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There were plenty of better known names on the market. Coaches like Jim Hickey, Chris Bosio, and Mike Maddux were all in the rumor mill but the Twins decided to go in a different direction. Garvin Alston will replace Neil Allen on manager Paul Molitor’s staff. Here’s what you need to know about Alston:Background Alston’s big league pitching career was limited to six innings with the 1996 Colorado Rockies. From 1992 through 2003 he played professional and independent baseball. For the last 13 years he has coached professionally. Within a couple years of retiring, he had joined the Athletics organization as a coach. He spent the next decade as a minor league pitching coach, minor league pitching coordinator, and a minor league rehab coordinator. His time as a major league coach has been spent in the Diamondback and the Athletics organizations. During the 2016 season, he served as the major league bullpen coach in Arizona. Last season, he returned to the A’s organization and served as the major league bullpen coach. Expectations With many other big names on the market, Twins fans are wondering what to expect from a relative unknown. Alston doesn’t have one magical pitching philosophy but he wants every pitcher to identify his strength and execute it. “Not one philosophy,” he said. “It is the ability to adjust to the actual pitcher and knowing what their strengths are.” Pitch development has been a forte for Alston in his previous organizations but there’s a bigger key to his success. “First,” he said, “one of the biggest things I teach is commanding the zone with the fastball.”Since Derek Falvey and Thad Levine have joined the front office, they have preached fastball location and getting ahead of hitters. It sounds like Alston fits right in with the organizations direction. What are your thoughts on the new hire? Should the Twins have gone with a more experienced coach? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins sign for 3 more years of partnership with Paul Molitor. The Minnesota Twins, having come off a very good season where they made the playoffs for the first time since 2010, have re-signed their manager, Paul Molitor, to a 3-year contract. Terms of the 3-year deal have yet to be announced. Now, the 61-year old manager will do his best to get his team to take the next step from being a playoff contender to a championship contender. Coming off one of the worst seasons in baseball history and the worst in Minnesota Twins franchise history, Paul Molitor was on the hot seat from the season’s first pitch. He never managed for his job, though. He wanted to win and turn this team back to the winning team he had in 2015. Did he know the odds of turning a 100+ loss team into a playoff team or even into a .500 or better team again? That’s doubtful and even if he was told a team had never made the playoffs after a season with that many losses, he most likely wouldn’t have cared. Managing The Game Like when Paul Molitor was first hired to be the Minnesota Twins Manager back in November of 2014, there will be fans who don’t like this deal or think 3 years is too long. They are discouraged by the way he manages the game or by certain things he does during the course of a game. Most of this lies in how he handles his pitching staff. Beginning his managerial career only 3 years ago, the pitching side of managing is the area he likely needed to learn about the most. Fans tend to think that players are finished products when they get to the Major Leagues, meaning there is very little room for them to improve. The biggest argument for that is once they’ve reached the highest level of professional baseball, they now have the best coaches and players to learn from along with the best tools to figure out where they can improve. As a player, Paul Molitor is one of the greatest examples of improving as you get older. He had his best years after he turned 30, which is supposedly the age players start to decline. As a manager, it’s yet to be seen but he’s going to do everything he can to help this team be successful. He has a lot of support to look to, from CBO Derek Falvey to GM Thad Levine to the rest of the front office to his coaching staff and the analytics department. Ultimately, it always comes down to his decision and if they weren’t happy with what he was doing, they wouldn’t bring him back. Alignment, Partnership & Collaboration Watching the Twins Press Conference on bringing back Molitor for 3 years, you can see right away this is a collaborative effort, to use a Derek Falvey/Thad Levine often-used phrase, and Derek Falvey wants Paul Molitor as his manager. That says a lot about what they think of the job he did this season. They didn’t have a choice last year. Paul Molitor was their manager but now, they could’ve gone in a different direction. It also says a lot about how open Molitor is to what they are trying to do to develop the Minnesota Twins into a championship-caliber team. It’s extremely difficult to have success if the front office, scouting department and on-field staff are not aligned in their philosophy about the game and their building process, how to acquire players, develop those players and develop the team into a winner. Every decision is talked about among all of them before coming to a final decision. This is aside from the on-field and in-game decisions that Molitor has total freedom on. “We do this as a partnership” said Derek Falvey during the press conference. Then, after being asked if he and Thad Levine were interested in bringing in their own guy, he said, “...when you go through that process...you want to make sure there’s a fit…” and they “...work to make the best decision for the Minnesota Twins, not for me or for Paul…” This is a “partnership all the way through” when it comes to the offseason decisions, too. New Pitching Coach in 2018 One of those decisions was to fire pitching coach Neil Allen. Molitor said “changing coaches is a hard thing” and he feels Neil is a late-in-life found friend but they will “...pursue someone in that role that will help push our pitching forward.” Falvey said that process has started over the last couple of days and some key elements they look for in a pitching coach is alignment from top to bottom, a Twins Way, not one way but a way that evolves over time and to make sure development continues. The Minnesota Twins also hired Jeremy Zoll away from the Los Angeles Dodgers to take over as Director of Minor League Operations. He’ll take over for Brad Steil, who was promoted to Director of Pro Scouting. These are new hires could have a significant impact with the Twins. Closing We are excited for the offseason to see who the Twins bring in and what they do to help the pitching move forward. Will it include moving Brian Dozier? That would seem to be a bad move, now. He has established himself as a leader of this team and he’s producing at the plate while providing good defense. Trading him could also open up a new problem. Jorge Polanco would most likely move to 2nd Base but then who takes over at shortstop? Sure, they have some options but are any of them ready? Either ready to play in the majors if you’re talking about Nick Gordon or ready to be a full-time SS in the case of Eduardo Escobar or Ehire Adrianza? Thanks for reading our TwinsTakes on Paul Molitor coming back for 3 more years! We’d love to hear your TwinsTakes on the subject! Please comment below or on the posts of this article on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Google+! After all, it is... Our 'Takes, Your 'Takes... TwinsTakes.com!!!

The Minnesota Twins had a scheduled off-day on Tuesday but Phil Hughes made an appearance on Bill Smith Field over at the minor league side, throwing to an assortment of minor league hitters, including prospect Travis Harrison. Harrison was the unfortunate recipient of a Hughes’ fastball to the hand. The 24-year-old right-handed hitter had called time prior to the two-strike offering only to have a fastball buzz up and in after he reset. Harrison left the field for further examination. Observers said that the top of his hand was immediately swollen. Hughes said it was an accident and was apologetic afterwards. **Be sure to sign up for Twins Daily’s Write Of Spring email newsletter. In addition to the content found at TwinsDaily.com, you will have access to a unique weekly column as well as special edition notebook section** “Neil’s been really harping on us this spring and change eye levels and back guys off the plate and 0-2 situation I thought it would be a good idea to go up-and-in and I felt really bad about that, to be honest,” Hughes said afterwards, saying that Harrison had attended his mother’s high school in Orange County so the pair have spent time together. “I really hope he’s all right.” The Twins clearly don’t want to injure any member of their organization, Hughes executed the pitch well. Because of Hughes’ elite command, hitters have often become too cozy in the batter’s box in his starts. Plus, if his velocity doesn’t rebound to pre-surgery levels, he will need to make some changes to keep opponents from sitting fastball. Therefore, the coaching staff has wanted to see Hughes move more feet. “Sometimes that it’ll happen this year because Phil Hughes has a reputation of throwing a lot of strikes -- and that’s a good reputation to have -- but you also want to make sure you make people uncomfortable too while remaining aggressive,” Neil Allen said. The Harrison incident was the only blip on an otherwise over-matching performance from Hughes. His fastball reached 91 according to one radar reading and his pro-grade cutter appeared to be an otherworldly pitch to some of the minor league bats. However, the real focus for Hughes was to throw a healthy dose of changeups. “It was a good opportunity to throw a ton of changeups, that was kind of the plan today,” Hughes said of his strategy. “A lot of times you get in the big league spring training games you get caught up in the competitiveness of everything and trying to just get outs, but today I really did throw as many changeups as I could just to get a nice feel for it.” Since at least 2010, when he was pitching for the New York Yankees, Hughes has attempted to add a changeup to his arsenal, to no avail. According to ESPN/TruMedia’s database, Hughes threw just 14 changeups in his 2014 season, 104 in 2015, and 24 in his 12 starts last year. Why the renewed emphasis on the changeup for Hughes? “A lot of times if you are a guy who is really firm, like Phil throws a hard cutter, he throws a hard four-seam and two-seam fastball, he throws a hard curveball,” Allen said. “A changeup is simply going to throw their timing off like that.” Overall, Hughes was satisfied with the outing. "Sometimes you don’t have the luxury of doing stuff like this. Sometimes you go into these spring games, the adrenaline ticks up and you want to just get outs but here it is nice just to throw all my pitches." Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins announced tonight that hitting coach Tom Brunansky and first base coach Butch Davis will not be offered contracts to return to the staff in 2017. The remainder of the 2016 Twins coaching staff were offered contracts to return. Derek Falvey and Thad Levine were quickly at work in determining the futures for the coaching staff who have been in limbo since the season's end.Tom Brunansky came back to the Twins organization in 2010 and coached in the GCL, AA and AAA before being named the Twins hitting coach before the 2013 season. Brian Dozier often gave Brunansky a ton of credit for his successes. They worked together in the minors, both the AA and AAA levels. Reports indicate that Rudy Hernandez will not be promoted to the hitting coach. He was named the Twins assistant hitting coach two seasons ago. One name to watch is Chad Allen. He has been back in the organization the last couple of years. He has had success with several of the young Twins players the last couple of years. Kennys Vargas, Miguel Sano, Max Kepler and Byron Buxton have all thrived under his leadership. It is, of course, also possible that the new regime will go outside the organization. Butch Davis came to the Twins organization from the Orioles system when Paul Molitor was named manager. He also worked with the outfielders. Besides Hernandez, those remaining on the coaching staff are pitching coach Neil Allen, third base coach Gene Glynn, bullpen coach Eddie Guardado and bench coach Joe Vavra, Click here to view the article

The Twins have made it clear that they intend to keep manager Paul Molitor around for one more try after leading his team to a record 103 losses. His coaching staff, however, may not be so safe. Neil Allen, in particular, looks like an obvious candidate for replacement.I'm generally not one to buy into the oft-exaggerated impact of pitching and hitting coaches, nor one to advocate for someone's dismissal after such a short time on his position. But the Twins took a gamble when they hired Allen two years ago, giving their rookie manager a pitching coach with no major-league experience, and it sure looks like they got it wrong. Each hurler is responsible for his own performance, of course, but the constant team-wide pitching struggles this year were striking. One after another, players marched to the mound with seemingly no plan. Effective adjustments were rarely seen. In particular, younger pitchers appeared totally unequipped for the task of retiring big-league hitters. Tyler Duffey posted the third-worst ERA ever for a Twin with 25-plus starts. Jose Berrios pitched past the fifth inning only three times in 14 tries. These guys far are more capable than their inflated numbers show, and the same can be said for too many members of Minnesota's staff. Kyle Gibson's WHIP would've ranked as second-worst in the majors if he qualified, after he was the best starter on the 2015 staff. Ricky Nolasco went to the Angels at the deadline and posted a 3.21 ERA over 11 starts thereafter, directly crediting his new pitching coach for his improvement. Alex Meyer, similarly, has looked vastly better since switching clubs. Allen came in with a reputation for expertise with teaching the changeup. No Twins pitcher has noticeably improved that pitch. He was purported to have a bulldog mentality, and spoke about the importance of throwing inside and backing hitters off the plate. His pitchers evidently didn't internalize such a mentality, because they were continually out over the plate, and allowed the second-most home runs in franchise history. I don't really hold Allen's suspension, stemming from a DWI charge in late May, against him. People make mistakes and he handled it the right way. It doesn't help his case that he was gone for six weeks in the middle of the season, but what's more problematic is that there was no evidence of positive influence when he was on the job. The tasks looming ahead of the Twins, when it comes to turning around this historically bad pitching unit, are immense. Helping Berrios find the strike zone is the highest priority. Once top prospect Stephen Gonsalves graduates he may face the same challenge. Getting Duffey and Gibson back on track is vital. When Phil Hughes and Glen Perkins return from shoulder surgery rehab, they will need significant guidance because they may be forced to reinvent themselves in order to succeed. And the bullpen is filled with projects. It's tough to believe that Allen is the one to take on these critical imperatives. Whatever his methods, they aren't resonating and too many pitchers are underperforming. One of the primary objectives for Derek Falvey in his first offseason at the helm will be to identify a replacement pitching coach. I believe he would be wise to seek someone with more experience, and a track record of helping pitchers figure it out in the big leagues. A complete roster overhaul is not realistic so the Twins need to find someone who can get more out of the existing assets. It goes without saying that the results this year were beyond unacceptable. Click here to view the article

Aaron and John podcast midweek from Lynlake Brewery’s rooftop and discuss Neil Allen’s DWI and the non-ending battle with addiction, when we can expect Rochester’s youth to rejoin the Twins, an easy Father’s Day idea from Harrys.com, the Twins 2016 All-Star representative, and how Dick Bremer’s announcing is like Aaron’s favorite Chinese food.You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click the Play button below. Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins are unexpectedly competing this season, thanks in part to a significant improvement in preventing runs. In 2014, the pitching staff allowed an American League high 4.80 runs per game. This season they are allowing 4.06 runs per game, a 15% reduction in runs allowed. It is still perplexing as to how the Twins are accomplishing this feat. True, the outfield defense is noticeably better and more balls in play are being converted to outs but other indicators, like strikeout rates, are worse. The Twins’ pitchers are outperforming their fielding independent expectations by a wide margin. According to xFIP, a statistic that calculates what a pitcher’s expected ERA should be at based on grounders induced, strikeouts gotten and home runs avoided, the Twins should be hovering near the bottom of the league in terms of runs allowed. However, their overall ERA has been significantly better. How has the Twins pitching staff outperformed expectation to this point in the season? The secret lies with pitching coach Neil Allen.Since his arrival we have heard the tale of Neil Allen’s ability to convince the young pitchers to harness the power of the change-up. From 2009 to 2014, the Rays outpaced everyone by deploying the change-up 14.5% of the time. Naturally, the narrative would be that Allen would come to Minnesota and bestow the same secrets on the Twins’ pitching staff. But, in terms of sheer total percentage of pitches thrown, this has not happened. While the usage is up slightly for Minnesota from 2014, even when accounting for Mike Pelfrey and Ricky Nolasco’s splitter preference the Twins pitching staff still trails well behind the rest of the league in 2015. So every other pitch is not a change-up. And pitchers like Phil Hughes have not greatly altered their pitch selections by learning a change-up. That said, the Twins have found great success on the occasions that they have used their change-ups this year. In 2014, hitters had their way with the Twins’ change-up. Opponents hit .288 (29th out of 30) and posted a hefty 747 OPS. While the rest of the league’s pitchers kept hitters to a .234 average, Kevin Correia (.357), Tommy Milone (.341), Trevor May (.259) and Kyle Gibson (.244) all found themselves above that mark. While Correia was recently released by the Phillies, Milone (.241), May (.215) and Gibson (.179) have reconnected with the pitch this year, posting significantly improved averages against on change-ups. At a collective .207, they now hold the fifth-lowest average against on the change-up. It was not just throwing more change-ups – it was using them under specific conditions. “That’s the one thing me and Neil really talked about a lot and I really wanted to work on was executing change-ups to righties,” said Gibson this past March. “It’s a pitch that looks really similar to my sinker when I have the same release point I think it’s something that is really going to help my sinker against righties.” Allen shared his theories and approach with the players in the spring. Everyone acknowledged they were on-board but no one with the Twins would divulge Allen’s secret recipe when it came to the change-up. From his perspective, when it came to the change-up catcher Kurt Suzuki said it is nice to have another finger to put down. Other pitchers echoed that mentality – the added bullet would be nice to have in the arsenal. Still, the chatter around the Twins camp was not that the change-up in and of itself was going to be the miracle out-pitch -- it was also going to set-up the miracle out-pitch. **** The Rays have been long known to be a savvy, smarter-than-you organization. Their front office is basically a Harvard bar with equations on the wall and ****. In The Extra 2%, baseball writer Jonah Keri documented how the organization’s analytics team running that ball club would stop at nothing to find any edge they could. Those findings were highlighted in obvious situations like the use of infield shifts or found when the Rays’ lineup would eschew the natural platoon advantage against pitchers who held quirky splits. The Wolves of Wall Street were now running a ball club with that same take-every-dollar attitude. They hired the sharpest minds and grabbed every scrap of data they could, compiled it into a proprietary database and studied it to ultimately move the needle to their advantage. In the spreadsheets and on the field, the Rays found that the change-up was a highly underutilized weapon. Change-ups fell out of vogue in the modern world as teams craved fastball velocity and wicked benders to put away hitters. Meanwhile there was value to be had for the teams that creatively applied change-ups. While most organizations avoided throwing change-ups to same-sided hitters, the Rays mandated it. “We’ve got a process that, when you hit Double-A, you’ve got to be able to throw your change-up to righties and left-handers, no matter what side you throw from,” Allen, then with the Rays organization, told Baseball Prospectus. “It’s become a weapon that we started a few years ago. There were a lot of guys coming to Triple-A that couldn’t throw their change-up for strikes righty-on-lefty or lefty-on-righty. The change is a great pitch if you utilize it [well], but we started getting into the philosophy that if it works opposite arm to opposite hitter, why don’t we start trying it righty-on-righty and lefty-on-lefty.” In the majors, the Rays paced the game with far more same-sided change-ups than the rest of the league -- but mainly in righty-to-righty situations. From 2009 to 2014, as the Minnesota Twins’ right-handed pitchers threw change-ups to right-handed hitters 5.3% of the mix, the Rays threw it a whopping 12.6% of their mix. Perhaps as a result, right-handed pitchers for the Rays held the right-handed hitters to a .243 average while the Twins finished last in that category with a .279 average. Since Allen’s hiring, the Twins have followed a similar pattern. Gibson has increased his usage of the change-up overall (from 12% to 17%) and much of that has come against right-handed hitters. In 2014, he threw the pitch to the same-side 1.5% of the time but uses it 14% of the time this year. Trevor May has thrown his change more to righties as well (from 9.9% to 13.2%). Milone, on the other hand, has thrown the pitch less against lefties this year than he has in the past. Despite flashing a solid change-up to David Ortiz in spring training, Milone has abandoned that pitch in favor of a cutter. The Rays southpaws were hesitant to throw the pitch to other lefties as well -- Rays lefty Matt Moore cited the left-handed hitter’s natural low swing plane as a deterrent to throwing to the same-side. What the Rays discovered is that not only is the change-up effective in same-sided circumstances, but the change-up is also potent when thrown consecutively. From 2009 to 2014, the Rays threw the most change-ups but they also threw the highest number of change-ups after change-ups. And when the Rays pitchers doubled up on change-ups -- which they did a MLB-high 32% of the time -- they held opponents to a .189 batting average against. The Rays stacked change-ups like no other team. But the idea wasn’t just to throw out two change-ups in a row. The idea was to hammer the bottom of the zone. **** Download attachment: Changeupo.png In addition to the same-sided usage, the strategic sequencing with the change-up has played a significant role in Twins’ pitchers abilities to generate outs. “I know that he’s a little bit analytical but not really but the stuff that he tells me that I see from an analytical side and it’s stuff that makes a lot of sense,” Twins closer Glen Perkins said about his new pitching coach and the emphasis on the change-up this spring. “I talk to hitters when we are playing cards after the game or standing in the dugout or whatever and the kinda things they are thinking.... [Allen’s] thinking from a hitter’s perspective on it.” Although he personally doesn’t throw a change-up, he toys with it during warm-ups and thinks about having it ready in the event that his devastating fastball-slider combo ever fails him. Perkins, an analytical mind on the mound, was intrigued by Allen’s sales pitch on the chang-eup. The discussions in the clubhouse, in team meetings and during bullpen sessions are well and good, though applying the ideas into game situations can be tricky. In Tuesday night’s game against the Orioles, Gibson recorded three outs on the change-up, including a strikeout in the third of the right-handed Adam Jones. While that may have been just a line of code in the PitchF/X system, the righty-on-righty success was a noteworthy milestone to Gibson. In 2014, Gibson was attempting to incorporate more change-ups against righties when he found himself tangling with Jones in Baltimore. Jones timed a change-up to perfection and launched a long home run. That encounter, Gibson admitted, reduced his confidence in turning to the pitch against righties. But over the offseason and into the spring, Allen provided support for Gibson and pushed him to use the pitch more to righties. While the change-up led to three outs, Gibson also recorded six outs on the pitch after a changeup -- weak contact induced by throwing a follow-up pitch down in the zone. This has been what the Twins pitchers -- particularly Gibson, May and Milone -- have succeeded at all year. If the change-up fails to record an out, they have returned to the bottom of the zone with another pitch. Guys like Gibson and Milone have become out generators because they have followed this pattern and it is making their other pitches better. Allen’s guidance to Gibson was to throw his change-up more in circumstances when he would normally throw his slider. While Gibson’s change-up has had great success on its own, it has enhanced his slider’s performance as well, reducing his average against from .210 to .167 while increasing his swinging strikes on the pitch. For Milone, he has kept hitters off his fastball – posting a career-low .248 average against. Similarly, May’s fastball average against has gone from .333 to .287. Weaker contact has resulted in more outs, fewer base-runners and fewer runs. Click here to view the article

Let's face it. The events that unfolded at Target Field this week were disheartening, demoralizing and flat-out depressing. This team had a chance to make a real statement by defending first place at home against the division's top contender and came up completely flat, scoring just three times in three games. However, one area that continues to be a (shocking) major strength for the Twins is keeping me from getting overly distraught.Lost in the offensive ineptitude of the past two series has been the enduring effectiveness of the starting rotation. While the Twins have lost five of their last six contests, their starting pitchers have combined for a 3.26 ERA during that span, and have completed six or more innings in every game with the exception of J.R. Graham's spot start against Milwaukee. For the season, the Twins rank ninth in the majors and fourth in the American League with a 3.88 ERA from their starters. That is incredible in the context of the past four years: Year | ERA | MLB Rank 2014 | 5.06 | 30th 2013 | 5.26 | 30th 2012 | 5.40 | 29th 2011 | 4.64 | 26th Not only are the Twins experiencing a monumental turnaround in comparison to the last four years, they're actually on track for their best rotation output in nearly a decade. The last time Minnesota ranked ninth or higher in starting pitching ERA was 2006, when they won 96 games behind the outstanding performances of Francisco Liriano, Brad Radke and Cy Young winner Johan Santana. What might be most impressive about this drastic improvement is that the Twins have done it without their big-money free agent signing (who will enter the fold next month), and without their top pitching prospect (who, by many accounts, is big-league ready). They have also done it with 2014's best starter, Phil Hughes, putting up a rotation-worst 4.81 ERA. To what do we attribute this transformation? Growth through experience for the younger guys? The influence of new pitching coach Neil Allen? Plain old good luck? It is almost certainly a combination of those factors and more, but I see no reason to believe that the bottom is going to fall out any time soon. No one other than Mike Pelfrey is pitching out of his mind, and the Twins have enough quality depth to handle injuries or meltdowns. Experts often say that winning games all begins with starting pitching, while that notion hasn't exactly held up over the last week, it usually proves true in the long term. The lineup won't slump like this forever. The bullpen's issues can be addressed (and that began on Wednesday when the club finally swapped out Tim Stauffer for a superior young arm). The Twins might not be quite ready for legitimate contention, but as long as the rotation maintains its steady and rock solid production, I'm confident they'll remain respectable and relevant throughout the rest of the season. Click here to view the article

When Doug Mientkiewicz emerged as an early contender for the Twins' managerial job, his lack of experience served both as a point against him and a point in his favor. On the one hand, Mientkiewicz hadn't managed above Single-A, and had only been there for two years. That's not a lot of track record for a big-league skipper. On the other hand, he had the advantage of being fresh, and not set in his ways. It is difficult for any long-timer to match the fire and ambition that burn within a guy who's just getting started.The Twins are looking to return to contention with a young roster, and there's an appeal to the dynamic where both players and manager are exploring new frontiers together. Growing together. Ultimately the team decided to opt for more experience in choosing Paul Molitor who has been coaching for almost two decades, albeit never in the role he will now be filling. Because Molitor is new to this particular gig, some expected that the front office would surround him with coaches who have been around for a while, but that's hardly been the case. Quite to the contrary, in fact. The Twins wasted little time in announcing that they would retain Tom Brunansky as hitting coach. His experience is modest; he's been Minnesota's hitting coach for the last two years, after serving in the same role for a couple of seasons in the minors. Prior to that, he was coaching a high school baseball team. Rudy Hernandez, tabbed as Bruno's assistant hitting coach, has only coached in the minors, and was promoted directly from rookie ball. Neil Allen, who has reportedly been hired as pitching coach, was brought in from Tampa Bay's system. He has worked almost exclusively in the minors, with the exception of a year spent as the Yankees bullpen coach. Eddie Guardado, who appears to be the choice for Twins bullpen coach, was playing up until 2009 and hasn't served in any official coaching capacity, though he has been an instructor in spring training. Newly appointed third base coach Gene Glynn is the antithesis of this trend, as he has a considerable amount of experience coaching in the majors. He's logged more than a decade on big-league staffs, including stints as third base coach for the Rockies, Cubs and Giants. Yet, Glynn hasn't been on an MLB coaching staff for nearly a decade. Following his departure from San Francisco, he spent six years as a scout for the Rays and has spent the last three managing in Rochester. I like this mix that the Twins have found with their new coaching alignment. You've got several rising guys who are are getting their first real chance and will certainly be driven to excel. You've got a manager who is in some respects very experienced but is essentially a novice. And then there's Glynn, who has put in almost 30 years as a coach, coordinator and scout, with a resume that lists six different organizations. He was a candidate for the Twins manager job and could become a hot name around the league if he takes part in a turnaround for the club. Everyone tries to do well at their job, but there's inherently an extra level of motivation at play when trying to further one's own career and livelihood. I think it's harsh to suggest that Ron Gardenhire and his coaches were "mailing it in" in recent years, but did they grow too comfortable? Was the same drive there as in Gardy's early years, when he led youthful rosters to several postseason appearances as a fresh big-league manager? That is apparently what the Twins are trying to recapture with this restructured group -- a hunger that starts at the top and is infectious toward young incoming players -- and all the appointees thus far seem to fit in that regard. Click here to view the article

The Star Tribune is reporting that the Minnesota Twins will select Neil Allen as their next pitching coach. Last week, we learned that the Twins search for a pitching coach had narrowed to just two: Carl Willis and Neil Allen. On Saturday night, the Star Tribune beat writers reported that the team had selected Neil Allen as Paul Molitor's pitching coach.The 56-year-old Allen played for five big league teams from 1979 to 1989. He went a combined 58-70 with 75 saves in the big leagues. Following his career, he quickly became a pitching coach in independent leagues. He coached in the Blue Jays system starting in 1996. In 2000, he moved to the Yankees where he was a pitching coach through 2006, with the exception of 2005, when he was the big league bullpen coach with the Yankees. Since 2007, he has been a pitching coach with the Rays AAA team where he has worked with many of the young hurlers who proved ready for the Rays. Though he has never been a big league pitching coach, he has been a coach for over two decades. Many thought that the Twins would select a pitching coach with big league experience, though it certainly wasn't necessary. One thing many fans were looking for was an outside voice, someone from outside the organization. Allen has no association with the Twins, and really little interaction with Molitor. Gene Glynn was a scout for several seasons with the Rays, so maybe that's a connection? Molitor's coaching staff is nearly complete. Tom Brunansky was quickly named the hitting coach. Soon after, they announced that Gene Glynn (3B coach) and Rudy Hernandez (assistant hitting coach) were named. Last week, a report surfaced that Eddie Guardado would be named the bullpen coach, though at this time that has not been confirmed. With the reported addition of Allen as pitching coach, the open coaching spots appear to be bench coach and first base coach. What are your thoughts? Click here to view the article