ewen21

http://www.startribune.com/laudner-on-fsn-ballplayers-do-stupid-things/98912509/ Ron Gardenhire in his postgame press conference: "I don't ever tell a hitter what to do. He tried a drag bunt. Ask Joe about that, what his thoughts were." That was in a season where we were competing against a division rival for the top spot. Juxtapose that between Gardy's reaction to Aaron Hicks flipping a ball in a game in Boston where we were ahead 8 runs in the 8th inning in a meaningless game.

Not sure it's up to us to say the WHY as far as the double standard goes. I did my level best to explain it, but there surely existed a double standard for Mauer and all others. I don't see how this can even be disputed. All teams have players who are above the fray and Joe pretty much was above the fray. When he inexplicably bunted in that game against Cleveland everyone should remember the Gardenhire quote. Joe had pretty much free reign to do as he does. It isn't like he was an idiot running amok destroying things. He was, however, amiss in some areas. Not only was his off season training not up to standard, but also his approach to hitting was never tweaked. Even when he was taking more strikes than anyone in the league and slapping an overwhelming majority of airborne balls to left he barely said peep. I was absolutely stunned when Bert finally had the balls to mention it on the air That was only when Dick Bremer said something like, "there isn't a player in the league that has lost more hits than Mauer to the shift" or some such silliness. That was when Bert chimed in and said, "Well, he has to ADJUST" What a novel concept. Why didn't he? Why couldn't he? I know a lot of people aren't liking what I have said here, but let's be honest folks. These are not "assumptions". Nor is (was) the fact that he needed to build strength IN SEASON during 2011. Mauer pretty much admitted he figured he'd rest after surgery and that wreaked havoc on him. He made a mistake. I think the Twins trusted he'd do something to rehab the thing on his own and he simply dropped the ball. Either way, there was poor communication from Mauer to the Twins, It happened again with the concussion thing. I took him three years to say he was STILL suffering from symptoms after he was cleared. That makes no sense whatsoever. This assumes the doctors, his family, his teammates Twins officials of any kind were either complicit in some charade, Joe kept it a secret (not possible) or it was something he said to explain why he hit so poorly for a few seasons. Who knows? Joe is a pretty mysterious cat.

The reason is pretty obvious. The Twins invested in Joe, not only to be a franchise player, but also because he was local talent. He was a product and the Twins held him up on a pedestal. They looked the other way a lot. Even with the concussion issue. Joe came out over two years after being cleared to play saying that he still had symptoms all that time. Terry Ryan actually expressed frustration with Joe and that is saying something. With regard to the lack of detail in offseason conditioning he was allowed to run his own show. Sure, he wasn't fat, but simply not being fat doesn't make you STRONG which I feel Joe needed to address. Why in the heck did he take a slap hitting approach after he busted out in 2009? He drove like four or five home runs into the right field upper deck that year. He totally stopped turning on the ball to the point where teams put an absurd opposite field shift on him THAT didn't even motivate him to adopt a program to make him stronger. Couldn't have hurt, but it was never explored. The biggest problem with Mauer is no one had the sense to talk to him when he strayed and there were times he kept the time in the dark. He did in 2011 in a huge way and then again in the three seasons that followed his concussion. All that time he went through the protocols and no one notices? He has these difficulties and no teammate or family member voices any concern? He just keeps "getting at it" OK.....that is pure insanity. So, yes...in many ways Joe had his own rules. So have a lot of players. Derek Jeter was pretty much left alone, but the difference there is Jeter held other players accountable and held himself to a high standard. Joe sort of just wanted to blend in and be one of the guys. In the case of Sano? He has given the Twins no choice. THey HAVE TO lean on him.

What? The Twins or Mauer released the bi-lateral leg weakness diagnosis?? That was the Mayo Clinic and Mauer totally bristled at the notion. I will go with the Mayo Clinic and the cause of bi-lateral leg weakness is easily researched. Please do that

I took a pretty good stab at it last night in two different posts. What do you think? Were my two posts out of line? Inaccurate? Unfair?

Whether or not his anger toward the Twins is justified or not is completely immaterial. He has now put the burden squarely on his shoulders with that little gripe session at the children's hospital. He reintroduced this discussion to Twins Territory and the Twins handed him his job on a silver platter. If he does what he's done to date in every single season during the first half then he will need to be sent down and he will have only himself to blame

It's not our fault or the Twins fault he just doesn't hit out of the gate. It is a VERY real issue and he needs to get over it. His numbers in the first month are absolutely preposterous: https://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/split_stats.cgi?full=1&params=month%7CApril%2FMarch%7Cbuxtoby01%7Cbat%7CAB%7C We cannot live with that. I don't care if he poops gold ingots in the field. His first half numbers are also very troubling: https://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/split_stats.cgi?full=1&params=half%7C1st%20Half%7Cbuxtoby01%7Cbat%7CAB%7C It's important he doesn't come up and start pressing again.

That's all well and good, but he was billed as a marquee guy with generational talent. And then you see guys like Francisco Lindor come up already polished and he is the same age. Guys like Betts, Machado, Bryant, Bogearts, Machado a year older and all pretty much established hitters. Even younger guys like Benetiendi, Correa, Seager, Bregman, Baez all have more hits than he does already. Let's face it. The amount of hype generated for Buxton was ridiculous and now it's time to lower the bar, I guess. Good thing my bar was never elevated so high. I hoped he'd be good/ That was all. As Buxton said himself: "I ain't gonna sugarcoat nothin" It's time to follow his lead

Where are "a lot of assumptions" being made in my post? Why in the heck do I need to have surveillance on him to know whether or not he did adequate strength training? He came into camp looking like hell and I started a thread in mlb.com about it because it was that alarming to me. I am not going to cite articles because I have been down that road and some people just refuse to see what they do not want to see. The fact is, he needed to "build strength" DURING the 2011 and the world renowned Mayo Clinic could only diagnose him with bi-lateral leg weakness. He was so inactive during that off season his legs atrophied. That is their diagnosis and not mine. However, it was fairly obvious to me within seconds of seeing him in that camp that something wasn't right. How does it come to that? Through a comprehension strength and conditioning program? As far as Sano goes, that investment in him was made back in 2009 by an entirely different regime and it is about 175 million dollars shy of the investment the Twins made in Joe.

I wonder how much we know. We know he loves running and making great catches, but how much work does he do in the cage and what kind of focus does he bring? Is he learning? I find it hard to rave about his work ethic when his offense is so bad while being such a superior athlete. He could spend "hours" in the cage for all I know. I can't say anything about his focus or ability to put theory into practice. Seems me like the hitting instructors keep going back to the drawing board. Is this the byproduct of a marvelous work ethic?

Spring training stats certainly can matter if you make them matter. Tell young guys on the fringes trying to make the team that it doesn't matter. When you eliminate that you kind of kill the friendly (not so friendly) competiion for jobs. That is what I want in spring training. Have your full attention and succeed because you are facing lesser competition a lot of the time. If you come into spring training with a .670 OPS in over 1,000 plate appearances you better not look bad in your March at bats because it should assure you nothing. All Buxton needs to do is hit about .240 and it's not a situation. If he hits .200 and strikes out a lot that's just more time waiting for him to develop. He can't be SUCH a bad hitter during spring training. He can't ask out of games for headaches and toe jams or whatever. He will need to stay healthy. To Byron Buxton spring training HAS TO matter. Why the heck not?

WHY the double standard is tricky because even if certain elements of it are blatantly obvious it seems to stir up hostility in some folks. I will come right out and say the Twins were far more protective of Mauer than of any player I have seen. They pinned a big contract on him and with that he was a major selling point for the fan base. With him being the hometown kid he became more like a product than a ballplayer. Add to this the fact that Mauer was a very genteel soul who embodied "Minnesota nice". I do not resent him for that in any way. I do, however, take him to task for not being more aware of certain responsibilities. First and foremost, he responsibility to be in peak physical condition. I understand not all guys are, but he was held up as the gold standard of what a player should be AND he was sorely lacking in the off season strength training department. He could have led silently in that area in the same way Josh Willingham did. Guys like Plouffe and Dozier raved about the work Willingham did during the off season and they tried to pattern themselves after his regimen. These players don't have nearly the talent of Mauer but they were veterans other players followed and it shouldn't have been that way. A lot was made about Joe not being a RAH RAH guy. OK, so what? I never asked him to be. I just wanted him to understand his standard was a higher standard and he never got that, unfortunately. Worse still, no one in the Twins found a way to get that point across to him. They pretty much let Joe be Joe and didn't teach him. As far as Sano is concerned, the Twins have made no real investment in him yet.. Whereas Joe had already proved himself to the Twins AND was the hometown hero, Sano has none of that going for him. The Twins have a whole lot more leverage on Sano than they did Mauer and Sano has proven to have off the field issues besides obvious weight issues. The Twins are playing hardball with Sano now and it should not be hard because Sano is still playing for a contract. Mauer was not. They Twins are (and rightly so) using this leverage to push Sano. Look, players are all treated differently and for myriad reasons. I am not trying to speak for Dr. Neau, but I think he saw Mauer's "special treatment" as a detriment and he'd rather not see such a pronounced example of it again. Nor would I, although I happen to think the Twins are 100% right to take an aggressive approach with both Sano AND Buxton. Looking back. I wish the Twins provided more guidance for Mauer. He was pretty much allowed to operate on his own terms and this really destroyed two things: communication and accountability. The past regime really had no idea how to get the most out of Mauer. Mauer got there by himself on raw ability and then he hit a fork in the road at age 28. The Twins never attempted to steer him down any path. He just took his own path and whatever he did was OK with them. I feel Joe's final 8 years could have be a whole lot more productive with the proper guidance and usage. Thank GOD this is an old discussion, but since you ask..... Obviously we cannot afford to do that with Sano or Buxton. Growing up this environment seems to have confused both. Not sure if they both think they have Mauer rules. Feels like they think they do.

Carol, Mauer did need to spend time in-season during 2011 building strength. You don't get there by having an adaquate offseason strength training program. It was a major issue that was talked about all season. Everyone knows the story and it left a lot of people scratching their heads. Dr. Neau was thorough enough to provide plenty of quotes from Mauer and a timeline of events. He didn't make it up and it certainly provides evidence. All of that, and his unwillingness/inability to turn on baseballs tell me he was deficient in the area of strength--something that could have easily been remedied with offseason strength training. To me, this was something Mauer missed the boat on and I find it to be something he should have been openly questioned about. Seems like every single spring there were articles written about his conditioning and how he felt. They weren't written to attack him and they weren't just the arbitrary whims of one writer. As far as Sano goes, strength isn't an issue as much as weight is. They are different types of issues, but both are as a result of off season neglect. I believe there is (was) a double for Joe and all other Twins. He was able to slide on this one where Sano isn't and I say amen for the Twins taking a stand. They should have been more vigilant with Mauer... Actually, no...Joe should have just understood the importance of building strength. That's what a player should do along with rest. It's pretty obvious to me Joe went pretty heavy on the rest and didn't really make himself strong. Sure he wasn't fat, but at times he looked downright frail AND he hit like it for the last 7 years of his career.

You are convinced he was warming up? I am not. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. Could he do more? Sure, I bet he can. Then again, here is a guy who said he got all his leg workouts squatting in the bullpen.

Really? I never heard anything about it and when I search for "Joe Mauer home gym" I can't find it. I do know he was training at Mauer Chevrolet a few years ago in a "gym" there. Why he'd be doing that when he has a gym at home makes absolutely no sense-but then Joe kind of dances to no music sometimes.

The "ain't gonna sugarcoat it" quote is instructive for all of us as far as I am concerned.

If we are going to be at all accurate we must look at the whole picture. And in doing that, looking at the immediate future we have the following: 1. An acrimonious rift exists between the Twins and Buxton and Buxton is still angry about it. 2. In an effort to extend an olive branch the FO said he is the CF 3. His numbers out of the gate are ridiculously awful April: https://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/split_stats.cgi?full=1&params=month%7CApril%2FMarch%7Cbuxtoby01%7Cbat%7CAB%7C First Half: https://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/split_stats.cgi?full=1&params=half%7C1st%20Half%7Cbuxtoby01%7Cbat%7CAB%7C Conclusion: Something has to give. Buxton controls his own destiny and if he comes out of the gate looking feeble again then things are going to get ugly.

Russell Martin had the same procedure, also in December (within days), and turned in an all star season in 2011 catching for the Yankees. The guy came into camp doing handstands. Mauer came into camp looking sickly, talking about baby steps and rest. No one knew what the heck was wrong with Joe and people speculated wildly about his condition. They even sent him to the Mayo Clinic and all they could come up with was bi-lateral leg weakness. He didn't pass the eye test with me when he came into camp. He looked so frail that it got my attention. Next thing you know he's in Florida through most of April and May trying to build strength. They Mayo Clinic couldn't diagnose him with anything but leg weakness. Yet and still, people insist there is "no evidence" that he was lacking in the strength and conditioning department. And while Joe was not fat, he certainly was not strong. Being "not fat" doesn't make you "in shape" and for a highly paid elite athlete he was not. Not by that standard. Matter of fact, tor his size he had below average strength as evidenced not only by his approach to hitting but by the pictures posted above. 55lbs squats? Pathetic. I see women do more. Here was a guy with size, an excellent eye for the zone and great knowledge of pitch sequences. For some odd reason, he rarely ever saw fit to turn on a pitch starting in 2010. To write off Joe's laisse faire approach to strength training as a non starter is laughable. People are not going to see the unpleasant with Mauer. That is just the way it is. And the ugly truth with him is he really didn't do adequate work during the off season. Had he done it he would have benefitted enormously.

Stop right there. Did you not read the article from Beradino last March about his migraines and his penchant for running into walls? How can this not make any Twins fan feel "pessimistic" about his long term trajectory? TO be concerned about his development and some of the trends is pessimistic? Can't it also be REALISTIC to have concerns?

Forget the "straw man argument" and let's address this: His confidence (at least offensively) is shaken very easily and in that interview he demonstrated that he's still pretty emotionally rocked by what happened to him September. The Twins have guys like Rowson, Hunter and Molitor heap sorts of praise on him when he struggles. It is almost like they wanted to raise this kid in a zero gravity environment where pressure and blowback is non existent. Despite how epically bad his offense has been at times he has received virtually no negative feedback. He's got some and he's still beside himself. That's being fragile. Sorry. He says it's business. Act like it is, then. To me, his early season struggles point to a guy that is pressing way too much. That counts as evidence. Not THE EVIDENCE, just some evidence: https://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/split_stats.cgi?full=1&params=month%7CApril%2FMarch%7Cbuxtoby01%7Cbat%7CAB%7C His play at Yankee Stadium is another thing. Maybe he tightens up just a little there? https://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/split_stats.cgi?full=1&params=oppon%7CNYY%7Cbuxtoby01%7Cbat%7CAB%7C Give me small sample size, but it is another example of what I have seen from a guy who gets really tight in certain situations. As an offensive player, he carries a fragile psyche. I cannot be out of the question that isn't part of a larger issue. His reaction in September (according to LEN3 not answering any calls from Torii or other team officials more than a week after his return home) paint "fragile" is a reasonable portrayal.

Wasn't Buxton the one said he didn't want to sugar coat? Well, for now on that needs to be the policy when it comes to his hitting.

He said he wanted to be a Twin for his entire career one sentence after he said he was not on the same page with them. I wish he would have just taken the high road. He was an event to help sick kids at a children's hospital. Couldn't he have easily said, "Today is about the kids. I will see you guys in Fort Myers. Take care" He was that bothered by what went down. I get that, but he at least take ownership and express disappointment in his own play? If he wants to get mad then he ought to watch those at bats from the first 12 games before he went on the shelf. Plenty there to keep him "pissed" Wouldn't it be nice if he got through April hitting .250 instead of .150?

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

This assumes that he turns out to be a special player and that he wouldn't leave for more money as soon as he can. Two different scenarios and neither work out for the Twins. Any third or fourth scenario is far less likely than either of these two. By a mile. I happen to think that extending Buxton last winter was not a sound idea. He wasn't going to do that anyway, unless we got crazy and offered him stupid money.

I cannot fault the Twins for Buxton's development (or lack thereof) offensively. He was given so much support and PLENTY of at bats for him to learn. A lot of his lack of offensive prowess falls on him.