Monday, March 30, 2015
Twins have Molitor at the Helm
The Cover of the 2015 Media Guide
As I was leaving Paul
Molitor’s office the other day, I mentioned to him that I was from the Toronto
area. He quickly stood , reached over and shook my hand. “I want you to know,he
told me, “that my time in Toronto was a grand chapter in life for me”.
I had just spent 15
minutes in that very small room. On his desk was an assortment of small
recording devices which belonged to the scribes there, discussing the game. The
Twins had just defeated the Blue Jays in a game played in Fort Myers. The
stadium is still called Hammond Field, but it is part of a larger complex
called Century Link Sports Complex.
Jose Reyes led off
the game for the Jays, as he did in 143 ball games last year. He is a very
exciting player to watch, and he will ignite the team throughout the season.
This is his 13th season in the Major Leagues, and he is approaching
impressive levels of hits (1772) and stolen bases (455) in his career.
The Twins allowed the
Blue Jays back into the game in the top of the ninth inning. Mark Hamburger
gave up a single to Devon Travis, then induced Jays’ outfielder Ezequil Carrera
to ground out, allowing Travis to advance to second base on the fielder’s
choice. Dalton Pompey then stroked the ball
in front of the plate. Hamburger fielded the ball, wheeled around, and threw
wildly to first. Travis scored on the errant throw, and Pompey ended up on
third. He then scored on Daric Barton’s single, tying the game at five apiece. The Twins won the game on a run producing
single in the bottom of the ninth.
Todd Redmond started
for the Jays, and, with the exception of Brian Dozier’s home run in the first
inning, breezed through to the end of the third inning. We also had a look at
Liam Hendriks, Bo Schultz, Chad Jenkins, Scott Barnes, Kyle Drabeck, and Bobby
Korecky. The Twins did most of their damage in the seventh inning on a blast
from Torii Hunter. Hunter is in the twilight of his career, as he will be 40 on
his next birthday. He has returned to the Twins this spring after spending
several seasons on Los Angeles and Detroit. He will be well received when he
runs onto the field for the first time at Target Field.
Molitor began his
post-game comment by saying, “It got a little ugly there defensively in the
eighth and the ninth.” He commented on Rosario’s hit to win the game: “Eddie
was not intimidated in that situation. He delivered.” Regarding the Jays’ run
production in the eighth, he noted, “They got a couple of hits to right field,
and it turned into a little more than it should have.”
When asked about
roster changes, he indicated that the team had “12 or 13 days to the opener,
and that things should be cleaned up by the weekend.” He also commented on the
play of some individual players.
What impressed me the
most was that there is no question about who is in charge. Molitor has
certainly paid his dues, waiting for his chance to manage in the major leagues.
He knew that he was following a legend in Ron Gardenhire, but he is certainly
ready. Each and every aspect of the game was vivid in his mind as he fielded a
number of questions from the hoard after the game. This is his fifteenth season
at the coaching level.
He spent most of his
career with the Milwaukee Brewers, then joined the Blue Jays in 1993. He stayed
three years, winning the World Series in 1993, and was the Series MVP. He
finished his career with the Twins in 1998. He entered the National Baseball Hall
of Fame in 2004, on the first ballot.
Not yet sixty,
Molitor has signed to be at the helm of the Twins for the next three years. The
Twins last experienced post season play in 2010, when they were swept by the
Yankees. Molitor will certainly work towards better things for his Twins this
year. On opening day, they will be ready.
James Hurst
# posted by James Hurst @ 12:10 PM 
