ewen21

We had a great pen in the early 00s. Where is Jack Cressend these days?

The arbitration hearing for Dellin Betances turned out to be acrimonious and he had a sketchy season. Did it have an effect on his season? Who is to say, but I think it had an effect on the relationship between the player and the organization. I think avoiding arbitration with a guy like Buxton and giving him good faith money is a sound idea. You're saying.... "Byron, we appreciate what you have done so let's recognize that with this" I think in the case of Buxton this is going to clear his mind. He was so anxious at the beginning of last year so perhaps this quells that a little bit? I don't know. I think I have played all my cards in this discussion. Peace!

Buxton doesn't have the same concerns about himself that I do. I think it is not a bad idea to buy out his arbitration years and give him security. I do not think buying up some of his free agent years now is something that the players union, agents, or even other players want to see. For these reasons, I don't know how realistic it is for the Twins to do an extension. Is this a controversial stance? I don't think so

And from Buxton's perspective, why am I going get locked in now when I am supposed to be a superstar? Why would he not want to explore free agency on schedule? Buying out arbitration years makes sense for guys who are earmarked to be stars.

Not good enough. Not for all the accolades, hype and praise he has received. If we are accepting an Aaron Rowand-like career from Buxton than we really have lowered the bar.

I know what the word means. I already made a concession about it being somewhat of an "irrational fear", but it really isn't irrational to think about these things. It is actually far more rational than to pretend these risks aren't more defined and profound with regard to Buxton. And no....I don't spend time sweating bullets over this stuff. I love the Twins and want them to do well, but at this point of my life it isn't my life. Take the last word on "angst" if you wish.

I will elaborate. Buxton is a blue chip talent. The future of the organization hinges quite a bit on how his career unfolds. The concerns for him are therefore WAY MORE than those of a AAAA talent who may or may not make it. His style of play and skill set presents injury concerns. He is sort of like Aaron Rowand than he is Gary Maddox, Devon White or Torii. He is going to need to get this under better control and THAT is a concern. You can choose to disagree with this stuff, but I think it might be because you don't like to read this stuff than it is you actually disagreeing (in your heart of hearts).

Agree. I also was a bit alarmed with his base running when I first saw him. He has a lot of exaggerated motions, arms and legs flailing. This sort of player is tough to project. There have not been too many speed first guys who last a long time. The potential for collisions in the outfield are another thing. He had that terrible one in New Britain and he has had a couple of near misses. These are valid concerns, in my opinion.

His concerns are different than the ordinary 24 year old player for obvious reasons.

I'm displaying "angst"?? Not sure why this kind of thing happens. It is almost as though you use that word to characterize me as being irrational in sort of an underhanded way. Or that you're hoping to create an issue. No, man. I am pretty comfortable with this discussion. I also first proposed a 5/30 deal as something I would do. Upon further review, I actually updated my opinion and wondered why Buxton would consider any kind of deal that would steal away FA years in favor of team control. It actually makes no sense for him. To make it make sense for him the Twins would need to make a deal that doesn't make a lot of sense for them. Can we have a discussion here without characterizing people's opinions as being rooted in anger? I posted this stuff from a diner. I have a day off from work today. I am very comfortable and relaxed. I had a great night out last night. Angst is a million miles away, Chico

1. Reward a player with a good faith deal 2. Avoid arbitration 3. Clear the kid's mind of everything except baseball All good things. And yes. I don't get the idea about extending him to the point where it wipes out his ability to be a FA. That is like enslavement to a ballplayer. It works only for the Twins.

It makes zero sense for Buxton to sign something beyond his arbitration years. How does it benefit him? If he is a player who loves the organization and wants to stay a Twin and is willing to be a leader, a la Longoria.....maybe. Like you say, these deals that steal FA years from the player are not deals agents are going to sign. No way, no how.

All of this. Doesn't seem like people consider Buxton when they talk about going beyond five years. Signing him to a 7 year deal now? Why is he going to do that?? Why is he interested in remaining locked in with his ceiling being so high? Players want to get to free agency to see what they can get in the open market. I would say you are right in that this is protection against arbitration hearings and unneeded distractions. Imagining 7 year deals is pie in the sky stuff. And yes... If his game is going to be based in speed and he is going to hover in the low .700s OPS wise then he doesn't warrant the "untouchable" tag. He has to get that OPS over .800 and hit for more average, in my opinion. Everything cannot be rooted in "Byron Buxton is so fast" And one last thing.... Is it me, or should he be stealing more bases? For a guy so fast he really doesn't steal a whole lot.

THIS is my biggest concern with Buxton. How long is he going to be the player we saw last year? With each diving catch and full on sprint risk piles up. I want him to be a more complete player as he cannot rely solely on being fast and dynamic in the field. He really has to improve as a hitter. I have read, "even if he just hits to a .720 OPS he still has tremendous value" For how long? And besides, he was touted for years as a five tool guy. Two tools are hitting for average and hitting for power. He needs to increase both in my opinion. I am not talking about 30 home runs, nor am I talking about legging out grounders or bunting. I think with work he can be a legit gap hitter with more than enough power to average 20 to 30 home runs a year, if healthy. He SHOULD be able to hit over .280 with his speed and that DOES matter. Seems like everyone wants to point out the awesomeness of Buxton and there is certainly room for that. I go to many Twins discussion boards and the other side of the coin is rarely discussed. There are valid concerns to be had for as high his ceiling may be. The development of his bat and quieting down his mechanics all around is something that needs to happen for him to truly develop. He can't go on raw tools for his whole baseball life.

The Twins don't have to do this. They are in a position of strength here. I think Buxton probably also wants to leave his FA option open when he's still young. Locking him up for 7 years sounds good, but I'm not sure he's willing to do that. I'm thinking he wants to hit the market as scheduled. I see nothing insulting with a 5/30 million deal. YES that gives us just one year of team control but it also allows us to monitor his progress AND he and family are nicely compensated. People seem to forget how lost he was the first five weeks of the season last year. The kid seemed to have zero confidence and that was SCARY. I cannot brush it under the rug. I saw it and it happened. To me, 5/30 is a fair good faith deal. Definitely not insulting when you consider where the kid is right now. To forecast forward any more than a few years is a fools errand in baseball. I am not inclined to believe anyone (Buxton included) is worthy of a 10 year deal. It defies common sense. If Buxton were 26 and had two strong seasons where his WAR was over 5 then I think about a big deal. Even in that situation, doling out guaranteed money over seven or eight years to a guy like Buxton who relies on his legs and acrobatics in the outfield is dangerous. Everything can change in the snap of a finger. Far more so for that guy than say a slugger like Stanton. It's just reality and for all his awesomeness, this will work against Buxton as far as money goes. The Jason Heyward experiment was a dismal failure. Sabremetric value based in speed and defense is a fleeting thing. That kind of stuff just isn't (to use a word in sabremetic parlance) "sustainable" Eventually injuries happen and those things diminish. Guys like Stanton are a different story. Players who hit for power and who are durable and a much safer bet. This is no knock on Buxton. Rather, it's common sense.

Machado and Harper are not getting 400M and 10 years. No way, no how. If they are going go hardline with that then A) they are bigger morons than I ever thought they will be on the sidelines watching just like these other FA "holdouts" The idea that 30 million in guaranteed money is an insult to a player whose career OPS is under .700 boggles my mind. If he's insulted by that then offer him 35. Seriously

How huge? I don't think he is going to get a ton if he is a low .700 OPS guy. If he puts that together, then yes. I think we need to be careful overstating his ability. The Twins need to consider....what is he getting in the open market? I would say 5/30 right now would be fine. No need to go too much beyond that. Give him those five years and lets see where he stands when that time is nearly up.

He is massively important to this team. Part of his development should include learning to pull in the reigns. I like that Torii has an ongoing relationship with the kid. I am certain Torii talks to him about this very thing. So much was made of him and Sano. Sano has his issues, for sure. Buxton will hopefully learn and understand that his presence is vital and that his approach to playing outfield has to get a bit more under control. Gary Maddox was a great fielder back in the day. He was a whole heck of a lot more graceful and made things look effortless. I would like to see more of that out of Buxton

There is no arguing that. Maybe it's me. I have a paranoid fear of him getting injured. When I first saw the kid running I just saw arms and legs flying everywhere. Kind of reminded me of Jose Reyes and Reyes was oft injured. He is also so much of a daredevil in the outfield. It is great to see highlight reel catches but he hits walls HARD. Hunter seemed to have a lot more awareness when it came to that. Byron is like Evel Kenevel. No one else is concerned about this?

I am going to say something that will get slammed to the high heavens but I accept it. I am not ready to anoint Buxton anything yet. I have concerns about him, beginning with the fact that he plays very recklessly. I think he has a tendency to be overly acrobatic and tries too hard to be a highlight reel guy. Maybe this was because he wasn't hitting a lick. NOw that he has a little bit, this is something he needs to get under control. Hunter was a similar player and he made it to 40, but he more in control of his crashes. Buxton plays like an injury waiting to happen. I think he needs to get it under control a little. I sure hope we don't see another crash like he had in his first game at New Britian. He is a speed first guy and guys like that either break down or end up changing. He reminds me of Jose Reyes a little and that concerns me. The other thing is I am not totally convinced of his bat. He has shown promise, but at the same time I have never seen a player look as bad as he has for stretches of time. It seemed like he improved a lot, but I have to see him come out of the gate looking competent. We have not had a CF hit in April for years and years. Hicks was brutal and Buxton was actually worse last year. Don't take this as being anti-Buxton. It's just that when I read about him here it is as if people want to enshrine him in the HOF. In due time, perhaps. As of now? The kid has a lot of growing to do., Just my two cents. Obviously, I am looking at the other side of the coin. I just hope that doesn't make me Satan around here.

I never said a think about him WANTING TO LEAVE. Dozier is going to go where the money takes him. It more than likely won't be us.

Getting Park and keeping Plouffe were two costly roster moves that had a very negative domino effect. I remember at about this time two years ago some of the boys invited Park over to watch the Bachelor as some kind of team bonding thing, They didn't take him fishing or bowling or for beer.....Nope. They had to show everyone they watched the Bachelor together. Hughes and Plouffe were very integral in that. Even Dozier was mixed up in it and he was AWFUL out of the gate that year I don't think Vargas would have been down to watch Bachelor. And, thus, according to Terry Ryan, was not very good of "chemistry". Too bad we lost Jason Bartlett's number. He was great for team chemistry

The only difference being Hughes is like ten years younger and is set to make about ten times as much. Other than that, yeah.....

He said he was looking forward to free agency. Why else would he say this? He is going to leave because he is looking to get the most money he can possibly get and some team is going to go over what the Twins are willing to give in order to get him. That's how it is going to work

Who is going to be an "ace" I'm 2018?