GAME THREAD: Twins vs. Cleveland, 05/14/2022 @ 6:10 PM CST

[USAFChief]

Nifty DP.

[mrtwinsfan]

Nice turn there Gio

[Schmoeman5]

3 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Lewis isn't going to be a major league SS, IMO.

Where will his spot be? 3rd or outfield do you think

[stringer bell]

4 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Lewis isn't going to be a major league SS, IMO.

He’s got the range and arm, are you thinking the hands aren’t good enough?

[CRF]

2 minutes ago, mrtwinsfan said:

Nice turn there Gio

Not much of a hitter, but he sure can pick it. 

[mrtwinsfan]

Would like to see the Twins tell Royce , you are a 4-5 game a week at 3b , and Correas backup if needed, Dont like it Kid, Cya in St,Paul, he is twice the athlete of urshela, or Miranda

[shortround81]

12 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Not everyone.

This is Joe Mauer 2.0. We either reduce his playing time (move him to 1st) or shorten his career

[Whitey333]

Byron Buxton not playing tonight is a joke.  Almost as much of a joke of a manager Baldelli is.  Byron played 3 whole games in a row.  What happened?  Did he catch bi lateral leg weakness.  Buxton is again proving he can't or won't play.  He is turning into a stiff.  He's missed 12 of 34 games off.  Why does he need another scheduled day off?  The lineup we have in there tonight is already thin with legitimate injuries.  People pay in part to see Buxton play.  If he has to have 3-4 days off per week, do it on the road.  I used to back Rocco but I can't anymore.  He will be the reason the Twins don't make the playoffs.  I'm sorry, but it's time to dump Baldelli.

[The_Phantom]

27 minutes ago, shortround81 said:

I love (hate) how the "Buxton Is A Closet Little B****" narrative has sprung up. But, if he was playing every day and crashed into an outfield wall causing an injury, everyone would be upset he was too aggressive

Well his propensity to getting hurt is frustrating… but I fail to connect the dots how the solution is to only play in 64% of the games. He’s has no IL time and he’s on pace for 104 games.
 
He should be in the prime of his career. This isnt an aging catcher who’s knees are on their last leg. This is an ultra athletic late 20s who many twins fans are happy that he only plays three times a week because it might prevent him from another IL trip. 

[USAFChief]

12 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

He’s got the range and arm, are you thinking the hands aren’t good enough?

Not a natural at fielding ground balls. He's out of position too often, ends up in an awkward position. Like on the soft ground ball this game with the messed up flip to Polanco. It was probably too soft to turn 2 anyway, but he has to charge that and field it with his throwing hand right next to his glove, so he can make the shuffle to second in a flash. His throwing hand was a mile away as he stabbed at it, so it would have taken way too long to make the exchange, even if he'd done so cleanly.

Just a lot of little things like that. Instincts, coordination, natural ability to put yourself in a position to field ground balls, time and again, and turn them into outs. It's a hard thing to do. 

3rd base is so much easier. Reaction, which I think he has.

If course, I'm making this judgement based on a handful of games. I could end up wrong.

But as I see it, he's not going to stick. 

[CRF]

I could see Lewis eventually at 3rd, but not in the OF. If Correa somehow stays, that takes SS off the table, at least for a while. Lewis could handle short...we've had worse there. Polanco was no great shakes at short. 

[stringer bell]

Kep got robbed there. 
 

[mrtwinsfan]

Thanx Ump,  not even close

[Squirrel]

Just now, stringer bell said:

Kep got robbed there. 
 

Yep, and Kep knew it, too

[LVTwinsfan]

Can’t call that a strike

[Nine of twelve]

Humans suck at calling balls and strikes.

[CRF]

WOW! Kep got robbed.

[USAFChief]

6 minutes ago, shortround81 said:

This is Joe Mauer 2.0. We either reduce his playing time (move him to 1st) or shorten his career

Wut??

[KirbyDome89]

It's been inconsistent high in the zone all game.

[KirbyDome89]

7 minutes ago, shortround81 said:

This is Joe Mauer 2.0. We either reduce his playing time (move him to 1st) or shorten his career

Yeah I don't think we're there yet.

[shortround81]

Buxton's position vs a catcher and/or his injury occurrence is not indicative of his toughness. I highly doubt it's a situation of:

Rocco: Ready to go today?

Byron: Not really but can you tell everyone I really, really wanna play?

[shortround81]

2 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Wut??

Re-read what I wrote

[RpR]

8 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

 

3rd base is so much easier. Reaction, which I think he has.

If course, I'm making this judgement based on a handful of games. I could end up wrong.

 

He may be as good at third as Arraez was.

[Sielk]

I swear, if the Twins lose this game I will think of that horrible call and wonder what could have been. 

Over the course of an entire season, bad calls even out but in a single game they can absolutely kill you when coming in crucial situations like this.

That's why robo umps are desperately needed. 

[shortround81]

3 minutes ago, KirbyDome89 said:

Yeah I don't think we're there yet.

Mmmmmm . . . Earlier in the thread people were doubting Buxton's drive to be on the field every day. People were questioning him saying that he does vs it actually being true

[stringer bell]

Been a while Gio!

[Aggies7]

25 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Hearing a lot of f-bombs on the broadcast. 

Must be that microphone I see in my living room

[USAFChief]

6 minutes ago, shortround81 said:

Re-read what I wrote

I have. I still have no idea what you're saying. We should play Buxton less so he can play more?

[CRF]

11 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Not a natural at fielding ground balls. He's out of position too often, ends up in an awkward position. Like on the soft ground ball this game with the messed up flip to Polanco. It was probably too soft to turn 2 anyway, but he has to charge that and field it with his throwing hand right next to his glove, so he can make the shuffle to second in a flash. His throwing hand was a mile away as he stabbed at it, so it would have taken way too long to make the exchange, even if he'd done so cleanly.

Just a lot of little things like that. Instincts, coordination, natural ability to put yourself in a position to field ground balls, time and again, and turn them into outs. It's a hard thing to do. 

3rd base is so much easier. Reaction, which I think he has.

If course, I'm making this judgement based on a handful of games. I could end up wrong.

But as I see it, he's not going to stick. 

I see what you're saying...but you also have to remember he's missed most of the last couple years. He's getting his sea legs back. Definitely a lot of talent there though. 

[Nine of twelve]

6 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Not a natural at fielding ground balls. He's out of position too often, ends up in an awkward position. Like on the soft ground ball this game with the messed up flip to Polanco. It was probably too soft to turn 2 anyway, but he has to charge that and field it with his throwing hand right next to his glove, so he can make the shuffle to second in a flash. His throwing hand was a mile away as he stabbed at it, so it would have taken way too long to make the exchange, even if he'd done so cleanly.

Just a lot of little things like that. Instincts, coordination, natural ability to put yourself in a position to field ground balls, time and again, and turn them into outs. It's a hard thing to do. 

3rd base is so much easier. Reaction, which I think he has.

If course, I'm making this judgement based on a handful of games. I could end up wrong.

But as I see it, he's not going to stick. 

This comment reminds me of how Reusse and Soucheray used to analyze Sid Hartman's columns: set up the loss but provide a ray of hope.

I'll paraphrase what I said in another thread: He went for over two years without playing organized baseball. Not only are you judging by a very small sample size but the sample you are using is almost certainly not representative of how he will be performing a year from now. Dude has not yet turned 23. We must not give up so early. Gotta let him play shortstop every day for at least another year and see what transpires.