Manager of the year

[jbissell]

If the Twins make the postseason, or even if they dont, does Paul Molitor deserve the AL Manager of the Year?

 

I definitely think he does by a long shot if the Twins get the 2nd wild card slot.

[blairpaul715]

 

If the Twins make the postseason, or even if they dont, does Paul Molitor deserve the AL Manager of the Year?

 

I definitely think he does by a long shot if the Twins get the 2nd wild card slot.

Well Houston had a poorer record last yr , so Hinch would have to be a top nominee, and IMO so should Girardi with the dreaded NY Yankees...........And Yost would get consideration, but i personally dont think much of him as manager.

[Mike Sixel]

It usually goes to a manager of a team that people didn't think would do much, or that really turned things around during the year.

 

that leaves MN, TX, HOU, and maybe even NYY. Heck, was TOR picked to do much? I don't see TOR winning, since they have all that talent.

 

Frankly, I don't think it is much of an award.....the Washington manager won it last year or the year before......

[nicksaviking]

Right, probably won't be a lot of consensus this year.  My gut tells me Hinch will win due to the Astros previous reputation.  It almost always goes to the manager of the most surprising team, whether the manager had anything to do with the season or not.

[Hrbowski]

 

Well Houston had a poorer record last yr , so Hinch would have to be a top nominee, and IMO so should Girardi with the dreaded NY Yankees...........And Yost would get consideration, but i personally dont think much of him as manager.

They actually had the same record as we did.

[DaveW]

no

[Linus]

no

Dave, are you sure? You've been in Mollies corner all year.

[Rosterman]

If Houston doesn't make the Wild Card, their manager won't get it. If they do, yes.

 

Not sure how the baseball world as a whole are looking at the Minnesota Twins. We are excited here, but don't know if people are rooting for us at this point, or even care.

 

[DaveW]

Blue Jays

Mets

Cubs

Pirates

Rangers

 

all probably deserve it more than Molly TBH, he will get some votes though.

[jimbo92107]

A great manager has to see avalanches coming early, so he can step out of the way. Molitor missed Pelfrey's obvious collapse last time out. Question is, who do you bring in for Pelfrey? Molitor's first replacement was JR Graham. That's two bad calls in a row.

 

Molitor may develop into a great manager, but he not one yet.

[DocBauer]

I believe Molly could and should get a lot of votes. Deservedly so. He might even win it. Where he may have an edge over Houston's manager is perception and prognostication. I may be way off, but it seems to me more was expected from Houston than the Twins for this season. I seem to remember them being picked as a dark horse contender by some.

[Brandon Warne]

My ballot would be Hinch, Cash and then Molitor. 

[mikecgrimes]

No this roster should have won 85 games minimum

[Linus]

No this roster should have won 85 games minimum

Really? Nearly everyone on these boards were predicting another losing season. I'd like everyone who predicted 85 wins at the beginning of the season to raise their hands.

[mikecgrimes]

 

 

Really? Nearly everyone on these boards were predicting another losing season. I'd like everyone who predicted 85 wins at the beginning of the season to raise their hands.

 

Hand raised

[DaveW]

 

Really? Nearly everyone on these boards were predicting another losing season. I'd like everyone who predicted 85 wins at the beginning of the season to raise their hands.

I did actually. I said 85-88 wins, anything less than a playoff berth would be a dissapointment. And, here we are.

 

At least I won a nice amount of cash on the over/under for the season.

[USAFChief]

Hand raised

It's not in the preseason over/under thread, ergo it's not official.

[gopherman23]

I like Molly, but he cost us the game tonight.

[Pius Jefferson]

Glen Perkins and the lineup lost the game for the Twins.

 

[gopherman23]

Glen Perkins and the lineup lost the game for the Twins.

So Molly bringing in a lefty against Zobrist, who mashes left handed pitching, was a good move? This is regardless of the fact that Perkins has been bad lately.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Molitor doesn't really get much credit for removing Perk from the closer role, injury took care of that, and I was prepared to give him some credit for not forcing him back into the closer role this season... but then lately he basically tried forcing him into an arguably even more important role (primary setup man). That was pretty bad. There was a role for Perk in this pen, but that clearly was not it.

 

Also interesting that we choose scuffling veterans over May in both the rotation AND the bullpen this year...

[stringer bell]

 

Really? Nearly everyone on these boards were predicting another losing season. I'd like everyone who predicted 85 wins at the beginning of the season to raise their hands.

i did. I predicted exactly 85 wins. Of course, I was believing Hughes would beat the "every other year" jinx, ESantana would be a solid #2 all year, and that the offense would be fueled by DSantana, Arcia, and Vargas.

[Kwak]

MOY?--No, but close.  Yes, it is a meaningless award.  Molitor's strength is managing attitudes.  Just when it appears the Twins will melt like ice cream in a hot sun, by golly they turn things around with a winning streak.  This isn't a good team [talent wise], but they scrap, fight and steal wins--exactly the type of attitude consistent winners display.

[Riverbrian]

 

No this roster should have won 85 games minimum

 

I really don't understand. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess.

 

You thought 85 Minimum and the Twins won 83 Minimum with 85 still possible. 

 

You believe that Molitor's managing has cost the Twins games and I believe that to... But I also Believe that Hinch has cost the Astros games and I believe Maddon cost the Cubs games as well. I also believe that Molitor, Hinch and Maddon have won games with their moves.

 

I firmly believe that's the way it works over 162 games. Right Calls and Wrong Calls happen and they become a blur and sometimes a right call looks like a wrong call and vice versa. 

 

Meanwhile VodkaDave is thinking how he's going to spend his over/under money because the Twins beat other's/most expectation but it didn't clear the bar he set. 

 

And Speaking of this roster... I've been looking... I can't find any evidence of this roster being an obvious playoff caliber roster. 

 

Team Stats... The Twins are currently ranked 7th in wins in the American League.

 

Pitching: The Twins were 15th in K's and 14th in BB's... Team ERA 10th... 14th in BAA and 10th in QS.

 

For Balance here is where they are ranked above 7th on the pitching side: 

 

Saves they were 5th. Shutouts 4th with a total of 12. 

 

On Offense: Runs scored 7th... Hits 14th.. HR 10th... TB 12th... RBI 8th... AVG 14th... OBP 14th... Slugging 11th... OBS 12th.... 10th in Stolen Bases... 12th in walks and 10th in K's. 

 

There are no offensive Categories where we rank higher than 7th. 

 

Now... in fairness I didn't bother going further into the expanded stats to find examples of this being a roster that should have won 85 games so I suppose BABIP or something can prove someone's case but all in all... I have found no examples of this being a roster that should have won 85 games minimum. 

 

How About Superstars?  Do we have any of those? 

 

C--Suzuki? I'm not going to label Suzuki a get on my back... I'll carry you guys guy.

 

1B- Mauer? He's paid like one but he's owned by 37% of ESPN Fantasy leagues. .267 BA with 10 Dingers and this is the guy who holds down the 3 spot. 

 

2B- Dozier? OK maybe... I think he's an above average player... 28 dingers is pretty impressive but it's going be 28 dingers with a .236 average. If you take out his defense... Offensively he's on par with Evan Gattis. 

 

3B - Plouffe? I'm saying average offensive production with a .744 OPS... Others may feel differently. I know Halsey Likes him. 

 

SS- Escobar? I'm not going to knock him... I love him but... We are talking about game changing superstars. I can't put him in the Donaldson... or even Machado grouping. 

 

OF - Rosario... Hicks and Hunter and everyone else... Nope... I love Rosario... But he didn't put up superstar stats.  Hicks and Hunter were not terrible but again nope.

 

That leaves the DH Sano and yes Sano put up elite stats and we got Sano for a total of 273 at bats.

 

How Bout Pitching:

 

Kyle Gibson had a 3.84 ERA and that led the Starters. Santana has been great lately but he finished the year at 4.00 and we only had that for half a year. Duffey is going to blow them all away and I love Duffey but we only had him for 58 innings.

 

I really don't see a Kershaw or even a Jose Quintana in the bunch of them. 

 

How Bout the Bullpen: Perkins was a rock star in the 1st half... Something happened and now we are upset with Molitor because he used him last night. After Perkins and the trade deadline acquisition of Jepsen. Blaine Boyer was the leader and superstar. 

 

I just typed a lot of stuff here but it's my long way of saying. I don't understand how this can be viewed as a roster that should have won 85 games minimum. 

 

Now to bring it this back on topic. 

 

I think Molitor deserves strong consideration for Manager of the year but my vote will be for Jeff Banister.

 

I think the Rangers overcame a lot of question marks and they made it. 

 

[stringer bell]

Agree with you MOY vote, Brian. Rangers have been a real good story. Bannister has done a terrific job and the club got healthy.

 

Also agree on your Twins' roster assessment. Perhaps as soon as next year, the Twins will have two perennial All-Stars, but right now they have two half-season All-Stars who slumped miserably in the second half, and a sprinkling of good players. Overall, there are no real black holes, but few players that are really special.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Kind of appropriate that May came into our final two eliminating losses after other relievers were allowed to put us down multiple runs.

 

Molitor is OK, but his bullpen usage doesn't give me a lot of hope that he is willing to be creative in desperate circumstances. Or that he will ever break the Yankee spell over us.

[spinowner]

 

Blue Jays

Mets

Cubs

Pirates

Rangers

 

all probably deserve it more than Molly TBH, he will get some votes though.

There is an award in each league, you know.

[Thrylos]

He'd probably get some votes and does deserve 4th or 5th place or so.  Bottom line:  Toronto, Houston, Texas had better turn arounds from 2014 and all did make the post-season.

 

Plus his boneheadedness to keep puting Perkins in close games after continual suckage in the second half, cost the Twins 3-4 games and,thus,  the post-season.

[spinowner]

 

I really don't understand. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess.

 

You thought 85 Minimum and the Twins won 83 Minimum with 85 still possible. 

 

You believe that Molitor's managing has cost the Twins games and I believe that to... But I also Believe that Hinch has cost the Astros games and I believe Maddon cost the Cubs games as well. I also believe that Molitor, Hinch and Maddon have won games with their moves.

 

I firmly believe that's the way it works over 162 games. Right Calls and Wrong Calls happen and they become a blur and sometimes a right call looks like a wrong call and vice versa. 

 

Meanwhile VodkaDave is thinking how he's going to spend his over/under money because the Twins beat other's/most expectation but it didn't clear the bar he set. 

 

And Speaking of this roster... I've been looking... I can't find any evidence of this roster being an obvious playoff caliber roster. 

 

Team Stats... The Twins are currently ranked 7th in wins in the American League.

 

Pitching: The Twins were 15th in K's and 14th in BB's... Team ERA 10th... 14th in BAA and 10th in QS.

 

For Balance here is where they are ranked above 7th on the pitching side: 

 

Saves they were 5th. Shutouts 4th with a total of 12. 

 

On Offense: Runs scored 7th... Hits 14th.. HR 10th... TB 12th... RBI 8th... AVG 14th... OBP 14th... Slugging 11th... OBS 12th.... 10th in Stolen Bases... 12th in walks and 10th in K's. 

 

There are no offensive Categories where we rank higher than 7th. 

 

Now... in fairness I didn't bother going further into the expanded stats to find examples of this being a roster that should have won 85 games so I suppose BABIP or something can prove someone's case but all in all... I have found no examples of this being a roster that should have won 85 games minimum. 

 

How About Superstars?  Do we have any of those? 

 

C--Suzuki? I'm not going to label Suzuki a get on my back... I'll carry you guys guy.

 

1B- Mauer? He's paid like one but he's owned by 37% of ESPN Fantasy leagues. .267 BA with 10 Dingers and this is the guy who holds down the 3 spot. 

 

2B- Dozier? OK maybe... I think he's an above average player... 28 dingers is pretty impressive but it's going be 28 dingers with a .236 average. If you take out his defense... Offensively he's on par with Evan Gattis. 

 

3B - Plouffe? I'm saying average offensive production with a .744 OPS... Others may feel differently. I know Halsey Likes him. 

 

SS- Escobar? I'm not going to knock him... I love him but... We are talking about game changing superstars. I can't put him in the Donaldson... or even Machado grouping. 

 

OF - Rosario... Hicks and Hunter and everyone else... Nope... I love Rosario... But he didn't put up superstar stats.  Hicks and Hunter were not terrible but again nope.

 

That leaves the DH Sano and yes Sano put up elite stats and we got Sano for a total of 273 at bats.

 

How Bout Pitching:

 

Kyle Gibson had a 3.84 ERA and that led the Starters. Santana has been great lately but he finished the year at 4.00 and we only had that for half a year. Duffey is going to blow them all away and I love Duffey but we only had him for 58 innings.

 

I really don't see a Kershaw or even a Jose Quintana in the bunch of them. 

 

How Bout the Bullpen: Perkins was a rock star in the 1st half... Something happened and now we are upset with Molitor because he used him last night. After Perkins and the trade deadline acquisition of Jepsen. Blaine Boyer was the leader and superstar. 

 

I just typed a lot of stuff here but it's my long way of saying. I don't understand how this can be viewed as a roster that should have won 85 games minimum. 

 

Now to bring it this back on topic. 

 

I think Molitor deserves strong consideration for Manager of the year but my vote will be for Jeff Banister.

 

I think the Rangers overcame a lot of question marks and they made it. 

Lots of good stats, but I'll add one more: The Twins run differential after 161 games is exactly zero. Considering all the above stats, to break even in runs and to have a winning record can be attributed to luck and/or the manager. I wouldn't put PM at the top of my MOY ballot but he'd be on it.

[notoriousgod71]

Here are the things that irritate me the most about Molitor's managerial style:

 

1. Bullpen usage- I could say this about every single manager in the game but what is the point of burning through six guys every night? In spring training we heard about how he'd ask relievers to pitch multiple innings. That lasted about two weeks.

 

Boyer and Thompson were leading the league in appearances for much of the season. That should go to your best pitchers not the two guys you least want to see in a game.

 

1b) Along the same lines, you would hope an ex-player would not have been so hamstrung by pitch counts. Now we don't even ask our starters to throw 100 pitches. Mid 90s and they're out.  If a starter was ineffective he still throws the same amount of pitches. Get them out of there early when it's obvious they don't have it and leave them in longer when they are breezing through the game or there's a big lead.

 

2) Pinch running/Pinch Hitting usage- DON'T PINCH RUN FOR SANO WHEN YOU'RE DOWN 2 AND HE'S NOT EVEN THE TYING BASE RUNNER.

 

Why is Santana his preferred pinch hitter? He had a horrific OBP and now extra base power at all. You are using up players for no reason. Due to his bullpen usage, we have had to play with a short bench all season long. We can't use up two players in one move that really doesn't even improve the situation at all.

 

3) His love affair with certain players- Everyone has favorites, I get it. I just wish they would be my favorites so I wouldn't have to see so much of Santana, Robinson, Boyer, Thompson. Luckily, this diminished as the season went on.

 

Listing the things I believe Molitor is successful at is much tougher as there is not tangible data for any of it, but it is my opinion that he manages a clubhouse well. I don't believe this roster was very talented but he somehow got them above .500. Either good club house chemistry, leadership, or good karma.

 

I don't remember if he was allowed to choose his own coaching staff but the fact that we don't have Rick Anderson means he is better than Gardy in this regard.

 

I don't know how much of this can be learned, adapted, or just changed by having better personnel.

 

I would not give Molitor any MOY votes and I really struggle to rate him more than a C or C+.