TwinsGuy55422

I agree that he has made adjustments and I give him credit for that. I just don't think you can say the incidents from 4 or 5 years ago are irrelevant or "outdated" as you say. You cannot tell me that a violent collision with a teammate a few years back might not be related to his migraines last year or his concussion like symptoms this year. I also don't think you can tell me that a guy hurting his wrist simply swinging a bat last year might not be related to previous wrist injuries from aggressive slides into bases and dives for balls in the outfield. The counter argument is always you can't take away a guy's aggressiveness or you reduce his value and play making ability. While Buxton has done a lot to tone things down, will it be enough to keep the cumulative effects of his concussions and other injuries from putting him out of the game before the age of 30 ? I mean seriously, he could start having recurring concussion symptoms from just running after a flyball in the outfield. Then what? This is why I think his past reckless habits are still part of the discussion and not just misguided venting.

Very well written article but I think there is a little more to the story. Let's go back a few more years to Buxton's very first game at the AA level where he collided with a teammate so hard he missed an extended period of time due to a concussion. It was a really reckless play in my opinion and frankly a scary one to watch. Might that play have contributed to the migraines you mentioned last year and the concussion against the Indians this year? Then there's the manner in which he slides into bases. If you go back further than your two-season window, I am quite positive he has missed time in both the minors and at the MLB level sliding head first into bases so hard it just looked like a recipe for a broken wrist. As a previous poster mentioned, there have definitely been a few times where he ran into the wall and didn't land on the IL but rather missed a few games as a precaution. I also wonder about the cumulative effect of hittimg the wall and/or the ground so many times over the years. I am not an athletic trainer but might a series of jarring hits (even ones that didn't cause injury at the time) gradually damage his shoulder leading to the current subluxation that is probably going to cost him at least a month?

Sounds like you guys had fun. I, too, drove to KC with my wife to take in some Twins baseball. We were there from Thursday afternoon until Sunday morning. We went to the game on Friday which was cool because they won 2-1 in 11 innings and they had the fire works display after the game. I also landed myself two balls which was pretty cool. One was thrown my way by Butera during batting practice and the other Casilla threw to me as he was running off the field after the last out of the first inning. We looked around in the Royals Hall of Fame before the game and it was pretty cool. They have a giant number 5 made up of 3154 baseballs representing the total number of hits in George Brett's career. In the middle of the 5, they have the bat he used for his 3000th hit in a display case. I went to the Negro Leagues Museum on Friday and found it pretty interesting. I liked the movie they show when you first come in and the field with the bronze statues. I ate lunch at the original Arthur Bryant's BBQ which looks like kind of a dive in a not so great part of town. We got there at just the right time because by the time we got our food there was a line out the door for the lunch rush. The food was phenomenal and the portions are huge. They also have all these pictures on the wall of various famous people eating there. I also checked out something called the College Basketball Experience which was pretty cool. It has all these different interactive exhibits and also houses the National College Basketball Hall of Fame. The Power and Light District in downtown was also a pretty cool place to grab some food and listen to music. I concur with your assessment on the drought conditions. I don't know if I saw a blade of green grass the whole time we were there. One other thing I noticed about KC in driving around different parts of the city was how quickly it would change from the nice part of town to the not-so-great areas. All in all, a very cool city and a great place to watch a ball game.

Did they give a distance on that homerun or do they not do that in the minors?

It's nice to see Revere's BA sitting in the 0.290s after today's game. Hopefully he can build on that and work on drawing more BBs.

Age definitely brings perspective to life and the game. I remember watching Kirby Puckett play and being happy if he got four hits even if the Twins lost. Now, as a 32 year old, I think I would prefer a good win over an individual player's offensive performance.

Maybe he looks so serious because he is sick of carrying that pinkish/purplish lunchbox on the way from the dugout to the bullpen. The initiations that ballplayers go through are quite humorous.

I was surprised he was hitting 93-94 on the gun a couple of times. I also liked his change up that he stuck out Gomez on.

Wow. It's hard to believe it's already been a year.

I would like to see Revere up on the team as well. He is definitely a spark plug. I haven't paid much attention to his at-bats in AAA. He certainly has a good batting average but does anyone know if he has been taking more walking, bunting, and doing the things they wanted him to work on?

Glad to see you're not in the "Gardy should skip his daughter's graduation or find a way to go without missing any games" crowd. That discussion was just ridiculous. I, too, think this time away could be good for all involved. Always enjoy reading your stuff.

I know in the past he has had confrontations with players, probably many we haven't heard about. I remember one year when Kyle Lohse was "scuffling" Gardy had a sit down with him that resulted in Lohse punching a whole in something. Whatever heart to heart he had with Morneau part through the 2006 season sure did wonders as well. The guy clearly can get mad and hold people accountable. I think he needs to get back to doing with it with whoever needs it and not just guys that aren't in his club (i.e. Valencia).

Since the season is probably a lost cause, Gardy could also leave starters out there longer to eat innings instead of taking them out in the 3rd inning when they have already put us in a 6-0 hole. The chances of coming back from that type of deficit are so slim, it's probably better to least the starter out there to continue taking a beating and just eat some more innings.

Clete Thomas....C. He's done pretty much what you could expect, that being play pretty good defense and strike out a lot.

I agree that it's hard to pencil a guy into everyday action when his numbers are that bad. I just don't think his numbers would be that bad if he got consistent at-bats. I am not saying I think he will stick as an everyday major leaguer if given the at-bats, I just think it is worth finding out instead of giving crazy playing time to Clete Thomas.