Neil Allen Fired

[Seth Stohs]

The Star Tribune contacted Twins pitching coach Neil Allen at his home. Allen acknowledged that he had learned that he was fired. He thanked Paul Molitor for being good to work with and Terry Ryan for being there for him in his tough times.  While he won't be given much credit for his three years with the Twins, he helped the Twins pitchers move up to 19th in pitching in two of the three seasons (which isn't great, but much better than we've seen). 

 

Here is the Strib article.

 

http://www.startribune.com/twins-fire-pitching-coach-neil-allen-after-three-years/450155373/

 

[jimmer]

Our pitching has been horrible. Easy decision.

[Geneb]

Moliter gets an extension yet it seems all the pitching people are getting canned. It’s early, but i’m Losing faith in the new administration. I’m wondering if there was something physically wrong with Santana down the stretch. It seems like the Twins lost a lot of his starts as the season wore down. A 3-0 lead should be good with him on the mound.

[notoriousgod71]

I would like to see what he could do with actual pitchers. You can't judge a guy based off how this pitching staff does.

 

Was he no longer considered instrumental in the development of the Rays pitchers? I thought that pedigree was why he was hired in the first place.

[wsnydes]

Our pitching has been horrible. Easy decision.

Unless they add some actual talent to the staff, this isn't fixing much.

[Danchat]

 

Moliter gets an extension yet it seems all the pitching people are getting canned. It’s early, but i’m Losing faith in the new administration. I’m wondering if there was something physically wrong with Santana down the stretch. It seems like the Twins lost a lot of his starts as the season wore down. A 3-0 lead should be good with him on the mound.

What? The batters were far better than the pitchers, so why shouldn't the FO fire the pitching coach? 

[Wizard11]

Neil Allen likely had little input on the pitching roster he inherited. He may not have been the problem but he wasn’t the solution either. His big accomplishment seems to have been teaching every pitcher to throw the changeup or to increase the frequency of use. We need someone who can take a more Rowson-esque approach of individualing the coaching. It would also behoove us to have someone highly skilled at the cutting edge of analytics and technology. Well...and to have more pitchers with high ceilings. Best wishes to Neil Allen as he seems like a good guy

[Thrylos]

A. The team was last or next to last in defense-independent pitching measures in the AL for 3 seasons running

B. He was guilty of a crime in 2016 for which other teams can their coaches all the time.

C. Pitchers like Berrios and Gibson figured "it" out when they went to the minors

 

I hope that the Twins get a pitching coach that will help the staff in the majors improve.  The change happened a bit too late...

[Homer Hanky]

my guess is that every day Eddie is next to go... 

 

 

[yarnivek1972]

Would love to see Bobby Cuellar return to the organization. You know, the guy Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano credit for their success. Little old though.

[jimmer]

 

Would love to see Bobby Cuellar return to the organization. You know, the guy Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano credit for their success. Little old though.

He's coaching the Dodgers' Rookie team in Ogden. The Raptors.

[drjim]

Falvey seems to prefer a curveball emphasis, Allen was a changeup guy. All other factors aside, it didn't seem to be a good fit for the direction the org is headed.

[benji21]

Sorta stinks I guess. I was excited with the hire based on the Rays’ success. Oh well. I bet the FO has someone in mind though. Hopefully someone from the Indians!

[drjim]

A. The team was last or next to last in defense-independent pitching measures in the AL for 3 seasons running

B. He was guilty of a crime in 2016 for which other teams can their coaches all the time.

C. Pitchers like Berrios and Gibson figured "it" out when they went to the minors

 

I hope that the Twins get a pitching coach that will help the staff in the majors improve. The change happened a bit too late...

B strikes me as a pretty big deal, kind of surprising he even was brought back for 17. The front office must have thought it would be tough to bring in the right guy if Molitor was a lame duck. With a 3 year deal, no longer a concern.

 

In addition to Eddie, I wonder if Vavra is let go too.

[Blake]

I don' think it was a bad decision to hire Allen. Sometimes things just don't work out. This is why people lose jobs all the time. 

[Thrylos]

 

 

I wonder if Vavra is let go too.

 

He has to go.  The last bastion of the Gardenhire one and out belly up in the post-season.

[Squirrel]

Our pitching has been horrible. Easy decision.

Not completely Allen's fault, but yes, he does get some of the blame and this is very unsurprising and the right move.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Falvey seems to prefer a curveball emphasis, Allen was a changeup guy. All other factors aside, it didn't seem to be a good fit for the direction the org is headed.

this. I feel bad for Allen. He seems like a good guy, even if he made a very bad decision last year, it was only one that I know of.

 

At the end of the day, the coaches need to be aligned with the coaching specialties that emphasizes the players strengths.

 

To go with Falvey's mention of curve emphasis, Berrios is a curveball pitcher and it seems like Falvey will be targeting similar pitchers.

[Old Twins Cap]

There is something called accountability.

 

It's pretty important when an organization, or an aspect of an organization is not performing.

 

They let Gardy skate, they let Ryan skate for too long.

 

You give up on accountability, you give up on your organization.

 

Best of luck to Mr. Allen, and let's go get a modern-day pitching coach.

[Squirrel]

Mod note: a reminder to everyone, whether or not you agree with these changes, whether you are celebratory or disdainful, please be respectful of one another and those who have been let go, in this case, Neil Allen. While it might be easy to go the route of Allen's personal life and life issues, that is not the topic of this thread nor should it be ... the Twins and what their pitchers need is.

[spinowner]

I am not surprised by this, and it will be interesting to see whom Molitor and Falvine pursue and eventually sign. However, I think minor league pitching coaching is more important than major league pitching coaching. With a few rare exceptions like Bert Blyleven or Dwight Gooden that's where pitchers become pitchers. It's in the minor leagues where the approach to developing pitchers really needs to change in this organization. The goal would be to have the major league coach doing little more than making fine-tuning adjustments.

[Guest]

I am not surprised by this, and it will be interesting to see whom Molitor and Falvine pursue and eventually sign. However, I think minor league pitching coaching is more important than major league pitching coaching. With a few rare exceptions like Bert Blyleven or Dwight Gooden that's where pitchers become pitchers. It's in the minor leagues where the approach to developing pitchers really needs to change in this organization. The goal would be to have the major league coach doing little more than making fine-tuning adjustments.

The minor league coordinator was let go a few weeks ago. Falvey probably has ideas for how these two positions should work together and who should fill the openings.

[Twins33]

Was he no longer considered instrumental in the development of the Rays pitchers? I thought that pedigree was why he was hired in the first place.

that was the old front office that hired him though. Ryan and Molitor didn't meet Allen in person until Twinsfest, after they hired him. He was hired based on recommendations and likely multiple phone conversations.

 

The new guys may not feel the same and it could be part of the reason why he's gone. They gave him a test run and decided he wasn't their guy. I'm completely fine with it. He didn't have a lot to work with, so it's not all his fault, but I was hoping this would happen.

[sftwinsfan]

I wouldn't be surprised if this is what took the Molitor negotiations awhile to wrap up.  My guess is Paul showed some loyalty, didn't want to let him go, but it eventually came down to if you want a new deal this is the way it's going to be.  

 

I think it's the right move, nobody on their pitching staff was really making any strides forward.  Berrios seemed to be reverting back in the 2nd half.  Meijia didn't seem to show any improvement.  Pressly and Duffey have some talent, but haven't been able to translate that to success at the mlb level.  Not necessarily Allen's fault, but maybe the could find a guy who could make an impact.  

[beckmt]

Liked Allen, maybe not the right fit.  Good luck to him.

[The Wise One]

Aldaberto did not improve in terms of consistency and strike zone

When established players struggled Allen did not seem to be able to get them back. See Duffey, Pressly  Santiago

The gm selected Haley, Allen couldn't make him a mlb pitcher

[jimbo92107]

I just hope the FO has some idea whom they're going to hire next. Seems like the Twins haven't had a great pitching coach in a long while. 

[Platoon]

So did Molitor, Allens immediate supervisor make the call to Florida? Or Falvine? (the devil made me do this)

[Blackjack]

 

I wouldn't be surprised if this is what took the Molitor negotiations awhile to wrap up.  My guess is Paul showed some loyalty, didn't want to let him go, but it eventually came down to if you want a new deal this is the way it's going to be.  

 

 

This. I would also think that Molitor would want a lot of say in who the new pitching coach is going to be, since he'll be working with him on a daily basis.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Well, it kinda needed to happen. It's unfortunate but Allen simply wasn't getting results with this staff, even when adjusted for their meager talent levels.

 

And I was really excited when Allen was brought on board.