September 10, 2016

Not so fast: ‘Confirmed candidate’ to lead Twins isn’t a candidate after all

Days after MLB Network reported that Alex Anthopoulos, the former vice president of baseball operations and general manger of the Toronto Blue Jays, was a “confirmed candidate” to be the Twins’ president of baseball operations, he apparently isn’t a candidate at all.

That’s according to the Pioneer Press, which reported that Anthopoulos is staying put with the Los Angeles Dodgers as vice president of baseball operations. An unnamed source in the story said the “timing isn’t right for him to jump back into the GM pool.”

Anthopoulos was the 2015 Sporting News Executive of the Year.

Meanwhile, baseball was played Wednesday and Friday. The Twins came from behind to finally beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-5, and snapped a seven-game losing streak against the club. Friday’s game was a lackluster affair. The Twins banged out only six hits en route to a 5-4 loss versus the American League Central-leading Cleveland Indians.

Extra innings…

-The Twins fell to 52-89 on Friday.

-The Twins committed two more errors to give them 110 on the season.

-I thought it was good riddance to the Royals after Wednesday’s win, but no. The Twins are 3-13 versus the Royals this season, yet they meet for one more three-game series before this lost season finally comes to an end. And one of those games falls on Sept. 28, my birthday. My birthday wish, you ask? A clean sweep of that final series against the Royals, of course.

-Twins owner Jim Pohlad has apparently reiterated his support for manager Paul Molitor in a letter that was sent to season ticket holders, according to a couple of published reports. Fine. Now, Molitor, how about you walk the Tribe’s Mike Napoli once in a while? Napoli hit a massive solo shot on Friday — his seventh homer against the Twins this season — to untie the game at four. The extra run held up and the Indians won 5-4.

-Rookie outfielder Byron Buxton continues to play well since he was recalled to the team from Triple-A Rochester. Since his return, he has hit five homers, including one Friday night, in eight games, according to MLB.com.

Hector Santiago, who again got extra rest between starts, gets the ball on Saturday.

 

COMMENTS

Hi, I’m Rolf Boone, Twins fan.

I became a fan of the Minnesota Twins after a friendly wager in the early 1980s. I survived Ron Davis, the meltdown in Cleveland, Phil Bradley at the Kingdome and then marveled at a rising generation of stars and two World Series wins in 1987 and 1991. Brad Radke made the 1990s bearable, while Kirby Puckett’s eye injury, exit from the game and eventual death made it almost too much to bear. The new century ushered in more talent — Joe Mauer, Johan Santana, Joe Nathan, Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau — and consecutive seasons of playoff baseball, followed by consecutive seasons of losing baseball. A winning season returned in 2015. So here we are. Go Twins.