Twins staying course with Molitor as skipper

MINNEAPOLIS — When a team struggles to an 11-33 start, the conventional move — the convenient, conventional move — would be to dismiss the manager.

This is not happening with the Twins, nor should it. Manager Paul Molitor was third in the balloting for the American League Manager of the Year Award in 2015, a season in which the club took major strides forward.

It was obvious then that Molitor could manage and he didn’t become a lesser skipper over the offseason. But you have seen highly capable managers dismissed before.

The other factor here is that the Twins general manager Terry Ryan is doing the right thing instead of the easy thing. Ryan is not blaming the manager. He is blaming himself.

“We’re having a tough go, but it starts right at the top and I’m sitting in that chair,” Ryan said on Monday night before the Twins’ 10-4 loss to the Royals. “We’ve struggled, to say the least, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that my belief in Paul Molitor is strong. You don’t have to worry about that.”

Ryan added that he continued to have a belief in the Twins’ coaching staff, as well.

Minnesota’s shortcomings have been, to put it mildly, numerous in this young season. This is surprising given that the Twins won 83 games last year, finishing second in the AL Central, and remaining in the hunt for a Wild Card berth until the final weekend of the season. It is even more surprising given the caliber of young talent in the organization.

This is where the managerial change typically comes in. It …

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