Twins managerial hunt update: Joe Maddon, Paul Molitor, Doug Mientkiewicz, Torey Lovullo

After getting news that the Twins had not reached out to Joe Maddon following his departure from the Rays, news comes down from LEN III that yes, indeed, Maddon and Terry Ryan did touch base. From Neal's report:

The Twins, indeed, reached out to the Maddon camp after he became a free agent Friday, according to two sources with knowledge of the Twins’ search. It’s not clear how serious the Twins’ interest was, but the sides did talk.

It sounds likely that Maddon's destination may have always been Chicago, but regardless he's days if not hours from officially being the Cubs' next manager. As Darren Woflson says, at least the Twins and Ryan got in touch with Maddon. To not have done so would have been a missed opportunity, because you never really know what's going on until you speak to someone.

The Star Tribune has had plenty of takes on the managerial opening over the last couple of days.

• Patrick Reusse thinks Maddon's success with the Rays was tied to the team's pitching. It's a natural conclusion to draw, since good team pitching has a solid correlation with a team's win-loss record, but it was always Maddon's philosophies that his fans were hungry for. You can't blame a fan base for wanting what they believe to be the best available asset.
• Jim Souhan says Paul Molitor's desire for the position isn't lukewarm at all. Fully in Molitor's corner, Souhan does think that the longer the process drags on the better the chances that Terry Ryan and company choose someone else.
• Michael Rand thinks that Doug Mientkiewicz is trailing his two finalists to the finish line, and talks the differences between Molitor and Lovullo. Rand seems to support Lovullo and has a couple of compelling points that are worth considering.