Whats up with Buxton ?????

[mrtwinsfan]

Minnesota Twins placed CF Byron Buxton on the 10-day injured list. Low grade right hip strain.,  this was last August  and he was activated on October 6th.  anyone have any news, ?????

[stringer bell]

Buxton had knee surgery in the offseason and is ramping up to play soon, according to reports I've heard. There have been zero reports of injury or setback for Buxton, but there really isn't a reason for him to play in exhibitions at this point. 

[TaterTot]

Oh no! Hope he doesn’t have a cracked tooth like spring of 2021 when he cracked his tooth on steak! 

[AceWrigley]

16 minutes ago, TaterTot said:

Oh no! Hope he doesn’t have a cracked tooth like spring of 2021 when he cracked his tooth on steak! 

Bi-lateral tooth weakness I'm sure.

[JD-TWINS]

He wants to play during season - TWINS want him to play during season…….am sure he’ll get enough Spring Training AB’s to be ready to go March 30……he is in 8th year or so.

Everyone’s curious & wants to hear he hit a home run yesterday!

If a QB misses 3 1/2 of 4 preseason games no big deal. Unfortunately, baseball seems to be a contact sport for Buxton so letting him get individual workouts in and reduce any risks for nicks is a good move.

[Fatbat]

I hear his OPS on the back fields BP is like 1.743 

[Dave The Dastardly]

Lefty down at Kelsey's Bar says they got an ambulance following Buxton around on the practice fields. They keep his bat and glove locked in the back in case he starts feeling like he wants to do something basebally. Even got a doppelganger signing autographs for him. Bi-lateral finger weakness I guess.

[Bigfork Twins Guy]

What's with the starters rarely playing in ST.  Baseball is becoming more like the football pre-season where none of the starters seem to play.

ST was set at this length way back when because players came to ST out of shape from the off-season and needed all that time to get into playing shape.

With today's players coming in throwing 100mph out of the gate and with high exit velocity rates, maybe they do not need this long of a ST season and it's time to cut back on ST or start the season earlier with more games scheduled south early and end the season in early to mid-Oct so the payoffs are not played in cold weather.

[mnfireman]

2 hours ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

ST was set at this length way back when because players came to ST out of shape from the off-season and needed all that time to get into playing shape.

Whether there's any truth to it or not, most teams (and players) blamed the injuries and bad performances on the shortened spring training before last season. 

[tony&rodney]

Much ado about nothing. Buxton is getting his fielding, running, and swings in plenty. He will play some ST games next week. Both Buxton and Polanco are not guys we should worry about being ready for the season. I am more concerned with Kirilloff.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I don't think baseball compares to football here. Spring training is not meaningless. Buxton was expected to be fully healthy well before camp and ready to go. More likely than not, missing two weeks will set him back--however, this light schedule could also pay off! We shall see. 

Given Buxton's contract incentives to finish in the top ten of the MVP voting, here is a comparison against the list of 2022 American League MVP finishers and their number of plate appearances this spring training so far.

Not counting World Baseball Classic. Just PAs in MLB games so far this spring: 

• 1 -- 16 PA for Aaron Judge 
• 2 -- 5 PA for Shohei Ohtani
• 3 -- 0 PA for Yordan Alvarez (hand injury)
• 4 -- 17 PAs for Jose Ramirez 
• 5 -- 16 PAs Jose Altuve
• 6 -- 14 PAs for Andres Jimenez 
• 7 -- 17 PAs for Julio Rodriguez 
• 8 -- 17 PAs for Mike Trout
• 9 -- 10 PAs for Xander Bogaerts
• 10 -- 0 PA for Justin Verlander

Bottom line: Players play in games in the spring, even the best players, even if it's just every other day for a few weeks, for a few innings at a time, at 50% effort. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

3 hours ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

What's with the starters rarely playing in ST.  Baseball is becoming more like the football pre-season where none of the starters seem to play.

ST was set at this length way back when because players came to ST out of shape from the off-season and needed all that time to get into playing shape.

With today's players coming in throwing 100mph out of the gate and with high exit velocity rates, maybe they do not need this long of a ST season and it's time to cut back on ST or start the season earlier with more games scheduled south early and end the season in early to mid-Oct so the payoffs are not played in cold weather.

Players aren’t playing in spring because there’s no point in it. They can get in the cages and swing away against live pitching whenever they like, which is more valuable than getting two PAs in a spring game and sitting around for two hours. It’s not as if Buxton or Correa need reps in the field, either.

I agree it’s probably time to shorten spring by a couple of weeks. 

[MABB1959]

The fans are excited to see him play.   He should be playing in all games for a couple of innings. If they are afraid he isn’t up to it or might get injured the Twins are already in trouble 

[Brock Beauchamp]

7 minutes ago, MABB1959 said:

The fans are excited to see him play.   He should be playing in all games for a couple of innings. If they are afraid he isn’t up to it or might get injured the Twins are already in trouble 

Comparatively a very small subset of fans care about spring training and even a smaller portion know Buxton isn’t playing.

This trend isn’t unique to the Twins. Other teams are playing their star veterans less in spring, too. There just isn’t any upside in doing so while there’s a fair amount of downside in it. 

[MABB1959]

38 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Comparatively a very small subset of fans care about spring training and even a smaller portion know Buxton isn’t playing.

This trend isn’t unique to the Twins. Other teams are playing their star veterans less in spring, too. There just isn’t any upside in doing so while there’s a fair amount of downside in it. 

I get the whole idea of ST it is more about those on the bubble.  I get playing veterans less BUT not at all? There are many fans that like Spring Training and many of those concerned that we haven’t seen him yet.  

[Nine of twelve]

There are two primary objectives of spring training: one, to make final 26-man roster decisions and, two, to get those 26 players ready to play the regular season. I would expect that the manager has the expectation of the fans in a very low position on his priority list for accomplishing those objectives. And that's how it should be.

[Seth Stohs]

3 hours ago, MABB1959 said:

The fans are excited to see him play.   He should be playing in all games for a couple of innings. If they are afraid he isn’t up to it or might get injured the Twins are already in trouble 

In spring training??

[Squirrel]

2 hours ago, MABB1959 said:

I get the whole idea of ST it is more about those on the bubble.  I get playing veterans less BUT not at all? There are many fans that like Spring Training and many of those concerned that we haven’t seen him yet.  

I love ST, so much so, I go to ST almost every year. I was there this year for about 2 weeks - minus days I had to work. I'm not concerned about not seeing Buxton. Just because he's not in games doesn't mean he's not getting in the work he needs.

[Seth Stohs]

Nice job by Phil Miller kind of answering some of the questions from this discussion in an article today. 

https://www.startribune.com/byron-buxton-jorge-polanco-opening-day-alex-kirilloff-nick-gordon-jose-miranda/600258115/

They're getting their work on the back fields in a controlled environment. They're getting all the work in. They're getting live BP. They're doing so while their injured regions get back into shape. At least that's how I see it. To me, that makes a ton of sense. Buxton's working back from knee surgery. Polanco has had the ankle injuries in years past and missed time at the end of the season. It only makes sense. 

[mrtwinsfan]

10 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

I love ST, so much so, I go to ST almost every year. I was there this year for about 2 weeks - minus days I had to work. I'm not concerned about not seeing Buxton. Just because he's not in games doesn't mean he's not getting in the work he needs.

Thanks to all for your responses, i used to go every year . old age and ?  has slowed me down, im just getting ansie, im sure Buxton and others will start playing about the 22nd or close, Hope so!!! the W.B.C. Is getting me in the groove ive watched  alot already,  Our old friend Arreaz batting 4th already hit the wall for a double  Alot of great players to watch,  Loving it.  hope others do also

[Squirrel]

2 minutes ago, mrtwinsfan said:

Thanks to all for your responses, i used to go every year . old age and ?  has slowed me down, im just getting ansie, im sure Buxton and others will start playing about the 22nd or close, Hope so!!! the W.B.C. Is getting me in the groove ive watched  alot already,  Our old friend Arreaz batting 4th already hit the wall for a double  Alot of great players to watch,  Loving it.  hope others do also

Antsiness is what drives me to ST in the first place! :)

[Shaitan]

7 hours ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

What's with the starters rarely playing in ST.  Baseball is becoming more like the football pre-season where none of the starters seem to play.

ST was set at this length way back when because players came to ST out of shape from the off-season and needed all that time to get into playing shape.

With today's players coming in throwing 100mph out of the gate and with high exit velocity rates, maybe they do not need this long of a ST season and it's time to cut back on ST or start the season earlier with more games scheduled south early and end the season in early to mid-Oct so the payoffs are not played in cold weather.

You can get in shape on the back fields without playing 3 innings of simulated baseball, which is all starters have ever really played in ST. It's also still quite early, so there's ample time to ramp up action. 

It's different by position, of course, but for hitters the biggest acclimation is usually timing. And they can work with their own team on that without live game action.

[MABB1959]

15 hours ago, Seth Stohs said:

In spring training??

Yes.  Haven’t seen him since August of last year.  

[gman]

I suspect another year or 2 of extreme injury totals and they will re-think not playing into game shape.

[Dr Katz]

Hope he didnt break a nail or get turf toe, today's athletes are kinda wimpy. 

[wabene]

29 minutes ago, Dr Katz said:

Hope he didnt break a nail or get turf toe, today's athletes are kinda wimpy. 

Is that your professional opinion? 

[Squirrel]

44 minutes ago, Dr Katz said:

Hope he didnt break a nail or get turf toe, today's athletes are kinda wimpy. 

Are you a professional athlete, speaking from experience?

[Mike Sixel]

2 hours ago, gman said:

I suspect another year or 2 of extreme injury totals and they will re-think not playing into game shape.

How is standing around the OF for 3 innings and getting one at bat doing anything to get ready? Getting BP vs live pitching and shagging flies is much more work than playing 4 innings or so. 

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, Dr Katz said:

Hope he didnt break a nail or get turf toe, today's athletes are kinda wimpy. 

Ugh. Just, unreal. 

[MABB1959]

22 hours ago, Nine of twelve said:

There are two primary objectives of spring training: one, to make final 26-man roster decisions and, two, to get those 26 players ready to play the regular season. I would expect that the manager has the expectation of the fans in a very low position on his priority list for accomplishing those objectives. And that's how it should be.

Ticket sales are important.   The Twins really need to let fans know or see this years team.  Mostly because there has been little stability the last few seasons.