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I've seen tape of Carlson's slider. That is good enough for me. It's a tremendous pitch.

Put me down as disappointed they passed on Carlson. He seems like an advanced version of Leach, so why not take the local kid?

This whole talk of picking Lewis to save money is nonsense because the new slotting system drastically reduces teams ability to 'save' money for later. He was obviously the guy they wanted. I've only seen a few clips but it's pretty hard to get excited about a guy who many think will end up in the OF and isn't universally considered a great hitter. I mean he hit under .400 in HS and knocked just 4 HR with metal bats. I get the CA competition is good but still. Jeter comps are nice and all, but there's probably a dozen guys each year fit that mold. To paraphrase another GM, if he's such a good hitter why doesn't he hit good? So he's going to hit when he plays for us?

Jason Vargas?

Buxton's problems appear to stem from the following: - Poor pitch recognition or poor pitch tracking - Not letting the ball come to him - Too long of a stride (sometimes) and pulling his hips too much on breaking pitches - Simply not being comfortable/confident at the plate Here's what I'd propose the Twins do with Buxton... 1. Buxton spends as much time as possible "standing in" during bullpen sessions and tracking pitches all the way to the glove. Load up on each pitch like he's going to swing (but don't, a good way to get load timing down). Make it game (at least for part of the session), look down when the pitcher tells the catcher what he's going to throw and have Buxton see how early he can pick up the pitch. Slider recognition is really important. This will help with identifying strikes/balls too. 2. Summon 2-4 pitchers from the minor leagues, at least one is LHP. Play a "simulated game" with Buxton and one other position player. No cages and no L-screens, this has to be as close to game conditions as possible. Also, make sure the cameras are rolling so Buxton/coaches can do a review session later. Buxton is so uncomfortable at the plate, it makes me uncomfortable! So, get more reps.... get comfortable without the pressure of needing to get hits. Right now, this practice should trump playing time, because until he addresses the things that are wrong, "saving" his energy for a game is just digging a deeper hole. 3. Give Buxton an extra rotation of BP. The first one is trying to hit EVERYTHING to the opposite field, or even foul down to the right side. Hit it to the right side and keep his head down after every swing. It's really important to be able to slap that low/away fastball to the right side or foul it off. Put a gun on the BP pitcher and measure out where he's throwing from so we can make sure it's approximating something close to a 90 mph fastball... otherwise you're just screwing with hitters timing. 4. Look fastball, most of the time. Until Buxton is more confident in his pitch recognition, he's got to guess to give himself more of a chance... so guess, but don't jump at the pitch. The caveat here is that Buxton strikes out on sliders off the plate a lot. So if he sees a hard pitch coming middle/outer half with 2 strikes let it go. If at the last possible instant you see it's a fastball, then try to slap it to right or foul it off. 5. Have the video staff prepare HD clips of Buxton and top hitters from around the league. Have him see how pitchers are attacking him, and what his swing looks like. Have him watch what successful hitters are doing. That's my 2 cents.

I don't disagree with Reynolds about head position. That could probably be, though it likely isn't that bad every swing. The thing I noticed about the split screen with his minor league AB was his hips. His hips seem to be drifting away from the ball as opposed to driving the back hip towards the point of contact.

This is my what really gets my dander up about the whole thing. I don't get the sense that the coaching staff is doing anything out of the ordinary to fix this. We haven't been told anything to the contrary. Getting Buxton right has been at the top of the to do list for this organization, and it does not appear to be getting addressed. If the plan is to just let him figure it out, then what is the point of even having coaches?

This is the most Twins stat I've ever heard. Incredible.

Trick question, surely this has never happened (at least not in my lifetime).

SSS. I'm going to wait a bit before jumping to conclusions. But I'll say this, if Buxton flames out here and then predictably resurrects his career elsewhere... I'm laying a good deal of the blame on the manager. As good as the rest of the team has looked, Buxton has been the opposite, regressing if anything from last spring/summer, if that is even possible.

Haha... nothing wrong with tats or the lady in question. I actually think it's pretty cool, was just being snarky.

Also... a thigh tatoo. #PureSoxFan

Good question. I'd probably say keep Haley. Tonkin has good stuff, but makes too many mistakes, too many well struck balls.

Nice throw Castro! I almost forgot what that looked like the last several years.

Popups are a goddamn circus today. None of these guys would have been signed if they grew up playing in the Dakotas or Western MN.

That escalated quickly.

There have been many games with a much worse premise made and sold.

I'm sorry, but how is it the game's top rated propsect almost instantly becomes the league's worst hitter? The Twins FO and coaching staff must fix this, or frankly, go down in the hall of shame. It's mostly on Buxton himself, obviously, but history won't remember Ryan, Moliter, and Falvine kindly if they don't get this fixed.

Dick: And it's not even the seventh inning yet. Well played.

Polanco ends up at SECOND base. You watching that Sano? They should award a hit for taking the extra base.

Jake Petricka, Savage's own.

Anyone else notice the black guy in the first row above the third base dugout in a nascar shirt, sitting next to a white guy in a white formal jacket? Just don't see either of those things at a baseball game very often.

Polanco, on the other hand, has played shortstop every game, came into the game hitting .400, and will make $3,300 for today's work. Baseball is such a crazy game!

Here's Joe Mauer. He had the day off yesterday but still made $142,000. Good gig, if you can get it.

I watched Meija pitch in Spring Training and was very impressed. Hitters couldn't seem to get on his fastball and had a really hard time adjusting to his slider. Here's hoping for another QS today.