AlwaysinModeration

Small sample size alert: Buxton slashing 367/500/454 over his last four games, spanning five games, one of which he was benched.

Great piece, I love the premise. Of the guys you mention, Buxton has gotten between 6 and 21 fewer plate appearances. So far he has been benched three times, pinch hit for three times, and moved down in the line-up three times. He got hits in back to back games for the first time this season Friday and Saturday...and then was pinch hit for in the 9th of the second game, and then benched on Sunday. Tim Anderson went 2/4 and 3/5 in his last two games, raising his batting average from 159 to 208. It seems to me that confidence is a critical element in baseball. Last year, Dozier was not good for two months and they stuck with him, allowing him to get his timing down and gain his confidence. The other players mentioned in this article seem to be being given a considerably longer leash than Buxton to get on track. With the almost continual demotions/benchings/lineup downgrades, it seems like Molitor / the Twins have been actively trying to hurt his confidence, not build it up. Stick him in a set spot in the lineup every day, preferably 7th or higher so he gets a few extra ABs. Quit pinch-hitting for him. Don't even think about, or hint at, sending him down to AAA. He is going to start pushing less and striking out less. He is going to put up a two-hit game, or maybe go 3-4 one game. He is going to hit some triples and some home runs. That is going to build his confidence. The hitter he was in the minors (and perhaps September) is going to come to the surface. Give him time to do it, and stand behind instead of undermining him. It's really the most important thing for this organization to be doing right now.

I'm still not sure what leverage would exist to keep the Twins from drafting Greene. I know they will speak to his agent beforehand to get a sense of how much he wants to sign. But even if he says "I have been offered more than 1-1 money from San Diego." it still seems like the Twins can say "We will offer you 1-1 money and you will be the first pick. If you refuse to sign, you will have to wait a year and who knows where you will be drafted next year and for how much."

Buxton has had a lousy start to the season. However, the organization hasn't done him any favors in terms of building up his confidence. In 15 games he has: -started batting third for 4 games -was moved down to 7th -was moved down to 8th -was moved down to 9th -was pinch-hit for in two games -was benched for two games My preference would be to have the manager / organization / whoever tell him: "You are our starting CF, and we are batting you in X spot in the lineup. We are going to leave you there all year. Don't worry that a bad game (or two or three or five) at the plate is going to cost you your spot in the batting order, or get you pinch-hit for or land you on the bench, or get you sent back to Rochester. It won't. We are committed to you, because you are going to be a big part of the team going forward. You have proven yourself in the minors as a hitter, and now we are committed to you proving yourself in the majors as a hitter. You might not prove yourself this month, or next month, or maybe even not this year, but we think you will, because the hitter you were in the minors is going to start showing up in the majors on a consistent basis. So, go out there and do it, and don't spend any time looking over your shoulder."

Copying this from earlier: If he was in charge of the Twins' draft, KLaw says he would go... Keith Law 2:13pm "Greene. Chance for a generational talent there...Greene has the raw elements to develop into a superstar and you rarely get a crack at guys like that." Need to take the chance on a generational talent, despite the risk. As for Rooker, he looks great. Does the fact that the Twins drafted him last year mean he will be more disposed to come to an agreement with the Twins this year?

I'm still bummed about the JJ Hardy trade, but at some point we just have to get over it, and wish them best of luck. Preferably with a team other than the Yankees, though. (On a somewhat related note, I don't recall Anthony Swarzak hitting 96 during his Twins' tenure.) You could also take the silver lining approach...Falvey and Levine are now in charge.

I was saying that it is Sunday again, so time for another 2-homer game?

Mejia's K's have gone done while his walks have gone up as he has progressed through the minors. He had a nice stint at AAA last summer after coming over in the trade, though. I'd much rather see him try to build on that than in the rotation. I'd like to see Berrios up in his place ASAP. Wasn't the argument he needed to be stretched out after the WBC? Well...an 8 inning start later, let's go.

The requirement for these pages is a little bit of detail...so you have failed miserably. Thanks for the detailed write-up. In his bullpen session it looks like he is having a real struggle getting the feel for the release on his curveball. Would be very nice for Thorpe to make a good comeback this year.

Since then he has gone ice cold, 1-21 with a walk and 8 K's.

You know, the Twins were two pitches away from sweeping the series.

I liked these first nine games than last year's.

So what you're saying is, Mauer did not swing at the first pitch when he pinch hit?

Did not see the game, but reading through the gamethread, a few thoughts: Last year Dozier started slow, and then started making solid contact, then started making really solid contact. If he made some loud outs yesterday, he might be getting it together. Last year Buxton started without a leg kick, then added it in a stint in AAA and came on strong down the stretch. If he added a kick in the game Monday, that's good news. Hopefully he will get his timing down and start to get some hits. Way too early for the sort of sky-is-falling commentary I saw in the thread. Too bad he got pinch hit for in the 9th though. Would have been an opportunity for him to be the hero and possibly kickstart things even faster. Finally, Chief really pulled that joke out of his Angus files.

Jumbo Shrimp. I like a good oxymoronic nickname.

Perhaps there is a good place-kicker available?

Agreed. I'm onboard the Hunter Greene bandwagon/harbor cruise boat. Seems like a special talent and amazing kid. Also think that Falvey would like the work with Jaeger. Description of work ethic and drive reminds me of Berrios.

Mark Prior would have been on that list.

Starting pitcher: Trevor May! Nice bullpen: Jorge, Berrios, Romero, Gonzalves. Jason Castro 2-2 with a homer. Buxton with his second double. Springtime hope is eternal....

I don't know, I feel that you're being a bit pessimistic. Let's give him a real shot this year and see if he can stick as a starter.

Nice, nice work with "radar rattling righty"

Good. Great answer. My follow up - can you clarify whether this groundwork-setting cultural change started with the arrival of Falvey and Levine, or are you describing a process that began before that? Second, my perception is that Falvey may have some creative ideas to organizational development of the pitching and systemic approaches for improving pitching that he in part brings with him from the Indians organization. Does that perception match reality?

Thanks for dropping in, Jack. Congrats on the promotion, things seem to be looking up with the new management for the analytics department. When you say your department handed them a spreadsheet with their valuation of every team in the league, my question is this: how much input into that spreadsheet did Derek and Thad have? Did they heavily weigh in on what numbers to emphasize? Secondly, what is your opinion of, ahem, Yadier Alvarez, as, say, I don't know, a secondary piece in a hypothetical Dodgers / Dozier trade?

Could they get JJ Schwarz with their second or third pick?

My predictions for Joe's next two years: -almost never swings at first pitch -hits fewer than 14 home runs per year -sideburns as sharp as ever -every TD forum related to Mauer diverts at least once into a debate over his HOF chances Oh, and also: -posts best numbers since 2013 in both years, not vintage Joe, but pretty close, say 290/390/400 -gets several key hits during post-season games; draws many Todd Helton-like "last hurrah"-type articles. I've said this before, but Morneau took three years post concussion to get it back - and then he won a batting title. Joe's now three full seasons post-concussion. I'm not expecting him to post a 300+ season in either of the next two years. But it wouldn't surprise me.