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On Tuesday night, Minnesota Twins Manager Paul Molitor was named the 2017 American League Manager of the Year. Cleveland's Terry Francona and Houston's AJ Hinch, who each led their teams to 100-win seasons, were the other finalists. However, it was Molitor leading the Twins from 103 losses in 2016 to the playoffs in 2017, the first team in MLB history to accomplish that feat.Paul Molitor received 18 of the 30 first-place votes for the Manager of the Year award including that of Twin Cities media member Pat Borzi. Star Tribune's Phil Miller voted for Terry Francona, who received 11 first-place votes. Molitor becomes the Twins third AL Manager of the Year, joining Ron Gardenhire in 2010 and Tom Kelly in 1991. Molitor also becomes just the second Hall of Fame player to win Manager of the Year. Molitor was re-signed to a three-year contract extension that could keep him at the helm of the Twins through the 2020 season. Click here to view the article

On Monday, Paul Molitor was announced as one of three finalists for the American League Manager of the Year. In the midst of a big turnaround in Minnesota, Molitor led the Twins to the playoffs for the first time since 2010. Entering the season, there were questions about whether or not the new front office regime would keep Molitor around. He made it tough to show him the door. How does Molitor stack up against the other finalists? Could he bring home the hardware?Terry Francona, Cleveland Indians AL Central Champions (102-60 Record) Resume: The defending AL Champs had high hopes for 2017. Many considered them the favorites to repeat at the top of the league. Francona had to navigate his team through a potential World Series “hangover.” A slow start at the beginning of the year was quickly forgotten as the Indians compiled a record 22-game winning streak. Cleveland won the AL Central by 17 games. AJ Hinch, Houston Astros AL West Champions (101-61 Record) Resume: Everyone knows what the Astros were able to do in the postseason but only the regular season figures into MLB’s award season. Houston has had high expectations the last couple of seasons, but Hinch was able to push all the right buttons as his club crossed the 100-win mark. He was able to use the right mix of young talent and veteran players to be a dominant regular season squad that went on to quite the postseason run. Houston won the AL West by 21 games. Paul Molitor, Minnesota Twins AL Wild Card (85-77 Record) Resume: While the Indians and the Astros were expected to be strong clubs, no one expected Minnesota to make the playoffs. On the heels of the worst season in franchise history, Molitor was able to bring playoff baseball back to Minnesota (even if it was only for one game). Young players like Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton were able to take huge strides under Molitor’s guidance. Sometimes the voters can give the Manager of the Year to the team that improved the most and Minnesota definitely fits into this category. Who do you think will take home the award? Leave a COMMENT and join the discussion. Click here to view the article

On Wednesday night, World Series Game 7 was played in Cleveland. And what a game it was. I’m biased as a Twins fans into saying that the 1991 World Series was the greatest of all-time. The 2016 Game 7 was right up there. There were big plays, big hits, big defensive plays. There was good pitching. There were questionable calls by umpires, and by the managers. The game had everything. Congratulations to the Chicago Cubs on their World Series championship.As with any baseball game, there are usually a series of plays, calls or decisions that can affect the final outcome. In the playoffs in general, and especially in a World Series Game 7 atmosphere, the second-guessing is done by millions and millions of people across the country, around the globe. Let’s be honest, social media makes it very easy. Frankly, second-guessing (or first-guessing, if you prefer) is part of the allure of baseball. It’s a game that so many played when they were young. It’s a game that doesn’t appear to be anywhere near as hard as it is. It’s a game in which everyone can be questioned. It’s part of what makes Twins Daily successful. Every decision a GM makes can be argued and discussed. A manager’s lineup construction or in-game tendencies can be questioned. Pitcher-catcher pitch-selection is always up for debate. Generally speaking, I try not to take any real hard stands on those types of things. I may not understand, but I’d say with certainty that the person making the decision (GM, manager, player) did so with a lot more information at his fingertips than I would have had. The World Series provided plenty of opportunity for second guessing. Here are just some examples. It has been well over a decade since a starting pitcher has thrown games 1, 4 and 7 of the World Series. The game has changed and teams seem to prefer to use their pitchers on more rest rather than pitch their starters on short rest. Terry Francona chose to go with a three-man starting staff in the World Series (Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Josh Tomlin) rather than go with a fourth starter. Meanwhile, Maddon’s Cubs rotation included Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks and John Lackey. To be fair to Francona, he’s had to piece things together from a starting pitcher standpoint throughout the playoffs. He hasn’t been able to use two of his best starters, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar, in that role. He used Ryan Merritt for one game in the ALCS. What will some fans may think? The game has changed. Starters don’t do this, and the numbers generally back up the fact that when a pitcher works on short-rest, the numbers aren’t as good. (What I was thinking? When Cleveland had a 3-1 series lead - after Kluber pitched well on short-rest in Game 4 - I may have gone back to Merritt to start Game 5. Bauer hasn’t been on - even when he wasn’t bleeding out - this postseason, and Tomlin wasn’t very good most of the year. I would have started Bauer in Game 6 with Tomlin in relief, if necessary. But I have no problem with going back to Kluber for Game 7.) What was Francona is thinking? He’s thinking that his starter only needs to give him five innings before he’ll start going to his dominant bullpen of Brian Shaw, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen. In doing so, he is able to limit the number of pitches that his starter throws in each game and cumulatively. In Game 7, Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks - who is the favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award this year - gave up one run over 4 ⅔ innings. He issued a walk - that should have been a strikeout if not for a missed strike call - and Joe Maddon removed him from the game. Hendricks isn’t dominant. He’s a pitcher in the Brad Radke mold. But Hendricks was pitching well. Jon Lester, who started Game 5, warmed up in the bullpen. For a long time. With Jason Kipnis coming up, Maddon went to Lester. How it panned out isn’t as important as the process (for this discussion, at least, obviously the results are all that matter in a Game 7 situation) for our discussion. Kipnis nubbed a ball down the third base line. David Ross, who came into the game when Lester did (replacing Willson Contreras), threw to first and it got away, allowing runners to go to 2nd and 3rd. Lester then bounced a slider that hit off of Ross’s helmet and toward the 1B dugout, far enough that two runs scored on it. In the moment, it didn’t look like the decision would pay off. (To make it more interesting, Ross hit a solo home run to dead center off of Andrew Miller to bump the Cubs lead back up to 6-3. Lester settled down and got out of the 5th inning. He worked scoreless 6th and 7th frames and got two outs in the 8th as well.) What are fans are thinking? Hendricks is pitching well, and he’s had a good year. We don’t care about pitcher wins, the stat, but it’s hard not to feel bad for Hendricks who deserved better. What’s Maddon’s thinking? This is Hendrick’s third time through the lineup. I’ve got Lester, who has been warming up a long time. If I don’t go to him now, he’ll have thrown too many pitches in the bullpen and won’t be available. In the end, Maddon’s job is to use information he has to make the best decision with the goal of winning that one game. And then the big one… In Game 6, the Cubs had a big lead in the 7th inning. Joe Maddon decided to bring Aroldis Chapman into the game. He got out of a situation, but then despite the Cubs adding on more runs, Chapman remained in the game. What do many fans think? Chapman isn’t really a multiple inning guy and what if he’s needed in an actually close game in Game 7? Will he be available to pitch? What was Maddon thinking? First and foremost, he’s thinking win Game 6. If they don’t do that, there is no Game 7. Win Game 6 and worry about Game 7 when it comes. The Result - Clearly Chapman was not himself in Game 7. Sure, he hit 101 and 102 a couple of times, but it wasn’t the same. He wasn’t as sharp. He looked tired. He gave up a two-run, game-tying home run to Rajai Davis. Then again, he got the final out of the eighth and worked a perfect ninth inning. Was it completely because of his excessive usage the night before? It’s impossible to say. It is something that Joe Maddon will likely ask himself over and over again in the offseason. Game 7s are always great. Do you ever wonder how the 1987 or 1991 World Series might have been different if Twitter and blogs would have been around then? Let’s be honest, Twitter was still in its infancy when the Twins were last in a playoff series. Remember when Grady Little decided to stick with his ace, Pedro Martinez. The decision backfired. The Red Sox lost. Little was fired. Joe Maddon made several very questionable decisions in Games 6 and 7. Using Chapman for so long in a blowout. Taking Hendricks out of the game in the 5th inning for no reason. Having Javier Baez attempt a safety squeeze bunt on a full-count with a runner on third and one out? The decision to fire Little, in my opinion, was silly. I’m certainly not advocating for Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer to fire Maddon. I do think that the playoffs magnify everything, and Maddon made some questionable choices. And you know what… he also helped bring the Chicago Cubs their first World Series title in 108 years! At the end of the day (or even into the morning of the next day), we were able to witness two great baseball teams who both had long World Series droughts play an epic Game 7. We are all winners for it, even the second-guessers. ---------------------------------------------------- Why did I write an article that really has little or nothing to do with the Minnesota Twins? Honestly, while watching Game 7, my thought was… this type of second-guessing of a manager is so much more fun than questioning whether Paul Molitor should bring in Pat Light or Pat Dean to replace Andrew Albers with the Twins down 8-2 in the 5th inning of a mid-September game. I long for the days of questioning Ron Gardenhire decisions in the playoffs! Click here to view the article