Monday,
September 12, 2011
Evaluating the Coaching Staff
I think it is
fair to say that the 2011 Twins season has been incredibly bad. In fact, if you
factor in preseason expectations, an argument could be made that this is the
worst Twins season ever. The Twins have a lot to evaluate over the course of
the offseason. They will have their organizational meetings in Ft. Myers in early
October. In those meetings they will discuss and evaluate every single player
in the organization from the big leagues down to the Dominican Summer League.
It would be
interesting to be a fly on the wall at those meetings when discussing any other
changes to be made. Late last week, the Twins made the decision to fire
Rochester’s manager Tom Nieto and hitting coach Floyd Rayford. Nieto had only been in the organization the past
three years. Rayford has been around longer. The
other managers in the system have been around longer and have more of a path to
the big leagues set up. So, I would be surprised if any more get fired. However,
there will likely be some rearranging. Could Jeff Smith make the next move, up
to AAA? Would Jake Mauer move to AAA or AA? Tom Brunansky joined the organization’s coaching staff a year
ago in the GCL. This year, he was the New Britain hitting coach. Would he want
to manage? Bill Smith mentioned potentially going outside the organization for
a manager. Do you think that the Twins could talk Mike Redmond out of the Blue Jays organization after being named the Midwest League
Manager of the Year in his first year as a manager? Last year when I
interviewed Elizabethton manager Ray Smith, he said that now that his daughter
is out of school, he could potentially manage/coach
somewhere other than Elizabethton for the first time since 1987.
Speaking of
Elizabethton, it was also announced that their pitching coach, Jim Shellenbeck, was going to retire. He has been the pitching
coach in the Twins organization since 1978, including being the Twins pitching
coach in 1983. He has been the E-Twins pitching coach since 1984. He pitched in
parts of nine big league seasons, including five games with the Twins in 1977.
He will turn 68 years old in November and is ready for retirement, so best
wishes to him!
I think that the
Twins will try to make some room on the big league coaching staff for Paul Molitor. Personally, I think the best role for him would be
as Ron Gardenhire’s bench coach. Molitor
is very smart. He has not done well in his limited duty as a hitting coach in
the big leagues, and I think that he could be a manager or general manager down
the line, if he wants to. But the perfect set up for that is to be on the bench
by the Twins manager for a couple of years.
So, the Twins
may need to either fire one of their coaches, or encourage one of them to
retire, or to take a roving instructor job or something. Here is a quick look
at the Twins coaching staff:
RON GARDENHIRE – Manager – Age: 53.
The Good – Well,
in his nearly ten full seasons as the Twins manager, he has an overall record
of 862-743 (0.537). Six division titles in ten years. Finally won the AL Manager of the Year award in 2010 after
finishing runner up five times previously. Is terrific
at managing a team over the marathon of 162 games. Keeps the club loose,
but behind the scenes, he can be tough. He is loyal and is willing to back his
players. Doesn’t
always go by The Book. As a former big leaguer, who struggled to get to
the big leagues and stay there, he understands how difficult this game really
is. He has been coaching in the Twins system since 2008. Led
his teams to the playoffs all three years that he was a minor league manager
before becoming the Twins 3B coach in 1991. Learned
from Tom Kelly.
The Bad – His teams
have struggled in the playoffs. He can be tough on young players while giving
veterans with track records some leeway (this is not a bad thing). At times, he
may be a little too loyal to ‘his guys.’ (again, all
managers are) Doesn’t always go by The Book.
RICK ANDERSON – Pitching Coach – Age: 55.
The Good – Was a
pitching coach in Twins minor leagues from 1989-2001 (from GCL for a year
through AAA for seven years). Been the Twins pitching coach
since 2002. Pitched in the big leagues, so he understands show difficult it is to pitch in the big leagues. Credited with turning around the career of LaTroy
Hawkins. With the manager, they have typically taken
good care of the starting pitchers and the bullpen. Encourages “Pitch to
Contact.”
The Bad – There seems
to be a perception that Anderson can fix pitchers and help turn them around,
but Juan Morillo, Jim Hoey
and Jose Mijares might disagree. Encourages “Pitch to
Contact.”
STEVE LIDDLE – 3B Coach – Age: 52.
The Good –
Advanced to AAA in 1988 with the Twins. Was manager in Twins minor league
system from 1989-1994. Hitting coach
for AAA in 1995-1996. GCL Twins manager in 1997-98.
Twins Minor League Field Coordinator from 1999-2001. Twins Bench Coach from
2002-2010. Third Base Coach this year. Was
instrumental in the development of the Twins core that came up in the late-‘90s.
The Bad – Doesn’t
wave runners around 3B very well.
SCOTT ULLGER – Bench Coach – Age: 55.
The Good –
Played 35 games for the Twins in 1983. Managed in the Twins
minor league system from 1988 through 1994. PCL Manager of the Year in
1993. Became the Twins 3B coach in 1995. Was
the Twins hitting coach from 1999-2005. Was Twins 3B
coach from 2006-2010. Became Twins
bench coach in 2011. Is the Twins acting manager whenever Gardy gets ejected, which is quite often. Many believe that
he could make a good manager.
The Bad – Wasn’t
a very good 3B coach. Wasn’t a very good hitting coach.
JOE VAVRA – Hitting Coach – Age: 52.
The Good –
Advanced to AAA with the Dodgers. Minor League Manager in
Dodgers system from 1989 through 1997. Twice Manager
of the Year. Worked in Dodgers system from 1998-2000
as a Minor League Coordinator, Roving Coach, etc. Twins Minor League
Field Coordinator from 2002-2005. Became Twins hitting coach
in 2006. Although Torii Hunter said he couldn’t listen to Vavra, he later admitted that Vavra
helped him get better. When Delmon Young actually
listened to Vavra, he had his best year. When he did
his own thing (or listened to his dad), he struggled. Mauer
and Morneau have had MVP seasons and won Silver
Sluggers. Mauer has won batting titles.
The Bad – Twins offense
this year is pretty bad. He hasn’t had enough time to work with the young
hitters yet. If some want to blame him for the struggles of the likes of Mauer, Morneau, Span, Kubel, and other veterans in 2011, he has to be credited
with their successes in recent years too.
JERRY WHITE – First Base Coach – Age: 59.
The Good – Spent
parts of 11 seasons in the big leagues. Spent two years in
Japan. Coach in Twins system from 1994-1996. Tigers
first base coach from 1997-1998. Twins first base
coach since 1999. Also works with the Twins outfielders and with base
runners.
The Bad –
RICK STELMASZEK – Bullpen Coach – Age: 62.
The Good – Spent
parts of 1971-1974 in the big leagues, playing for the Washington Senators (for
Ted Williams), the California Angels, the Texas Rangers, and the Chicago Cubs. Player/Coach in 1978 with Twins A-Ball team in Wisconsin Rapids.
Managed that team through 1980. He has been the Twins
bullpen coach since 1981.
SUMMARY
Obviously the
Twins’ brass will look at much more than the Good/Bad I did above. They are
much closer to it than any of us, but this is just a start for discussion.
This group has
been together for the last six seasons when Joe Vavra
joined the group that had all been in place since Ron Gardenhire
in 2002. As you can see, for the most part, the coaches played in the minor
leagues into the late 80s when they became coaches or managers in the Twins
minor league system. While there, they all played a role in the development of
those players that became the Twins’ core in the early 2000s. Aside from
Michael Cuddyer, that group of players has been gone
for a few years. These coaches had the utmost respect of those players because
they grew up with them. Are these coaches reaching this new group of players?
Johan Santana gave a lot of credit to Bobby Cuellar. Tom Brunansky
did a terrific job with the hitters in New Britain this past year. Jake Mauer and Jeff Smith are well respected by minor league
players. Jim Dwyer’s career as a player and now as a minor league hitting coach
speaks for itself.
This is a solid
group of coaches that work well together. 2011 has been a tough year, so I don’t
think that it makes much sense to over-react to the struggles. It isn’t as is
this coaching staff was any different in 2011 as it was in those six division
title years. But I do think that it would be wise to start interjecting some
new blood into the coaching staff. The coaches are all in their mid-50s to
low-60s. I think that it would be good to put a few younger coaches into the
mix so that as the older coaches retire or move on, there won’t need to be a
complete, 100% change.
For 2012, I
would like to see the following: Manager – Ron Gardenhire,
Pitching Coach – Rick Anderson, Hitting Coach – Joe Vavra,
Bench Coach – Paul Molitor, First Base Coach – Steve Liddle, Third Base Coach – Jake Mauer,
Bullpen Coach – Ray Smith.
Molitor and Mauer would replace Stelly
and Jerry White in 2012. You may wonder if Mauer is
too young to start coaching in the big leagues. He will be 33 years old in
2012, the same age that Tom Kelly was when he became the Twins 3B coach. Gardenhire will likely manage another 3-4 years, and Mauer can take over as manager at that time, about the same
age as Kelly when he took over. Of course, Molitor,
who is already 55, could also manage for a few years. If Ray Smith is willing
to be a member of the Twins coaching staff, he would be a great addition. If he
isn’t interested at this time, then Bobby Cuellar should take that bullpen
coach job.
I think that
Bobby Cuellar needs to be ready to take over as the Twins pitching coach, if he
wants to. I’d like to see Jeff Smith and Tom Brunansky
move up to Rochester, along with much of their 2011 New Britain team. I would
love to see the Twins find a way to bring in Mike Redmond and have him manage
that New Britain team. I think that the Twins should have Nelson Prada take
over as the manager in Ft. Myers. I also think that the Twins need to hire more
Latin American coaches. Prada is really the only one in the full-season
leagues. With so many young players from the Dominican, Puerto Rico, Venezuela
in the organization, I think it is important. I’ve heard great things about GCL
Pitching Coach Ivan Arteaga. The Twins should re-hire
Rick Knapp in whatever role he’d like, maybe as a roving pitching instructor
for a year or two again.
Nieto and Rayford took the fall so far, but I do believe that there
should be more changes coming in the offseason. I don’t think it needs to be a
major overhaul, but I do think that they need to reward the top developers
among their minor league coaches and put them in positions where they can help
the most players succeed and be ready to succeed for the Twins.
If you have any
questions, comments, links, or anything, please feel free
to ask in the Comments section.