6 Candidates to Be the Next Manager of the Minnesota Twins

[tarheeltwinsfan]

1 hour ago, JBK said:

 

You don't need TWO hitting coaches.  

The Twins might need nine.

[Brett]

Nelson Cruz, hands down.

Get everyone on his napping schedule. It would be like old school kindergarten in the clubhouse: unroll your nap rug, down a carton of milk, and nap away your troubles. Homers will ensue, I’m sure of it!

[mickster]

2 hours ago, Brandon27 said:

If you want fans back in the seats only name would that is Joe mauer 

disagree on that.   Torii Hunter would generate more fan applause

[nicksaviking]

48 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

There's also this disconnect on the "fundamentals" aspect where it sure seems like a lot of people around here think that the manager will spend large amounts of their time outside of games doing individual & team drill work with players on fielding (both infield & outfield), baserunning, and bunting.

How many teams and managers allocate their time this way? And it sure seems like no matter what the next guys says about "fundamentals" people here won't be satisfied unless they a) see the manager hitting fungos early and often, and 2) get to witness the manager chewing someone out for screwing up on the bases or something...

Even if the manager doesn't allocate his time that way, he can allocate OTHER people's time that way. 

And both Molitor and Gardenhire DID allocate their time that way. Kelly did too until he delegated that assignment to Gardenhire.

But for the record, I care way more about the young guys consistently hitting the ball than I do anything else.

[DJL44]

2 hours ago, shimrod said:

I agree, but I'm going to play devils advocate. 

We saw Rocco completely change his approach to running after the deadline. Appeared he saw his previous risk averse philosophy was actually adding risk. Thrown out or left standing (or doubled off)....there are downsides to passivity on the bases, esp. with our contact challenged hitters. 

Bottom line, people can change and even the most stubborn may eventually figure it out. 

Maybe, just maybe, Falvey realizes his micro management of the on field product has not succeeded and the way forward is to hire a strong manager and let him manage. 

I don't think this is likely but it is not impossible. 

Likely after he found out he was getting let go at the end of the season and had nothing left to lose

[nicksaviking]

14 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

I get this to some extent, but if your organization is banking on your MLB level manager to teach basic fundamentals.....

What the hell were the minor league coaches actually doing?

The Twins have had managers do that in the past, but it's probably more a responsibility of the coaches.

But what the manger is/was failing to do was putting the players in position to learn and develop their athletic instincts. Micromanaging is going to stop them from learning to hit opposite handed pitching, and learning when to take a pitch and when to swing, when to steal a base or take an extra one, when to cheat toward the line or when to play back a step, when to gun a throw home or hit the cutoff man. If it's a clutch game in the 9th inning, these guys aren't going to learn how to handle the pressure and get the game winning hit or get the best jump of their life off of first and score the winning run if they were pulled from the game three innings ago. 

They need consistent reps in big situations, and consistent reps making their own decisions. Sure, there's plenty of times where team strategy requires you to do something specific, but it's not every pitch of every game of every inning.

[TheLeviathan]

1 minute ago, nicksaviking said:

The Twins have had managers do that in the past, but it's probably more a responsibility of the coaches.

But what the manger is/was failing to do was putting the players in position to learn and develop their athletic instincts. Micromanaging is going to stop them from learning to hit opposite handed pitching, and learning when to take a pitch and when to swing, when to steal a base or take an extra one, when to cheat toward the line or when to play back a step, when to gun a throw home or hit the cutoff man. If it's a clutch game in the 9th inning, these guys aren't going to learn how to handle the pressure and get the game winning hit or get the best jump of their life off of first and score the winning run if they were pulled from the game three innings ago. 

They need consistent reps in big situations, and consistent reps making their own decisions. Sure, there's plenty of times where team strategy requires you to do something specific, but it's not every pitch of every game of every inning.

I think we look back fondly on the Kelly and Gardenhire days but it's not like Gardenhire got some butcher in the field in Nick Punto and trained him into being an elite defender.  Did they refine and enhance players?  Sure.  But let's be clear: the organization prioritized players who had those fundamentals and they were coached to expect them from the moment they signed.  All our big league managers did was continue to demand that level of play.

Nothing short of magic was going to help Baldelli turn this bunch of oafs into a team with good fundamentals/defense.  

I'm of the opinion all the other listed criticisms you have were a top-down policy.  We'll find out next yer though!

[Woof Bronzer]

1 hour ago, nicksaviking said:

This is nonsense. Do you even remember who Baldelli's mentor was? It was JOE MADDON. 

I want Favley replaced, but this Falvey is the devil and is terrible at everything and is selfish and doesn't want the Twins to win and kicked a dog and took candy from a baby hysteria is getting old.

What does Rocco's mentor have to do with who Falvey wants to hire a manager?  

Falvey isn't the devil but he's a terrible GM, sorry if that offends you.  He hasn't hired a single "old school" coach in his entire tenure. He hasn't hired a single "old school" front office person, or anyone with a different viewpoint/philosophy than his.  He just fired his "old school" scouting department because he thinks analytics tell him all he needs to know.  He has micromanaged Rocco and the coaching staff at every step. 

But sure, he's changed and now suddenly understands the importance of small ball and managerial independence and is going to hire a strong personality like Maddon or an old school guy like Francona or Larussa.  Ok.  

Falvey loved Rocco and only fired him to save his own skin.  He's going to hire another Rocco.  

 

[LA Vikes Fan]

I think you cannot promote from within when the team has underperformed for the last 2 years. I also think someone with no experience is a huge mistake. You can't teach younger players if you are learning on the job. I disagree that the team is a complete impediment for any experienced manager, but I do think it limits the pool to younger guys who are looking for that second chance rather than older cream of the crop types. By the way, that's not so bad because most managers and coaches do better the second time around because of their previous experience.  

I think they are going to try to hire a manager who got hyped in his first job but got fired there or someone coming back into the game after a hiatus. My money is on Derek Shelton, Brad Hyde, and Skip Schumaker, in that order. Shelton is familiar to Falvey, was bench coach when the team was good in 2018 and 19, and really had little to work with in Pittsburg.  Hyde was the flavor of the month managing Baltimore and probably should have been retained there. I think he's be the best choice but has no ties to MN and the Texas and SF jobs are open. Schumaker would be a good choice IMHO but he's the kind of guy SF would try to hire. Joe Maddon would be fun but he and Falvey would not be a good match so I don't see it happening. 

[chpettit19]

1 hour ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

 

I'd love to see Falvey submit control to Joe Maddon.  Pay him what he needs to come out of retirement.  He's a bit old at 71, but he did wonders with the Rays who had young players that needed to excel.  The plus here is he would want pretty much full control to do what he needs which would take Falvey out of the equation of day-to-day operations.  No more spreadsheets!

All this said, I'd be shocked if Falvey actually did release much of his control in this manner.

Joe Maddon very much used spreadsheets and analytics. He was the pioneer of much of the modern baseball analytics based managerial decision making. But I'd also be a fan of his hiring as I agree that it'd signal a release of control by Falvey. But I also very much doubt Falvey would go that direction.

[SteveLV]

Plouffe was on the radio (and podcast) and mentioned that he thinks a manager has to be bilingual to succeed in today's baseball.  I found that in interesting take.

Maddon is bilingual.

[DJL44]

17 minutes ago, SteveLV said:

Plouffe was on the radio (and podcast) and mentioned that he thinks a manager has to be bilingual to succeed in today's baseball.  I found that in interesting take.

Maddon is bilingual.

Are all of the managers in the playoffs bilingual?

[nicksaviking]

59 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

I think we look back fondly on the Kelly and Gardenhire days but it's not like Gardenhire got some butcher in the field in Nick Punto and trained him into being an elite defender.  Did they refine and enhance players?  Sure.  But let's be clear: the organization prioritized players who had those fundamentals and they were coached to expect them from the moment they signed.  All our big league managers did was continue to demand that level of play.

Nothing short of magic was going to help Baldelli turn this bunch of oafs into a team with good fundamentals/defense.  

I'm of the opinion all the other listed criticisms you have were a top-down policy.  We'll find out next yer though!

Corey Koskie was a butcher in the field. So was Michael Cuddyer. And I remember in Justin Morneu's second season people were thinking Matthew LeCroy of all people was the better person to put at 1st bast. Both of those guys would have been looked at as oafs. David Oritz, Jason Kubel and Brian Buchanan as well. Other than Koskie none were ever great fielders, but they also didn't draw the ire of fans that we've seen the last several years. Their errors didn't tend to be mental mistakes and they played their positions at a passable level.

But still I'm burying the lede, because I mostly care about improving the hitting aspect. I am concerned it was a top down policy as well, and agree, there's only one way to find out. Or maybe we never find out, because I do think between Joe Pohlad, Rocco Baldelli and Derek Falvey, Falvey is the one with some self awareness and has a history of changing up what wasn't working. Maybe not on a broad level like we need here, but at least on the strategic level. 

And again, not a Derek Falvey endorsement. 

[TheLeviathan]

29 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Corey Koskie was a butcher in the field. So was Michael Cuddyer. And I remember in Justin Morneu's second season people were thinking Matthew LeCroy of all people was the better person to put at 1st bast. Both of those guys would have been looked at as oafs. David Oritz, Jason Kubel and Brian Buchanan as well. Other than Koskie none were ever great fielders, but they also didn't draw the ire of fans that we've seen the last several years. Their errors didn't tend to be mental mistakes and they played their positions at a passable level.

But still I'm burying the lede, because I mostly care about improving the hitting aspect. I am concerned it was a top down policy as well, and agree, there's only one way to find out. Or maybe we never find out, because I do think between Joe Pohlad, Rocco Baldelli and Derek Falvey, Falvey is the one with some self awareness and has a history of changing up what wasn't working. Maybe not on a broad level like we need here, but at least on the strategic level. 

And again, not a Derek Falvey endorsement. 

I'll give you Koskie, but Cuddyer was a butcher for his entire career.  Dude just had a good arm.  Morneau also improved at 1B but those guys you listed were mostly DHs. I have it on good authority that guys that play DH do make less defensive errors.  

I agree that Falvey has shown willingness to pivot.  But then...so did Baldelli the last two months.  I just think there needs to be a total organizational overhaul and so far we aren't getting that.

[Muppet]

Tommy Watkins. 
He'll be universally hated and surprisingly good. 
And he'll take the fall next year for failing to lead a bunch of terrible players that would be lucky to beat an AA team to the playoffs. 

[Doctor Gast]

Twins had some good coaches in '19 that were justifiably & greatly praised by the players. Instead of being deservingly promoted, they were allowed to walk. They were replaced with incompetent, yes men who were promptly promoted. When I saw Conger as a candidate, I was struck with horror. Many former catchers are great field generals & make great mentors & leaders, but Conger isn't one of them. He has done nothing to help develop MN catching. I don't trust anyone who has sat under Falvey, least of all Conger. Conger should be fired, not undeservingly promoted again.

I was impressed with Skip Schumacher as the MIA manager. He's studied under STL managers like LaRussa & Mike Matheny (former catcher), as a player. He's young but has a lot of baseball smarts. He's my 1st choice. MN needs a leader & Hunter is a good one for MN. He has a lot of connections with players that can be good coaches. These 2 would make excellent managers but Falvey wants yes men & a say in everything so I doubt that he'd hire either or either would want the job. I'd like very much if Twins could lure Nestor Corridor from MIL in some capacity.

[nicksaviking]

18 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

I'll give you Koskie, but Cuddyer was a butcher for his entire career.  Dude just had a good arm.  Morneau also improved at 1B but those guys you listed were mostly DHs. I have it on good authority that guys that play DH do make less defensive errors.  

I agree that Falvey has shown willingness to pivot.  But then...so did Baldelli the last two months.  I just think there needs to be a total organizational overhaul and so far we aren't getting that.

An overhaul all at once would have been best. Piecemeal changes will drag things out, but at least it's a start.

Maybe Favley would have been out too if Dave St. Peter hadn't (100% justifiably) been pushed out. With the chaos surrounding ownership and the organization as a whole, getting a new POBO might have been a logistical challenge. Plus, Joe Pohlad is obviously not equipped to make the decision about new one.

[djvang]

6 hours ago, mike8791 said:

This team needs a strong, independent voice, one who Falvey/Pohlad could not control and one who brings fan enthusiasm back.  

Why would they hire someone like that?

[HFC]

How about Justin Morneau? He's been around the team and players would respect him. 

[thelanges5]

Interesting take from TFTwins. Click the link to watch. 

 

[nicksaviking]

10 minutes ago, thelanges5 said:

Interesting take from TFTwins. Click the link to watch. 

 

I know what traits I want but not who has them. Lombard sounds like a good one to interview based on Hinch's recommendation though:

[Blyleven2011]

7 hours ago, Peter said:

This will be really really really exciting to see who our next manager will be!!!!

Thanks peter I needed that , you sure have moved on fast from yesterday's news ,,..

Schumacher manager with torìi hunter as bench coach ...

[1985Fan]

I’d like to see them prioritize a manager that is hands-on with the young players. That should be priority number one for two reasons; it should be all about young players learning how to play in the big leagues for the next couple of seasons, and the Twins player development system has completely failed. New manager and coaching staff is going to have to teach these kids how to play ball the right way because they sure aren’t learning it in the Twins MiLB system. On that note, don’t promote any of their minor league coaches either as they’re part of the problem. That should be the next part of the organization that is cleaned out. 

[howeda7]

Give me Rickie Weeks Jr.

It won't be Tori now should it be. Same with Mauer and Morneau (Mauer may be one of the minority  owners, but he wouldn't want the job.)

[kroll]

Old school.....tough.....hold players accountable.....lots of knowledgeable, experience, fore sight, and insight. 

Uses analytics and other modern helpful tools but still has total confidence in his "gut" feelings and applies his experience in an intelligent and thoughtful manner.

And ain't afraid to run and apply some athletic ability to the style of play.

Peace, out!

[sweetmusicviola16]

This mess is Falvey and Rocco together. I hold Falvey more responsible but Rocco fell on Falvey's sword for him. I honestly could care less right now who is the new manager as long as Falvey heads the FO. Yeah terrible attitude. But this is the attitude that Pohlad and Falvey have fostered.

[Greglw3]

8 hours ago, Woof Bronzer said:

Falvey would never ever hire an "old school guy" and especially not one who has actually won things in this league.  Derek wants a guy who will unquestioningly go along with whatever extreme analytic strategy pops into his head on any given day.  Maddon wrote a whole book questioning GMs who do this.  Falvey would never consider hiring him.

And therein lies the rest of the problem with the Twins hierarchy.... short of the "damn we failed to contract the team" Pohlads.

[Greglw3]

35 minutes ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

This mess is Falvey and Rocco together. I hold Falvey more responsible but Rocco fell on Falvey's sword for him. I honestly could care less right now who is the new manager as long as Falvey heads the FO. Yeah terrible attitude. But this is the attitude that Pohlad and Falvey have fostered.

Bring back Andy McPhail!!! Best was GM ever by a landslide.

[bac0n]

Coach Boomstick sure does have a nice sound to it...

[High heat]

James Rowson?  
 

Twins hitting coach when they were good at hitting.  He is Yankees current hitting coach was Tigers hitting coach last season when many young prospects came up and broke out.   
 

I believe he is second in command now with the Yankees.