Berardino: Twins Interview Willis For PC

[Nick Nelson]

According to Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press, the Twins have interviewed Carl Willis for their vacant pitching coach position. Willis has previously served in that role with the Indians and Mariners.

 

Berardino's article has plenty of quotes from Willis: http://blogs.twincities.com/twins/2014/11/19/twinsights-carl-willis-interviewed-twins-pitching-coach-opening/

 

On the surface, this seems like a strong choice that would appease a lot of fans. He's got a good rep and plenty of experience outside the organization, having coached numerous All-Stars.

 

Your thoughts? Would Willis be a good pick for this all-important position?

[JB_Iowa]

Mike Berardino ‏@MikeBerardino  · 1h1 hour ago 
Carl Willis has been the pitching coach for 3 Cy Young seasons (CC, Lee, Felix) and, by his count, "8 or 9" All-Star seasons. #MNTwins

 

Mike Berardino ‏@MikeBerardino  · 13m13 minutes ago 
So, I counted it up and it's actually 12 All-Star seasons by 8 pitchers under Carl Willis: 6 #Indians, 6 #Mariners.

 

Mike Berardino ‏@MikeBerardino  · 11m11 minutes ago 
The Carl Willis All-Stars: Sabathia, Lee, Westbrook, Wickman, Pineda, League, Iwakuma, King Felix.

 

 

 

I'm in.  A reconnection to Twins past but significant ties to other organizations,

[Jeremy Nygaard]

Seth and I discussed Willis as a possible pitching coach during our November 5th hangout. At the mention of his name, he became Seth's favorite.

[Brandon]

I don't know he only averaged 5.6 strikeouts per 9 innings in his career with the Twins.  but he did go 20-10 out of the bullpen here with a 3.65 ERA. and he threw a good scuff ball and helped us win a World Series in 91 going 8-3.  I'm in. 

 

MIN (5 yrs) 20 10 .667 3.65 204 0 63 0 0 11 286.1 299 134 116 16 64 12 179

[Rosterman]

Is he without a job? Any reason for that? Yes, he is a successful coach. Would love to get Don Cooper, who has managed to stay with the White Sox thru various managers somehow. 

 

How is Willis with young power pitchers? And how does he see a bullpen?

[ScottyB]

I said this the day after Gardy was fired.  Willis has always been my #1 choice.  Glad to see the Twins are looking at him seriously.

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

Is he without a job? Any reason for that? Yes, he is a successful coach. Would love to get Don Cooper, who has managed to stay with the White Sox thru various managers somehow. 

 

How is Willis with young power pitchers? And how does he see a bullpen?

He was working for Cleveland in 2014, similar to Molitor's work with the Twins before becoming a ML bench/baserunning coach. Willis was a roving pitching instructor for Cleveland last year.

 

Both stints as pitching coach were under Eric Wedge. When Wedge lost his job in Seattle, Willis left the Mariners too.

[Nick Nelson]

Berardino (who's been killing it with offseason coverage) also serves up this tidbit:

 

Just got off the phone with @FrankViola16. Said Terry Ryan called him last night to tell him he was out of the running for #MNTwins PC.

[TheLeviathan]

More I read, the more I'm a fan.

[nater79a]

I always remember the "Big Train" stroking his jowls between pitches, trying to get some sweat on his fingers!  

[nicksaviking]

I kind of thought Willis had a bit of an Anderson curve to his coaching career.  He started off promoting some promising performances but his pitchers soon tailed off significatnly.  He looked good when he had strong pitchers, but that's the easy part.  Was he able to get subpar pitchers to pitch above their skill level?

 

Also, Lee's K numbers didn't take off until he left Willis.  They took off like the minute he got traded actually.

[Twins Twerp]

He was awesome as Apollo Creed too.  I also liked him in Happy Gilmore and Arrested Development.  This would be a good hire.  

[Seth Stohs]

Seth and I discussed Willis as a possible pitching coach during our November 5th hangout. At the mention of his name, he became Seth's favorite.

 

Yeah, I felt at that time like an idiot for not having mentioned him. But, he fits several criteria. Since Molitor hasn't managed and hasn't worked with a pitching staff, having someone with big league experience in the ptiching coach role could be important (though certainly not mandatory). He has his successes with Cy Young Award winners and All Stars. He is respected around the game.  I think he makes a ton of sense.

 

That said, I still think Viola may have been a good option as well, and I still think Marty Mason makes a lot of sense too.

 

I just wonder... do people think Willis would be a guy from "within" since he pitched for the Twins in 91 and for a couple of years after that?

[JB_Iowa]

Mike Berardino ‏@MikeBerardino  · 4m4 minutes ago 
Per @Charley_Walters, #MNTwins will name Eddie Guardado as new bullpen coach.

[MileHighTwinsFan]

I just wonder... do people think Willis would be a guy from "within" since he pitched for the Twins in 91 and for a couple of years after that?

He pitched for a team that had Gardy as the 3rd base coach, clearly inside and completely co-opted into the Twins lose just to spite the fans mentality.

[big dog]

I kind of thought Willis had a bit of an Anderson curve to his coaching career.  He started off promoting some promising performances but his pitchers soon tailed off significatnly.  He looked good when he had strong pitchers, but that's the easy part.  Was he able to get subpar pitchers to pitch above their skill level?

 

Also, Lee's K numbers didn't take off until he left Willis.  They took off like the minute he got traded actually.

True about Lee, but he also landed in the National League.  That must be worth something, but I don't know how much.

 

I like both of these candidates pretty well.  I think of both of them as outsiders, personally.

 

JS

[Otto von Ballpark]

As far as former Twins go, Willis is one of the more legit candidates -- he's got plenty of experience at the highest level with other organizations.

 

But it still feels like the Twins put too much importance on "former Twin" as a qualification in selecting candidates, and probably in making job offers too (and sometimes in free agency as well).  When there's talk of an organizational shake-up after four 90+ loss seasons (not to mention numerous playoff failures before that)... it remains a little disappointing that TR generally limited himself to calling numbers already stored in his phone (if not on speed dial).  Shouldn't a shake-up imply moving out of one's comfort zone, and challenging oneself, at least to some degree?

[Ben B]

La Velle reporting that Willis and Rays AAA pitching coach Neil Allen are the finalists. 

[DocBauer]

I greatly respected Willis for re-inventing himself with the Twins in to a high quality setup man...virtually off the street. (thank you Dick Such for another great job that offered you little to no praise or glory in your Twins career) And I've heard strong rumors and opinions over the past several years about the job he'd done for various teams. But honestly, until reading the facts here, I never realized the successes so many of his pitchers had enjoyed to this point.

 

I couldn't care less if he pitched a couple solid seasons 20PLUS YEARS AGO or not for the Twins...under a different manager, pitching coach and GM....did we mention 20 plus years ago???...he seems to have a very good track record. I would think that would make him a very strong candidate.

 

I see absolutely nothing wrong with him being one of the reportedly final two candidates.

[jokin]

La Velle reporting that Willis and Rays AAA pitching coach Neil Allen are the finalists. 

 

Neil Allen, finally the Twins taking a very serious look outside the obvious prospects.  This little quote  from an SI article is very intriguing:

 

 

 

   

Fourteen starts into his professional career Wang blew out his shoulder and sat out the entire 2001 season following surgery. He was told by the Yankees that he had to bag his out pitch, the slider, to ease the stress on his arm. In the summer of '04 he learned the pitch that would change his career. During a bullpen session shortly after his promotion to Triple A Columbus, Clippers pitching coach Neil Allen approached him with a suggestion. "Try this," Allen said to Wang, holding the ball with his index and middle fingers along the seams that framed the ball's sweet spot. "Push harder here," he said, tapping his index finger against the ball.

 

Wang began throwing and, he recalls, "the ball started to drop." It took only a few starts in Columbus before the sinker became his signature pitch, and the results were immediate:                                                                          

Wang's sinker gradually earned a reputation as one of the game's filthiest pitches. "An ultimate weapon, like Johan Santana and his changeup," says Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte. "It's the best sinker I've ever seen."                                 

[jokin]

More good stuff about Allen, it gets even better:  

 

 

Neil Allen joined the Rays organization in 2007 where he served as the pitching coach at Class AA Montgomery until last season. During his stay with the Biscuits, Allen worked with David Price, Wade Davis, Jeremy Hellickson, and Jake McGee. In 2010 Allen moved closer to his Sarasota home; working with the impressive rotation of the Class A+ Charlotte Stone Crabs featuring Matt Moore, Nick Barnese, and Joseph Cruz.

[jokin]

I've been begging for the club to follow up with the Glynn hire and get some more successful Rays personnel, this one has a strong record of success as the AAA Durham Bulls pitching coach.  Look especially at the K%'ges, 3 straight years at #1, even as his best players graduate... Holy Cow!

 

Not bad for a guy that emphasizes mastering: the FB inside and outside, don't be afraid to throw strikes, and pitching to contact:  Never been in the Twins organization, but can "talk the talk"  -AND- "walk the walk."  I see a great fit here if Terry has the courage to pull the trigger.

 

 

International League team pitching results:

 

2011  Team ERA  3.59 (3rd in IL)  K%  (3rd)

2012  Team ERA  4.59 (13th)        K%  (1st)

2013  Team ERA  3.33 (1st)           K%  (1st)

2014  Team ERA  3.59  (3rd)         K%  (1st)

[jokin]

There's no doubt that he's been working with some good prospects over the last 4 years, such as-

Chris Archer, Alex Cobb,  Alex Torres, Jake McGee , among others.

 

Jake Odorizzi really stands out with major improvements in repeating AAA, between the Royals farm club and the Rays:

 

2012 (Royals AAA)  K/9  7.38  BB/9 3.35  K%  19.1  BA .251 WHIP 1.35

2013 (Rays AAA)    K/9   8.98  BB/9 2.90  K%  25.2 BA .224 WHIP 1.13 

 

But it isn't just the ace-level talent that has improved under his tutelage.  AAA journeyman/fringe-major-leaguer, JD Martin, moved over to the Rays in 2013 and posted a stellar 16-4 record with career highs in ERA and K/9. Merrill Kelly bounced around the Rays system for 4 years with uninspiring results.  Getting promoted to AAA in 2013, and repeating the level in 2014, he's put up high-end results in ERA and K/9, far above anything he'd shown previously. 

[Pius Jefferson]

Neil Allen was my choice after searching for Rays AAA pitching coach right after Gardenhire was let go. I wish I had been smart enough to post something in late September.

 

Unless the one year as the Yankees bullpen coach counts, hiring Neil Allen would go against the reports of the Twins wanting a pitching coach with big league experience. 

[The Wise One]

If it is down to Allen and Willis they have thrown out the major league experience criteria for a coach.

The 2 questions I have in regards to Allen are as follows. If there is a criteria to have mlb experience, did someone give LENIII bad information to jerk his chain? And by there being certain TD posters liking Allen, did that just kill any chance he had?

[DocBauer]

From all I previously knew, thought I knew, and have been educated here at TD, I think either finalist would be a very solid choice.

[Otto von Ballpark]

I just wonder... do people think Willis would be a guy from "within" since he pitched for the Twins in 91 and for a couple of years after that?

 

 

 

I couldn't care less if he pitched a couple solid seasons 20PLUS YEARS AGO or not for the Twins...under a different manager, pitching coach and GM....did we mention 20 plus years ago???

 

The issue isn't that he's an "inside" guy or that he thinks just like Gardy/Anderson or that he has no qualifications.  Those are obviously untrue.

 

It's more like, why is being a former Twin or local guy apparently such an important criteria for Twins hiring?  While none of the choices thus far look egregiously misguided or anything (thank goodness they didn't seriously consider Blyleven or Morris), I don't have much confidence that the Twins are even looking at the best candidates, much less hiring them.  And this is with a great veteran baseball man in TR at the helm of the whole thing.

 

And it extends beyond just this winter's coaching hires -- we've seen it in past coaching hires, in free agency (let's immediately address our OF defense by... pursuing Torii Hunter?!), in trades (perhaps too often over-rating our own prospects?), and basically in the front office too (automatically promoting the long-tenured assistant GMs).

 

It's almost like the Twins view "their guys" (coaches, execs, players, draft picks, past associations) as just as good any other guys -- and they rarely need to look beyond them.  To some degree, it's probably true, especially on the margins (third base coaches, lower draft picks, etc.), and it's a refreshing reminder that it is still a sport.  But on the other hand, it seems kinda lazy, it results in a very draft-dependent franchise, it's not a great way to build any kind of edge, nor is it a good way to sustain success (as we saw after TR left).

 

For a related example, look at Jack Goin.  Now, I appreciate his visits here and his candor, and I have nowhere near enough information to judge his specific job performance (which is ultimately also the case with most coaches, execs, etc.).  But as another example, given the Twins track record of hiring decisions, I also don't have much confidence that his position and retention is based much on effectiveness or results -- he was one of "our guys" (admittedly lower on the totem pole) when the need arose for a stats person, and he's only further entrenched himself as one of "our guys" since.  (Again, not to pick on Jack Goin, just using him as an example.)

 

I don't necessarily think a Minnesota connection is a worthless factor, but it probably shouldn't dominate to the extent that it has, not in a highly competitive, results-oriented field, anyway.

[jharaldson]

I just wonder... do people think Willis would be a guy from "within" since he pitched for the Twins in 91 and for a couple of years after that?

 

No, my criteria for being an "inside guy" for Twins management is simple.  Did you instruct Minnesota Twins Major or Minor league players in 2014?  Paul Molitor did and has done so for 11 years, Bruno for 4 years, Glynn for 3 years, Rudy has for 14 years, Guardado for 2-3 years, and Willis has not.  I am not going to bend over backwards to find a connection for Willis and I am also not going to figure out how only being in the org for 3 years qualifies Glynn as an "outsider".  

[Mike Sixel]

Yeah, I felt at that time like an idiot for not having mentioned him. But, he fits several criteria. Since Molitor hasn't managed and hasn't worked with a pitching staff, having someone with big league experience in the ptiching coach role could be important (though certainly not mandatory). He has his successes with Cy Young Award winners and All Stars. He is respected around the game.  I think he makes a ton of sense.

 

That said, I still think Viola may have been a good option as well, and I still think Marty Mason makes a lot of sense too.

 

I just wonder... do people think Willis would be a guy from "within" since he pitched for the Twins in 91 and for a couple of years after that?

 

Not for me, on the last question. He hasn't been here for a REALLY long time.......

 

that said, one data point does not a trend make, this would add data to the belief of many that they just are not comfortable with new ideas. I don't think that in this case, but I can see where some would. As for the general trend......most executives hire someone they previously knew. Of course, most executives eventually lose their job.....

[big dog]

No, my criteria for being an "inside guy" for Twins management is simple.  Did you instruct Minnesota Twins Major or Minor league players in 2014?  Paul Molitor did and has done so for 11 years, Bruno for 4 years, Glynn for 3 years, Rudy has for 14 years, Guardado for 2-3 years, and Willis has not.  I am not going to bend over backwards to find a connection for Willis and I am also not going to figure out how only being in the org for 3 years qualifies Glynn as an "outsider".  

 

I guess I have a less simple criterion for "inside guy".  If you have a 30-year career, in several organizations, and you've spent the last 3 here, I would think of you as a guy who was familiar with the organization, but far from being a complete insider.  I doubt if Glynn forgot everything he learned at all his other stops over the last 3 years.  That hardly seems like an insider to me, but I guess everyone can pick their own definition.