Twins can Molitor
Hall of Famer was 2017 Manager of Year
Two years ago, the Twins made Derek Falvey their chief baseball officer with the precondition that Paul Molitor remain as manager. Molitor presided over a playoff team and won the American League Manager of the Year award in 2017, but the Twins slipped this season. Last week, Falvey and general manager
Thad Levine decided the time was right to hire their own manager.
Citing pursuit of more productive development by their younger players, Falvey and Levine fired Molitor on Tuesday while offering him an opportunity to remain with the organization in an undefined position in baseball operations.
“This wasn’t about our record this year. This is about what we think is best as we continue to grow a young team in the direction toward being a championship contender,” Falvey said.
Falvey and other club executives expressed confidence that Molitor would stay with the Twins beyond the 20 years he has already worked for them in various roles, including the final three seasons of his Hall of Fame playing career.
“I fully respect that decision,” Molitor said in a statement distributed by the team.
The Twins went 305-343 under the 62-year-old Molitor, with one appearance in the playoffs in 2017. They were 78-84 this year, long out of postseason contention after a series of early setbacks to several key players.
GOODELL THANKS TRUMP
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell praised President Donald Trump’s “leadership and determination” for pushing through an aspect of the revamped North American trade agreement that would allow local TV ads to be shown in Canada during Super Bowl broadcasts.
Goodell issued a statement Tuesday, two days after the U.S.-MexicoCanada Agreement was set up. The deal still needs congressional approval.
Under the new pact, the NFL could receive more money for its Super Bowl broadcasting rights in Canada. That’s because the agreement effectively dismisses a 2015 ruling by Canada’s TV regulator that said only the airing of the Super Bowl in Canada — and no other programs in that country — must show U.S. ads instead of Canadian commercials.
“We greatly appreciate president Trump’s leadership and determination in bringing about a resolution to our intellectual property issue in Canada,” Goodell said.
KENDRICKS BANNED BY NFL
The NFL suspended Seattle Seahawks linebacker Mychal Kendricks indefinitely on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty last month to federal insider trading charges.
Kendricks was suspended under the personal-conduct policy, said league spokesman Brian McCarthy.
A suspension had been anticipated since his guilty plea in early September. Seattle signed Kendricks prior to Week 2 because of a need at linebacker with K.J. Wright out.