In St. Petersburg and St. Paul, Frustration Boiled Over on Wednesday Night

[Nick Nelson]

In two different cities, two players very uncustomarily lost their cool on the field. These emotional outbursts serve as vivid summations of how things are going for Byron Buxton, Louie Varland and the rapidly unraveling Minnesota Twins.

Image courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Around the same time on Wednesday night, Louie Varland was exploding into a ball of fiery rage on the mound at Tropicana Field while Byron Buxton was getting himself ejected from a Triple-A game after repeatedly barking at an umpire. 

These displays were, on both counts, uncharacteristic. We're talking about two generally mild-mannered players who keep their emotions under control on the field. But sometimes, it all just becomes too much to take.

That was the case for Varland in St. Petersburg, where the Rays jumped all over him in a single inning for eight earned runs, with all the damage unfolding faster than you can say "Lou." It was a terribly familiar series of events for the right-hander, who was cruising merrily for two perfect innings before Tampa's lineup exploded to completely take over the game.

A combination of poor defensive play and miscues from multiple players contributed to this meltdown, but Varland brought much of it on himself with poor pitch location and a costly errant pickoff throw. It all culminated with a two-run homer by Yandy Diaz that ended Varland's day, but not before the camera caught him screaming with anger to no one in particular as he paced around the mound.

 

Varland's palpable frustration was understandable, from his perspective. For one thing, he let his team down in a key late-season contest, turning a close game into a surefire loss in an instant. But for him personally and his development, this is another crushing blow. The right-hander's future as a major-league starter is almost certainly out the window, and Varland's ability to simply hold his own in the majors at all is very much in question. He's now 0-6 with a 7.62 ERA in what was supposed to be his breakthrough year at age 26. He just can't get over the hump. 

Neither can Buxton as he battles physical issues that just won't stop holding him back. Playing the second game of his rehab in St. Paul on Wednesday night, Buxton got into a back-and-forth with an umpire who failed to reset the pitch clock after the batter called a timeout. Buxton's continued chirping after striking out led to his ejection. As Do-Hyoung Park noted at the time, he has never been thrown out of an MLB game in his career.

 

Buxton's irritation was justified to an extent, but as a veteran player trying to get reps in while building back up toward a return to the majors, this was a bad look from someone who should know better. It seemed at the time like something else might be at play, and on Thursday morning we learned that this was indeed the case. The center fielder reportedly experienced renewed hip soreness in the game before the fateful plate appearance, and his rehab has been placed on hold.

 

I can't even comprehend how sick of this Buxton must be. Nearly every season he's been unable to contribute when September and October roll around. Here at a time where the Twins direly need him, that looks to be the case again. He's going to come up short of 100 games for a sixth straight (non-2020) year. Most maddeningly, this injury is a difficult one to clearly understand, as MRI scans on Buxton's hip came back "clean" but he's been able to shake the persisting discomfort. 

His rehab has been placed on pause and with only about three weeks left in the season, Buxton's ability to return at all this season is very much at risk. Meanwhile, Max Kepler joined him on the injured list Thursday while Carlos Correa remains sidelined indefinitely.

It's the same old, same old. For Buxton, for Varland, for the Minnesota Twins. If you can relate as a fan to the frustration that these players put on display Wednesday night, you're far from alone. This just sucks.

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[Danchat]

That was always the rub with extending Buxton... it was a bargain of a deal but he consistently couldn't make it healthy to the end of most of his seasons played. No reason to think that won't stop happening the older he gets.

[Battle ur tail off]

I've said it beofre on here, but why not just have Buxton start his season in June or so. He won't make it past 80-100 games, so don't even try anymore. 

That or tell him in cases like this. Hey bud, it shows there is nothing wrong with your hip, so just get out there and play. 

[Whitey333]

You said Buxton must be getting sick of this?  What about the fans as well.  We've been putting up with almost 9 seasons of playing part time and on the injury full time.  It's been a worn out saga for much too long.  

 

[Doctor Gast]

These explosions are expressions that they care. IMO it's beyond thinking about their careers but also not able to come through for the team & the fans.

[LA Vikes Fan]

I think in both cases you're seeing players who are frustrated and mad at themselves for not being able to be there for the team in a critical situation. 

[TheLeviathan]

For a long time the argument was: Byron Buxton is "unlucky".  Injuries aren't a matter of luck any more than hitting homeruns is a matter of luck.  Genetics and skill come into play and Byron, for as fine a man and a player as he is, was not gifted with the genetics to endure the use of his tremendous talents.

The bad luck wasn't on the field and never was.  It was in his DNA.  I feel for the man, it's got to be awful to endure.

[cheeseheadgophfan]

C'mon.......the MRI comes back clean.  Hip discomfort?  Does he realize that he doesn't need to be 100% to play?  Do you think Salvator Perez has hip discomfort when he catches everyday and then plays 1B on his off-days?  Time to suck it up a bit Byron.....

[nicksaviking]

34 minutes ago, cheeseheadgophfan said:

C'mon.......the MRI comes back clean.  Hip discomfort?  Does he realize that he doesn't need to be 100% to play?  Do you think Salvator Perez has hip discomfort when he catches everyday and then plays 1B on his off-days?  Time to suck it up a bit Byron.....

That's what players used to do.

But they also used have an OPS .200 points under their norm while doing it. Playing injured is good for the pride but I think it's usually bad for the team.

[Mike Sixel]

Move Varland to the bullpen already. Seriously.

As for Buxton? I too am joking on the site now about not playing him until July......

But anyone posting these guys are soft is just unbelievable to me. Truly.

[ChermesZ]

Kepler should have been on the DL earlier.  Wasted a bench spot for too long.  Been a historical problem for the twins…

[Mike Sixel]

5 minutes ago, ChermesZ said:

Kepler should have been on the DL earlier.  Wasted a bench spot for too long.  Been a historical problem for the twins…

Concur. I don't get how they haven't learned by now. It's better to DL a guy sooner rather than later, to have a full bench for all the games, than hope he "only misses one or two games".

[nicksaviking]

39 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Concur. I don't get how they haven't learned by now. It's better to DL a guy sooner rather than later, to have a full bench for all the games, than hope he "only misses one or two games".

It's pretty much the whole reason they shortened it from 15 games to 10. Makes the decision that much easier.

[cheeseheadgophfan]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

Move Varland to the bullpen already. Seriously.

As for Buxton? I too am joking on the site now about not playing him until July......

But anyone posting these guys are soft is just unbelievable to me. Truly.

Why is anyone calling Buxton soft unbelievable?  Why?  The MRI has reportedly (repeatedly?) come back clean??  So what is the problem?  His hip is sore?  Hip discomfort?  Sometimes, you gotta play through some discomfort....he was having a tremendous month at the time of this discomfort....

I've heard it said repeatedly from NFL guys that track athletes rarely make it in the NFL because their body has to feel "perfect" in order to perform and that just doesn't happen in the NFL.

Buxton appears to me to be one of those guys, whose body has to feel perfect in order to play.  That sucks, and I'll continue to say that he has to lower his expectations as to his "comfort" level.  

[LA Vikes Fan]

One look at Kepler's performance in the last 15 games should have told them he wasn't going to come back at even 80% after a couple of days off. He wasn't hitting at all, wasn't running the bases well, and even his defensive range was down. He was providing very little value to the team.

He needs at least 10 days. I wouldn't be surprised if he's out for 3 weeks or so. I suspect that it will be at least September 16 to 20 before we see any of Buxton, Correa, Kepler, or Margot ready to play.  It will likely be the playoffs before we see Correa, assuming that we are actually in the playoffs.  

[D.C Twins]

Still waiting for Varland to be permanently moved to the bullpen.

Ridiculous that the Twins have yet to accept that he is a RP (who could be good at it....maybe even covering 2 innings sometimes)

Anyhoo....they'll accept it eventually.... hopefully sooner than multiple mass-blowouts-after-2-innings-or-one-time-through-the-order later

[stringer bell]

Buxton has had hip and knee injuries for years. It’s pretty apparent that he’s tried to play through the lingering effects of these injuries—he missed about three weeks with the knee injury and has now missed almost a month with the hip.

We’ve seen him try to power through at less than 100% and it didn’t go well. Each recurrence provides more proof that he can’t get through a season. The 90 games he’s played may be all he’s capable of.

The Twins have tried frequent rest days, using him exclusively as a DH and shutting him down to settle down the chronic problems. So far, they can’t get him to post 100 games.

They need an outfielder to man a corner who can move into center when the inevitable injury occurs. MAT worked for ‘23, perhaps someone in the system can fill that role in ‘25.

Kepler hasn’t looked good for most of the season after a hot return from the IL this April. It seems he can’t perform at a high level with nagging injuries. 

[Wizard11]

Kind of wonder if Buxton for 2 or 3 games a week wouldn’t be more valuable right now than carrying Eddie Julian.   We do have an abundance of players who can play 2B with Castro, Martin, Farmer, Lewis, Lee, and Helman.  It would be an easy active roster spot to create and potentially get a little more outfield coverage assuming Buxton can handle a couple of games per week.  He may not be rehabbed to a multiple game level but perhaps at the part time level which would still have value on this roster.  It seems like a low risk endeavor to me.

[Doctor Wu]

Back to the Buxton issue, and looking ahead ... will the Twins be in the market for another center fielder next season, just because of all the uncertainty and lack of durability?

[CCHOF5yearstoolate]

16 hours ago, cheeseheadgophfan said:

C'mon.......the MRI comes back clean.  Hip discomfort?  Does he realize that he doesn't need to be 100% to play?  Do you think Salvator Perez has hip discomfort when he catches everyday and then plays 1B on his off-days?  Time to suck it up a bit Byron.....

It's like you didn't pay attention at all last season (or through his career) if you think Byron isn't pushing to play whenever he can.

Calling Byron Buxton soft, of all people, only proves you haven't been paying attention. 

[LambchoP]

It sucks but I don't think we'll be seeing Buxton or Correa again this year. Buxton is even more frustrating because there was talk of him not even needing an IL stint. Then, instead of sitting him just a few days, it was going to be the minimum IL stay. Now here we are a month later and he's saying he's too hurt to play. Clean MRI notwithstanding. I think we all just have to accept him and Correa are part time players who will only be able to average about half a season. I also don't see them doing any better as they age and get farther into their 30s. It wouldn't be that big of a problem because they do usually produce when they're out there, but for a team with payroll restrictions, it literally cripples us paying two players 55 million per year as only part time players. It doesn't leave enough money leftover to fill other holes. At this point I think we're just stuck riding it out and hoping for as many games as possible, because no other team is going to take on either contract with these guys:(

[Mike Sixel]

5 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

Back to the Buxton issue, and looking ahead ... will the Twins be in the market for another center fielder next season, just because of all the uncertainty and lack of durability?

Rodriguez.... At some point. They can't sign a veteran and block him.... Can they? 

If anyone would take him, I'd deal Buxton and move on. If he'd go.. it's so hard to build around a guy who can't ever play when you have limited budgets

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

The update I heard on the radio maybe a couple weeks ago was that Buxton felt great, was at 100%, except as he was decelerating after a sprint he would feel something in his hip as he came to a stop. No knee issue to report, no hamstring, no migraines, nothing except that little twinge in his hip when pulling up at the end of a hard run. Otherwise ready to go. 

[Jim wyllie]

In the bigger picture if his hip issue turns out to be serious and requires surgery, buxton will likely become a career dh whenever he gets healthy again as he won't be able to move around fast enough for the outfield, remember bo Jackson after his hip injury.

[cheeseheadgophfan]

9 hours ago, CCHOF5yearstoolate said:

It's like you didn't pay attention at all last season (or through his career) if you think Byron isn't pushing to play whenever he can.

Calling Byron Buxton soft, of all people, only proves you haven't been paying attention. 

Haven't been paying attention?  I've literally seen 95% of the games.....please tell me what inside information you have that he is "pushing" to play whenever he can.......????

[CCHOF5yearstoolate]

5 hours ago, cheeseheadgophfan said:

Haven't been paying attention?  I've literally seen 95% of the games.....please tell me what inside information you have that he is "pushing" to play whenever he can.......????

"Paying attention" being the operative words - Buxton was playing hurt all of last year, requiring hours and hours of time every day in the training room just to be able to swing the bat a few times a game. Literally anyone who reports on the team & has access to the players couldn't stop talking about how much he wanted to play. 

Calling him soft means you're not paying any attention to his entire history in a Twins uniform. You don't want Byron Buxton to be on the field more than he does. Watching the games doesn't mean you're paying attention to what Byron is doing off the field to try and get healthy.

And you're not owed any of his medical information, don't act so entitled. If he was healthy enough to play, he'd be on the field - that's just a fact. Extraordinarily silly to think otherwise - why would he or the team not want him to play if he were healthy? All it takes is a modicum of logic to puzzle this out. 

[Original_JB]

12 hours ago, cheeseheadgophfan said:

Haven't been paying attention?  I've literally seen 95% of the games.....please tell me what inside information you have that he is "pushing" to play whenever he can.......????

Yeah, 'soft' can really be taken many ways; "fragile", maybe "frail" or is he old enough to be "dilapidated"?

Tatterdemalion

[ewen21]

On 9/6/2024 at 9:41 AM, CCHOF5yearstoolate said:

It's like you didn't pay attention at all last season (or through his career) if you think Byron isn't pushing to play whenever he can.

Calling Byron Buxton soft, of all people, only proves you haven't been paying attention. 

I’ll call him soft and it is because I have been paying attention.  This guy has played more than 92 games once and continues to have ailments such as this one.  Everyone is hurting this time of year.  The stronger-minded players play.  
 

Give me Torii or Jacque over Buxton.

[ewen21]

17 hours ago, cheeseheadgophfan said:

Haven't been paying attention?  I've literally seen 95% of the games.....please tell me what inside information you have that he is "pushing" to play whenever he can.......????

Agreed.  If he were pushing to play he’d play with a sore hip.  You can’t see a sore hip on an MRI, X-ray or sonogram or whatever.  It all comes down to him.  He’s the one reporting the soreness.  He gets treatment, lots of money, looked at by specialists all the time and yet it’s a “sore hip”

 

EVERY player has soreness.  Buxton simply cannot play through it and for that I call him soft, too. 
 

Is that against the rules?

[ewen21]

On 9/5/2024 at 3:15 PM, Whitey333 said:

You said Buxton must be getting sick of this?  What about the fans as well.  We've been putting up with almost 9 seasons of playing part time and on the injury full time.  It's been a worn out saga for much too long.  

 

He controls whether he could play or not right now.  We’re not talking about a fracture, a torn ligament, something that actually shows up in a medical report,

 

We are going on his account.  He’s telling the staff that his hip hurts.  Brad Radke patched with a torn labrum.  Shannon Stewart bravely tried to play through plantar fasciitis.  Torii Hunter, no doubt dealt with all sorts of things the way he played.

 

Patterns are sometimes hard to fathom, but in the case of this guy, it’s pretty clear that he doesn’t play through pain or soreness. I’ve been watching major league baseball since 1972, and I haven’t seen anybody like this guy. Period.

 

I don’t have it in for him, I’m not jealous of him, it’s just a simple observation.