Entering Friday’s Twins-Indians game in Cleveland, the Twins, with a record of 16-13, are three games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2010 season.
It’s a refreshing feeling for a club that averaged 96 losses the previous four seasons; even more refreshing considering they lost six of seven games to start the season.
The early results are a solid indication that general manager Terry Ryan made the right decision when hiring Molitor over the likes of former Twins Chip Hale and Doug Mientkiewicz, Over The Baggy says.
And Molitor has brought a refreshing approach to the game.
While under the leadership of Ron Gardenhire the previous 13 seasons, Twins Territory got used to a batting order that remained mostly the same. With Molitor, Over the Baggy says, consistency in the lineup is a thing of the past.
“Through the first month of the season, Molitor has shown little regard to keeping things certain. One of the most glaring areas of example may be the batting order. Having shuffled it on nearly a bi-nightly basis, Molitor has pushed his team from a -20 run differential through their first seven games, to a +13 mark as of May 8. Deciding to move on from the strikeout prone Danny Santana as the leadoff guy, pushing Trevor Plouffe into the cleanup hole, and jump-starting Kennys Vargas after a short benching have all been positive situations.”
Scoring runs hasn’t been an issue for the Twins dating back to last season, when they finished with the seventh-most runs scored in the majors. Since Aug. 1 of last season, the Twins have scored an MLB-high 413 runs.
Since August 1, 2014 the @Twins have scored 413 runs – the MOST in baseball!
— Dustin Morse (@morsecode) May 8, 2015
Baseball life will be good as long as the Twins continue winning, but when times get tough and Molitor starts to feel worn down, he use the “selfie” advice given to him by former Twins manager Tom Kelly, according to ESPN.
“Take a photo of yourself the first day of spring training and compare your face to it as things go along to see how you’re holding up under the demands of managing.”
“If you look a little ragged, then you need to call timeout,” Kelly explained to ESPN. “I told him to check that picture every once in a while to make sure he’s taking care of himself. Because you can get caught up in this grind we call baseball.
“It sounds like a joke, but it’s not a joke.”
At this point of the season, Molitor and the Twins both look fresh.
For never having managed a bullpen before, Paul Molitor seems to be pretty dang good at it.
— Nick Nelson (@NickNelsonMN) May 7, 2015
#MNTwins bullpen over the last 8 games:
ERA: 0.99
Earned Runs: 3
Strikeouts: 24
Walks: 3
Holds: 8
Saves: 4— Dustin Morse (@morsecode) May 8, 2015
Here is my chat with Paul Molitor. Among other stuff, had to get some more details on the Clubhouse Dance Parties https://t.co/uycNtVPvL8
— Dana Wessel (@DanaWessel) May 8, 2015
