Written by Chris Schad
The Minnesota Twins have a reputation for being lousy offseason participants. Every year, fans put together their wish list and hope that the team’s front office can solve a problem area in an effort to put together a competitive product on the field. Just as often, general manager Terry Ryan answers their call with a couple grumbles and an “under the radar” signing that fizzles out by the time the calendar turns to May.
As the Twins head into a new era of baseball, it’s clear that this is one offseason they can’t screw up. The fans no longer have the incentive of hanging around this team to get All-Star ticket priority and after four straight 90-loss seasons, there has to be a change in philosophy to get Minnesota off the mat in the American League Central.
Ryan’s first challenge would be to find the right manager to replace Ron Gardenhire. According to Hardball Talk’s Aaron Gleeman, the Twins have narrowed their search down to three finalists in first base coach Paul Molitor, Single-A Fort Myers manager Doug Mientkiewicz and Boston Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo.
For starters, many see Lovullo as the outside voice the club has been missing since their last division championship in 2010. He’s managed previously in the Cleveland Indians system and went from Toronto to Boston with John Farrell, where they eventually won the World Series in 2013.
A pedigree from a championship organization is one thing, but managerial style is another. Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press chatted with Dick Berardino, who has been in the Red Sox organization for 48 seasons and is a Holy Cross alum which is where Lovullo’s son is currently a junior for the baseball team.
“As a bench coach, you put out fires when you see them starting,” Dick Berardino told the Pioneer Press. “Torey is somewhat of a no-nonsense guy. He has a way about him. There’s a firmness about him, but it’s something he camouflages very well. People on the outside may think, ‘Oh, he’s just a nice guy,’ but the players understand it.”
One of those players was former minor league pitcher Bubbie Buzachero, who played under Lovullo two seasons while at Triple-A Buffalo.
“Torey really just knew how to get the most out of his players,” Buzachero said. “He wasn’t a yeller-type guy. He’s still very competitive, but he struck a good balance. He knew how to push buttons when he needed to push them, knew the right time to pick his spots and kick us into gear, but he also was very personable.”
While most of that sounds good on the outside, that seems to sound a lot like the Twins’ predecessor in Gardenhire. Many knew him as “Gardy” but he had his own way of pushing buttons by using the media rather than being confrontational. Could Lovullo be the carbon copy the team is actually trying to avoid? It’s tough to say.
Maybe the team can go against the grain another way by tabbing Mientkiewicz. While such a move may draw ire from the Twins fan base who remember the scrappy first baseman who was taking at-bats away from Justin Morneau in 2003 and ‘04, it seems he has taken a style of his own while managing the Fort Myers Miracle.
“I tell my players, the one thing you will have by the end of this summer is thicker skin,’’ Mientkiewicz said to Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune earlier this summer. “I am not the trophy generation manager. If you stink, you will hear from me. You will not have to guess what I’m thinking. I grew up with [Terry Ryan] and [Tom Kelly]. There wasn’t a lot of candy-coating going on.’’
Such thoughts sound like music to Twins fans ears after putting up with a decade of nicknames like “Cuddy” and “Morneausy,” but the real question is can he manage? He’s accumulated a record of 161-113 in two seasons, and learned a lot from the managers from which he played under which included Kelly, Terry Francona, Joe Torre and Don Mattingly. But, Fort Myers is a long way away from Target Field.
Perhaps if the Twins are going to play the pedigree card, the edge has to go to the current favorite in Molitor.
The Hall of Famer spent last year on Gardenhire’s staff and impressed many with his knowledge of the game…including Gardenhire.
“He played the game at the highest level,” Gardenhire said in an interview on Sirius XM’s MLB Network Radio. “He’s as good as it gets. There’s a lot of areas that he’s just unbelievable, and the baserunning part, the things that he sees that no one is going to see.”
Like Mientkiewicz, Molitor also has the experience of working with several players that are in the Twins system. According to Souhan, many of them are fond of their experiences.
“Buxton, Sano, Danny Santana, Brian Dozier and Kennys Vargas will be the Twins’ most important position players for the rest of this decade.” Souhan said. “This summer, I asked [top prospects] Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano who they rely on in the Twins’ organization. Both said, “Molitor.”
This brings up the most crucial aspect of the managerial search. No matter whom they hire, the Twins are going to get a new voice. The challenge will be to find the right voice for this team.
It’s similar to the Twins’ adventures in free agency. They can throw all the money they want at the pitching staff to try and drag it out of the bottom of the league, but if they spend it on the wrong guy, it’s irrelevant.
If Lovullo is the voice that can bring the franchise back to prominence, it’s the one that they can take. However, if it’s one that is going to make them take a step back, it’s best to anger some fans and stick with the “Twins Way.”
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Chris Schad contributes to 105 The Ticket and has had his work featured on the Bleacher Report and Yahoo Contributor Network. He serves as the Vikings Lead Writerfor Pro Football Spot. Find him on Twitter @crishad. |