Drew Butera

[Shane Wahl]

I missed the point? You mentioned 8 other players and their assorted failures in your Drew Butera post.

 

BTW, I (and many others) complained bitterly about Drew Butera all through 2010. Rightfully so, too.

The idea is that Drew Butera is not supposed to be on a team unless it is very good. You can complain about him now, but there are far bigger problems just with the offense.

 

On the other hand, I have been adamant about having this joke player on the roster at all and how he CLEARLY is loved by Gardenhire, so he WILL start way too much.

[Riverbrian]

One more start at C than Mauer over that time frame.

Gardy gets the same newsletters that all the other managers get... Right? Those newsletters professionally prepared that contain hitting charts, tendencies, hot and cold zones. Numerous percentage breakouts and breakdowns. Comparisons, batter vs pitcher, left right splits, day night splits, home away etc... Historical data, scouting reports and projections. Is it possible the info is password protected and Gardy forgot the password.

 

If Gardy is getting this info like he should be getting. Can you imagine what data is in these reports leading to 5 starts in less than two weeks for a third catcher. I believe he has started at catcher more then the other two. By definition this makes Butera the #1.

[snepp]

Players that OPS .500 don't belong in the major leagues, regardless of the quality of team.

[Shane Wahl]

Here I find myself in a position of defending (not really at all) a guy who I have ridiculed and scorned the Twins for having on the roster. I named 8 guys who matter WAY more than Drew Butera. There are 22 or 23 guys who matter more, generally, and even if this joke is starting, there are likely a dozen or so who matter more.

 

Obviously Joe Mauer should be trusted to call games for Diamond and Pavano. And Doumit too.

 

But Butera is not doing the damage that Trevor Plouffe, Chris Parmelee, Danny Valencia, and those four SP have done already. He's playing a defensive position and they are starting at offensive positions or are starting pitchers for Christ's sake.

[stringer bell]

Here I find myself in a position of defending (not really at all) a guy who I have ridiculed and scorned the Twins for having on the roster. I named 8 guys who matter WAY more than Drew Butera. There are 22 or 23 guys who matter more, generally, and even if this joke is starting, there are likely a dozen or so who matter more.

 

Obviously Joe Mauer should be trusted to call games for Diamond and Pavano. And Doumit too.

 

But Butera is not doing the damage that Trevor Plouffe, Chris Parmelee, Danny Valencia, and those four SP have done already. He's playing a defensive position and they are starting at offensive positions or are starting pitchers for Christ's sake.

Good take.

[Mike Sixel]

Regardless of whether or not it is the biggest issue with the team, starting Butera 5 times in less than 5-6 weeks is an issue for this team. He's just not good at his job. Starting him 5 times in two weeks? That's not a good sign for the quality of your team.

[twinsnorth49]

Drew Butera hurts the Twins. There are only 9 hitters in a lineup. One terrible one hurts, no matter what the others do. Blaming them for not making up for him misses the point.

So does Trevor Plouffe.

[stringer bell]

Drew didn't block Cappsie's splitter cleanly, which cost the Twins the game. I just don't see him as much better than average defensively. With that bat, he has to be supercatcher and he's not.

[twinsnorth49]

Gardy gets the same newsletters that all the other managers get... Right? Those newsletters professionally prepared that contain hitting charts, tendencies, hot and cold zones. Numerous percentage breakouts and breakdowns. Comparisons, batter vs pitcher, left right splits, day night splits, home away etc... Historical data, scouting reports and projections. Is it possible the info is password protected and Gardy forgot the password.

 

If Gardy is getting this info like he should be getting. Can you imagine what data is in these reports leading to 5 starts in less than two weeks for a third catcher. I believe he has started at catcher more then the other two. By definition this makes Butera the #1.

Butera changed the password.

[Highabove]

Butera with three hits today.

 

Tom Burnansky miracle worker.

[mikeee]

he must have eaten his spinach.

[PopRiveter]

Drew is batting .350! I better type fast before he slips below .180.

[StormJH1]

I refuse to get excited over Butera hitting "well" for a week or two because he's never a track record of even passable hitting at ANY level - minors or majors.

 

On the defensive side of things, yes, I think he's good at his job. I think he's notably better than Mauer, in fact, which is not to say that Mauer is "bad". But my issue is with people who argue this like it's "either/or". Butera got acquired and fast-tracked because he's Sal Butera's kid...and because Morales didn't work out and we traded Ramos. The people who defend him starting 2 out of 5 games because of his defense talk as if every decent defensive catcher in baseball hits .180, which clearly is not the case. Unfortunately, J.R. Towles' numbers at AAA are almost identical to Nishioka's line, and that's unlikely to improve since he's a .187 hitter over 5 seasons in the majors.

 

Agree with the posters above on the "Nick Punto" argument, except that Butera is so below average even for a catcher, that there's really no hiding him.

[CDog]

Butera got acquired and fast-tracked because he's Sal Butera's kid...

Seems a wee bit speculative to be stated as a fact.

[scottyc35]

no doubt, Butera is the least of our worries

[Riverbrian]

If Drew Butera continues to hit. I will eat my crow with a knife and fork. However I will use my spoon to scoop out my eyeballs because I will have seen it all and there will be no need to see no more.

 

Ive been an advocate for playing different players to find the hot hitter and rest the cold ones. I never dreamed that Drew Butera could be an example of what I've been advocating. Drew Butera hitting .350... I can't believe I'm saying this. Play him until he cools off.

[snepp]

Sample size, sample size, sample size.

 

 

Drew Butera Batting Gamelogs for Career Games 82 to 89

 

 

[TABLE=class: sortable stats_table]

[TH=class: tooltip sort_default_asc, align: center]Date[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip sort_default_asc show_partial_when_sorting, align: center]Tm[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]G[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]GS[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip show_partial_when_sorting, align: center]Rslt[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]PA[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]AB[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]R[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]H[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]2B[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]3B[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]HR[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]RBI[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]BB[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]IBB[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]SO[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]HBP[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]SH[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]SF[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]ROE[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]GDP[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]SB[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]CS[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip hide_non_quals, align: center]BA[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip hide_non_quals, align: center]OBP[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip hide_non_quals, align: center]SLG[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip hide_non_quals, align: center]OPS[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip hide_non_quals, align: center]BAbip[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip hide_non_quals, align: center]aLI[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]WPA[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]RE24[/TH]

[TD=align: left]May 29, 2011 to Jun 10, 2011[/TD]

[TD=align: left]MIN[/TD]

[TD=align: right]8[/TD]

[TD=align: right]7[/TD]

[TD=align: left]4-4[/TD]

[TD=align: right]25[/TD]

[TD=align: right]23[/TD]

[TD=align: right]6[/TD]

[TD=align: right]9[/TD]

[TD=align: right]4[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0[/TD]

[TD=align: right]1[/TD]

[TD=align: right]6[/TD]

[TD=align: right]1[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0[/TD]

[TD=align: right]3[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0[/TD]

[TD=align: right]1[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0[/TD]

[TD=align: right]1[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0[/TD]

[TD=align: right].391[/TD]

[TD=align: right].400[/TD]

[TD=align: right].696[/TD]

[TD=align: right]1.096[/TD]

[TD=align: right].400[/TD]

[TD=align: right].88[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0.165[/TD]

[TD=align: right]2.97[/TD]

[/TABLE]

 

[h=3]Drew Butera Batting Gamelogs for Career Games 137 to 142[/h]

[TABLE=class: sortable stats_table]

[TH=class: tooltip sort_default_asc, align: center]Date[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip sort_default_asc show_partial_when_sorting, align: center]Tm[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]G[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]GS[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip show_partial_when_sorting, align: center]Rslt[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]PA[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]AB[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]R[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]H[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]2B[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]3B[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]HR[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]RBI[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]BB[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]IBB[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]SO[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]HBP[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]SH[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]SF[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]ROE[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]GDP[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]SB[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]CS[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip hide_non_quals, align: center]BA[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip hide_non_quals, align: center]OBP[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip hide_non_quals, align: center]SLG[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip hide_non_quals, align: center]OPS[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip hide_non_quals, align: center]BAbip[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip hide_non_quals, align: center]aLI[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]WPA[/TH]

[TH=class: tooltip, align: center]RE24[/TH]

[TR=class: hl]

[TD=align: left]Sep 22, 2011 to Sep 28, 2011[/TD]

[TD=align: left]MIN[/TD]

[TD=align: right]6[/TD]

[TD=align: right]6[/TD]

[TD=align: left]3-3[/TD]

[TD=align: right]18[/TD]

[TD=align: right]12[/TD]

[TD=align: right]3[/TD]

[TD=align: right]5[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0[/TD]

[TD=align: right]1[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0[/TD]

[TD=align: right]4[/TD]

[TD=align: right]3[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0[/TD]

[TD=align: right]1[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0[/TD]

[TD=align: right]3[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0[/TD]

[TD=align: right]1[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0[/TD]

[TD=align: right].417[/TD]

[TD=align: right].533[/TD]

[TD=align: right].583[/TD]

[TD=align: right]1.117[/TD]

[TD=align: right].455[/TD]

[TD=align: right]1.54[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0.016[/TD]

[TD=align: right]1.35[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

[JB_Iowa]

At this point, what difference does it make? If by some miracle he continues his hot streak, it helps the team win and maybe makes him a tradeable asset.

 

It's not like this team is sitting a bunch of .300 (or even .250 or .200) hitters so that Butera can play.

 

The test will be if he cools off. Will Gardenhire sit him or will the team send him down? That's the only part of the scenario that is troublesome.

[whydidnt]

At this point, what difference does it make? If by some miracle he continues his hot streak, it helps the team win and maybe makes him a tradeable asset.

 

It's not like this team is sitting a bunch of .300 (or even .250 or .200) hitters so that Butera can play.

 

The test will be if he cools off. Will Gardenhire sit him or will the team send him down? That's the only part of the scenario that is troublesome.

I can't argue with your point. For me, and probably a lot of others though, I think Butera stands out as the poster boy of what's wrong with the Twins. We see them continue to run out guys that have no business being in a major league lineup over and over again. When the off season comes, rather than upgrade even a little, we just bring them back and do it over again, and then watch Gardy's face turn red when the team loses. You can't expect to win when you are willing to use guys like Butera as your regular catcher for extended periods unless the rest of your lineup features a pile of hall of famers in their prime. Sure he's not the only problem they have, but it's probably the one they continue to repeat the most. It shows a blind spot in the organization, where for some reason certain players are allowed to fail over and over again, yet seem to be "favorites", and other guys don't seem to be given much of chance and are shipped out. It would be one thing to allow a guy like Butera to fail consistently if he had some sort of track record that indicated he could improve, but he doesn't.

[StormJH1]

I can't argue with your point. For me, and probably a lot of others though, I think Butera stands out as the poster boy of what's wrong with the Twins. We see them continue to run out guys that have no business being in a major league lineup over and over again. When the off season comes, rather than upgrade even a little, we just bring them back and do it over again, and then watch Gardy's face turn red when the team loses. You can't expect to win when you are willing to use guys like Butera as your regular catcher for extended periods unless the rest of your lineup features a pile of hall of famers in their prime. Sure he's not the only problem they have, but it's probably the one they continue to repeat the most. It shows a blind spot in the organization, where for some reason certain players are allowed to fail over and over again, yet seem to be "favorites", and other guys don't seem to be given much of chance and are shipped out. It would be one thing to allow a guy like Butera to fail consistently if he had some sort of track record that indicated he could improve, but he doesn't.

I chuckled when I got to "we just bring them back...and watch Gardy's face turn red". Oh, and I agree with your entire take.