Article: Twins GM Terry Ryan Talks About The Search For A New Manager

[jharaldson]

You'd honestly want an external candidate hired in a rush without a thorough vetting? That's the LAST thing I would want.

 

Did the Rangers, Astros, and Diamondbacks rush their manager hirings without vetting?  It seems as if they were able to make informed choices in less time than the Twins.

 

 

And I just don't get the whole thing about how it's supposedly impossible to conduct a thorough internal and external search and then conclude that one of the internal candidates is the right choice. Frankly, that happens all the friggin time in the business world. Considering outside candidates should never preclude you from hiring an internal candidate if that's what ends up being your best choice.

 

I agree with your statement in principle but what I don't agree with is how the internal candidate is always the right choice.  When the coaching staff was purged 2 years ago it was all internal guys  who came in.  When Smith was let go it was an internal guy who came in.  When Ryan retired in 2007 the replacement was an internal guy.  When looking for a VP of Player Personnel the guy to get was internal candidate Mike Radcliff.

 

I have a hard time trusting that they are seriously looking at external candidates based on this track record but I hope to be proven wrong.

[Rosterman]

I found it interesting the remarks about setting a coaching staff. The manager is the on-field boss, but the guys he surrounds himself with give their input and also have long leashes on doing the respective jobs so the manager doesn't have to do it all.

 

The need to hire a field manager and the staff selected will impact the Twins from the top all the way down to the rookie league. There's at least three names from this year's coaching staff that could remain. There's three names of guys you could easily keep in the organization, from hitting instruction, to field manager, to roaming coach. There 2-4 guys I would consider for major league spots in the minors for sure, amongst them Dougie, Jake, Gene, Tommy. Even Sam Perlozzo would be a good choice for a bench coach. You could argue that the Twins could elevate Artega or Hernandez to the bullpen coach position, or bring in Ray Smith or Jeff Reed after their long tenure with the Twins.

 

But any of these guys has to work with the new manager, be he in-house or out-house.

 

I get the impression that the Twins still want someone who will keep the Twins Way going forward, not create ripples in a system already in place, but compliment it.

 

And any other outside candidates will also be considered for other jobs in the Twins organization, or with the current field staff, if they wanted to jump ship our way.

 

Is the December Winter Meetings the time that you need to have your field staff totally set? I think you can continue to make some deletions without field management approval, as well as add the necessary folks to the 40-man. You can also sign lots of non-roster players, who sort themselves out in spring training anyways.

 

The big thing is to be able to set you AAA, AA and both A-ball staffs.

 

Anyone catch that they hired Valezquez to be a pitching coach in the rookie league?

[Craig Arko]

What is this "Twins way" thing I keep reading about?

 

Please define it.

[Guest]

(1) Not trying to be snarky, but could someone tell me what Paul Molitor's accomplishments AS A COACH are and why they qualify him to be a manager now?  I understand that some of the players said they liked working with him, but don't players say that about most coaches?  Besides that, are there any measurable results attributable to him in the areas where he specialized, such as, hypothetically, taking a team that was near last in taking the extra base on hits and plays in the field and making them one of the best teams in that skill?  

 

Similarly, with fielding, it seems that Plouffe went from being one of the worst fielders at his position to being maybe league average.  Is that attributable to Molitor?  Is there a more general team-wide fielding improvement attributable to Molitor?  Are any or the aggregate of these measurable results sufficient qualification to be the next manager?

 

I'm asking because I haven't heard of any such accomplishments, but would like to know if others are aware of any.  To be a little snarky, it seems that there is an element of "Because I'm Keith Hernandez" in the answer to the question, "How is he qualified?"

 

(2) What happened to the candidacy of John Russell?  He seemed like an exciting possibility with a great pedigree, including the apparently greatly-desired "ties to the organization."

 

(3) Dougie Baseball for AA manager in 2015.  In the likely chance that the next manager doesn't stay for 13 years, he would be well-positioned.  Further, if he proves again that he can win with several of the players that are the team's future, he may force his way to the majors sooner, regardless of what is decided this month.

[Otto von Ballpark]

(1) Not trying to be snarky, but could someone tell me what Paul Molitor's accomplishments AS A COACH are and why they qualify him to be a manager now?  I understand that some of the players said they liked working with him, but don't players say that about most coaches?  Besides that, are there any measurable results attributable to him in the areas where he specialized, such as, hypothetically, taking a team that was near last in taking the extra base on hits and plays in the field and making them one of the best teams in that skill? 

The Twins did almost double their SB in 2014 (to above league average) over 2013, at a much better success rate.

 

According to B-Ref, the Twins also went from -8.2 baserunning runs (last in MLB) to +3.5 in 2014 (that would include taking the extra base, etc.).

 

Someone posted the data that the Twins shifted a lot more in 2014, and with decent success compared to the league.

 

The Twins infield defense was pretty well regarded in 2014 too, although by the B-Ref numbers it was pretty good outside of Plouffe in 2013 too.  (I know Plouffe's general praise of Molitor -- has Molitor been any kind of fielding mentor for Plouffe?)

 

Could be right place, right time -- as mentioned, the Twins were one the worst in the league at baserunning and shifts in 2013, so they probably had nowhere to go but up, especially with new some faces on the field -- but at least it's something.

[JB_Iowa]

•The Rays‘ list of candidates to replace Joe Maddon could include bench coach Dave Martinez, Triple-A manager Charlie Montoyo, FOX Sports analyst Gabe Kapler, White Sox coach Joe McEwing and former Rangers interim manager Tim Bogar, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. Topkin notes that Martinez has interviewed for five other managerial jobs already.

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/10/east-notes-nationals-phillies-hamels-rays.html

 

 

Topkin notes that Martinez has interviewed for five other managerial jobs already.  

 

I realize that was in prior years but I'm still surprised he was never selected.

[Kwak]

The World Series ended yesterday and today has passed without any annoucement that the Twins have selected a manager.  There is a delay.  My guess is that the first few comments of this thread have summed-up the issues and why there is a delay.

 

Also, reread Ryan's quotes:  "...handling the pitching staff..." and "...control of the coaching staff...".