Article: Twins to Name Paul Molitor Manager

[Otto von Ballpark]

One thing you could consider to ease that disappointment is how we know Gardy and Molly got along. By all accounts Molly has been an outsider in the dugout for a year. I truly think he and Luvollo represented outside choices.

Molitor has spent one year of his 15 years post-retirement working for another organization than the Twins.  And it was disastrous and 10 years ago.

 

Molitor was apparently considered for the Minnesota manager's job 13 years ago, but passed over for Gardy.

 

Molitor was brought back to the MLB dugout for the first time in 10 years last winter, to be Gardenhire's bench coach after Gardy was nearly fired himself.

 

I've got nothing against him and I wish him well, but he's not much of an outsider.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Pitching coach decision is going to be huge, I think.  That will be a good indicator how much Molitor is really "manager material" and how much "outside thinking" he's bringing to the job.

[Bark's Lounge]

I am very pleased with this hiring.

 

I wonder how Teddy Higuera will do as the Twins new pitching coach? (just kidding)

 

It will definitely be interesting to see who Molitor and Ryan choose to fill that role if they pass on Cuellar.

[Kwak]

I'm at a loss to see that anybody deserves to be a coach.  There are plenty of qualified people in the BB world for these coaching positions.  If Molitor (and/or the FO) chooses a whole new team there is no reason to think that calamity will result.

[clutterheart]

Because it's possible they made up their mind a week ago and spent the past seven days negotiating terms?

Or maybe Meatsauce just guessed and got it right. It wasn't hard, as there were only two candidates.

 

Nope.

He first reported it on Sept 30.

 

Furthermore Berardino is reporting ownership wanted him to replace Gardy mid-season 2013

 

Its obvious the job was his.

 

[clutterheart]

U

[USNMCPO]

Not my first choice, but not a bad choice.

 

I'm sure there will be more teeth-gnashing over Maddon, but in terms of W-L, I don't think having him manage the 2015 Twins instead of Molitor would make much of a difference.

I've been thinking about Maddon. Here's a guy who from appearances was more than willing to get another guy fired so he could take the job. I know MLB manager is a big boy job, but does ethical behavior have any value? I think it does and for that reason I am happy that the Twins did not go hard after Maddon.

[MileHighTwinsFan]

Congrats Molly. If you are able to get your players to play at a fraction of the level you performed at over your career, you will be successful.

 

[Mike Sixel]

Good luck to him and the team. I'm not at all surprised by the choice.

[tobi0040]

The cynicism of the Twins fan base is disheartening. Do some of you really believe Lovullo got a second interview and regular contact with the FO if they weren't legitimately considering him for the position?

 

What is the end game of Ryan in that move? If he honestly cared what cynics think about him, he wouldn't hire Molitor. It makes no sense to go through all that effort to vet an outside guy to "appease a fanbase" and then turn around and hire the "insider" that fanbase was skeptical about in the first place.

 

For right or wrong, Ryan thinks Molitor is the best guy for the job. I happen to like Molitor but also believe that most managers don't have a ton of in-game impact so overall, it's not an earth-shattering decision to me. Molitor is an interesting candidate and better than Mientkiewicz, who seems to shun any kind of outside thinking and feels "rub some dirt on it and walk it off" is the way to play 21st century baseball.

 

I also was on board with hiring Lovullo.

 

I guess my counter to the cynicism comment is, lets just assume for a second that Terry Ryan knew the second Gardy was fired that he was going to hire Molitor.  Do you think they would have fired Gardy and hired Molitor the same day, or within a few days? 

 

I think under no condition would the Pohlads or Dave St. Peter allowed that to happen.  Not a chance.  The optics of a franchise that has lost 360 games in four years that frankly did not take a step forward last year hiring a guy internally without a "process"  would have looked really, really bad. 

 

So I think some credence exists to the cynicism.  I mean, how long has Terry Ryan known Molitor?  Two decades?  He has been a roving instructor, at spring training, now he hired him for a bench role a year ago and he has seen him this year.   Yet he still needed to interview him three times and it took him 31 days to decide?

 

As far as where I stand, I would have been okay with Molitor or Luvollo. I can't really tell who will be a better coach.  I do believe both are on different levels than Doug.

Edited November 1, 2014 by tobi0040

[JB_Iowa]

So I think some credence exists to the cynicism.  I mean, how long has Terry Ryan known Molitor?  Two decades?  He has been a roving instructor, at spring training, now he hired him for a bench role a year ago and he has seen him this year.   Yet he still needed to interview him three times?

 

I actually think that this was Pohlad's choice not Ryan's.  I think Pohlad wanted to do this last year but deferred to Ryan's wishes to give Gardy more time,  Then I think they actually gave Gardenhire more input this year in both the interest of fairness and because of Ryan's illness. 

 

There was a story earlier this week that referred to Molitor as "one of Jim Pohlad's closest friends".  I think it would have been almost impossible to persuade him to hire someone else although it appears that Rvan gave him a strong candidate in Lovullo.

Edited November 1, 2014 by JB_Iowa

[Mike Sixel]

I think 4 years of 90+ losses earns some cynicism from the fans. I have no idea what the process was, but Molitor being the front runner and everyone else having to "outscore" him by 10 runs to win, does not seem preposterous to me. So, ya, some here are cynical. But, I don't know if they are right or wrong.

 

Also, they are posting "I think", not statements of fact......

[Highabove]

I Feel sorry for the other Candidates who wasted their time. In Music, you stay clear of fixed auditions

Edited November 1, 2014 by Highabove

[Jack Torse]

I have no problem with Molly, obviously he's a baseball expert. He'll likely be about as good as his players playing for him. Just a statement of fact. What bothers me is that he was a leading candidate after TK left. It seemed like nobody else got a real serious look this time. The Joe Madden stuff was quite silly. I wonder if they pegged Molly as the next manager the day they hired Gardy. Love to see them think outside the box just once. Get ready Doug M. You're next.

[JB_Iowa]

I am again struck by this quote in a Mike Berardino blog:

 

 “Sometimes it just doesn’t happen for whatever reason,” Dick Berardino, a player-development consultant for the Red Sox and a mentor of sorts to Lovullo, said this week. “It’s like anything else: Sometimes it’s not what you know but who you know.”   http://blogs.twincities.com/twins/2014/10/29/twinsights-teams-keep-passing-torey-lovullo/

 

The good old boys' network is always active, 

 

And although I haven't yet found the closest friend quote back, I did find this one:

“I’ve thought Paul was the right person all along,” the person said. “With Pohlad now involved, you can bet Molly is the man. Their relationship is so strong.”

 

http://blogs.twincities.com/twins/2014/10/29/twinsights-twins-still-made-manager-offers-source-says/

 

 

 

Anyway, I wish Molitor well but use of "Molly" should go the way of no more use of Gardy,  Outlaw Y's.

[Thrylos]

The cynicism of the Twins fan base is disheartening. Do some of you really believe Lovullo got a second interview and regular contact with the FO if they weren't legitimately considering him for the position?

 

Well...  methinks that 4 years of 99+96+96+92 allows for some cynicism?  No?

Molitor was my third choice (after Lovullo & Mient,) mainly because the other two have had recent success (i.e. world series titles) outside the organization and come from winning cultures. 

 

Could had been worse:  Scotty or Vavry.

The trick will be to see how many of Gardy's buddy's remain in the coaching stuff.  I'd take Bruno and that's about it.  The rest have to go and the pitching coach better be outside this organization. 

 

If not, the Twins' way is alive and well, thank you.

[Paul Pleiss]

A ballad from Terry Ryan to Paul Molitor:

 

"Don't cry for me Paul Molitor

The truth is I never left you

All through my wild days

My mad existence

I kept my promise

Don't keep your distance

 

And as for fortune, and as for fame

I never invited them in

Though it seemed to the world they were all I desired

 

They are illusions

They are not the solutions they promised to be

The answer was here all the time

I love you and hope you love me"

[Platoon]

While Gardy has been magniminious, and toed the company line, there seems little doubt that he knew and did not like that Molitor was in this years dugout. It was reported that last year he was able to keep Molitor out of the clubhouse but this year had to acquiesce. While they both work for the same employer, I doubt there is a lot in common between the two. I personally liked Doug M., but who knows? That could have been like getting a shiny new toy, and finding it wasn't what you expected. I knew nothing about Luvollo, including how to spell his name. Hopefully among Molitors talents is the ability to make some of the players on this roster a little uncomfortable. Players are supposed to respect their manager, but they don't have to like him. As for TR's world wide search, I doubt it was all dog and pony show. You might know you have a good in house candidate, but it does not hurt to kick a few tires. While it caused angst of amongst the more rabid and vociferous Twins fans, little was lost, or gained. Only time, and a couple good pitchers will determine whether TR made the right choice.

[Bark's Lounge]

A ballad from Terry Ryan to Paul Molitor:

 

"Don't cry for me Paul Molitor

The truth is I never left you

All through my wild days

My mad existence

I kept my promise

Don't keep your distance

 

And as for fortune, and as for fame

I never invited them in

Though it seemed to the world they were all I desired

 

They are illusions

They are not the solutions they promised to be

The answer was here all the time

I love you and hope you love me"

I can only envision myself liking this song if Doris Day is singing it and not Madonna.

[Seth Stohs]

We're all experts, huh? For me, I was very much intrigued by Torey Lovullo. He would have been a good choice. I was intrigued by Doug Mientkiewicz, but I think that I've backed off from that. That said, if he had been given the job, I think he would have been just fine. 

 

Meanwhile, I didn't want Molitor to be the next manager, in large part because I didn't like that he was brought on last year knowing that he was the likely favorite to take over. It just didn't feel right.

 

Can we criticize the Twins, Terry Ryan, etc? Sure. Four straight 90 loss seasons is well into the realm of criticizable. 

 

However, bashing the Twins or Molitor for Molitor being named the next manager (IF that is where this goes) seems a little silly.

 

It's unfortunate and it takes away from Molitor. He has a ton of qualifications that make him the right choice and instead of noting and pointing out those, we choose to be negative about it. 

 

In reality, it didn't matter who they picked. DId it? THere would have been people complaining about Terry Ryan picking the wrong guy.

 

It's too bad.

[Seth Stohs]

Sometimes the obvious choice can also be the right choice.

[TheLeviathan]

Molitor has spent one year of his 15 years post-retirement working for another organization than the Twins.  And it was disastrous and 10 years ago.

 

Molitor was apparently considered for the Minnesota manager's job 13 years ago, but passed over for Gardy.

 

Molitor was brought back to the MLB dugout for the first time in 10 years last winter, to be Gardenhire's bench coach after Gardy was nearly fired himself.

 

I've got nothing against him and I wish him well, but he's not much of an outsider.

 

He's mostly been on the fringe of the organization because he had no interest in being Gardy's #2.  (I'd presume because of the friction we've heard about)

 

He's not an outsider ala Luvollo, I agree about that.  But I do believe he'll represent a change in approach, which is really all we want in an outside manager candidate anyway.  If you want the organization to change, you need to hire for front office jobs, not the manager's spot.

[Platoon]

I can only envision myself liking this song if Doris Day is singing it and not Madonna.

 

Sarah Brightman ain't no slouch at it either!

[raindog]

You're right, Seth, none of us are experts. Y'all may as well just shut down Twins Daily. Expressing opinions is pointless.

[clutterheart]

Sometimes the obvious choice can also be the right choice.

I

Seth you miss the point. I haven't seen too many sane people say Molitor will stink as a manager. The problem is the front office has no interest in having an outside voice. As you note the day they brought Molitor on the staff was the day the job was his. Ill bet his first interview they just asked him what kind of office furniture he wants.

 

The process was a joke. And for a team with so many problems I would rather they focus on improving ibstead of continuity.

[TheLeviathan]

 And for a team with so many problems I would rather they focus on improving ibstead of continuity.

 

Just because Molitor has been loosely employed here for quite some time doesn't mean his approach to managing is going to be a continuation of Gardy's.

 

I believe it's going to be quite different and that's all you can really ask for from a managerial hire.

Edited November 2, 2014 by TheLeviathan

[Old Twins Cap]

Give a new manager a chance to be.... a new manager. 

 

Anyone beside Gardy is good with me. 

 

Molitor is familiar to the clubhouse, knows the players, their skill-sets, where he sees weaknesses -- on the whole, that's probably a good thing.  It's his team now, and he will have to live with the good and the bad of it.

 

Obviously, there's been a lot of bad.

[Bark's Lounge]

Meanwhile, I didn't want Molitor to be the next manager, in large part because I didn't like that he was brought on last year knowing that he was the likely favorite to take over. It just didn't feel right.

I totally respect the conflict you felt with that personnel move, but Molitor really had a positive impact on the 2014 ballclub. Personally, I have no regrets. Sometimes it is a fine line between doing what is ethically right and doing what is necessary. In this case it might have had an unsettling feeling, but overall I think it was in the best interest of this team a year ago and now, moving forward.

[one_eyed_jack]

I've been thinking about Maddon. Here's a guy who from appearances was more than willing to get another guy fired so he could take the job. I know MLB manager is a big boy job, but does ethical behavior have any value? I think it does and for that reason I am happy that the Twins did not go hard after Maddon.

 

I'm not sure we know enough about how that whole thing went down to say that Maddon himself acted unethically.  I guess all is fair in love and war, and the Cubs felt that they had the chance to replace a good general with a great general, but it doesn't feel right to me somehow.

 

I'll tell you this, Epstein better be right about this, because if he isn't, and the Cubbies flounder under Maddon, it could come back to bite him. 

[Seth Stohs]

I Seth you miss the point. I haven't seen too many sane people say Molitor will stink as a manager. The problem is the front office has no interest in having an outside voice. As you note the day they brought Molitor on the staff was the day the job was his. Ill bet his first interview they just asked him what kind of office furniture he wants. The process was a joke. And for a team with so many problems I would rather they focus on improving ibstead of continuity.

 

But that's my point... We don't know if the process was a joke or not. Maybe it was. However, you don't just string Lovullo and Mientkiewicz along, and you don't just bring in 5-6 guys just to chat. All we have to go on is the fact that they took their time, they talked to a lot of people, and at the end of the day, the favorite probably still got it. The point is that you can't just say that because Molitor ended up with the job doesn't mean that the process was a joke, and assuming that doesn't seem particularly fair.