Yao Ming, his sheer strength can often make it difficult for

MINNEAPOLIS - The last time the Minnesota Twins searched for a manager, Paul Molitor was in the mix. Nike React Element 55 Heren Sale . He withdrew from consideration, with the franchises future uncertain during Major League Baseballs failed attempt to eliminate two clubs.The job didnt open for another 13 years, but this time Molitor was ready. The challenge he accepted is to help turn around a team that lost 92 or more games in each of the last four seasons.The Twins announced Monday they had agreed to a three-year contract for the Hall of Fame infielder and native of Minnesota, who will be introduced Tuesday as Ron Gardenhires replacement during a news conference at Target Field.Its pretty exciting. Im a huge Molitor fan, second baseman Brian Dozier said. Hes a bright individual, with a better IQ in the game of baseball than anyone Ive ever been around. Hes just an exceptional man.This is the first managing job at any level for Molitor, who has the 10th-most hits in major league history. He spent 2014 as a coach on Gardenhires staff. Prior to that, he served for 10 seasons as a minor league instructor in the organization, a noted influence on many young players.Three finalists who had multiple interviews with general manager Terry Ryan were Molitor, Boston Red Sox bench coach Torey Luvollo and Twins minor league manager Doug Mientkiewicz, according to reports. Matching the organizations patient, deliberate style, Ryan took his time with the search before settling on the candidate widely believed to be the favourite all along, particularly given the franchises penchant for promoting from within.I know he hasnt managed, but I dont think that should be a problem at all, just because his knowledge of the game. Hes been around the game for so long now, Dozier said. Its just taking all hes learned over his career and just going on the other side of it now.Molitor, 58, will be the 13th manager of the Twins, who will begin their 55th season. He was an initial candidate in 2001 when Tom Kelly retired, after serving as bench coach during Kellys last two years, but Gardenhire got the job then.Gardenhire led the Twins to the AL Central title in his first year, the first of six on his watch, and a spot in the 2002 AL championship series. The last of those division titles was as late as 2010, but gaps in the organizational talent pool quickly caught up with a club that was revered throughout the previous decade playing in the dingy, low-revenue Metrodome as one of best-run in baseball.These days, the fan base is filled with frustration. Ryan, long one of the most revered decision-makers in the game, has not been immune from the criticism, either, and he realized the importance of this hire.Molitors Hall of Fame and 3,000-hit club credentials were pluses, sure, but his reputation of valuable work with prospects in his role as a roving tutor specializing in baserunning and infield play were equal strengths for Ryan to assess. Molitor served the 2004 season as hitting coach with the Seattle Mariners but has otherwise spent the majority of his post-playing days tutoring throughout the Twins organization.Ill tell you this much, there wont be a team anywhere in the league with a better leader than (Molitor), Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe tweeted. Very excited to battle with him!Molitor made his reputation with the Milwaukee Brewers and won a World Series with the Toronto Blue Jays, but he finished a stellar 21-year career of flawless compact swings with the Twins from 1996-98.The soft-spoken native of neighbouring St. Paul attended the same high school as Twins first baseman Joe Mauer. After a standout career at the University of Minnesota, the Brewers took Molitor with the third pick in the 1977 draft.His time in the majors wasnt without tumult. Brewers fans were stung when he signed with the Blue Jays. He struggled with injuries. Then there was the drug problem that dogged the early stage of his career, use of cocaine and marijuana he later said was a reaction to pressure he felt by his image as the clean-cut, Midwest-raised star.___AP Sports Writer Jon Krawczynski contributed to this report. Nike Just Do It Schoenen Kopen . "Well over 50 (per cent)," coach Claude Noel said Tuesday after practice, where the Jets were looking at ways to cut down the scoring chances theyve been giving away. Vapormax 2019 Sale . “Momentum is only as good as the next days starter,” the long-time Baltimore Orioles manager famously quipped. http://www.vapormaxsalenederland.com/vapormax-2019-goedkoop-kopen/dames.html . Louis second-period goal increased the New York Rangers lead but Dustin Brown has countered for the Los Angeles Kings who now trail the New York Rangers 2-1 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final at Madison Square Garden. MINNEAPOLIS -- The NBA has acknowledged the Minnesota Timberwolves were on the short end of an officiating error once again, and the latest one cost them dearly in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Less than 24 hours after the Wolves lost at home to the Mavericks, 100-98, NBA president of basketball operations Rod Thorn announced Tuesday that Kevin Love was fouled on his right arm by Shawn Marion in the closing seconds and should have been awarded two free throws. Officials Ed Malloy and David Guthrie were near the play, but neither blew their whistle. Marion was awarded a blocked shot on the play that allowed the Mavericks to hang on for an important road victory. Thorn said replays showed Marion did hit Love on his right arm while he raised up to shoot a jumper in the corner. The acknowledgement held little weight with the Timberwolves, who are trying to chase down the Mavericks in the Western Conference playoff race. "Its like moral victories," Love said. "You dont really count those. Its just something that well just get past." Its not the first time the Wolves have had to do that recently. They have now been told by the NBA three times since last March that officials made an error in one of their games. Last season, the NBA said officials shouldnt have ejected J.J. Barea from a game against Miami on March 4 after a confrontation with Ray Allen in the fourth quarter. Later that month, the league said officials erred in not calling Kobe Bryant for a foul on Ricky Rubios last-second 3-point attempt that allowed the Los Angeles Lakers to win, 120-117, on March 27. "Sometimes, its even more frustrating" when the league acknowledges the mistake, Rubio said Tuesday. "We cant do nothing. If they didnt call it, they didnt call it. Thats it. We dont care if they say it was a foul oor not. Nike Epic React Flyknit Heren Sale. . They didnt call it. We didnt have the chance to tie the game, and we lost that game." But Rubio, Love and Adelman all were quick to point out that the Wolves made plenty of other mistakes themselves to allow the game to get to that point. A lacklustre first half had them down by 19 points at halftime and 21 early in the third quarter, and the flat start ultimately cost them. "The first half, it was terrible," Rubio said. "We arent gonna blame the ref for that game. ... It was us who put us in that situation." After the game, Adelman expressed what has been a growing concern among the team this season -- that Love and, to a lesser extent, Nikola Pekovic arent getting the respect from the officials that they deserve. Pekovic, the teams bruising centre, often finishes the games with bruises on his arms and shoulders from banging in the paint. But like other heavyweights before him, including Shaquille ONeal and Yao Ming, his sheer strength can often make it difficult for officials to see him getting fouled. Love is off to an MVP-caliber start to this season, and Adelman said that its time for officials to start realizing that. "He got fouled," Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said. "I wonder what that would have been if (Dirk) Nowitzki, LeBron James, all the top players in the league -- a guy reaches on a last-second shot like that, instead of challenging it. Maybe they dont understand that Kevin is one of the top five players in this league. You make that call. But they didnt." As of late Tuesday afternoon, there was no indication that Adelman would get fined for his comments. And he wasnt interested in revisiting the subject after practice. "Its over with," Adelman said. "It doesnt do any good to think about it now." ' ' '