Vanimal46

I'll read it regardless because I personally want to move into management. But I don't know what that has to do with my post you quoted. Every baseball argument these days is data driven. 'Kepler has 2.5 bWAR, Nolasco has a 3.25 FIP, etc.' Yet millions of baseball fans and writers can't create a metric to separate a good manager from a bad manager. Pointing out random occurrences on a particular day (David Bote example from RB) doesn't help us see the whole picture. Others posting "Molitor's bullpen management and lineup construction is terrible" doesn't help either. Terrible compared to who? I made my personal opinion known on page 2 of this thread. I don't think he's great, but I don't think he's as bad as people make him out to be on this site either. Ever since, I've pushed back with people who say in general 'Molitor is terrible.' I'm sure I'm not changing anyone's minds if they decided he's terrible.

$43 million comes off the books - Mauer, Erv, and LoMo. In 2019 they have $32.5 million in committed dollars so far (Pineda, Castro, Reed) I don't recall a time when I paid attention to payroll where the Twins had this much flexibility. I don't expect them to match this year's payroll total, but even at a conservative $100 million payroll they have $30-40 million to play with this winter.

With his past history and the rough patch this season, I'm more entrenched in the decision to play things out with him. An extension this offseason feels like a big mistake.

Let me preface this post by acknowledging that the odds are low Machado signs with the Twins in real life. With low odds, we need to be BOLD and aggressive right upfront to schedule a meeting with him. Mr. Machado, I want you to remember 3 numbers. 60, 40, and 3. We'll go into more detail what those numbers represent. Let's start with the first number, 60. That's the number (in millions) I'm willing to offer you to play for the Twins in 2019. The organization is in a great spot financially with little to no extensive contract commitments after 2019. No one in baseball will be within $20 million of your annual salary. I hope this gets your attention. The second number is 40. And that will be your AAV of your contract with the Twins for the first 3 years of the contract. After the first year where you make $60 million, you'll drop down to $30 million and still be one of the top paid players in the game. Not even Mike Trout has an AAV of $40 million. I hope this gets your attention, Mr. Machado. Now let's talk about the last number, 3. This number is especially important because it allows you to control your own destiny. I'm willing to offer 3 opt-out clauses for you after your the 3rd year of your contract. If the team is failing to contend, it's your prerogative to opt-out and play somewhere else. However, we're confident the next wave of prospects in our system will compliment you very well from years 4-6 of the contract. So what do you think Mr. Machado? Is this bold enough for you to spend the next 6 years of your career with the Twins?

Falvine has mostly received a pass from criticism the first 2 years here. This off-season will be a big one for them. With the financial flexibility they have, and a ticking clock before Chicago and Detroit catches up to the Twins, I expect them to make a significant move this offseason either in FA or trades.

Gibson had a rough month of August. 5 starts, 29 IP, 5.28 ERA, 21/15 K/BB.

Keep doing the research and you may come to the conclusion that all managers handle their bullpens and weird lineups in a similar fashion. May I suggest your next case study? Arizona Diamondbacks. Lovullo should be fired for over using Bradley, Chaffin, and Hirano. All have 62(!) appearances which ranks top 10 in the league. He also started Jake Lamb for a long time and was having a bad season!

Is the only OF option left on the 40 man Buxton? I suppose we could bench Rosario for Astudillo. Sounds like a plan to me.

Data compared to the average manager is ideal. Does Molitor manage his bullpen better or worse than the average manager? Does he have unorthodox lineups more often than the average manager? These are the questions I've been asking throughout this thread. Statements like 'Molitor is terrible managing a bullpen and lineup' don't have a lot of substance behind it when it's not compared to other examples.

Keep us posted. Until there's something with more substance than 'Molitor's lineup construction/bullpen management is terrible' or 'David Bote played a few games for the Cubs! I bet Molitor wouldn't do that!' I'll keep pushing back as well.

Gotcha. We're at the point in this thread where Molitor is screwing up in hypothetical scenarios.

Happ is batting .172 with a .534 OPS over the last 28 days. Yeah, pretty sure Molitor would bench him too.

I can't name someone better and that's the problem. The lack of talent in the bullpen isn't the manager's fault. If Molitor managed the Yankees bullpen I would venture to guess there's no complaints about overusing players and keeping failing players around. The team needs better options than Hildy, Reed, and Duke. As well as better reinforcements than Busenitz, Curtiss, and Duffey.

Who were better options than them earlier this season? The cupboards were pretty bare.

Where did multi-year contract come into play here? I would think at this point it's year to year. His hitting may be declining from his absurd levels in the past but he's still hitting at an above league clip compared to MLB's median BA. Edit: Also, that makes me happy to read he's coming back next season.

It's only rare circumstances where sentiment is more important, and Joe is the example. He's still providing value to the team on and off the field. In the future if Miguel Sano spends 15 years with the team and he's winding down, I'll feel the same way I feel today. I don't think people appreciate his contributions and loyalty to the team enough. He still has a noticably higher BA and OBP than league average. The Twins need people to get on base for someone else to hit them in. I like how they're using Mauer now as the leadoff hitter. He could do the same next year as a DH/part time 1B.

The exact date is irrelevant. Do you think Jim Pohlad noticed this? Did anyone point it out to him? We as fans look at things on a micro level. Executive people look at things on a macro level.

Terrible compared to who?

Would a young Chief be making the same argument at the tail end of Killebrew and Oliva's careers? Joe was my generation's Killebrew and Oliva. I know we're nearing the end of Joe's playing days but I still want him play for the Twins. It's going to be a long, long time until there's another Twins player with a 15+ year tenure.

That was true at one point in time back in May. We also have to take into consideration the 'hands off' approach of Jim Pohlad. We noticed because we're analyzing data every day. Do you think Jim Pohlad noticed on May 24th that Pressly, Reed, and Hildenberger were top 15 in appearances?

Pressly was very good for the Twins this season. Reed was also very good until the middle of June. Was it overuse that caused his decline in velocity now? Was it an injury that was going to happen regardless? The manager can only put the players on his roster in the game. And those were the best relievers he had. So what is he supposed to do?

Please be aggressive with his promotion schedule next season.

Fans all across the land complain about bullpen management. Did Molitor abuse his pitchers worse than other managers? I would think every manager has 3 go-tos in high leverage situations, and the rest fill in the cracks.

Only 30 GM jobs in the league, and every organization has their quirks. The owner having a close, personal friend as his preference for manager isn't all that bad... You could be reporting into Stuart Sternberg, owner of the Rays!

A total system failure will do that to your overall record. 83 wins in 2015 Total System Failure 85 wins last year ?? this year