Pioneer Press Q&A: Paul Molitor

[Parker Hageman]

Brian Murphy at the Pioneer Press interviewed Minnesota Twins manager Paul Molitor on a variety of subjects.

 

There were several interesting notes, including....

 

Who is a lock in his starting rotation:

 

"Berrios is pretty obvious. Gibson coming off his finish would be pretty much a given unless our depth changes in that spot."

 

How the aging Molitor handles the younger clubhouse:

 

"Every year it gets harder. The gap from you playing the game is wider. I think it’s important to try to understand the best you can of how they think — not that you ever will — where their energies go to into their game, but also away from the game. Some of them are family driven. Others are into the millennialisms."

 

What numbers he looks at to evaluate his team's performance:

 

"In our Twins app, which includes video and all our defenses, there’s one in there that’s a plus-minus that includes taking extra bases and defensive miscues, not just errors. It adds it up to give you perspective about how you’re playing over a month period. They can’t really measure momentum, which comes into play sometimes by who you decide to put on the lineup card."

 

And much more. The entire interview is worth a good read [LINK]. 

 

One part I found the most interesting was the fact that Molitor said he now receives "computer-generated suggestions" on who to play prior to the series. He did not get into much detail on what that involves but in conversations with Jack Goin in the past, it sounded like the analytics team would give Molitor all the information he and his coaching staff needed but did not outline any recommended lineups unless asked. 

 

According to Baseball-Reference.com, in 2016 the most Molitor trotted out a consistent lineup was for three games. This past year the most he used the same lineup for seven games.