Woof Bronzer

This is the best, objective, concise way to describe both the Buxton problem, and the Buxton solution. There's really nothing more to be said. I would have thought the red-assed "injuries are moral failings" takes would have died out with Mauer but alas...

The idea that replacing worse players with better ones won't help the Twins at all is one of the more baffling things about the whole Jenkins saga. I truly don't understand this thinking. No one is saying they would have won the Series if they called him up in June. It's just frankly insane to think that calling up Tristan Gray when Buxton went down the first time, or keeping an empty bench spot the most recent time, or trotting out Concrete Glove Keaschall in CF "helped the team" more than calling up Jenkins would have. The Twins are not good enough. They need a substantial injection of talent. The Twins need more Jenkins and Culpeppers, less Grays and Jacksons.

The Milwaukee Brewers are playing in the same ocean and their boat seems to be floating just fine.

Obviously you didn't read the post. It compared this deadline to last year, when they traded 10 MLB players. " Radically different" is very accurate.

Better late than never. Really excited to see what he can do. Let the growing pains begin!

My AI slop disagrees with your AI slop. See how easy and meaningless this is? When you post AI slop and accuse others of being lazy, seriously dude, look in the mirror. Why Center Field is Hardest Vast Territory: Center fielders must cover the most ground, patrolling both the left-center and right-center gaps. [1, 2, 3, 4] Deepest Area: The center field wall is usually the furthest point from home plate in a ballpark. [1] Leadership Role: Center fielders act as the "quarterbacks" of the outfield, calling off the left and right fielders on fly balls to avoid collisions. High Workload: According to MLB.com Statcast data, center fielders are expected to make significantly more plays per season—and cover more difficult ground—than any corner outfielder. [1] Comparing the Outfield Positions Left Field (Easiest): Generally regarded as the least demanding outfield spot. Left fielders cover less ground on average and typically do not require as strong of a throwing arm, since the throw to third base or home plate is shorter. [1, 2, 3] Right Field (More difficult than Left): While right fielders may cover slightly less total range than center fielders, right field requires a premier throwing arm to make long throws to third base or home. Fielders also deal with the tricky "slice" spin on balls hit to the opposite field by right-handed batters. [1, 2, 3] The Defensive Spectrum: In baseball analytics, center field sits much higher on the defensive spectrum than the corner spots, meaning it requires rare speed, elite tracking instincts, and a high level of athleticism. [1, 2, 3]

Ah yes, nothing says "I've researched my opinion thoroughly" and "I am interested in facts" like copy-pasting AI slop.

Lol. Yes, every ball hit to center is just a straight simple can of corn. All you gotta do is open and close that glove. Maybe that's why Keaschall is struggling so much, nobody asked him "Hey Luke, are you remembering to open and close your glove at the right time?" I think you're on to something!

Like I said, I want to give them the benefit of the doubt. What possible reason could there be for sitting one of the best prospects in baseball in a position of need in favor of an empty spot on the bench? All the previous excuses - "not ready"....preserve ROY....no room for him....still not ready....service clock...."he's ready but it's not just about performance"..."what are you gonna do, sit Trevor Larnach?" - have all come to pass.

This is the part I have never ever understood. If Tommy cares about attendance, Walker Jenkins is probably the single biggest draw/curiosity we have. The kid has been ridiculously hyped since the minute he was drafted. I know I'm dying to see what he can do. He's definitely a bigger draw than holding onto Ryan Jeffers for 2 months. If Tommy cares about winning, Jenkins is likely a better player than half their current lineup. If Tommy cares about payroll, Jenkins would likely be the cheapest CF in the league.

A 78-win team buried in the standings feels very different from a 78-win team fighting for a playoff spot in September. The latter gives the organization something to build upon. No, it doesn't. A 78-win team is a 78-win team. The fact that the rest of the AL was so bad that 78 wins is within shouting distance of the playoffs has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of this team and its future outlook. They don't need to build on 2026. "Building on 2026" sounds like an offseason where they "run it back again" for the 3rd straight offseason and just sign two 35 year old relievers on 1 year deals in mid-January and call it a day. It was a terrible strategy this offseason and it will be even worse next offseason. Maybe that's the biggest accomplishment of all. The Twins haven't been perfect. They haven't been dominant. They haven't even been consistently good. But they have been competitive. And after where this organization stood a year ago, that's a pretty important place to start. The "accomplishment" being described and celebrated here has a name: mediocrity. But they have been competitive. So competitive, in fact, that yesterday, in an extraordinarily important game to the team's playoff chances, the team decided to start in CF a concrete gloved infielder, and to roster an injured player who was not available to play, while the best prospect they've had in a quarter century who also happens to play CF rots away in AAA. There is absolutely nothing "competitive" about this organization.

I've given the Pohlads the benefit of the doubt that they couldn't possibly be holding Jenkins back due to service clock considerations. At this point though I seriously don't understand what else it could be. For all those enamored with Tom and how much better he is than the last Pohlad somehow: when he talks about winning and fielding a competitive team, he'd rather play no one than call up one of the best prospects in baseball in a playoff push. You cannot possibly be serious about winning when you trot out Luke "The Butcher" Keaschall to play a position he's never player before while letting your best prospect in 25 years tear the cover off the ball in the minors. Why? To save some money a few years down the road. Same as it ever was with this organization. Lies from the top, incompetence from the middle management, and a team at or near the bottom of a bad division.

And to clear I'm not saying I think the rest of the org was saying to sit him and Tom overruled them. I think the rest of the org is operating on the mantra of competing in 2026 (and I think Falvey was fired because he was not willing to get on board with this approach) and that absolutely factored into the decision making. But I am saying that a leader is responsible for the decisions of the people they hire, and if those people continue to make bad decisions, then replace them with better people. Either way the buck stops at the top. To use your bus analogy: if you hire someone to drive your bus and that person gets in one dumb accident, it's the driver's fault. If that driver gets in 12 more dumb accidents after that, it's your fault for continuing to employ the driver.

Fair enough, and yeah in a vacuum the Buxton thing is not a fireable offense. But this same scenario has played out multiple times WITH BUXTON through different GMs, managers, trainers, and Pohlads. Not to mention with Joe Ryan and so many other players too. And they had one of the best prospects in baseball who happens to play the same exact position mashing in AAA. But instead of playing him they just let Buxton get more hurt. It's friggin' malpractice and I'm so tired of the incompetence of this organization. It's not a wild departure and that's the problem. This organization needs to fundamentally change its approach.

If I'm the CEO and the people I have hired to manage the organization allowed a clearly injured star player and "face of the franchise" to injure himself even worse (a scenario that has played out with this exact same player multiple times with the same lose-lose result) while ALSO allowing the clearly injured star's terrible performance to hurt the team's chances of making the playoffs in a season in which you've promised fans meaningful September baseball - man, heads are gonna roll.

If you asked Mets fans: whose fault is this disaster, a) Steve Cohen or b) someone else? ....how many would answer b? I'm guessing not many?

Steve Cohen and no. What's your point? Do you think Steve Cohen has any responsibility for running the Mets?

The idea that rich and powerful people have zero accountability for their anything they ever do is pounded into us day after day. Judging by this thread it sure seems to be working. Who knew "Leaders are responsible for the organizations they run" would someday be a subversive political opinion worthy of ridicule, but that's 2026 America for ya.

The idea that the Twins organization was powerless to stop an injured player from playing, to the detriment of both the player and the team as a whole, is perhaps the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! That is next level dysfunction and the Pohlads should sell the team this afternoon.

Who hired those employees? Does the CEO have the power to replace incompetent employees with better ones?

Jim Pohlad literally stepped in and negotiated the Correa salary dump. This was barely one year ago! The Pohlads meddle whenever they see fit. Tommy has been telling us this since the minute he stepped in. Why oh why do Twins fans continue to give the Pohlads the benefit of the doubt? This is a family that literally tried to get the team contracted out of existence 25 years ago! I just do not get it.

It's wild that you don't think Tommy is a hands on owner. He literally tells us that he is over and over again. Does the buck stop at the top or not? Does Tommy have any accountability over the decisions made by the organization he runs or not?

It was a 50 arm when he got drafted.

Seidler bought the Padres in 2012 for $600m and sold in 2026 for $3.9 billion. I wouldn't call a $3.3 billion gain over 14 years - an average increase of $235m/yr - bankrupting themselves. That's the sales pitch to the Pohlads. $3,3 billion over 14 years, in a smaller market. And you don't even need to win a WS. The Pads made the playoffs just 4 times over that span, with one measly NLCS appearance to show for it. You just have to show fans that you are trying.

Is Buxton "calling in sick" or is he injured? Do you think there's a difference between a corporate employee calling in sick and Buxton getting injured on the baseball field? If you get injured at work, you go on worker's comp and your boss can't fire you by law.