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The next Buxton could be in Baltimore. Cedric Mullins made a Buxton-highlight reel diving catch by covering half the state of Maryland! He is turning heads with his glove and he is in the top 3 leaders in hits in the AL. It wasn't that long ago he was going so poorly, the O's demoted him directly to AA and not AAA. He has been relatively healthy too. Watch for this guy. Polanco seems to have found his bat finally. Gordon needs to be in there. simmons isn't going to be a Twin very long. Lets see what Gordon can bring.

Twins can't beat the Yankees. That anyone can take to the bank. Regular season, playoffs...doesn't matter. Twins can't win. Their pitchers are no match for the hitters...its pretty sad. But this season, Twins are struggling to beat anyone, so that dilutes the angst somewhat.

No matter who is penciled in...the results are sub-par. Guys aren't getting it done. What I think about Buxton would be this: once he comes back please play him EVERYDAY. Stop with the coddling and worrying that every inning he will re-injure himself. If this guy cannot handle the everyday grind of a major leaguer, then there is no place on this roster for him. Harsh? Not at all. If you can only play 3 or 4 days a week and stay off the IL for only a few weeks at a time, what good can come of it? Twins must find out if Buxton can play regularly, or move him for someone who can. Personally the thought of losing him makes my stomach turn...but conversely, the thought that when he returns you have to handle him with kid gloves, given his history also makes no sense. Only way we'll know is if he is thrown out there everyday (within reason of course). I'm growing very weary of having to 'rest' our regulars for fear they will hurt themselves. They don't pay you to sit. They pay you to perform. End of rant.

The O's would be totally nuts to trade Mancini. He is young and would be the centerpiece of a team that is trying to become competitive. He could never be replaced for value. I doubt he's going anywhere.

I have to think Buxton is on an 0-2 count, with one strike left before the Twins finally say 'enough'. If he comes back later this week and manages to stay in the lineup up to the trade deadline....he could have improved his trade value; or Twins may give him one more kick at the can in Minnesota. But if he comes back, and re-inures himself shortly thereafter...I think he's totally done in a Twins uniform. I'm not hoping for that because you always want one of the leagues most exciting players to be on your team....but the guy has to be in the lineup, not on the bench or in the training room.

I believe the Twins have a slightly better than .500 roster this season...if they were healthy. Gotta admit the injuries have been brutal. Then add to that, most all the big dollar acquisitions are 'enjoying' maybe a career worst season. And top it off with even the ones the Twins rely on, when healthy, are all under-performing. Its a perfect storm of failure. So it might be hard to know if this really is a 'bad team'. Would be nice to see their 'A' lineup playing together for a span of a month to see what they have. Try to imagine what a healthy Buxton might add to this ballclub. So far, we have never enjoyed that luxury. He just can't stay on the field. Imagine what we expected from Kepler, that we aren't getting. Donaldson, Simmons, Arraez. Sano. Recently Polanco and Garver were stepping up...but now Garver is lost for several weeks. Did we really think our pen was going to be this awful...night in and night out? Did we expect the starters to win accolades when they were able to get thru 5 innings? One guy I won't 'blame' is Cruz. Father Time is running alongside him this season. Don't know how much more we can squeeze out of him. Baseball draft picks don't have the same weight as hockey or football. Expecting great things from grabbing a prospect/suspect isn't 'all that' in baseball.

Just a quick off topic to say RIP to one of my favorite, and quirky Montreal Expos...Mike Marshall, who passed this week. He was also an ex-Twin for a few seasons. A total workhorse who could pitch every single game, he was also a 'scientist' who analyzed the art of pitching like none other. Expos traded him for Willie Davis...and Marshall won a Cy Young with the Dodgers. He was fun to watch.

Baseball can be a very cruel exercise. The new kid looked so incredibly forlorn after his two game killing errors. And then our hitting hero of the night Josh Donaldson ends the game by hitting into a DP. Twins are inventing ways to lose. It clearly is going to be a long season. Some losses are expected. Some are infuriating. Some are undeserved. This one was simply very sad.

Unfortunately, the Twins roster is more AAA than major league right now. The injury situation is awful. Hard to expect this team to win many games with so many key players injured, and the ones who aren't, not playing to expectations. Polanco seems to be battling. Donaldson has lost both power and consistency. Cruz is no longer driving the ball and his k count is increasing. Simmons and Sano are worthless at the plate. Kirilloff hasn't been the same since returning which makes one wonder if he may end up being shut down due to the wrist...which is affecting his swing. Garver was just coming around and poof....Arraez and Kepler are out. Buxton is always out. Our starting rotation is hurt. Our bullpen is ineffective. The team is being held together with bubblegum and duct tape. I don't see how we can expect much more from these guys until they get healthy....which may never happen. The O's lineup last 2 days was actually much better than ours, even with all their problems.

appreciate the research....but too many numbers for me. The eye test says we 'k' far too many times....when it counts most. We fail to get runners home...when it counts most. We have a couple hitters who strike out like their life depended on it. Thats not fun to watch. And our bullpen is still terrible.,

Twins fall down and go boom tonite! I'm sure there is great relief in the O's clubhouse. No team really deserves to lose 14 in a row. Twins are simply cobbling together 9 guys who can still walk upright. Meanwhile Sano is nearly under .150. Used to do a BA watch like this for Chris Davis....another slugger turned k-king, who this year is mercifully out for the season with an injury (I hear) Donaldson's HR power is gone. Might also be the same for Cruz. Just a lousy night for the Twins...but someone had to lose to the O's eventually. We'll get 'em tomorrow.

Refsnyder keeps coming up with clutch hits for us. He may make it very hard for the Twins to send him down.. However since Buxton appears to be nowhere near coming back, that isn't an immediate problem and I would take Ref over Cave any day of the week.

Rogers gave us a few moments, didn't he, but winning is always fun. And finally Twins are scoring runs the old fashioned way as well as by the bomb. Is anyone even remotely concerned about Donaldson? Yeah he gets walks, but he has completely stopped hitting. His splits over the last 7, 15 and 30 games are brutal. His AB today in the 8th with sacks juiced was butt-ugly. If this is what the Twins wanted, they vastly overpaid for this guy. Hopefully soon, he will snap out of it like Garver, Polanco and Sano seemed to have done. But for now, he is an out machine, with the BA getting close to the Mendoza Line. Its a darned good thing he does get the occasional walks because thats the sum of his 'offense' this month.

Lets for a moment put all the analytics aside and pretend its the 1970's and 1980's again...when baseball itself was fun to watch without all the distractions. What we all know is no matter who you play, winning begets winning. And they all count as one 'W' each time. These recent games have given the Twins the opportunity to see how it feels again to win games. And while Sano has definitely heated up (thankfully), a lot of this awakening has happened when the 'B' team arrived. Kirilloff, larmach, Garlick and Refsnyder have added a lot of zip to the lineup. All have contributed. I don't believe, as many of you do also, that we will get much out of Buxton. If he gets back by the All-Star game, the Twins will have moved along without him. And he would be just one more injury away from another month off. I love the guy...but he just can't play at the level he needs to play without getting hurt. And Twins may be well to get along without him. He's a luxury. And its all a darned shame. Can Twins crawl back to respectability? Perhaps. The talent is there. And now, the sweet smell of victory has returned, so who knows? They need to keep the train rolling against KC.

OK--is everyone happy with Donaldson's contributions so far? Is he doing what everyone expected him to do when they opened the vaults to sign him? If we signed him to get walks and make end of game killer errors, I guess happiness rules the 100 Acre Woods. So far, for me, I think he is underperforming. Just my opinion based on what I am seeing on the field, not on the computer screen.

last nights game was a 'yay-boo' game for me since my 2 favorite teams are the O's and Twins. I have zero interest in the NL ever since Montreal got the boot and I barely even glance at the standings. Thus went the yo-yo last night. I really like Means...he is the ONLY pitcher on the O's even close to being able to get outs and he's good at that. Most all his non decisions this year have been games he has led late only to have the pen blow it (like last night) Or the O's getting him no run support. When Larnach hit that monster..well yay. When Means settled in after that...yay. Until Garlick homered...well, sort of boo. When the O's got the tying run thrown out at the plate...yay for Twins 'd' , but boo that the game didn't get tied. When the rains came, boo because that meant Means would not return. But then yay when Stewart hit the bomb to give Means a shot at a 'w'. When Scott opened up the bottom of the 8th with a walk to a weak hitter...boo. Why did Hyde put in a pitcher who hasn't been able to throw strikes all season? When Cruz fanned...boo. I like him and want him to succeed every AB. When Donaldson hit the game tying sac fly...boo. But at that point since Means couldn't win, it was yay when Garver stepped out of Twins character and hit a two out two run double. Then all the other hits followed. Yay. Was this really the Twins, scoring runs WITHOUT a homerun? Good to see Twins offense actually doing something other than striking out with the game on the line. However the O's bullpen is a pathetic mess. I cringe whenever Valdez comes out to 'close'.He is the O's version of Colome. I have zero confidence in him. I listened to the O's broadcast team...with Jim Palmer. They felt the O's undoing was the leadoff walk in the 8th to a hitter that rarely walks. And then the wild pitch to Cruz. Walks kill. Twins finally took advantage. Palmer was also discussing the high 'k' rates. Apparently at one time they did an experiment with a notorious pitcher who used some foreign substance, either on hands, glove or uni. They measured the spin on the pitches. then threw with no added substances. The results were dramatic to the point where it could be said there is no way today's ptichers can get the kind of spin on the ball they are getting without doctoring the baseball. Period. The umpires strike zone was as big as Montana last night. If the ball was high and outside, you better be swinging. It was brutal, but at least consistent with both teams. When Buxton comes back, I wonder who may go down? They are getting great results from Larnach, Garlick, Kirilloff and now Refsnyder. (who knew?) Have to think Cave is definitely all done. Might be a nice problem to have if they can fix their pitching. This may also be hastening the departure of Cruz? Donaldson's batting slump is getting serious. So--bring on game two!!!

Winning is always fun. The warts are still there though. A leadoff walk in the 9th of a one run game is not what you want your closer to do. And it came back to bite him, predictably. And the win was produced by....yep, a homerun. Twins still have to figure out how to score runs doing the things that many teams do. A surprise bunt for example, which got the Indians to extra innings is something the Twins will never do. Its not in their DNA to do anything but swing from the heels. But thats a skill that can change games from L to W. I follow the Orioles as close as the Twins. Fact is my two favorite ex Red Wing parents have identical last place records. Not happy about that. The O's are really in a major slump. Since Mean's no-hitter they are 2-13. They find ways to lose every night and their pitching is terrible. While the Twins are slightly trending up, the O's are definitely trending down....should be an interesting 3 games. Anyone think Donaldson's .241 BA is a cause for concern? He gets walks, but is this what they want from the 2nd place hitter who is making a zillion dollars per season?

Buxton will not be easy to sign because he probably doesn't want to stay. Even teams that are already all set in the outfield would drool to get a talent like Buxton. The big issue of course is how many games would he be able to play? I'm sure his agent will downplay this to the max, in getting Buck a huge payday. A lot will depend on how many games he can play this season. If he does spend most of the season on the IL, his asking price may diminish. Seems like most Twins followers are ready to bid Cruz adieu this year. It probably won't matter much if he does move at the deadline because Twins will be out of it and this may well be Cruz' last year anyway. Its hard to say he hasn't been an impact player this season because no one has. bigger disappointment has been Donaldson, who just isn't Mr Excitement like he was advertised to be.

Twins may as well just run up the white flag in extra innings. And Colome....after all those great outings...they finally put him in with the game on the line and he throws 2 pitches....poof. They had a chance to win but.....well. This is Twins baseball in 2021.

back to Buxton...he probably has a shrewd agent who knows that some team out there (Yanks, Dodgers, RedSox) would be happy to overpay to get this guy, even if he only plays half the season. The agent will quickly say, 'the Twins aren't that team', so Buck will follow the $$$. So do Twins try and make a 'baseball trade' and get quality ready to play now replacement, or do they settle for draft suspects? Or do they let him walk and get mostly nothing? If he ends up injured most of this season, maybe the sting of losing his potential won't be so bad. Its too bad the thrill of a pennant race isn't going be his incentive to stay anymore. If he does get traded, please do it with an NL team. (or send him to the Orioles!)

I'm old too and I don't like the unwritten rules. What I do like has now been expressed several times. You don't defy your manager. If he says 'take'..thats the rule! Period. If he takes and then swats a 3-1 pitch over the fence...let the debate begin. I have seen many managers over the years yank a player immediately when they disobey the order of the manager. Anyone here remember seeing live, the Billy Martin-Reggie Jackson dust-up in the dugout? Earl would pull players for not hustling. And there are many others. So the 'sin' is not swinging at a 3-0 pitch by a position player in a blowout....its openly defying your managers instructions. No need to write that rule.

Problem with the metrics as we watch the games day in and day out....the stats just don't equate with the results. Twins have won most their games in blowouts, which tend to skew the offensive stats. We may not make a lot of errors, but the ones we do make seem to cost us games every time. Donaldson's errors come to mind. His are mind-numbing goofs that rookies make. And those in my mind tend to negate the flashy plays he can and does make. Winning all those high scoring games, only to lose 5 or 6 after that by one run doesn't help much. So I really don't trust the stats. Only the W-L record....and that stat is pretty crappy. The old Jim Rome cliche comes to mind...'scoreboard baby'.

The only player batted around here that makes me real sad is Buxton. How often does a team get a player that everyone in baseball talks about in glowing terms for every aspect of his game? He is such a treat to watch...except that we don't get to watch him very much. If he doesn't have any particular loyalty to the organization (for bringing him along and dealing with all his injuries), yeah you let him go to the highest bidder...preferably via a trade I guess. But if the guy ever gets healthy...we will surely miss him. Thing is...will we get full value for him? And with all his injuries, what is considered full value when talking trade? Anyone in Minnesota have a feel for how he feels about the Twins? Any talk at all about wanting to stay? Or is it just simply...whoever pays me the most gets me.

and I'm sure Kelly stole that from Tommy Lasorda...who said that many years ago....and he probably took it from someone before him. The 1962 Mets (40-120) took that wisdom to task!!?

If/when Buxton comes back, I would give him one last shot and being able to play healthy the rest of the season. If he ends up again on the IL, then I think the Twins have little choice but to move our most exciting player. He is of no use to us when he can't play...which unfortunately is way too much. A sad situation for sure. Berrios is really not our 'ace'. He can't string together solid outings...rarely pitches deep into games, and when he starts to 'lose it', he goes downhill quickly. We all keep waiting for him to be our ace, but it doesn't look that will ever happen. I really wonder how much he would yield on the trade market?