ewen21

That this guy just said

This isn't to say you purposely abuse him to toughen him up. It's more the way you've questioned WHY does Baldelli need to make a special trip? Why does this need to be reported and discussed out in the open? THe Twins have tried to raise Buxton in a zero gravity environment. The guys on the bench and the coaches since day one have bent over backwards to do what they can to make him less anxious and ease his transition into the big leagues.

The relevance? I said to put things in perspective. I guess we must always look the lens the Twins give us and say THANK YOU. Just sayin. FOR PERSPECTIVE I said he earned his place

To put things in perspective, Derek Jeter did not have his number retired until 3 seasons after he retired--in 2017. He belongs, but to say it is fast is an understatement. As far as a discussion about Buxton, Sano and Berrios? I can't even

Wouldn't now be the best time to extend them?

As a person who follows this team daily and obsessively, I have drawn similar conclusions about these players. The idea that no one can draw these types of conclusions that "questions a player's character" has been repeated here many times. I do not understand it all. We have all observed and read everything we can about these guys. How is it that NOTHING can be gleaned from it?

What are you talking about? He is a middle of the road defender by almost any measure: https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=2b&stats=fld&lg=all&qual=y&type=1&season=2018&month=0&season1=2018&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0 Certainly better than Dozier by any measure last year. Polanco isn't terrible at short either. Both are adaquate fielders, not "yikes" Dozier sucked last year and there were a lot of people thinking he should have gotten an extension. I wasn't one of them I like this pickup. What the heck is so wrong with it? I just cannot understand the reaction (overreaction) to this or the Cron deal.

Kinda how? Can you name a single player he signed at this point in their career arc? Guys like Jose Offerman, Tony Bautista, Mike Lamb, Craig Monroe, Rondell White, Adam Everett......(let us not forget Jason Bartlet signed to "improve chemistry"). Ryan signed guys on the last stop in their career. Those are the kinds of guys he signed. To say Cron and Schoop are "same old Twins" signings is inaccurate and unfair. While I am not doing cartwheels, I am actually pleased with these signings. The idea that we need to hand out gigantic contracts and sign guys into their lat3 30's and even 40's are even more ridiculous than the kinds of signings Ryan made. Teams in our own division (with payrolls lower than ours) have made World Series appearances. It can be done with the right signings. There seems to be a percentage of Twins fans who want us to do a blockbuster signing just to see the Twins do it. I am not one of those Twins fans.

Not a bad pickup, and in fact, these are the kinds of deals Terry Ryan never made when we were winning divisions. This is the precisely the kind of player we could have gotten to sit Nick Punto's butt down

A-freakin-men! I will take a guy with a .310 OPS and a .200 ISO over a guy with a 350 OPS and a .100 ISO if all other things are equal. No ifs ands or buts. Getting on base is a big thing, but it's not the BEST thing. I would much prefer a home run to a walk in every single circumstance. One would be insane to feel otherwise.

Compettiion for JOBS. I am not of the school where a guy like Austin is assured a job. I like what he brought last year, like his game, but understand he is no shoe-in. There isn't a player on this roster i feel cannot be replaced. We simply are not that good a team.

Summarize what this means in two sentences.

I like what Tyler Austin brought last year, but what is he really? Austin is 26 years old and he finally punched through last year. Let these two fight it out in ST and let there be some freakin competition for a change. I look at Cron this way: He is going to put up better numbers than our first baseman did last year and he costs about 1/5th amount. Tyler Austin? He is going to need come into camp spitting nails and that isn't such a bad thing. The reaction to this Cron deal is over-the-top. Every team makes pick ups like this every year. This is not a "Minnesota Twins" thing by any stretch

Moreover, how can he be called lazy when he had played in over 150 games per season for 11 straight years up until his suspension last year? That said, a deal for Cano would be utterly insane. If we got him I might stop watching baseball. Can't stand him.

Being against silly deals for guys like Cano is as dumb as hoping every prospect pans out. You are playing both ends against the middle. It is stunning how many of these threads have surfaced lately... Bumgarner, Cano, Grienke??? It almost feels like people want big names just to say we got a big name

White was in his mid-30s and past his prime I am nor understanding the consternation some have demonstrated over this move.

He fell to pieces in 2015 during the playoff push. Then in 2016 he came out of the gate like a dog when he was expected to lead. When the season was safely gone he exhaled and starting mashing. When he needed to play well this year early on because we were supposed to contend AND he had a contract to play for he was AWOL. When he had a chance to erase that in LA during a playoff race he hit .180 something. He had a horrible post season. But hey. He hit a home run in an ASG. Come on, man. Falvey and Levine did well to move on from Dozier. Extending him would have be a terrible move. And this isn't hindsight coming from me. I was against it from jump street.

The comments are not terribly insightful because the things I mentioned were so blatantly obvious to any fan who watched him day-in-day-out for the last seven or eight seasons. He hit into an oppositte field shift and refused to adapt. Blyleven made it clear that Joe needed to make adjustments. For him to say that is significant. Most other players just play nice. Bert was honest. The .277 in close and late situations, the pedestrian performance in the post season, the lack of a walk off hit for almost a dozen seasonss, his looking at hittable pitches with runners on base when he was supposedly the best hitter in the lineup....etc...that is factual. Not kicking him around. I am just not of the belief that I was watching greatness these last eight seasons. I don't pick that out of the sky, nor do I say it because I have a vendetta against the guy. People get mad when I point out his flaws and weaknesses. I've learned it's offensive to some when I list facts to support an opinion that diminishes Joe's God-like status with our fanbase.

I never comment about "fire in his belly", but since you bring it up, for me it has nothing to do with being a motormouth. It has to do with what a guy does on the field. You mention his wonderful average with RISP, but he was a .277 hitter for his lifetime in close and late situations. He went nearly 12 seasons without getting a walkoff hit. So many of his at bats with RISP in big spots in the game featured him spitting on perfectly hittable strikes. This speaks to "fire in the belly" and his reluctance to step up in big spots. "Fire in the belly" also has to do with what a guy is willing to do during the offseason. I never saw Joe as being one of those guys who trained hard during the offseason to build strength and stamina for the regular season. That clearly was not his thing, while a fair number of elite players are noted for this kind of thing. Torii Hunter did more for his team by being physically in phenomenal shape than the did with his mouth. His offseason workout routine was totally on point and something for young players to pay attention to. Joe did not provide that example and I often wondered why. He could have worked to make himself a bit stronger and get those quick twitch muscle fibers in gear. He did not see that as being so important and he became a slap hitter who looked for walks. We can go back and forth on this, but I have my opinion on this and I don't think he evolved very much. Joe had all the talent in the world and yet he didn't make adjustments. That opposite field shift was utterly insane. That should have fired him up to find hittable pitches in his happy zone and turn on them. Nope, not his thing...... Joe was a fabulous player for the first half of his career and then 2011 happened. From there forward I never thought I was watching greatness. I did feel that way in the years before that. I am just calling it like I see it and nothing I mentioned above is far-fetched or out of line. Call me a heretic. Sorry

Revered figures with storied histories? Mauer may have been revered by a lot of folks, but there was very little about his game in a long time that was special. His primary skill for the last five seasons was to draw walks. He was an effective table setter. We don't need anyone averaging a .740 OPS over the last five seasons being treated like royalty. That's over. Maybe bring in a two veterans with some postseason success who can put up better numbers than Mauer and cost less. Dozier? Come on, man. He was the classic garbage time player. Shine the spotlight on him and he falls to pieces. I think it is good for this team to hit the reset button. Time for a new flavor. While we are at it, let's stop being so concerned about where guys were drafted. Buxton does not deserve a limitless amount of time in the majors to find himself--and, no....his defense doesn't make up for his putrid offense. Hold him to a standard. As soon as the coaching staff can apply accountability evenly the culture will turn around. That has not happened in a long, long time

I am off the Donaldson train.

If one is making a case for him getting an extension you literally HAVE TO cherry pick the 37 or 38 games in July and August of 2017. Subract that out from his career and his OPS is down near .600. That little run amounts to about one ninth of what he has done as a major leaguer. We should push that up front and ignore all the other stuff? There is no reason to extend him. He has been injury prone, he has had major struggles even making contact with the baseball a lot of the time and we have him under team control for a long time anyway. I don't get the rationale behind an extension. Even if he does become an all star calibre player he is going to bolt for the most money. He won't look back and say....."oh gee. The Twins had faith in me so I have to stay"

Defense for a posiion player is important, but it isn't close to how important offense is. Not by a longshot. Every at bat is a chance to make an impact whereas a player might go a week or more before they can make a play only few others can make in the field. A player can go a long time just having plays that aren't difficult for nomal major leaguers. The idea that his glove makes up for his horrible offense is absurd. It takes some of the sting away. That is all it does. The other thing is, outfield defense does not last forever. He wasted a year last year because he could not hit, got a migraine and hurt his toe. This took him out by May. We all saw what we saw and yet people preach the posiitive and the upside. Exactly how much longer can we do this? Further, how is it that it is smart to make an investment in him now? He has no leverage and he should be concerned about staying with the big club. Not with any kind of contract talk. I just don't get it. Maybe some folks can see the future and I can't. I can only go on what I have seen and I am not encouraged at all. Can this change? Of course it can. Would I bet millions and leave other young players in the organization wondering why he got his and they did not?? NO WAY And that is another thing. We need to build a meritocricy. Not create an environment where one guy is treated diferently from the rest unnecessarily.

HIs floor is he's out of baseball within five years. He barely played last year and when did he was overmatched. His speed isn't making up for it. His speed gets treated like a security blanket and I don' get that. His speed and recklessness in the field may well be the thing that ultimately does him in for good. He's had collisions and has already knocked himself out in the field. At the rate he is going what is he going to be in three or four years? This is why I don't understand the angle that states... "He can hit .200 and still have a lot of value" Really? No, I don't think so. Especially since he cannot seem to stay on the field., An extension now accomplishes notihng. Have we not been watching? This is a player who bases his entire game off playing with reckless abandon in the field. There was an article last sping where he talked in detail about his migraines, concussions and running into walls--AND he was unrepentant. That was the red flag for me last March. This last season confirmed all my concerns. Being positive is nice, but when it strays to far from reality I find it troublesome--especially when talking about INVESTMENT

An extension at this point makes zero sense. Why reward him at this juncture? To show "loyalty" to him? Inferiority complex much?? It also sends the wrong message to other players. If we are going to climb out of the abysss then players need to earn their keep based on merit. As mentioned, besides the lack of consistency, the injury factor looms large. Add to it his propensity to run into things + the migraine issue. All the potential and positive thinking in the world amounts to nothing, as #3 aptly put it