Diamondback Jay
Psalms 23:1
Source
Third base coach Al Newman will leave the Twins to become an advance scout with the Arizona Diamondbacks, ending a four-year stint that included some communication problems with other members of the coaching staff.
The move took place a week after Newman met with General Manager Terry Ryan, during which Ryan brought up some concerns.
"I chose to go somewhere because it was apparent that there were difficulties here," Newman said. "If there were some difficulties here, I wished they would have addressed them before it came to this."
Ryan declined to comment on Newman's departure.
Ryan said the 2006 coaching staff will be announced at a later time.
Newman, a member of the Twins organization for 19 years and the third base coach for the past four, had some differences of opinion with Ron Gardenhire. The manager said that, despite their issues, he had no problems having Newman on the staff.
"I knew with conversations with some people that [Newman] was disappointed with some things," Gardenhire said. "And I know that Newmie and I had our moments during the course of the year."
One recent example of their problems occurred on Sept. 14 at Detroit, when Luis Rodriguez was asked to bunt a runner over in the ninth inning despite the score being 4-2. Newman said he received a signal from the bench to put the play on, while people in the organization claim Newman forgot the score.
"We had problems, not some of those knockout, drag-out things, but different theories and stuff like that," Gardenhire said. "Newmie did his job, and we worked."
Newman, 45, is popular with fans, and many players confided in him because he played 854 games in the majors -- winning two World Series titles with the Twins -- and had more playing experience than anyone on the coaching staff. He also has coached and managed in the minors and goes all the way back to rookie ball with current Twins Justin Morneau and Travis Bowyer.
The rest of the coaching staff -- first base coach Jerry White, bench coach Steve Liddle, pitching coach Rick Anderson, hitting coach Scott Ullger and bullpen coach Rick Stelmaszek -- are expected to return. Still, Ryan met with the coaches last week, determining who should be retained after the team finished 83-79 and saw its run of three consecutive AL Central titles come to an end.
It's unclear who will replace Newman. It's possible that Ullger will return to third base, where he coached from 1995-98. He also filled in for Newman in 2003 while Newman recovered from a brain hemorrhage.
Some people in the organization said one scenario could be to add a hitting coach and shuffle the coaching staff. That could be the way to bring in someone like former Twin and Hall of Famer Paul Molitor or Class AAA Rochester hitting coach Bill Springman.
Meanwhile, Newman said he was sad to leave the organization wondering if he's a scapegoat for the team's struggles this season.
"That's the whole thing for me," he said. "I don't want it to appear than I'm the fall guy. There were some young players, and I think they were better than they were at the beginning of the year."
Third base coach Al Newman will leave the Twins to become an advance scout with the Arizona Diamondbacks, ending a four-year stint that included some communication problems with other members of the coaching staff.
The move took place a week after Newman met with General Manager Terry Ryan, during which Ryan brought up some concerns.
"I chose to go somewhere because it was apparent that there were difficulties here," Newman said. "If there were some difficulties here, I wished they would have addressed them before it came to this."
Ryan declined to comment on Newman's departure.
Ryan said the 2006 coaching staff will be announced at a later time.
Newman, a member of the Twins organization for 19 years and the third base coach for the past four, had some differences of opinion with Ron Gardenhire. The manager said that, despite their issues, he had no problems having Newman on the staff.
"I knew with conversations with some people that [Newman] was disappointed with some things," Gardenhire said. "And I know that Newmie and I had our moments during the course of the year."
One recent example of their problems occurred on Sept. 14 at Detroit, when Luis Rodriguez was asked to bunt a runner over in the ninth inning despite the score being 4-2. Newman said he received a signal from the bench to put the play on, while people in the organization claim Newman forgot the score.
"We had problems, not some of those knockout, drag-out things, but different theories and stuff like that," Gardenhire said. "Newmie did his job, and we worked."
Newman, 45, is popular with fans, and many players confided in him because he played 854 games in the majors -- winning two World Series titles with the Twins -- and had more playing experience than anyone on the coaching staff. He also has coached and managed in the minors and goes all the way back to rookie ball with current Twins Justin Morneau and Travis Bowyer.
The rest of the coaching staff -- first base coach Jerry White, bench coach Steve Liddle, pitching coach Rick Anderson, hitting coach Scott Ullger and bullpen coach Rick Stelmaszek -- are expected to return. Still, Ryan met with the coaches last week, determining who should be retained after the team finished 83-79 and saw its run of three consecutive AL Central titles come to an end.
It's unclear who will replace Newman. It's possible that Ullger will return to third base, where he coached from 1995-98. He also filled in for Newman in 2003 while Newman recovered from a brain hemorrhage.
Some people in the organization said one scenario could be to add a hitting coach and shuffle the coaching staff. That could be the way to bring in someone like former Twin and Hall of Famer Paul Molitor or Class AAA Rochester hitting coach Bill Springman.
Meanwhile, Newman said he was sad to leave the organization wondering if he's a scapegoat for the team's struggles this season.
"That's the whole thing for me," he said. "I don't want it to appear than I'm the fall guy. There were some young players, and I think they were better than they were at the beginning of the year."
