Danny Santana's Role Becoming Solidified

Ron Gardenhire was a fun manager to cover because he was, frankly, hilarious. You would sit down with him for a media pow-wow and you were pretty much guaranteed a laugh or five, as he would invariably spew a bunch of witty repartees and folksy quips.

But while amusing, his pressers weren't always all that informative or enlightening.

His successor is not nearly as prone to falling back on whimsy. Paul Molitor is a straightforward guy who doesn't shy away from providing his honest viewpoint on any matter.

When discussing his plans for Santana on Sunday, Molitor was refreshingly unsubtle.

"I see Danny at the top for the most part to be honest with you, because I like the dimension he brings to that spot."

OK then. Santana is your leadoff man.

But will he play center or short?

I asked Molitor about this after hearing Gibson's glowing review of Santana's stellar play to start Sunday's game against St. Louis.

"I really like it when we make a good play to start the game. A lot of things can happen in that first inning that set the tone for winning or losing sometimes," Molitor said. "It was the kind of play that can make a difference in the game."

It seems safe to say that Santana's nifty effort -- along with a couple of other nice plays he's converted in the past week -- made an impression on Molitor. So I asked flat-out: Do you see still see Santana as a possibility in center, or are you strongly leaning toward shortstop at this point?

Molitor paused for a moment, then said, "I'm strongly leaning toward shortstop."

OK then. Santana is your shortstop.

I like it. Not necessarily because I agree with the rationale; I absolutely think Santana needs to be at short but I'm not totally convinced he's a great solution in the leadoff spot. Still, there's definitely something to be said for a no-BS approach from a skipper who is still trying to forge his identity. From my interactions with him, Molitor seems uninterested in beating around the bush.

But if Santana's moving back to short, as he should, what does that mean for the center field competition, where Aaron Hicks is failing to inspire a whole lot of confidence thus far?

Molitor treaded carefully on that topic, but still dropped a clear hint. Reporters asked yesterday about the decision to start Eddie Rosario in center field and this was the manager's response:

"Rosario primarily has been left and a little bit of center, but I need to get a look at him out there, if we want to go down that road of who I want to play out there, as opposed to Santana as an option if things didn't work out or whatever. You know, it's obvious what we're talking about here. He's had a good spring, and he had a great fall. I want to make sure I get a good look at that kid. He looks fine to me both in center and left. He made some good plays, he's on the ball, I was watching his pitch preparation pitch-to-pitch, he's moving, he's doing a lot of good things out there."

In other words, Rosario is making an impression, and Hicks should be on notice.

As far as Molitor's feelings about Santana? Those need no translation.