Twins Manager Paul Molitor Fired

God bless you Paul Molitor! You will always be a Minnesota hero to me. Best wishes on your new role within the organization. Yep, I'm a homer.

I don't think you need to be termed a "homer" to appreciate Paul Molitor for his accomplishments, or even for his demeanor through the years as a primary face of the franchise.  I both admire Molly....and feel that, at this time, there should be better manager options available for this team.

Unless you are contending for a title or a playoff spot.

Usually.  But this year would have been the exception to even that axiom.  The Twins last 9 series included 20 games against the likes of Texas, KC, Detroit, and the White Sox.  Don't think it would have mattered much if those teams had 'been trying' or 'playing it straight'....which they clearly were not.

If ever there was a year when September records and statistics can be ignored completely...this would be it regarding the Twins.  The Twins need to overhaul in a fairly major way.  The manager should be just the first step.

Good move for the team. I have nothing but good things to say about Molitor as a person, as do all of us, but he was only about 75% of a baseball manager. I hope he sticks around.

I imagine Jeff Banister, fired a couple of weeks ago by the Rangers, will be the next Twins manager.

He'd have enough years of service that he could refuse the assignment.

 

What if they put him on waivers, though, and someone claimed him?

Or if you optioned him to the minors, would you then have to call up another manager?

Fine, whatever, I've had enough of your fancy, big city baseball lawyering. 

But now I'd actually kinda want to know how that would work.  I imagine that if he were optioned, he'd simply be ineligible to play and the same rules for minor league transactions would dictate. 

 

This has been kinda fun in a silly sense. Who knew that baseball rules could be so fun?!

Well, I did...you did, too, apparently

And that's what I would assume, too, re: options. Same would go for a DL stint, I'd imagine.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Bannister is on the short list.

I'm thinking that's 100% what is going on here.

IMO, this was the correct move.  I felt like the Twins got to the WC last year in spite of Molitor, not because of him.  Don't get me wrong, I loved the guy as a player and he's been a terrific baseball ambassador not just for MLB but for Minnesota as well.  I never felt like he had a good feel for a situation, especially when it came to handling a pitching staff.  How many times would we rant and first-guess in gameday threads about decisions that went awry.  The percentage of decisions that went wrong, I believe, outweighed those that went right.  

However, this organization is still trying to dig out of the mess that Bill Smith and Terry Ryan 2.0 created with their trades and their rushing certain players through the minor league ranks.  The current GMs made a nice attempt at bringing in some FA talent for this season and it just completely backfired.  Lynn was terrible, Morrison was even worse, Odorizzi was average at best, Duke and Reed were pretty brutal.  Unfortunately, it left us with a fire sale at the trading deadline and the only significant piece that came back was Tyler Austin.  Let's hope that the farm system that has been growing over the last couple of years can yield a bumper crop for 2019 because I'm not sure that many will be confident in the FA market this year...unless Bryce Harper likes cold springs.

Bryce Harper like Cold Springs beer? Who would have thought that?

Taking out the obvious connection between him and Levine, why else would we want him? Texas is trending in the wrong direction.

It also appears Bannister did very little to develop their young players like Mazara, Odor, and Calhoun.

Banister (we will have to learn how to spell his name!) was hired by the Rangers because he is an "analytical yet personal" manager. He purportedly was to use "analytics" to make his decisions while using his people skills to mentor.

Banister is exactly what this front office says they are looking for.

Banister (we will have to learn how to spell his name!) was hired by the Rangers because he is an "analytical yet personal" manager. He purportedly was to use "analytics" to make his decisions while using his people skills to mentor.

 

Banister is exactly what this front office says they are looking for.

Except for a track-record of putting that skill-set towards winning...

Except for a track-record of putting that skill-set towards winning...

Don't shoot the messenger.

Also, you owe me a beer when they Twins announce Banister as the next manager.

I agree with the move.  I'm not suggesting that it was all Paul's fault, but I find it somewhat damning that so many players regressed this year, some quite badly.  Not only did most of the young core fail to improve, but seasoned veterans had miserable drop-offs as well.

For no particular reason, I like Carlos Beltran as a candidate.  I know the Yankees seriously considered him last year despite his lack of experience, plus he is held in extremely high regard by most of the Latino baseball community.

Maybe we can talk a HOF pitcher into leading us. Maddux or Pedro anyone? Randy Johnson? 

I'm glad this happened, I want this FO to do its thing and see what happens. I did get frustrated with Molitor as a manager. He is articulate though albeit with a unique style. Thoughtful. I find that refreshing in sports especially when compared to a guy like Zimmer who seems to wear his butchery of the English language like a badge of honor.

Either Denny Hocking or Michael Cuddyer. Do it. 

Sometimes the most logical answers are the ones that get missed.

Quote: This year's disappointing start led to a trade deadline selloff when the Twins were out of the race by mid-summer, but there had been very little speculation that a coaching change was imminent.

John Bonnes is obviously not a regular reader of Twins Daily.

My reaction to the news ?  YAAAHOOO !!!

Scioscia and Showalter are exactly what I don't want. I'm not looking for a manager that hasn't modernized. Might as well keep Molitor if those are the guys who replace him. They are the same manager in my opinion. 

 

Hyde, Geren, Pat Murphy are guys that I hope they took a long look at. Never discussed philosophy with any of them so I won't offer strong opinions on any of them but I do know that they currently exist in the philosophy I'm hoping for. 

I always though Showalter was at the head of the analytics charge even as early as the 90s when he was with the Yankees. His issue was over-analzying everything, at least when he was with the Yankees.