TwinsGuy55422

I agree that he has made adjustments and I give him credit for that. I just don't think you can say the incidents from 4 or 5 years ago are irrelevant or "outdated" as you say. You cannot tell me that a violent collision with a teammate a few years back might not be related to his migraines last year or his concussion like symptoms this year. I also don't think you can tell me that a guy hurting his wrist simply swinging a bat last year might not be related to previous wrist injuries from aggressive slides into bases and dives for balls in the outfield. The counter argument is always you can't take away a guy's aggressiveness or you reduce his value and play making ability. While Buxton has done a lot to tone things down, will it be enough to keep the cumulative effects of his concussions and other injuries from putting him out of the game before the age of 30 ? I mean seriously, he could start having recurring concussion symptoms from just running after a flyball in the outfield. Then what? This is why I think his past reckless habits are still part of the discussion and not just misguided venting.

Very well written article but I think there is a little more to the story. Let's go back a few more years to Buxton's very first game at the AA level where he collided with a teammate so hard he missed an extended period of time due to a concussion. It was a really reckless play in my opinion and frankly a scary one to watch. Might that play have contributed to the migraines you mentioned last year and the concussion against the Indians this year? Then there's the manner in which he slides into bases. If you go back further than your two-season window, I am quite positive he has missed time in both the minors and at the MLB level sliding head first into bases so hard it just looked like a recipe for a broken wrist. As a previous poster mentioned, there have definitely been a few times where he ran into the wall and didn't land on the IL but rather missed a few games as a precaution. I also wonder about the cumulative effect of hittimg the wall and/or the ground so many times over the years. I am not an athletic trainer but might a series of jarring hits (even ones that didn't cause injury at the time) gradually damage his shoulder leading to the current subluxation that is probably going to cost him at least a month?

Sounds like you guys had fun. I, too, drove to KC with my wife to take in some Twins baseball. We were there from Thursday afternoon until Sunday morning. We went to the game on Friday which was cool because they won 2-1 in 11 innings and they had the fire works display after the game. I also landed myself two balls which was pretty cool. One was thrown my way by Butera during batting practice and the other Casilla threw to me as he was running off the field after the last out of the first inning. We looked around in the Royals Hall of Fame before the game and it was pretty cool. They have a giant number 5 made up of 3154 baseballs representing the total number of hits in George Brett's career. In the middle of the 5, they have the bat he used for his 3000th hit in a display case. I went to the Negro Leagues Museum on Friday and found it pretty interesting. I liked the movie they show when you first come in and the field with the bronze statues. I ate lunch at the original Arthur Bryant's BBQ which looks like kind of a dive in a not so great part of town. We got there at just the right time because by the time we got our food there was a line out the door for the lunch rush. The food was phenomenal and the portions are huge. They also have all these pictures on the wall of various famous people eating there. I also checked out something called the College Basketball Experience which was pretty cool. It has all these different interactive exhibits and also houses the National College Basketball Hall of Fame. The Power and Light District in downtown was also a pretty cool place to grab some food and listen to music. I concur with your assessment on the drought conditions. I don't know if I saw a blade of green grass the whole time we were there. One other thing I noticed about KC in driving around different parts of the city was how quickly it would change from the nice part of town to the not-so-great areas. All in all, a very cool city and a great place to watch a ball game.

Did they give a distance on that homerun or do they not do that in the minors?

It's nice to see Revere's BA sitting in the 0.290s after today's game. Hopefully he can build on that and work on drawing more BBs.

Age definitely brings perspective to life and the game. I remember watching Kirby Puckett play and being happy if he got four hits even if the Twins lost. Now, as a 32 year old, I think I would prefer a good win over an individual player's offensive performance.

Maybe he looks so serious because he is sick of carrying that pinkish/purplish lunchbox on the way from the dugout to the bullpen. The initiations that ballplayers go through are quite humorous.

I was surprised he was hitting 93-94 on the gun a couple of times. I also liked his change up that he stuck out Gomez on.

Wow. It's hard to believe it's already been a year.

I would like to see Revere up on the team as well. He is definitely a spark plug. I haven't paid much attention to his at-bats in AAA. He certainly has a good batting average but does anyone know if he has been taking more walking, bunting, and doing the things they wanted him to work on?

Glad to see you're not in the "Gardy should skip his daughter's graduation or find a way to go without missing any games" crowd. That discussion was just ridiculous. I, too, think this time away could be good for all involved. Always enjoy reading your stuff.

I know in the past he has had confrontations with players, probably many we haven't heard about. I remember one year when Kyle Lohse was "scuffling" Gardy had a sit down with him that resulted in Lohse punching a whole in something. Whatever heart to heart he had with Morneau part through the 2006 season sure did wonders as well. The guy clearly can get mad and hold people accountable. I think he needs to get back to doing with it with whoever needs it and not just guys that aren't in his club (i.e. Valencia).

Since the season is probably a lost cause, Gardy could also leave starters out there longer to eat innings instead of taking them out in the 3rd inning when they have already put us in a 6-0 hole. The chances of coming back from that type of deficit are so slim, it's probably better to least the starter out there to continue taking a beating and just eat some more innings.

Clete Thomas....C. He's done pretty much what you could expect, that being play pretty good defense and strike out a lot.

I agree that it's hard to pencil a guy into everyday action when his numbers are that bad. I just don't think his numbers would be that bad if he got consistent at-bats. I am not saying I think he will stick as an everyday major leaguer if given the at-bats, I just think it is worth finding out instead of giving crazy playing time to Clete Thomas.

My understanding of Smith's firing was that he thought 2011 was mostly about injuries and that we would be fine by getting people back to health and just tweaking things a little bit. Pretty much the opposite of rebuilding. I really don't get the arguments for firing Ryan. Everyone says he didn't do enough to address this or that, but with the restrictions that were put on him what more could he have done? There were too many poor decisions made while Ryan was away that left too many holes on this roster to fix them all in one offseason with the payroll restrictions put in place by ownership. People also argue that Ryan's last draft is why we don't have enough MLB ready talent at the AAA level. To that, I would say even the best GM can't get every draft right. It also doesn't help when the GM that replaces you trades away top prospects for marginal relief pitching (i.e. Ramos for Capps). I would also like to point out that Ryan didn't have control over how the players in his last draft were developed. Even if you draft exceptional talent, if the oversight of the farm system starts to erode under the new GM your prospects aren't going to develop properly. People also like to argue that Ryan has culpability for some of Smith's poor decisions because he one of Smith's advisers. I am sure Ryan gave advice when asked, but Smith's decisions were Smith's decisions. I don't think the Pohlad's would have fired Smith and replaced him with Ryan if Ryan was the driving force behind many of Smith's personnel decisions. That is enough of a rant about the Ryan issue. I don't think Ryan does everything perfect. But he does have a great track record as a GM/talent evaluator and given time I have faith that he can get the Twins back to being a model organization. It's just not going to happen over night and we need to accept that.

Why can't A and B go together. Just to be clear, I think Gardy has plenty of flaws. However, even if I thought he was the best manager in the history of professional baseball, I would still think it is okay to be away from the team for a FEW days for an IMPORTANT family event. I don't see how you can so vehemently argue that these two things can't go together. Essentially you're saying that if you are an important asset to your job, you always need to choose your job over your family.

Danny Valencia....D. I don't know what else to say about this guy. The guy clearly loves himself a little bit too much and could benefit from less time fixing his hair in the mirror and more time working on his game. He is extremely immature and needs to approach the game like a professional. If he would accept a little coaching, he could at least be a serviceable MLB 3rd baseman.

Ainge definitely "battled his tail off."

One of my biggest problems with the way is this team is run is the inconsistent handling of players. You have a guy like Plouffe who has was a 1st round pick out of high school, has killed pitching at AAA, was willing to learn a new position, and then you don't give him consistent at-bats? The team is going nowhere this season. All you can hope for is get improvement out of young guys and to find out what you have with certain players. We are at the point with Plouffe where we need to know if can produce as an everyday player or just part ways with him. In a losing season such as this, why would you not get him as many at-bats as possible?

Hopefully he comes back rejuvenated and ready to lay down the law and think outside the box. I know sometimes a little break can do this. It may also give him some time to reevaluate whether he thinks he is the right man for the job long term.

I understand that you want Gardenhire gone. However, I think there are plenty of reasons that could be cited for letting Gardenhire go without beating this college graduation issue to death. Is it physically possible for him to go to the graduation and not miss any of the Seattle games? Assuming your research is correct, the answer is yes. However, I don't think it makes much sense for him to do that for several reasons. College graduations are a big deal and your family should be a top priority. Swooping in for the ceremony/luncheon and then leaving right away would send a pretty strong message to his daughter about where his priorities are. If that was my parent, I would rather they just didn't come at all. I am assuming that he has a certain number of personal days in his contract to use for these sorts of things and that this leave has the blessing of ownership. Right now, this team is unbelievably sucky and him not being there for a few days is not going to make a difference. In fact, him not being there might be beneficial in allowing him to take a step back and reevaluate. I do not think it sends any kind of bad message to the players because I think it shows them that he is not going to let tough times cloud his judgment and alter his priorities. Don't get me wrong. I think there is good chance that Gardenhire and his staff will be gone before this team once again becomes competitive. I just don't think this is something to be held against him.

I definitely understand the way you feel. As much as I don't like to think this way, I don't see any other way than to get some fresh blood in here. There are just too many people who have worked together for too long in this organization for them to admit mistakes and adapt philosophies that aren't working. There is no doubt that more talent on the field will go a long way but there is also no denying that to truly contend down the road there is going to have to be some fresh ideas and leadership. Even when fielding a talented team, Gardenhire's teams have done progressively worse in the playoffs and whenever they play good teams in the regular season. Whether they admit it or not, you can see that his teams expect to lose when playing the best competition. It's sad because I think he is a good manager but throughout history good managers/coaches get let go all the time because their message is no longer getting through to the players and everyone is just too comfortable.

I didn't realize that Hendriks was in Beloit just two years ago. He certainly made a quick progression through the system.

I am surprised to learn that it is only 4 out of 8. I would have guessed more. What's worse is that I can only remember one outing this year where he came in and retired the side 1-2-3. Even when he is not allowing runs, he quite often allows multiple baserunners.