ewen21

If defense were 75% of baseball this kind of thing would excite me, but it does not. His defense is well-reknowned, but in all honesty, how much of an impact can one glove make on a consistent basis? His offensive struggles are a marquee issue. There is no question (if healthy) his defense can make a positive dent. The problem is he can go a couple of weeks without having the opportunity to make a play only he can make. Centerfielders average less then three putouts per game according to baseball-almanac.com. I would venture to say somewhere in the neighborhood of 90% of these putouts are ones that can be made by a major league center fielder of average ability. Just how many times can he make an impact with his glove, I feel, is greatly exaggerated. We marvel at his athletic ability and how he can get to balls with easy, but many times these are balls that other guys can get to as well. When it comes to his offense he has a spot in the lineup and this affects the Twins in a much bigger way than his glove can because that those at bats come no matter what. Pitchers on opposing teams can operate with even more confidence than our pitchers who like having him behind them because he can be such an easy out. The other thing is the injuries. Injuries are a big part of the picture with Buxton. It appears that he isn't going to change his game in any way. This is his bread and butter. The problem is, the injuries have mounted already and he is just 25. How many more injuries can he sustain before it affects his ability to run? How long can he be this defensive wizard/speed demon? Will he ever learn how to be an asset offensively? That is what I am waiting for. If he can't hit ike an average major leaguer this season then I have to say I am done with him. Back to what Riverbrain said.... The ball is in his court now that he's made it rather clear he was unhappy about what went down last year. He says he doesn't want to "sugarcoat". Well, if those are the terms he want's to operate under then no one should sugarcoat just how bad his offensive skills are right now.,

I said praise, praise, praise UNTIL he showed he wasn't a major league bat. The gloves came off last year KirbyDome. That was the first time he ever got any negative feedback from the Twins. Life happens. The ball is in his court. Hit or don't hit

Seems to me Buxton get rattled easily and the Twins know this so they try to praise him at every turn. Torii has gone out of his way to assume a mentor role. James Rowson said, "over my dead body" when he asked about a possible demotion. Molitor insisted that even if he hit .100 his defense was so valuable that his offense didn't much matter. People in the press and on blogs and chatrooms all over the place seemed to coo endlessly about his athletic gifts. This guy had gotten nothing but praise, praise, praise until he showed everyone he was not a major league bat. He does horribly when the season opens: https://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/split_stats.cgi?full=1&params=month%7CApril%2FMarch%7Cbuxtoby01%7Cbat%7CAB%7C Why is that? It's as though he psyches himself out to the point where he can't settle down enough to hit. The Twins have been very patient and extremely helpful to him all the way up to last year. They did a few things wrong, but then again, before he was even injured he was well on his way to another atrocious April. And then there is his penchant for running into walls. Articles have been written centered around this and in one he was quoted as saying, "the wall is my friend" in jest. At no point did anyone in the Twins organization have any success getting him to get this under control. He is just going to run full speed into walls because that's what he does? When he went after Cruz's line shot to CF he had literally no shot at all to catch that ball but he made an insane attempt and got hurt for his troubles. If he were not so hung up on trying to make the impossible catch maybe he'd not get injured so much. No one in the Twins organization seems to want to address this concern Staying on the field is part of the issue with him and it will remain an issue, that much is clear, with the migraines and his penchant for (sometimes) unnecessary acrobatics. I am highly concerned about his development. He doesn't seem to be interested in changing much and it's almost as though he has this mistaken notion that being an acrobat in the field and making the ocassional circus catch is all he needs to do to stick. Would anyone be surprised if he got injured trying to make a diving catch during ST? What then? Do we write off another year and say, "if only he were healthy"??? This is way more about Buxton than it is the Twins, in my opinion.

This is what you want? I do not agree with this methodology. This has nothing to do with merit, or achievement. It has to do with the fact that he was a first round pick, was hyped unreasonably, hopes were pinned on him way too soon, reputations of baseball pundits and people in the organization who just can't accept what has happened. And now we have a situation where a young player has a different set of rules than the rest of the young players. Not good at all, in my opinion. This isn't too say he has no chance and cannot turn things around. Then again, seems to me it is just as likely if we give him all the rope in the world he'll be hitting .165 in May. Everything seems to be all about making sure he doesn't feel pressure and that is futile and ridiculous. There is a psychology to the game and especially hitting on the big stage. Some guys, no matter the athletic talent, just cannot do it. Only a small bunch can. If the Twins are going to keep on insisting that his glove is so magical he doesn't need to hit his weight then they are digging themselves a big hole. I want players making it based on merit. We are not talking about a veteran player or some guy who is established. We are talking about a guy who has been very shaky for most ot his four years with the team, Two months of good hitting in 2017 is all we have to hang our hats on so no way would have made a statement saying the job was his. No matter how mad he gets I would have not said a word about roster stuff. Let him get mad at himself. That is what I would rather see. Rather than that he got mad at the organization. While I get that, I expect him to look in the mirror and be more accountable if he is going to start pointing fingers. He needs to start with himself and I have not seen that from him

So long as this is encouraged we will be in trouble Some players are above the fray. That is what you're saying to the fans if Buxton is guaranteed an everydat spot!

Pissed or not, Falvey's fault or not.....let's not lose the forest for the trees with this one. Buxton has been a MAJOR disappointment. I took nothing from him saying he "wants to end his career as a Twin" because he doesn't get to make that decision if he doesn't do a whole lot better. THis is his last chance as far as I am concerned. If he is hitting .150 at the end of April again I would be tempted to cut bait right then and there.

He hit well for 250 at bats in 2017. Brant Alyea and Chris Colabello hit really good for a while, too We can look back on those 250 at bats and accenuate that or we can erase them and focus on the over 700 other at bats. Subtract out those two months where he had a clue at the end of '17 and what are his career stats? THAT is a frightening thought. I prefer to look at the whole picture and for now I am not liking what I see

Maybe, but I viewed the demotion as the Twins trying to get the best players on the field. He was not one of them so down he went.

At this point, it's just a lot of talk. He needs to put his big boy pants on and shake it off. Don't make it sound like last year "happened to him because the Twins screwed him". He flat out needs to shut up about it now and he better start hitting.

Agreed, Leviathan. In addition to what you said, how long do we write off years for this guy? If you can't stay healthy or hit what in the hell are we supposed to do with the guy? He has to shut up and let it go.

Bravo. I am so sick and tired of certain players operating on a level someplace beyond reproach. I don't want to hear about how the Twins messed him up. He has been given nothing but support and opportunities left and right. Now he wants to say he's "not gonna sugarcoat nothin"???? His whole existance with this team has been sugarcoated. Time to take off the kid gloves. If he can't hit over .200 in spring training then Cave starts. Let him throw another tantrum if he wants. I thought this guy was supposed to be a high character guy and real humble? Maybe he was but his actions tell me otherwise.

I don't like Buxton carrying this out so far. Watching that interview he came off like a primadonna to me and I am kind of shocked and disappointed. He already showed his dispieasure by having that little tantrum and heading home. He deserves a reprimand for that if you ask me. Yet here we are months later he's still emotionally rocked by it? He needs to get over it. Be a pro. Be accountable. Take ownership.

It is what it was. No one in the organization was going to tell Joe he needed to change his program and focus more on building strength during the off season. He should have hit 20 dingers a year by accident with his size, talent and eye for the strike zone. He could have done it would losing OBP or AVG. it boggled my mind how he didn't seem to have a happy zone. Knowing pitch sequences, having a great eye and great reflexes....and yet.... And what he did in 2011 was straight up neglect. He came into camp looking frail. It was a red flag for me and I commented on it immediately. They let him skate on it and that really messed up accountability.

I know he was 29 and I know he is 32 now. I have spoken enough about it and, quite frankly, I lost interest in this discussion before I made my last post. For the record here is what I said: The average of his WAR over the last three years is actually under 2.0 I did not say it was 2.0 You are trying too hard to catch me in a mistake and I admit I worded something wrong. The overall premise is getting lost Time will tell if the Phillies made a mistake and I think they did

Let's not kid ourselves here. There is a double standard for Mauer and everyone else. As far as the conditioning goes, he really dropped the ball in that area. He came into camp out of shape in 2011 because he decided "rest" the perscription for that off season. Joe never did utilize all the time he had during the off season to build strength and that is something he ought to regret. It is so damn easy for a professional athlete to work out during the off season. In the case of Joe he badly needed build to build strength. For a guy his size to not be able to hit 15 to 20 home runs in a season is actually shameful. This isn't to say he needed to bulk up. He needed to MUSCLE UP. Hunter worked his ass off during the off season and Joe was the exact opposite. Yes to the double standard from me. Sano was fat and out of shape and Mauer was frail for his size and took no initiative to improve it.

The average of his WAR over the last three years is actually under 2.0 beause he had such a horrendous 2016 and you cannot brush aside a horrible year for a guy 32 years old. Frame it how you want, but it took Philly 3 years at 17 a year with an option. For the Twins to land him we'd have needed to beat that. Grouse all you want about us not signing him, but I think we were wise not to puruse him.

He wasn't settling for less much less than that and he wanted to play for a contender.

I am betting against that. I think that he is set to take a nosedive either in 2019 or 2020. I have some family from the Pittsburgh area and I have a mild interest in the Pirates. He has had a WAR the following WAR totals the last three years: 2016: -0.5 2017: 2.4 2018: 2.8 This doesn't register with you? I can get that from anywhere and I don't need to throw 12 million dollars away for it. This is why I say he is a name at this point. Sorry. Not into this at all. Thanks for your input on this, but for me, this is the wrong time and the wrong guy--whether or not he is (theoretically) a good fit. This is based that he can continue producing at levels you believe he will. Doesn't mean you're right, doesn't mean I am right

REALITY: McCutchen played in Pittsburgh his whole career. He was on a team just like this one and his perception of the Twins is likely similar to what his experience was in Pittsburgh. He is either going to look for max money in a big market or try to latch onto a club that is a contender NOW. He is not going to be looking to join a team like ours. Don't you think it infuriates me that he would sign with a team like Milwaukee? These are lean times and this isn't the kind of deal that helps. It might make fans happy to see the Twins spend, but I couldn't care less about that if the deal doesn't make a lot of sense. This one doesn't make sense. I would like a guy who can help in 2020 and 2021 also. I don't want an outfielder in his mid 30s

My case wasn't built entirely on whatever chief quoted from me. SO please....don't isolate on that one point. That is just misdirection from what you won't say. You have no idea about the terms necessary to land McCutchen. This is a case of..."I wanna see the Twins spend money!" So do I. I just want it to be smart. Chief said McCutchen is a great fit (not saying he might not be in 2019), but he has to accept a few things: 1. He had a sharp decline two years ago and really hasn't bounced back a whole lot 2. There are more than likely a team or two who are willing to overpay and take a risk 3. We need to outbit those teams. I don't want to hear about McCutchen. THere isn't a snowball's chance in hell we get him and there is not even good reason to get him in my opinion. Something is very different about him right now and it isn't just the hair.

I believe I said that several times. You tell me what will it take to get him to play here. Years and dollars. What does Leviathan think?

We also see bad teams hand out dumb contracts. Signing McCutchen to a multiyear deal is dumb money, in my opinion. And it will help us remain a bad team for a while.

Sorry fellas. McCutchen is not the same player. This started in 2016 and he just isn't the right free agent to roll the dice on right now. You can disagree with me if you like, I am not offended. I am, however, interested to know what Leviathan, Chief and Sixel think would be the contract to land him right now. If you guys feel that strongly about it then you must have some numbers. Give it to me so I could maybe understand.

So whatever it takes? Throw more cash at McCutchen than everyone else because we just HAVE TO have him? Sound like Darvish light to me.

You are assuming a lot. I just think we are in a bad situation after a nightmare season last year. The fact that several of our young touted prospects flopped last year puts us in a tough place. To sign a guy like McCutchen (who is on the decline, by the waY) we will need to do a lot to beat out the competition. How much sense does that make in 2019? Not to me it doesn't. And do you HONESTLY think McCutchen isn't looking for something like what Cain got? Do you seriously advocate for a contract like that right now? Sorry. That is foolish if you ask me with the downturn he took last year as a 31 year old outfielder who has played a ton of games.