In a Sprint of a Season, Is Speed the Only Missing Cog for the Minnesota Twins?

well thought out, and you might be right. It only takes a couple extra-inning close plays at the plate to be worth the roster spot, and we'll generally have a good hitter or two on the bench to sub in if it doesn't work. 

So if Buxton is up in the 9th with 2 outs and the game going to extras can he purposefully make the 3rd out to kinda net himself a free double starting the 10th on 2nd?

Obviously that is risky because you have to pitch another inning but Buxton on 2nd is a dangerous weapon.

So if Buxton is up in the 9th with 2 outs and the game going to extras can he purposefully make the 3rd out to kinda net himself a free double starting the 10th on 2nd?

 

Obviously that is risky because you have to pitch another inning but Buxton on 2nd is a dangerous weapon.

Not if he gets intentionally walked .

If Buxton gets walked with two outs in the ninth to avoid having him start the tenth on second, he could run on every pitch. If he makes it that puts him on second for a potential RBI. If he gets thrown out that's the last out and he starts the tenth on second. It's win-win.

Interesting conversation.

Yes, the Twins active roster looks to have only one burner. But isn't Buxton as good as anyone in baseball, assuming he can stay on the field? You pointed out that players such as Polanco, Rosario, and Kepler are all quicker than league average. That makes four of nine better than the average, or nearly half the lineup.

Although this group may not be big on stealing bases, lets remember that Rosario is as good as anyone in the game at taking that extra base, most of the time.  And do you really want to take Sano or Donaldson or Cruz out of the lineup if they are starting the 10th on second base? Could be terrible decision should you not score and they would come up with two outs in the 11th.

If Buxton gets walked with two outs in the ninth to avoid having him start the tenth on second, he could run on every pitch. If he makes it that puts him on second for a potential RBI. If he gets thrown out that's the last out and he starts the tenth on second. It's win-win.

When Buxton walks can't he just keep running until they tag him out.   That would still make him the last batter I think.     I wouldn't advocate making outs on purpose.  Have Buxton swing for the fences maybe or as suggested have him try to steal 2nd early.   The odds of scoring a run with two outs and one on is still preferable to the odds that having a speedster at 2nd to start an extra inning is going to make the difference.   I really miss speed being a big part of the game and having home runs be special.   In my ideal world you would expand the fences and deaden the ball.  Not a lot but enough that you actually have to hit the sweet spot on the bat.

Not Whitefield.  I want the person to have the potential to actually start a game when needed.  Celestino if Buxton goes down is an excellent choice. 

One thing I want to point out, speed does not equal good base runner, and good base runner does not equal speed.  That being said, it can help, but good base runners will do little things to help out with any lack of speed.  Some speed guys will make mistakes that their speed makes up for.

Paul Molitor was always a great base runner, but never known to be a speed guy.  Good base runners will read hits quickly to know if they should take off or stay put.  Good base runners will know when to steal or when to run on certain out fielders, how to slide.  They also know when not to take chances.  Buxton for example is not a great base runner, just fast, but he makes mistakes on when he tries to advance bases.  

Also good base runners know how to approach bases best to cut down distance, some guys will take too big of a round when going through bases and they increase the distance to the next base.  

Of course, if you are slow, you are slow and you can only do so much to run bases well.  However, if you are average speed the little things can make a huge difference.  I would not say the Twins lack that much speed overall, but agree they lack much burners.  However, in the few games that would go to extra innings I doubt in the grand scheme of things that will make a huge difference.  Yes, each game matters and not having a speed guy on 2nd may lead to a loss, but hopefully that will not make the difference between playoffs and not.