." But Arcia in left, Someguyinatwinsmluniform in CF, and Hunter in RF with his walker...(seeing eye dogs still not allowed on the field due to MLB policy and the fact that they could potentially catch and throw better than the player assigned to)..has given way to...

Now, and for a while, we have Molly favorite Rosario playing LF & RF daily. (Isn't it cool as hell to have a HOF player as manager who knows your milb talent as well as anyone recognizing someone as a favorite?) Robinson has performed WAY above what was expected, Hicks came up to play and provide a lift, and now Buxton is up. Now, this isn't all Molitor moves at all! But really, really awful offensive production and defensive play has been ushered aside one way or another to suddenly provide actual good offensive and defensive play....without fanfare.

Offense stinks. Nobody is thrown under the bus, (NOT saying the previous staff would), but tweaks are made and they work. SP needs juggling....and it works.

If you think about the past 4 seasons, all the changes, attempts both pro and con to change things, talent on the way up, talent not yet arrived, expectations had the Twins fighting and clinging to a life preserver for a chance to NOT finish last in the ALC, and not last in all of baseball. Hey, top 5 draft picks are kinda neat...but sooner or later we wanna talk about winning and not prospects.

Molitor and his half staff...half new, half old, more or less...has this team competing and in contention.

They juggle the lineup. They juggle the rotation. Their hitting and pitching coach actually make both better. OK reality check. It's also health, and the players themselves. But in regard to the rotation, what I have seen and heard, Allen has done nothing wrong and everything right. Love to blame the bullpen on him, but can't. I'm not sure I can agree with Vargas being sent down when he was showing life. But he performed in Rochester, came up, got a pep talk from his manager, went out and had the best day of his young career, and is hopefully poised to stay. Not as sure about Santana, but we shall see.

The team hits a really tough spot in the schedule against top teams and mostly top pitchers. The team plays well, even though they have a losing record. Fans panic. Twins are still above .500. The sky has not fallen. The Twins are actually still a quality team in the thick of things with a chance.

Reports have the team happy and energized. The rotation is the best it's been in years. We are winning, competitive, and in competition for an actual playoff spot. Kids are, mostly, getting shots. Nobody is being tossed aside. This team is fun and exciting.

I could argue the bullpen, and probably win. I could argue what seems to be an inordinate number of base runners being picked off, and possibly win. Molitor would argue young players, lack of experience, some bad calls, buy the next round, and maybe win. We'll call it even.

Which means....keep doing what you are doing because it is working. Fix the bullpen where, if, and when you can. Keep the spirits up for everyone, especially the kids, and keep nurturing them. It seems to be working. Tell Ryan not to overthink everything. I think we're a year ahead of schedule for competitiveness record and playoff wise.

Keep this up, make and nurture a few more moves in the second half, and you may have a real challenger next year.

Or maybe it's just tequila and the new Klondike gold trimmed uniforms.

Very thoughtful about line up. Makes pretty good use with the roster he is given. I don't like the use of Escobar in LF or Nunez at SS but that is more on Arcia and Santana than Molitor. If they had played as expected, Nunez and Escobar wouldn't be exposed. I don't think I would use Nunez at SS with Pelfrey or Gibson and their ground ball tendencies though.

It's odd that Buxton has been thrown out on 2 of 3 of his steal attempts. You'd think that on speed alone he'd get down there. Or that the coaching staff would have a better guess on which pitches to send him or whether he's comfortable enough getting good jumps yet. Probably not. Heck maybe he should just take off the moment the pitcher flinches and if it turns out to be a pick off move to first, make the first baseman rush the throw down to second. Guys a lot slower than Buxton have occasionally stolen second on the pickoff move.

Which gets back to the point that guys batting with Buxton on base figure to see more fastballs. Buxton got caught tonight on a called strike when the game was still close and it took the bat out of Rosario's hands. Of course, the way the bullpen is going, it probably didn't matter in this game.

I was at the game and was surprised it was a strike.  It looked like a pitch out to me but either way it was a good pitch for the catcher.    I knew he was going that pitch and figured they did also.   he did not get a good jump.

Repeat to ourselves:  Neil Allen, Neil Allen, Neil Allen

 

The other day I referred to Rick Allen in a game thread.  I really meant Rick Anderson.

 

As far as I know, Chad Allen is still the hitting coach in Chattanooga.

Lol,  I have no idea why I keep making that mistake.    Blind spot in the brain.