Joe Vavra returns as bench coach

[Bark's Lounge]

I predict Bruce Willis was actually dead the whole last 90 minutes of the film.

Yep, well deserved.

[D. Hocking]

I predict Bruce Willis was actually dead the whole last 90 minutes of the film.

 The only way to explain the last Die Hard movie.

[twinsnorth49]

The big plus is he already knows the Twins secret hand shake. Bad enough they have one outsider coming in.

This has to be it, I mean it's easily the most plausible explanation....

[minnesota transplant]

SERIOUSLY?

[Craig Arko]

SERIOUSLY?

 

No, this thread was created simply to fool us all.

 

It worked.

[Mike Sixel]

I predict Bruce Willis was actually dead the whole last 90 minutes of the film.

 

Wait, what? Awwwww, man....where are the spoiler tags?

 

[ashbury]

In keeping with the theme of reporting yesterday's news: SPOILER ALERT!

[DocBauer]

OK...late to the party.

 

Sorry to get serious again for a moment.

 

Yes, I'm surprised. Not disappointed, upset or angry. I just guessed Vavra would have a different appointment within the organization.

 

He is the Ben Stiller "Mystery Man" of the Twins coaching staff the past few seasons. He's done nothing in his career but garner great support and tremendous reviews and loyalty from management and players alike despite no-one knowing exactly who he is.

 

I have no problem with this selection. My understanding has always been that a bench coach is either the guy with a clipboard and stats for an experienced manager, or the old-timer who was there to help advise the new manager. Three and a half plus decades in professional ball as a player/scout/instructor/coach, I doubt Molitor feels the need for someone to hold his hand. And Glynn clearly has the experience as a baseball guy and experienced manager...milb not with standing...to offer advice on all the little things that take place as the guy in charge. Vavra might just be the ideal choice as a well rounded, experienced, multi-dimensional quasi-surreal baseball being who can sit at the right elbow of St. Paul...Molitor's Mini-me...and offer up all the reports and advice he ever needs.

[Rosterman]

Maybe this means he can devote fulltime to stat stuff, rather than having to worry about on-field activities. Excellent choice. A guy who deserves to stay with the organization. He also lives nearby (commutes home to Wisconsin). Has been in baseball for a long time, many years with Dodgers before coming to the Twins where he was once the minor league hitting coordinator.

[ScottyB]

My biggest disappointment about this is not bringing Vavra back - I also expected him somewhere in the organization, It's that I expected an additional Hispanic/Latino presence.  It would have been nice especially with Dave Martinez officially available.  For bench coach I would have gone for him or Sandy Alomar, Jr. or one of the Hispanic/Latino managers from he WBC - Luis Sojo, Edwin Rodriguez, Eddie Perez, Roberto Kelly, Dennis Martinez or Tony Pena.  To me, Rudy Hernandez alone just doesn't cut it.  It does feel pretty 'old boys club' to me.

[DocBauer]

My biggest disappointment about this is not bringing Vavra back - I also expected him somewhere in the organization, It's that I expected an additional Hispanic/Latino presence.  It would have been nice especially with Dave Martinez officially available.  For bench coach I would have gone for him or Sandy Alomar, Jr. or one of the Hispanic/Latino managers from he WBC - Luis Sojo, Edwin Rodriguez, Eddie Perez, Roberto Kelly, Dennis Martinez or Tony Pena.  To me, Rudy Hernandez alone just doesn't cut it.  It does feel pretty 'old boys club' to me.

Martinez, to my understanding, was not available until after this decision was made.

 

I don't know that I'll be overly disappointed if they don't bring another Hispanic/Latino on board, though I would like it, as they are already well ahead of the game with Hernandez on board. And we do still have one more staff position available at 1B.

[USNMCPO]

Correct, and being the hitting coach when your team had 2 MVPs, a bunch of silver sluggers, etc., is pretty good. He helped Mauer and Morneau through their great years. He helped Cuddyer and Hunter and Kubel become really good players. he wasn't able to fix Delmon. Not sure we should hold that against him, though he did have his best year with him.

If my aging memory is accurate, I seem to remember a phrase associated with Twins hitters when Vavra was the hitting coach and that was "professional hitter". I remember a special on FSN about Vavra as a hitting coach and I was struck by his work ethic, humility and ability.

[ashbury]

I thought there was a lot of complaining by fans about the hitting, when Vavra was coaching that.

[Linus]

I thought there was a lot of complaining by fans about the hitting, when Vavra was coaching that.

Which means nothing. Baseball people respect him greatly

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

My biggest disappointment about this is not bringing Vavra back - I also expected him somewhere in the organization, It's that I expected an additional Hispanic/Latino presence.  It would have been nice especially with Dave Martinez officially available.  For bench coach I would have gone for him or Sandy Alomar, Jr. or one of the Hispanic/Latino managers from he WBC - Luis Sojo, Edwin Rodriguez, Eddie Perez, Roberto Kelly, Dennis Martinez or Tony Pena.  To me, Rudy Hernandez alone just doesn't cut it.  It does feel pretty 'old boys club' to me.

Maybe Robbie Alomar will come in and be the 1st Base Coach - Roberto Kelly would be a good choice too - Kelly even played for the Twins for a season, so they've got that going for them.

 

I'd really like the last coaching vacancy to be filled by someone that can help the OF defensively.

[big dog]

My biggest disappointment about this is not bringing Vavra back - I also expected him somewhere in the organization, It's that I expected an additional Hispanic/Latino presence.  It would have been nice especially with Dave Martinez officially available.  For bench coach I would have gone for him or Sandy Alomar, Jr. or one of the Hispanic/Latino managers from he WBC - Luis Sojo, Edwin Rodriguez, Eddie Perez, Roberto Kelly, Dennis Martinez or Tony Pena.  To me, Rudy Hernandez alone just doesn't cut it.  It does feel pretty 'old boys club' to me.

Doesn't anyone consider Eddie Guardado as Hispanic?  He describes his father as Mexican, a farmworker in Stockton CA.

[Seth Stohs]

I thought there was a lot of complaining by fans about the hitting, when Vavra was coaching that.

 

There is always complaining about coaches, no matter how good they are or aren't. 

[ashbury]

There is always complaining about coaches, no matter how good they are or aren't. 

*shrug* That's probably so.  I just thought it was more pointed in the case of Vavra than average.  Maybe not.

[USAFChief]

There is always complaining about coaches, no matter how good they are or aren't.

 

One would think if the Twins were happy with his work he'd still be doing it, no?

[jokin]

Which means nothing. Baseball people respect him greatly

 

So much "respect" out there that no team saw fit to lure him away to be their own team's bench coach?

[ashbury]

So much "respect" out there that no team saw fit to lure him away to be their own team's bench coach?

Starts to overlap with Groucho (Marx, not Goryl) and his old dictum that "I don't care to belong to any club that will have me as a member."  We shouldn't hire anyone who would take the job. 

[jokin]

So much "respect" out there that no team saw fit to lure him away to be their own team's bench coach?

 

 

Starts to overlap with Groucho (Marx, not Goryl) and his old dictum that "I don't care to belong to any club that will have me as a member."  We shouldn't hire anyone who would take the job. 

 

I tend to go with the theory that any "respect" talk is cheap, until someone puts their money where their mouth is... I believe Groucho also put it best when he added another old dictum:

 

'I have nothing but respect for you -- and not much of that.'