Why You Should Believe in Buck

I sure hope the fun continues for him. What an exciting player!

It is not hyperbole to stay that he has a STRONG shot at AL MVP IF he stays healthy.

I've said it in other posts before though....He is going to bet on himself and take it all the way to free agency....and he is going to get PAID...probably by the Evil Empire.

Please Twins, don't give him a post-MVP-season Joe Mauer type contract. The money Buxton is going to command is too much and the injury risk is too great. Either let it ride out for this year and next, or trade him next year and get something in return.  We've got Celestino primed and ready to take over full-time in two years.  He probably won't be as good as Buck; but the bucks saved will certainly work to make the team better.

Buck had some things to work out, like his health and swing. It seems like he has worked most of them out. He found his swing and beefed up to add durability and strength. He's confident and ready to go. Expect great things from him. Go Buck!

Let's see if he stays healthy for a full season and can contribute in the playoffs before we hand him the MVP Award.

He’s also been a slow starter, historically (when not being an all-together non-starter).

I think Buxton coming out of the gates hot is a significant sign of something finally clicking.

What an incredible talent. This is what we’ve been waiting for. Thank goodness the FO didn’t listen to all the fans who’ve wanted to sell him off over the years.

Please Twins, don't give him a post-MVP-season Joe Mauer type contract. The money Buxton is going to command is too much and the injury risk is too great. Either let it ride out for this year and next, or trade him next year and get something in return. We've got Celestino primed and ready to take over full-time in two years. He probably won't be as good as Buck; but the bucks saved will certainly work to make the team better.

You find a guy like him, you do not dump him out of fear of paying him.

It’s incredible to me. The Twins’ media machine has pumped this “spending is bad” propaganda for so long that some actively advocate for getting rid of one of the best players in baseball to save on the bottom line. I’m not sure that would fly anywhere else (Red Sox fans nearly burned Fenway to the ground when they traded Betts).

What are we saving the money for, if not to sign good players to hopefully win a championship?

I think the broadcast brought up important point that Buck seems to be swinging earlier in the count and at first pitches a lot more.  Now, if the league adjusts and starts throwing more out of the zone and he chases that will be the factor on how he will do.  He is hitting well, and has come through a couple of big important hits, and his ability to beat out routine double play ball made big difference early in game. 

However, I worry that as season goes on teams will start throwing a ton of early out of the zone sliders that he swings at.  He has never been able to stay off of them.  I also worry that he will start to get too pull happy, which makes that off plate slider even harder to foul off.  

He may have a huge break out year for himself and if he does will help carry the offense.  I would like to see him not hit behind Cruz though.  I know Cruz is beating out infield hits, but why have a road block on the bases when you have the speed you do.  I know there is some merit to having Buck hit 4th as possible second lead off they go down in order in first, but how many triples will be turned into doubles because Cruz gets held at third?  

Just saw an article on ESPN predicting Buxton to win AL MVP (also predicted Nelson Cruz as MVP and lead the Twins to the World Series Title and Berrios AL Cy Young in the same article).

Seems that the Twins are becoming a trendy pick nationally. It’s called “hot takes” in the title. So take that for what it’s worth. Just thought it was pretty cool to see the Twins getting some recognition from a national sports media outlet.

How do you like watching Donaldson sitting on the bench? Until Buxton actually plays a full season you might have your 30M per year parked there. That is the main issue. I love what he can do and if his hitting is for real he very well might be the best player in baseball but you can't win a world series when your best player is sitting on the bench or out half the season.

 

The Red Sox also are not a great comp when it comes to the Twins we are closer to the Rays and A's and Cleveland's than the Red Sox and Yankee's. If payroll were not an issue for teams then they all should outspend the Yankee's and Dodgers why don't the other 25 or so teams do that? Because every team generates a certain amount of revenue and budgets around that.

 

Don't get me wrong I get the enthusiasm but there is also reality. The Rays made it to the World Series last year on a shoe string budget by making sound financial decisions to stay within the teams budget. They traded away elite talent to get there but they got there. Winning isn't always about money. It helps for sure but making sound financial investments (player production per dollar) is important too when there is a limited budget.

 

Is Buxton a sound investment? One with a great track record of health and production? A player you can rely on to be there most of the time? I think those are important questions to ask before backing up the truck.

The Rays making the World Series isn’t the rule, it’s the exception. They also lost to the biggest spenders in the MLB. We’ve seen this team set the record for most consecutive playoff losses with that approach. Cleveland and Oakland haven’t won anything. The Royals were a lightning strike that will likely never happen again....ever. If you’re OK with being n that category, more power to you. I’d like something better.

There’s a difference between signing an aging player like Donaldson and a guy in his prime like Buxton. If people were confident in Donaldson being a superstar going forward, he wouldn’t be here. But, honestly, I like the effort/gamble. If it doesn’t pay-off, so what? Same result as making no attempt. How have you liked watching 18 straight playoff losses because they wouldn’t make a move to get over the top?

I’m also not saying we should be compared to the big spenders every year...but they expect to win. And they do more often than not. If we want to consider ourselves real World Series contenders, you have to be in that conversation at least once or twice periodically, it’s a sad truth. We’re either in or we’re out. There’s no middle ground where you don’t pay for elite players and beat the teams that do. Bringing up the Royals constantly in this debate is like arguing you should buy lottery tickets as a retirement plan.

So just to be clear....we take the developmental route to a championships....which is almost impossible to do. But, when you finally develop the players capable of getting there, it’s better to get rid of them. Because we need to save money for something that will happen someday - something other than having a team like we have now. I’m sorry, I’m having a little trouble seeing the end-game.

I get being apprehensive about Buxton. But, that injury history will be factored into his contract. If he was healthy all the time and producing at this level for years, we’re talking about a Tatis-level contract. That’s never happening here. There’s nothing in the pipeline as impactful as Buxton can be.

If we sign him long-term and we fail, at least we went for it. I see both sides, but I’d rather go that route and fail than be perpetually mediocre because I’m afraid of a bad contract.

There's definitely something different about Byron Buxton this season. He seems somehow more "complete" than before. Maybe it was the off-season of pumping iron and working on his swing. He has a look of confidence I've never seen before. Hard not to be happy the way things are going. With that huge swath of area he covers, he commands the outfield. With that powerful swing, he's pounding baseballs off into the distance like a giant. 

Right now we are seeing the Byron Buxton the Twins hoped he would become. A true 5-tool superstar. Let us bask in his reflected glory, and pretend we knew it all along!

Buxton  always has been the key to the Twins success on a daily basis. Yes, a stud SP would take over that role in a playoff series, but for the first 162 it would still have to be Buxton. He is just simply a game changer day in and day out. And the day in and day out is the problem. He hasn’t proven his ability to stay on the field for extended periods. Some seem to be chronic such as his migraines. Others self inflicted by running into a fence at full speed, at a 90 degree angle. Others tend be be simply bad luck. But the sum of these parts is that until he can stay healthy, he won’t have the impact or be worth the money that could have been. That would make for a pretty tough decision for management if he cannot change his current injury history. Even now as you watch his talent displayed, I imagine everyone has in the back of their mind, "how long before he is on the DL?"

For the record - and I can't take credit for this - his nickname should be Lord Byron.

How does that 2012 draft look right now? Buxton in the first round, second overall, Berrios was a supplemental first-round pick, 32nd overall, Duffey was in the fifth round and Rogers was in the 11th round. Has any team ever taken an MVP and a Cy Young in the draft? Could Buxton, Berrios, and Rogers all be All-Stars together? Berrios has twice been an All-Star. 2012 was the first year the Twins had a high pick after winning so much the previous decade.

For the record - and I can't take credit for this - his nickname should be Lord Byron.

That's a 19th century poetry reference, you philistines.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Byron