The Minnesota Twins don't like change. Since the hiring of Tom Kelly in
1986, they've only had only three managers, with all three having noticeable
similarities. Kelly, Ron Gardenhire, and Paul Molitor each landed their first managerial
job with the Twins, replacing the man that they worked under while polishing
their craft. All three have major league playing experience, albeit Molitor’s
career certainly dwarfs the other two. Finally, Molitor like his predecessors,
will be taking over a club banking on its young talent.
Offensively in the American League the Twins ranked 7th in team BA and TB,
5th in OPS, and drew the 2nd most walks. Many of the guys credit their
offensive development to the tutelage of Molitor. Their struggles offensively
came in timely hitting where they were 2nd in runners left on base and finished
under the league average in sac flies and bunts. Under Molitor I fully expect
the offense to continue to improve those numbers.
Molitor's biggest challenge comes in the pitching department. From
2011-2013 the team ERA was second to last in the AL until last season when they
finally broke through and finished dead last. In all four of those seasons they
ranked last in strikeouts, though the fact that they also were near the top in
fewest walks issued tells me that the problem wasn't with guys not throwing strikes
as much just not having guys who were capable of getting strikeouts.
Molitor has already done away with pitching coach Rick Anderson, who held
that position since 2002. From '02-2010 Anderson's pitching staff had the third
lowest ERA in the league and issued the fewest walks. But, in recent years the
wheels had fallen off. Replacing him will be Neil Allen who was the Triple-A
pitching coach for the Rays from 2007-2014, during which time Tampa Bay’s young
pitching and overall player development keyed a long string of success despite
low payrolls.
Perhaps the biggest question surrounding Molitor will be how he handles
player injuries. During the Gardenhire run, in Minnesota you often heard the
argument that he 'coddled' his players too much, namely star Joe Mauer. The
fact is you could make a strong argument that the Twins weren't coddling their
players, but didn't allow them to fully heal or do enough to treat their
injuries.
How else do you explain why players who are seemingly past their prime, see
a resurgence when they go elsewhere? The short list for those guys include the
likes of J.J. Hardy, Francisco Liriano, and Justin Morneau.
Molitor's playing career early on was often marred by injuries, once he was
allowed enough time to fully heal up (aided by his subsequent move to DH), he
had some of the most productive seasons of his career. He knows how important
health is to a player in a grueling 162 game season.
What I would like to see in the Molitor era, is a more consistent everyday
lineup. Do away with the constant day or two rest periods that so many players
received under Gardy, and give them extended time off to fully heal, and come
back ready to make an impact.
Kelly and Gardy both experienced success early on. Kelly was hired in
September of 1986, 14 months later he was a world champion. In his first six
full seasons on the job, the Twins finished first or second in the division
four times, winning two World Series titles. We saw a similar trend during the
Gardy era, winning six division crowns and finishing first or second in seven
of his first nine seasons.
The fallout for both men was similar too. In eight of Kelly's final nine
seasons, the team finished no higher than fourth in the division. Gardy
finished no better than fourth in his last four seasons at the helm, losing
92-plus games in all four. While both men experienced plenty of success, be it
Kelly's postseason magic or Gardy's divisional dominance, by the end it was
obvious that a change had to be made.
No the Minnesota Twins don't like change, but a change is exactly what they
need.
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