It was a surprising day of upheaval for the Minnesota Twins, but manager Paul Molitor is staying put despite the firing of general manager Terry Ryan.Molitor said he was informed Sunday by team ownership that the Twins would like him to remain as manager for the 2017 season.Im grateful because I want to keep doing it, Molitor said before the Twins series opener against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. I want to be part of the solution of the team doing better.Molitor addressed the team Monday afternoon after news of Ryans dismissal broke. Molitor said he wanted to honor the longtime executive and take a moment to acknowledge his contributions to the organization, calling Ryans departure a personal loss.The Twins entered the day with the worst record in the American League at 33-58, 21 games out of first place in the AL Central Division. Only Atlanta (32-60) has a worse record in the majors.Assistant GM Rob Antony will replace Ryan on an interim basis. Owner and CEO Jim Pohlad referred to Ryans firing as difficult, painful and not obvious in a statement released earlier Monday by the team.Longtime Twins star Joe Mauer said it was a difficult day.Theres a lot of people hurting in here today, Mauer said. [Ryan has] had a hand in why everybody is in this room. Ive known him for a long time.Its a tough day, but we have a long way to go and we still have a lot of things to play for and prove and thats what were going to try to do moving forward.Molitor helped the Twins become one of the surprise teams of last year, keeping them in the playoff hunt into the final week of the season. But the Twins are on pace for 100 losses this year.Terry has been a gifted leader of the baseball department for over eighteen seasons, Pohlad said in a news release. It is impossible to overstate his contribution to our game, our team and the Upper Midwest baseball community. The decision to part ways with Terry was difficult, painful and not obvious.Ryan spent two stints as general manager of the Twins, helping the franchise emerge from a decade worth of futility to become one of the models for small-market success in the early 2000s. He helped build one of baseballs strongest farm systems and made several shrewd trades that turned the Twins into a team that won four AL Central championships in five seasons.Ryan stepped down in 2007 but returned in 2011 after hand-picked successor Bill Smith could not continue the teams success.The Twins are in the middle of their fifth losing season in the last six years. A 2015 season that saw them return to contention in the division proved not to be enough when the team sank to the bottom of the American League this summer.Ryan handed out big money to pitchers Ervin Santana, Ricky Nolasco and Phil Hughes in an effort to address the teams biggest weakness in the starting rotation, but all have been disappointments.The decisions to sign South Korean slugger Byung Ho Park, hold on to veteran third baseman Trevor Plouffe this offseason and move promising youngster Miguel Sano from third base to right field all proved to be ill-fated. Sano was injured while playing in the outfield and is back at third base, Plouffe is on the disabled list and his trade value has been diminished and Park has been sent to Triple-A to try to ease his transition from Korea to the United States.Despite the Twins massive struggles, the midseason firing is a highly uncharacteristic by the Pohlad family, long known in baseball circles for loyalty and continuity. Jim Pohlad has made no secret of his admiration for Ryan, saying as late as last year that the GM could hold his post for as long as he wanted.While disappointed we were unable to bring Minnesota a third World Championship, I leave the GM post with immense pride in being part of the Twins organization for the better part of three decades, Ryan said in the teams news release.Im grateful for the leadership opportunities provided by the Pohlad family; the collaboration and talents of my colleagues in the front office; the hard work and dedication of our manager, coaches and clubhouse personnel; the commitment and professionalism of our players; the passion and attention to detail of our minor league staff and scouts; and most importantly, the incredible support of our fans. Its been an honor to be part of the Twins organization and I wish everyone nothing but the best going forward.Antony is in his 29th season in the Twins organization and his ninth as an assistant GM.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. Jordan Howard Jersey . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. Brian Urlacher Jersey . 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Wholesale Custom Bears Shirts . Hazard cut in from the left and scored with a swerving right-footed shot for ninth goal of the season, which proved to be enough for the victory despite Chelseas forwards again lacking a cutting edge up front. CARSON, Calif. -- Landon Donovan isnt ready to decide whether he will extend his MLS comeback for another season with the LA Galaxy.Three days after their elimination from the playoffs, the Galaxy also had no news Wednesday on the career plans of Steven Gerrard and Robbie Keane. Gerrard is expected to make an announcement later this week, while Keane plans to wait until later in the month.Im hopeful they continue to be part of our club, Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said. Well see. Only time will tell.The 34-year-old Donovan says he greatly enjoyed his comeback season, which ended with the Galaxys loss to Colorado on penalty kicks in the Western Conference semifinals. Donovan said he hasnt spoken to the Galaxy or to his wife about the future.I enjoyed it a lot, and nobody wants to end that way, Donovan said. Thats tough, but thats part of sports, and (I) came back with a little bit of a different perspective, where you can appreciate and enjoy the process more.Donovan, the top scorer in the history of MLS and the U.S. national team, ended a 21-month retirement in September. Wearing No. 26 instead of his usual No. 10, he appeared in six regular-season games and three playoff contests, adding one goal to his league-record total of 145.Arena says he believes Donovan is 50-50 on a return for 2017, and Donovan said nothing to dispute that notion.The last while that I was playing before (retirement), it became more of a job than fun, Donovan said. And when that line got crossed, it was hard for me. But this was enjoyable. I really had fun. I enjoyed playing. It was good to have that to help remind me of the joy that this game has always brought me.Donovan returned in a supporting role for the Galaxy, complementing Giovani Dos Santos and the rest of the Galaxys ever-changing attack. The star-studded Galaxys struggles withh major injuries played a role in their disappointing sixth-place finish in the overall MLS table, followed by a narrow playoff exit against the Rapids.ddddddddddddArena expects changes to the Galaxys core around Dos Santos and Gyasi Zardes, who appear to be the cornerstones of the franchises future. Those changes could include the departure of their two most prominent European stars.Keane and Gerrard were not made available to address their futures Wednesday, but both are out of contract this winter.Gerrard has shown flashes of his Liverpool greatness during 1 1/2 seasons stateside, but the midfielder also dealt with injuries throughout his stay. He was out for one month between games twice during the second half of this season, returning to play 45 minutes in the playoff game against Colorado last weekend.Gerrard traveled back to Liverpool for treatment on his injuries, and he has spoken fondly about his intentions to return home soon.Keane has been one of MLS best players since his arrival with the Galaxy in 2011, but injuries and international duties forced the former Ireland striker out of LAs lineup for roughly half the season. The 36-year-old Keane plans a coaching career, but has said he wants to continue as a player for a few more years.Keane was just one of several players who endured significant injury troubles. Gerrard, Zardes, Nigel De Jong and others also missed long stretches, contributing to LAs mid-table finish and a league-high 16 ties.Theres some encouraging things, said Arena, who still plans to return to the Galaxy. But you cant lose your top players for as long as we lost them and expect to be consistent on the field and produce the results we want to produce. ' ' '