It's Time to Shut Down Byron Buxton

[Battle ur tail off]

Of course it is. - time to shut him down.?

 

Why would we expect our best player to play when we are battling for a playoff spot? I hate this type of attitude and hate this type of post. Give up basically is what you are saying. 

There's a reason for the 18 straight playoff losses. This type of attitude is it. Kirby Puckett, ask him if you could shut him down with some nagging injuries in a playoff race. How about Dan Gladden? Think Jack Morris would have been shut down with some shoulder tightness?

I get it, we want him for next year. But that is a ways off. Play now, rest later. 

[MABB1959]

17 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

Do you look at Buxton and see someone who isn't following a good conditioning plan? There's a number of articles out there that you can find about his running routine during the offseason to keep his speed and stay in shape. Buxton works his tail off. Somebody doesn't have to have failed at something for them to be injury prone. Sometimes their bodies just weren't meant to do the things professional athletes do with their bodies. Sucks, but it happens. There's no reason to believe Buxton's injuries have anything to do with lack of effort on his part.

Not saying he doesn't try or is not working hard.  If there is nothing that can be done we are in trouble.  Just saying that something is not working.  Comparing gymnastics to baseball is a little far-fetched but if you know anything about gymnastics it is not easy on the body especially at the high levels. Most have abs of steel! My granddaughter is at a high level and the things she does is incredibly hard on the knees, wrists, hips, ankles and especially the back and having a strong core helps to prevent injuries that would put them on the IL so to say. 

Her gym has a great conditioning program and unless they break a bone or get a concussion there are not many that need to take time off.  Overall the Twins have a great deal of injuries so is it the training staff?

 

[farmerguychris]

I think we have taken the right approach for the short term - 10 day IL see if anything improves and hope for the best.  Isn't a 50% Buxton just as good as a 100% Cave?

[SanoMustGo]

47 minutes ago, farmerguychris said:

I think we have taken the right approach for the short term - 10 day IL see if anything improves and hope for the best.  Isn't a 50% Buxton just as good as a 100% Cave?

Yes, but neither is good enough at this point.  We are now 3 games back, and we keep losing ground.  At the point when he returns it could very well be 5 or 6 games out.

[Bigfork Twins Guy]

There must have been 15-20 "Best Player" comments regarding Buxton.  IMO he currently is not the Twins best player given his injuries and how he has been playing.  If he can play when coming off the IL and not have the possibility of reinjuring himself then why not play him.  If there is any chance that his injuries can get worse or cause further complications than by all means shut him down and go with the guys, some of whom are our current best players, and continue on.

[Kipp35]

20 hours ago, Dman said:

It might me time to shut him down but when a player has incentive clauses in his contract that becomes a tougher decision for both sides.  Shutting him down might be the right thing to do but I don't think they will do it.

Guess they shouldn't have given him the contract.

[Kipp35]

Love how I was mocked all off season and all of the regular season when, on here, I said he was never worth the deal nor would he have a full season. I was shut down and told I didn't know what I was talking about and that he was "healthy" and going to have a huge season.

He has 28 HR's, awesome so glad he has shown his power. But he is still just a .224 hitter and have played CF just 57 times in his 92 games. He misses insane amount of time, and even when he is in the lineup, it's in the position we supposedly paid him to play! Arraez gets moved around and never gets to settle in a home position, and have to play out of position (1B) and yet we will not throw $100mm at him. He's just the best hitter in baseball and does whatever the team needs. No way that has value.

Shut him down and ask for a refund so we can sign someone who can play CF consistently, for an entire season. This front office can all go with him too. Shut them all down.

[farmerguychris]

2 hours ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

There must have been 15-20 "Best Player" comments regarding Buxton.  IMO he currently is not the Twins best player given his injuries and how he has been playing.  If he can play when coming off the IL and not have the possibility of reinjuring himself then why not play him.  If there is any chance that his injuries can get worse or cause further complications than by all means shut him down and go with the guys, some of whom are our current best players, and continue on.

Fair enough- Which players are you referring to that are not currently on the roster should we replace him with?

[wavedog]

To be fair Buxton gets hurt every year so I am not sure that shutting him down for this season would be a benefit. If there is a good chance that continuing to play would cause a knee injury which would shelve him for all next year then I am for shutting him down.    It could be a 10 day rest is sufficient to get him back on the field - and given our current set of outfielders we need him playing as long as we have a reasonable shot at the playoffs.  Of course, given the way we are currently playing and Cleveland is playing that shot may be over in 10 days.  

[Bigfork Twins Guy]

3 hours ago, farmerguychris said:

Fair enough- Which players are you referring to that are not currently on the roster should we replace him with?

I didn't say that there were other players not on the roster to replace him.  All I said is that IMO he is not currently their best player (Arraez is) and that if he could re-injure himself then shut him down.  They can plug in replacements currently on the roster in center and bring up a bat like Wallner until Larnach is ready to return.

[Dman]

On 8/23/2022 at 4:51 PM, chpettit19 said:

1. Buxton is now on the 10 day IL so your wishes have come true. Hip strain.

2. Why do we assume the team, and, more importantly, Byron himself, haven't been doing what is medically right for him this entire season? Do we think Byron, and the team, are being told he needs to shut it down or he's risking his career? Or do we think they're being told playing on it is purely about pain tolerance and the only risk for long-term damage is the same as the risk everyone else faces because of the type of injury he's dealing with? I'd assume the Twins want Byron around for the entirety of his contract, and I'd assume Byron wants to continue playing major league baseball for the entirety of his contract. Why do we think they're ignoring things and pushing him harder than doctors who've actually seen his medical reports say they should push him? Why can't we just accept that everyone involved want what's best for Byron to perform at a high level for the next 6 years and they're doing what they should be doing? They've told us time and again that shutting him down won't fix his knee, but playing on it won't hurt it more. Why can't we just let that be the answer for this season?

Totally agree with you here.  All reports I have heard have the team doing their best to monitor Buxton's health\readiness to play.  They have given him time off whenever he needs it to rest various ailments so they are not pushing him to play every day.  I am not privy to any of the conversations they have but I assume his whole situation has been dealt with in good faith for helping the team and Buxton.  The team and Buxton mentioned at the beginning of the year he would be getting extra days off throughout the season to try and mitigate nagging injuries.  They had a plan from the start of the season and this was it.

Also remember he has an incentive laden contract and the Twins certainly appear to be doing what they can to help him earn the incentives and Buxton is trying to help the team by playing when healthy enough to play.  I know he has been shut down with the hip issue but I still think the team and Buxton will continue to do what they can to help each other be successful.  He has the offseason to rest up and heal and maybe there are more preventive measures they can take for next year but I don't see a reason to put him on the IL until both parties agree it needs to be done.