Replacing Paul Molitor

The Twins are searching for someone to replace manager Paul Molitor this offseason, much to the surprise of many, and the chagrin of traditionalists and long time fans. It seems likely that the Twins are going to move outside of the cabal of people who have been in the organization forever. There is no designated replacement for the first time in about 30 years.

After 4 years, Molitor didn’t really impress me, with most of the fluctuations in the record while he was hear related directly to the health of his roster, and luck. He didn’t grate me as much as Ron Gardenhire did: I thought Gardy’s lack of post season success should have earned a ticket out of town far before he was ushered out. Molitor didn’t really have any devastating flaw, except that he wasn’t brought aboard by the new front office.

I’m ok with with Molitor leaving, not so much because of Molitor, but because Derek Falvey and Thad Levine will have a chance to complete their installation of a new coaching staff. Most of the candidates made known are first time managerial candidates, so I can’t look at their history and make an opinion on how they will perform in the role. Really though, there are nly two facets that really form my opinion about a manager.

1. Do they ever bunt? Actually, compared to the league average, Molitor didn’t bunt an outrageous amount. Probably why I didn’t mind him as much as some people
2. How many pitchers do they use? From a practical sense, using too many pitchers in a game can burn through a bullpen fairly quickly. Molitor tried to match up pitchers with batters far too frequently, even early in he season. Save that stuff for late in the season when it really matters. Keep the bullpen fresh all season, and that will pay dividends. Also, from a personal, season ticket standpoint: mid inning pitching changes are the worst. Don’t do that.

And that’s it. Stay out of the way. Managers are just that, managers. They aren’t called coaches any more, so they don’t really need to meddle, and the best managers in jobs I’ve had have let their employees do the work. That’s all I want out of a manager. We’ll see who fits that bill,, if anyone.