Stanley Cup together two years earlier can do for a teams

MINNEAPOLIS - The last time the Minnesota Twins searched for a manager, Paul Molitor was in the mix. Discount NHL Jerseys . 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. NHL Jerseys China . There, I saw a teenaged boy with tears in his eyes, being consoled by strength and conditioning coach Randy Lee. Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic . Here is a look at all the moves through the first week of NHL Free Agency. The most significant deals will get the full Numbers Game column treatment, like these:Briere-for-Parenteau trade. https://www.chinanhljerseys.us/ . scored 18 of his career- high 28 points in the first half, as fifth-ranked Ohio State dominated No. SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Even when they found themselves in a 3-0 series deficit to San Jose, the Los Angeles Kings never doubted they had what it takes to mount a memorable comeback. Thats what winning a Stanley Cup together two years earlier can do for a teams confidence and thats how a lack of post-season success can eat away at anothers psyche. Anze Kopitar scored the tiebreaking goal late in the second period and Jonathan Quick made 39 saves to cap the Kings historic comeback from three games down with a 5-1 victory over the Sharks in Game 7 of their first-round series Wednesday night. "When youve gone to the top of the mountain with the same group of guys its a little bit easier when youre at the bottom to come up," said captain Dustin Brown, who scored an empty-net goal to seal the game. "Thats what a lot of this team is about, our guys who have stuck together and played together for years." Drew Doughty, Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson also scored for the Kings, who became the fourth NHL team to win a best-of-seven series after losing the first three games. The Kings joined Toronto (1942), the New York Islanders (1975) and Philadelphia (2010) as the only teams to complete that comeback and now will get another California showdown in the second-round with the first Freeway Playoff against the Anaheim Ducks. "Thats fantastic," Doughty said. "This is something were all going to remember for the rest of our lives. Were not done yet. We have to move on." Matt Irwin scored the lone goal and Antti Niemi made 25 saves for the Sharks, who added perhaps their most bitter playoff disappointment to a history of them. San Jose has the second most regular-season wins in the NHL the past 10 seasons but has never made it past the conference finals. "This is as low as its been for me, and for the players that have been together for the six years that Ive been here," coach Todd McLellan said. The way the Sharks started this series by outscoring the Kings 17-8 to win the first three games, it looked as if this could finally be their year. But Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and the rest of their stars went mostly missing the final four games, the power play could not convert on its final 15 chances and the defence made too many lapses, leading to their second sstraight Game 7 loss to their California rivals. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys. "Theres been a lot of low points, but yeah, this is definitely one of them being up 3-0," Marleau said. The Sharks took their first lead since Game 3 in the opening minute of the second when Irwins point shot beat Quick through a screen to provide a jolt to the crowd that only got bigger when San Jose drew a penalty less than a minute later. But a hooking call on Tommy Wingels negated that power play and Logan Couture then got called for an elbowing penalty, giving Los Angeles a two-man advantage for 6 seconds. Before Wingels could get back into the play, Doughty tied it when he beat Niemi from the faceoff circle. The Sharks had three more power plays in the second period to give them a chance to go back ahead, but Los Angeles killed every one of them with Quick robbing Marleau with a glove save on the goal line to thwart San Joses best chance. "Those were obviously critical," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. "Jonathan was able to make that one highlight save. I think that gave us a little momentum." That save was emblematic of a remarkable turnaround this series for Quick, who allowed 16 goals the first three games but held the Sharks to just five over the final four wins. The Kings responded after the fourth penalty kill when last years Game 7 hero Justin Williams found Kopitar, who made a nifty move to beat Niemi with a backhand to give him points in all seven games this series. "Drew, Quickie and Kopi were our three best players tonight," Brown said. "You win and lose with your best players." The Sharks lost because their core players came up empty late in the series with Irwin and third-liner James Sheppard getting the only goals in the final three games. "I think their defence just swallowed us up right now, to be honest with you," Thornton said. "They just played real tight defensively and their goaltender got hot like he usually does this time of the year." NOTES: The Kings became the fifth team to beat the same opponent in Game 7 in consecutive seasons. ... Both teams were without a key defenceman as San Joses Marc-Edouard Vlasic missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury and Willie Mitchell was out for Los Angeles after getting hurt in Game 6. ' ' '