stringer bell

Jeffers made a really good throw there. It seems like he’s making some effort to improve his throwing. I don’t know if his arm is average or less than that. He’s jumping out of the knee-down to give himself a better chance to throw someone out.

It's been just about a month since Buxton injured his knee. According to the quote reported by kydoty, it is his knee that has necessitated days off and DH time. Buxton also missed time for a bruised hand (HBP) and hip. What we don't know is what an IL stint would have done--how long he would have been out and whether he would continue to need days off. Knowing that there is an injury that is not totally resolved is more information than I knew yesterday.

Ryan’s FB @ 95 mph.

Okay. This is the knee and not the hip. So this has been ongoing since the first road trip to Boston before Patriot's Day. I've wondered about the knee since that injury because it was reported that fluid was drained.

I try to look for perspective after a game like this. I was thoroughly upset that Byron Buxton wasn't in the game last night. A day later I'm still upset, but maybe I am understanding the logic of what is being done. As has been mentioned before, we don't have facts and apparently a total explanation isn't forthcoming. I am believing that Byron Buxton is not 100% after injuring his hip running out a ground ball. I believe the Twins are trying to manage the situation by being very careful with their would-be superstar. That is going to include frequent usage as a designated hitter and days off. I do believe the Twins are counseling Buxton to not take too many risks by running into walls or in base running. As Squirrel mentioned, this appears to be a compromise--not putting him on the shelf for a stint on the Injured List, but missing time occasionally. Further, his marvelous potential as a force on the bases and his proven ability as one of the very best center fielders in baseball is diminished by not being on the field more than half the time and the Twins and Buxton exercising caution when on the bases--actually IMHO it isn't even caution. Despite the lack of singles and walks, Buxton could easily swipe 40 bases in 120 games, but he's never really tried to study left hander's moves or learned/tried to steal third base. If he was a legitimate threat to do either of those things, he would raise the anxiety of opposing teams (but I digress). I want what is best for my favorite team and that would include having Byron Buxton available as often as possible throughout the season. I don't agree with the plan, but if it works, I'll be delighted. Baldelli has taken heat on this site for sticking with the plan for Buxton (and earlier Correa). Again, I'm not sure if I agree with totally shutting down a player for an entire game no matter what, but we, as fans, tend to get wrapped up with the result of today's game and don't look at the big picture as much as we should. If you are inconsolable after losing a game, don't play baseball. You are going to lose 50-60 games a year no matter what. Selfishly, I'd like to see Buxton play at peak health for every remaining game. Maybe what we fans can settle for is having miss less than a dozen more games and play in the field at least three quarters of the time.

I am not a medical professional. If the club wants to play it safe, they should put him on the IL (IMHO). Playing about a third of the games a man short really reduces the chances of winning. I understand it is a bit of a different era. I also get that Buxton has a really long injury history for a 28-year old man, but to diminish him by not playing in the field and sitting for scheduled days off when he's already missed so many games with injury seems wrongheaded.

Thanks Schmoeman5. I'm not able to quote you, but it is interesting. I do imagine that medical people have given their opinion and eventually the team will relent if Kirilloff isn't able to produce. In Buxton's case, are we dealing with an ongoing injury or is this some maintenance? I do think they owe it to the fans who support the team by buying gear and tickets to tell us what is going on.

If the organization wants support from the fans, I would think that they can and should be trusted. I can understand privacy issues to a degree, but beyond that, these are public people. There are daily reports about injuries, why should the team shroud Buxton's status in mystery? I remember TK saying that he would never give Puckett a day off at home, because fans came to see him play. If fans love what Buxton brings (I think they do), it has to be disappointing seeing him in the dugout chewing seeds, but not playing.

Please expound. What is the contention between the Twins and "the Kirilloff camp"?

I don't know that facts. What I do know drives me up the wall. Why can't Baldelli or the front office tell us the facts?

Today's game is over and it was apparent in the late innings that Buxton would be a non-participant. I have questions about his status. 1) Is there a specific injury? 2) Will Buxton be receiving days off until he has totally recovered from the injury? 3) Was there a plan in place to give Buxton days off prior to his injury in Boston? How about the hip injury that occurred this week? 4) Who is determining whether Buxton can play? The club already seems to want Buxton to not risk injury by stealing bases and further it seems they are using him as a DH to also limit injury risk. So far, I would say, success has been limited. He missed a game or two from being hit by a pitch, he missed nearly a week sliding awkwardly running out a pop fly and now (apparently) he will miss more time with a hip injury suffered when trying to beat a double play relay. None of those things have happened in the outfield. What I'm seeing is a wonderfully gifted athlete being limited from doing things that demonstrate that he is a gifted athlete.

Cleveland did it right to get the third run although I don't think Kepler had much of a chance.

Sánchez is the Twins ghost runner. Hurray.

I'd run for Arraez here. Pretty unlikely he'll get another at-bat. Contreras, not Buxton.

The K pitch was filthy. That is some kind of arm. On a barely related note, we are three outs away from a ghost runner. Cleveland would have Franmil Reyes.

Duran pitching on back to back days.

I'm not a big stolen base proponent, but if ever there was a time..........

Good at-bat for Nick Gordon.

Pagán with a 1-2-3 inning. Naturally, it happens about as often as a total lunar eclipse.

I don't know, I'd surely put him behind Jerry Rice.

The word “may” shouldn’t have been capitalized. I have edited it.

Miranda’s 2021 may have been a mirage.

Gio giveth and Gio taketh away.

Gio, Gio, Gio.

Well, Lewis has rough edges in the field and lacks the experience of the primary shortstops the last two seasons. Coaching and repetition can smooth out a lot of his inefficiencies. If he’s not a shortstop, I’d like to see someone with his athleticism in the outfield.