Terry Ryan promised a full search for a new Twins manager and that seems to be what has been taking place since Ron Gardenhire was fired on Sept. 29. If Ryan ultimately announces Paul Molitor as the manager, the well-reasoned commenters on Star Tribune articles will type (perhaps in capital letters) that the search was a charade.
However it turns out, I don't want what baseball people used to call a "pepper pot." I don't want some guy who sat on the bench for 75 percent of his career and was known for his enthusiasm while located there.
I want someone who is going to deal with the players in a real way, not with worn-out clichés. I want a manager who gains the faith of his players in Buck Showalter style: By being a step ahead of the manager in the other dugout, not by avoiding hurt feelings.
I want someone who will go directly from his news conference at Target Field to head across town for a long, candid sit-down with Joe Mauer. I want someone to look at Joe and say: "Four home runs and 55 RBI … we're not going to take this anymore, buddy. You show up in Fort Myers in prime shape, sculpted, ready to drive the ball. Period."
I want someone who is then going to head for the airport and fly to Venezuela, to track down Oswaldo Arcia, and spend three days trying to get a real idea what makes him tick. And then he goes to Puerto Rico, to make sure Kennys Vargas actually is taking off weight, rather than putting on pounds.
I want a manager who is going to visit Miguel Sano in the Dominican, to tell him face-to-face that there can be a place for him with the Twins sooner than later, as long as he shows up with bat booming in March.
I want a manager who will make a visit to Ricky Nolasco and ask two questions: "What was that, and what are you going to do about it?"
I want a manager so engaged immediately that there will be few surprises waiting when he gets to spring training.
