Finding a New Pitching Coach

I'm sure there are qualified people in the organization, but I really hope they fill the coaching staff with outside personnel. I couple holdovers would be okay, but they need to bring in some new prospective instead of just current staff and former players.

I don't have any strong feelings about Viola, but he would certainly count as outside personnel.  He hasn't done anything with the Twins in what, 25 years?  He's been with several other organizations.  Plenty of outside perspective there.

Pitching coaches are a mystery to me.  A few always seem to have really good pitchers, a few have a mystique that doesn't seem deserved (Don Cooper, maybe), and I'm sure they are important but as with anything, different coaches seem to relate better or worse to different pitchers.  I just hope whoever they get can offer suggestions to pitchers with different styles and not try to make everyone into the same mold.

I agree that Viola should not be considered a Twins insider and I would be pleasantly surprised if he were hired.  I personally would be more inclined to look at some of the organizations that are more well thought of than the Mets for an outsider.  Perhaps the Giants, Cardinals, or Rays.

A coaching staff with Bruno, Steiny, and Frankie V. would remind me a lot of a Kubel, Bartlett, Guerrier reunion.

Yeah, except all the guys in the first group have rings and the guys in the second group don't...

Candidates I'd like the Twins to consider (in no order):  

Pedro Martinez

Mike Maddux

Greg Maddux

Ray Searage (Pirates' Pitching Coach; former teammate of Paul Molitor)

Cuellar

Cardinals' Minor League Pitching Coaches

Candidates I would NOT like the Twins to consider:

Bert Blyleven

Rick Anderson

Dick Such

Ron Davis

Rick Ankiel

A.J. Pierzynski

Ozzie Guillen

WILDCARDS!

Jack Morris

Brad Radke

Leo Mazzone

Bill "Spaceman" Lee (come on, how much fun would that be?)

Trevor Hoffman

Eddie Guardado

Carl Willis

Rick Reed

I we can't get Spaceman, I would like to see former Twin Mike Marshall get a shot.  At least give him a shot in the Minors as a roving instructor.

I wonder if Famous / Hall Of Fame players are seldom coaches because they don't need the money and they'd rather spend time at home with their families.

I also think the time that Blyleven has spent as color commentator on Twins' broadcasts could only hurt his chances - pretty much every commentator in baseball starts off with great insight. But over time, they start repeating themselves and/or are toned down by their bosses.  

Blyleven probably wouldn't say the same things as a coach that he says as a commentator, but I bet the cliches he uses as a commentator would be fuel for his detractors, e.g. "Downward plane," "pitchers are the best athletes," or  any of these   

If Chris Bosio is dismissed by Chicago with Maddon aboard, he could be a candidate.  Molitor's former teammate in Milwaukee.  The Cubs haven't be very good, but they've had some decent reclamation pitching projects recently -- Arrieta, Feldman, Maholm.

With his track record, the Cubs would be crazy to let Bosio go. I'd hire him in a heartbeat. I would like any of the pitching coaches that have a reputation for turning around careers. Ray Searage, Bosio, Mickey Callaway come to mind.

It's unlikely to steal one of those guys, so I'd go after an organizational guy from one of the teams that consistently have good pitching like the Cardinals. 

Also put me down for wanting nothing to do with Jack Morris or Bert Blyleven. The old-school attitudes of those two are the opposite direction the Twins should be going. 

Bobby Cuellar does not? Pedro, Johan and the Big Unit... (and that is about 2 HOF careers...)

My list was not comprehensive   I'd be fine with Cuellar.

I am not sure they can get Ray Searage in a lateral move. Is he under contract?

I do think they should consider the Pirates bullpen coach Euclides Rojas.