ewen21

Revered figures with storied histories? Mauer may have been revered by a lot of folks, but there was very little about his game in a long time that was special. His primary skill for the last five seasons was to draw walks. He was an effective table setter. We don't need anyone averaging a .740 OPS over the last five seasons being treated like royalty. That's over. Maybe bring in a two veterans with some postseason success who can put up better numbers than Mauer and cost less. Dozier? Come on, man. He was the classic garbage time player. Shine the spotlight on him and he falls to pieces. I think it is good for this team to hit the reset button. Time for a new flavor. While we are at it, let's stop being so concerned about where guys were drafted. Buxton does not deserve a limitless amount of time in the majors to find himself--and, no....his defense doesn't make up for his putrid offense. Hold him to a standard. As soon as the coaching staff can apply accountability evenly the culture will turn around. That has not happened in a long, long time

I am off the Donaldson train.

If one is making a case for him getting an extension you literally HAVE TO cherry pick the 37 or 38 games in July and August of 2017. Subract that out from his career and his OPS is down near .600. That little run amounts to about one ninth of what he has done as a major leaguer. We should push that up front and ignore all the other stuff? There is no reason to extend him. He has been injury prone, he has had major struggles even making contact with the baseball a lot of the time and we have him under team control for a long time anyway. I don't get the rationale behind an extension. Even if he does become an all star calibre player he is going to bolt for the most money. He won't look back and say....."oh gee. The Twins had faith in me so I have to stay"

Defense for a posiion player is important, but it isn't close to how important offense is. Not by a longshot. Every at bat is a chance to make an impact whereas a player might go a week or more before they can make a play only few others can make in the field. A player can go a long time just having plays that aren't difficult for nomal major leaguers. The idea that his glove makes up for his horrible offense is absurd. It takes some of the sting away. That is all it does. The other thing is, outfield defense does not last forever. He wasted a year last year because he could not hit, got a migraine and hurt his toe. This took him out by May. We all saw what we saw and yet people preach the posiitive and the upside. Exactly how much longer can we do this? Further, how is it that it is smart to make an investment in him now? He has no leverage and he should be concerned about staying with the big club. Not with any kind of contract talk. I just don't get it. Maybe some folks can see the future and I can't. I can only go on what I have seen and I am not encouraged at all. Can this change? Of course it can. Would I bet millions and leave other young players in the organization wondering why he got his and they did not?? NO WAY And that is another thing. We need to build a meritocricy. Not create an environment where one guy is treated diferently from the rest unnecessarily.

HIs floor is he's out of baseball within five years. He barely played last year and when did he was overmatched. His speed isn't making up for it. His speed gets treated like a security blanket and I don' get that. His speed and recklessness in the field may well be the thing that ultimately does him in for good. He's had collisions and has already knocked himself out in the field. At the rate he is going what is he going to be in three or four years? This is why I don't understand the angle that states... "He can hit .200 and still have a lot of value" Really? No, I don't think so. Especially since he cannot seem to stay on the field., An extension now accomplishes notihng. Have we not been watching? This is a player who bases his entire game off playing with reckless abandon in the field. There was an article last sping where he talked in detail about his migraines, concussions and running into walls--AND he was unrepentant. That was the red flag for me last March. This last season confirmed all my concerns. Being positive is nice, but when it strays to far from reality I find it troublesome--especially when talking about INVESTMENT

An extension at this point makes zero sense. Why reward him at this juncture? To show "loyalty" to him? Inferiority complex much?? It also sends the wrong message to other players. If we are going to climb out of the abysss then players need to earn their keep based on merit. As mentioned, besides the lack of consistency, the injury factor looms large. Add to it his propensity to run into things + the migraine issue. All the potential and positive thinking in the world amounts to nothing, as #3 aptly put it

I said weight isn't an issue if he is jacked and has worked out all winter. I will add that if he is 260 and well conditioned WEIGHT IS NOT AN ISSUE. HIs is issue was LACK OF CONDITIONING more than it was his weight.

The weight is not an issue if he is jacked and has worked out all winter.

I agree with this. We have promoted guys who are undeserving and other guys like Kepler are just left to "take their lumps" in hope that a light goes on and they figure it out. I am tired of this strategy. One huge problem we have had is literally no players in AAA. It is almost as though we have disregarded AAA completely. That is the next step and if there is little to no depth or competition there it fosters a weak culture. Buxton, Sano, Kepler....these guys need to feel the heat. They are not in need of more nuturing. THey have gotten that in spades. This generation of Twins needs to understand that where you were drafted and how much hype you have been given does not give you an endless leash. YOu need to perform and if you don't for long enough we are going to sit you down or demote you and find someone else who can play.

Sano, Buxton and Castro had bad offensive years and it is not something I will chalk up to injury. Buxton and Sano are by no means guys you can rely upon to give consistent offensive producion. A lot of us made the mistake of assuming growith would naturally arrive. Both players regressed. Castro just straight up cannot hit. He never could hit. MIsssing their at bats did not have as much of an affect on the offense as people would like to believe. Sano and Buxton have a lot to prove and I will not make an assumption/forecast for either. With the trajectory of their careers thus far I would not be stunned to see either guy (or both) flame out or one reason or another. I sure as heck hope not, but this is the current reality witb both

I have trouble initiating Kepler. Sano and Buxton into "core status" after what went down last season. All three were disappointments., but Sano and Buxton went well beyond that. A week or so ago there was a thread about perhaps needing to pivot away from Sano and Buxton and here they are building blocks for the future. I have not completely given up on Sano and Buxton, but I am not wagering on them, Buxton is not a good hitter and when he struggles he presses. Once that happens he becomes a mess. Will he ever get past that? I don't know. I don't have a crystal ball. I will say that because Torii Hunter or whomever struggled some when they were young and got it together it doesn't mean the same will happen with Buxton. Plus, Hunter never struggled as mghtily as Buxton has. Not by a longshot. Furthermore, I can't chalk up Buxton's seasons to injuries. He was off to a slow start before he went on the DL. The other thing about his injuries is that they will compound and get worse over time if he doesn't wise up and alter his approach. As far as Sano is concerned, the guy is a mess right now. I don't care if they reported what happened in the DR was an accident. I have trouble with the fact that stupid things seem to happen when he is around. What the heck is he doing getting behind the wheel after leaving a club at 3AM? THat is stupid. I am sorry. FOr a guy with all the resources in the world at his fingertips he never ever should be in that situation. Between Sano and Buxton we have two guys who can implode at any moment. "Core players" give a team stability. These two do not in any way, shape or form.

THat is part of the issue with Buxton. The migraines will be there and so will an array of other injuries since he plays with a reckless abandon. Part of his development involves him figuring out a way to stay healthy. Quite honestly, he was not hitting the first few weeks. YOu can cite a "small sample size" but I was very concerned about how he'd start off--especially after I read this article: https://www.twincities.com/2018/03/28/twins-star-byron-buxton-takes-pride-in-his-ability-to-play-through-pain/ I don't give him a pass this last season. He needs to prove himself to me. Two months at the end of 2017 is really all he has. Apart from that he has been a terrible hitter--so bad it was too hard to justify putting him in the lineup.

Too soon for me.

Puckett did get some time in AAA and Knoblauch spent a full year in AA, but OK. Still not on the same level as penciling in KIriloff and Lewis as starters in 2019

Sorry for the tone of that last response, but I just can't take hearing about "call up _______ and let him take his lumps" We have done this already. Recently, too. When does it work? Almost NEVER

Good lord am I sick and tired of this "history lesson" Everyone knows the story, but go ahead and name two more guys who had the same thing happen. Talk to us about two guys in our system since Hrbek that were promoted like that and became part of a "nucleus" that won? It is the stupidest thing in the world to suggest the players you listed be called up to "take their lumps" If the Twins did what you suggest, not only would the be the laughing stock of baseball, but they could also be ruining the development of some of these players. Why? Because it worked once in 1981! Can we divorce ourselves from this lunacy once and for all?

I almost just threw up in my mouth!

Amen to that. This takes me back to the Gardy debate when if it were suggested Gardy be fired some homer would pipe up saying, "Who you gonna get that's better?" I can't pretend to know who is the right fit for this job, but after watching Molitor I know for sure it ain't him

Let this be a lesson..... Stop hyping prospects. I visited Twins boards for years and these two have been hyped up as saviors for years. I am actually psyched about Kiriloff and Lewis, but I don't need to read about how their talents are so amazing that I need to be in awe and genuflect when their names are mentioned Those kinds of articles ran constantly on Buxton and they really got tiresome to me. Can he at least play a game in the majors before we get so giddy?

Defense does NOT make up for his horrendous bat. If he is south of ,700 he hurts the offense too much. He was not earmarked to be Jackie Bradley Jr and if he turns out to be that he is a bust. The kid was hyped up so much in so many places so he was set up to be that if he failed. I wanted to wait and see before I anointed him anything. At this point, I don't view him as a "super-prospect" so I don't think he deserves endless rope. This article needed to be written. Both players have forced the Twins to think this way. This "play him everyday and let him take his lumps" mantra doesn't work 95% of the time. Just because Hrbek was called up from Visalia in 1981 and it worked doesn't mean it is going to work. People need to understand this

Excellent point, then again, he had the dumb luck to be leaving a club while he ran over a cop with his car. That just doesn't look good (innocent or not).

Looks to me like are making much assumptions as well. If someone says he ends up in "situations" because he isn't using good discretion how is that off base? Going out until 3AM leaves ANYONE wide open for a lot of things to happen. Whether it is an accident or not he takes responsibility for it. Apparently the officer was friends with Sano from school. How do we know the initial reports to reflect reality better? How do we know Sano didn't broker a deal with his officer friend? It all seems fishy and I rather doubt he was 100% sober at 3AM leaving a club. Sano does silly things. If he gets judged for it then OH WELL.

I am a Twins fan first. I don't see where signing Joe to hang on a little longer is a good thing on several different levels. Not for the Twins, not for Joe or his family.

I surely hope Joe doesn't drag this out although it would be fairly typical of him. Seems to me like this is a simple decision. Here is a player who is clearly well past his prime and has told the media that he felt the after affects of a concussion for THREE YEARS. Then he needed several weeks on the shelf again this year for a concussion. The Twins owe Joe Mauer nothing. They made him rich, gave him the benefit of the doubt whenever necessary and praised him (even during times where it was not deserved). If Joe drags this out past Thanksgiving and his decision still isn't made by the time we approach winter meeting, I have a problem with that. We need to build a roster. Mauer has had all year to think this one through and there is no reason to be all wishy washy about it. If he is, and this drags out for a long period of time during the offeason, he is doing the Twins a disservice. I hope to heck he understands that although I have my doubls. Joe just kind of does Joe. And that is that.

Correa's liftime batting average is 47 points higher than Buxton's and his OPS is 160 points higher. Not sure when or how Buxton finds himself as a hitter, but if he can't he will be a bust. I don't like saying that, but I can't spin this one.. Buxton was being compared to Jackie Bradley last year when Bradley hit well in the first half of 2016. Well, Bradley didn't hit last year and he isn't this year. Still he is hitting better than Buxton. He is also on par with Buxton in the field. Buxton isn't even Jackie Bradley Jr. at the current moment.