ewen21

Like Garver, but I think last year might be a one hit wonder year. He'd be great to rotate in behind the plate and for late inning pop off the bench. Maybe get him playing ist or DH. Grandal is a big upgrade

Add to that someone who can teach Twins players how to hit during the post season 7 runs in 3 games

He was a lot more animated than I ever saw in an interview. I thought for him to view it as a one way street and not take ownership for having dogsh-- year was weak He needs to be more concerned about his own game because as Kurt Russell said in Miracle, "there's plenty there to keep you busy" Then he says he doesn't know what the Twins want from him? How about hit your weight and stay on the field? No self-awareness on his part and even less introspection, you can say what you want about him expressing himself. He did and I didn't like it

I wasn't even thinking about the extra year of team control. What does it matter if he misses two months to an injury again? Where is his career going if that happens again? The Twins have given him nothing but support over the years and have tried to make him feel comforable. As soon as he gets hit with adversity, he snapped. The Twins didn't make him hit .156, get injured and suffer migraines. They didn't make him hit in the .220s most of the time he was with Rochester until he finally woke up the last 10 days before the rosters expanded. Does he feel he is supposed to get special treatment because of his draft position or because there are people who fawn over him? Couldn't he have been a stand up guy and acknowledge that he is as responsible (probably more) than the Twins are for what happened?

He could get upset if he wants to, but the Twins have nothing to apologize for

Have your other opinions if you want, but this right here is wrong. That is business and he played poorly. He put himself in that position and there was no obligation to bring him up. It's not something for nothing. To say that "everyone" would have reacted that way is off base. I would not have reacted that way and I would guess a lot of others feel the same. His reaction was too pouty for me. Then for him to cry about "I don't know what they want from me"??? No way am I doing that. To assume otherwise about me is to assume I'm lying here and that is out of hand. Sorry

And I certainly have worked in a toxic environment and in those situations there usually was an alliance of *******s who had their own chemistry. Feeling too comfortable isn't necessary a good thing I'm certain endeavors. Just sayin

A good work environment can be one that is serious and businesslike. Dancing in the clubhouse might promote "chemistry" but I don't feel there needs too be too much else beside respect and professionalism.

Know your role, be a professional and be accountable. There is plenty of time to party when the job is done.

I was talking about this need for having fun as if is supposed to be compulsory on the job. The cop, teacher, construction worker, mechanic, corrections officer, carpenter, plumber, etc...are required to meet standards and do a job. No one cares about how much fun they are having or what their comfort level is if they don't do professional work. I don't feel "having fun" is the ingredient for success. No study reflects that. Happiness comes from achievement. You watch the team who wins the WS. They're going to have fun and the other team isn't. That's how life works.

What is chemistry? Is it how much they have fun and how happy they are? I don't understand. There seems to be tons of emphasis on "having fun" now and that confuses me. What about being a professional? I don't think it is a good thing when you have a manager who talks about how excited he is and how we all play for a chance to get in the World Series as soon as they clinch. Who celebrates and sprays champage and wants to take in the highs, but pushes off the lows and feels the need to tell everyone he "isn't frustrated at all" when his team goes down like bowling pins when Earl Anthony hits the pocket. It doesn't work for me. As a player I don't want to hear that, and moreover, I don't want myself and others to be directed by someone who refuses to come to terms with what happened. So if having fun is what it is all about then I say chemistry means nothing. If it meant the team being professional and playing for the ultimate goal then you got my attention. I could care less about how much fun these guys have. This is their career. Does anyone really care if the plumber had fun getting that hot water heater hooked up? Does anyone care if the firefighter enjoyed saving that girl trapped in the building? Does anyone care if the cop had fun getting a dangerous criminal off the street? What is important when you do a job? Having fun? Honestly?

Sorry Don. I said that because you didn't seem to understand what I and others were saying. None of us believe he was "held back" by the Twins, but rather he performed poorly, was dealing with a variety of injuries and didn't really hit most of the time he was in Rochester until the very end.. This wasn't the no-brainer you guys keep making it out to be. He hasn't developed into a reliable player and that's the issue he presents to us now. What we can honestly say is he goes through long phases where he suddenly can't hit and he gets injured. If you want to say he is fast and his defense is awesome that is as true as what I just said. Can't we just say 2018 was bad and when he didn't (couldn't) made an assessment based off his performance and health. Welcome to the major leagues Byron. They babied him and did everything to make sure he was comfortable and happy. That needed to change. I hope he got the message, but I don't know. I alluded to how clueless he was with finally breaking his silence at a charity event. The fact that he goes stayed bitter about all the way up to before spring training is too pouty for me. When he didn't get called up there was reports that he hadn't returned Torii Hunter's hone calls up to a week or so later. This, for the simple fact that he fails to acknowledge his own inadequacies through it all. Never once did he say he played poorly. Instead he said, "I don't know what they want from me" But please, make the distinction, all of this stuff happened after the fact and has nothing to with where I stand. Right when they went to the 40-man and he was left off I agreed with the move. I said so myself right here and I caught Hell for it. It really is ridiculous because the answer for Buxton is simple: PROVE you can be an everyday player for us. In the four season he had the starting job in CF he has played 100 or more games only once. That simply is not good enough for a guy that often ends up being a liability with the bat on top of it. To me, his time is almost up with this organization if he can't persevere and stay healthy. I hope he can turn this around.

No, wrong. This delusion that the Twins "held him back" really is something a lot of us feel is the fundamental flaw in your argument. He was not held back. The Twins have done everything they can to instill confidence in this player. When he was hitting around .100 at the beginning of the season a few years ago Molitor and some of the players said he can hit .100 and still be a valuable player. Really?? Really? James Rowson said, "over my dead body" when it was opined that maybe he should be sent down. Why should he get a pass is what I would like to know? Why are we having to placate this guy? I heard so much about what a high character kid he was and yet there he was in a children's hospital at a charity event ranting about not being called up. Sorry dude. Look in the mirror. The Twins didn't run into walls, get migraines, hurt their hand and hit .156. The Twins didn't hit like garbage in Rochester until he finally woke up about 10 days before the deadline. And why are we comparing him to Bryant or Tatis? Bryant is way better and Tatis come up as a 20 year old and played like a champ. Buxton still looks completely lost in the batters box half the time. Worst of all, he can't stay on the field and that doesn't help his development.

If we had this discussion on a baseball board fans of all the other teams would roll their eyes at us. Buxton was a nightmare in 2018. He couldn't hit, got hurt a couple of times and then complained about not knowing what the team wanted from him. Hello? He hit .156, got injured and didn't get back on the field again for while. When he did his batting average remained in the .220s, .230s in Rochester until he finally started to wake up about ten days before they expanded the roster. So yes, he did hit .365 over the course of 12 games in AAA, but nothing else was mentioning in the opening post about his stats that year. Why not? As far as I am concerned, he needed to look in the mirror, but instead he got heated--at a Children's Hospital no less. That rubbed me the wrong way. He should have held himself more accountable and been more open to understanding the other side of the discussion. He should be grateful to the Twins. With all the struggles he's had he has been treated very, very well by this organization. He has had quite a support system of ex-players, writers, coaches, bloggers, etc...and has received tons of praise even when he has been mired in deep slumps. The Twins gave him one heck of a signing bonus and has been spotty at best offensively and has had trouble staying on the field. Bryant has been in three All Star games and has won an MVP trophy. He has an OPS that is almost .200 points higher than Buxton. How are these two even mentioned in the same conversation? They have virtually nothing in common other than they both got to the big leagues in 2015. The difference? Bryant played in 151 games and won the ROY award. Buxton could not handle major league pitching at all that year. We really need to start having an honest discussion about Buxton. All too often, when threads get started on him the positives get thrown out there, but I don't see the other side of it much. It makes me feel compelled to fill in and present the other side because you never see that in the OP. I believe he is at a crossroads in his career. If he can't get it together soon both health-wise and offensively why in the heck should we extend him? Color me a skeptic. What happened to Chris Bryant was rough, but that is business. He can perhaps make a case for himself. Buxton is an entirely different matter. He needs to simply move on, stay on the field and show more consistency.

As far as Grossman being a GG candidate goes, that tells you all you need to know about defensive metrics. Maybe he had a better year, but he is slow and clumsy in field. No metric is needed to surmise that.

Sure, but that doesn't change my belief that the Yankees handed him a silly deal

Dozier is .000 for the playoffs. I'm sure he feels something about that. Who knows? Maybe he's not frustrated at all

28.1 innings pitched in the post season with 27 hits allowed, home runs and a 5.81 ERA. Tyler Glasnow is 25 and isn't arbitration eligible for another four years. I will take him over Darvish any day of the week

Over the last two seasons he has pitched to a 4.16 ERA in 218 innings with an 7-11 record. Not impressive. He is coming into his 33 year old season and has tons of miles on that arm from when he pitched in Japan. You can feel however you want about him, but he isn't all that and a bag of chips. And for the contract that he got he is a huge disappointment. I do not want to see him in a Twins uniform.

Aaron Hicks is going to have Tommy John surgery and will be out 8 to 10 months. I don't miss him.

Fine, but is it not a fact that we have lost 13 post season games in a row against them? What exactly are we talking about here??

And if the queen had two balls on her she would be king. We are STILL talking about potential after five years? I think at this point we know what Buxton is. He is a fast guy who makes some great catches every so often and he ends up hurting himself. He is not a very good hitter. One can make the argument he is well below average offensively. He has a below .300 career OPB and .706 career OPS. I don't care how good of a glove he has there is no way a player like that is a top 10 players. I seriously think we need to re-evaluate Buxton here. This is the only place in the baseball world that thinks he is an untouchable. I guarantee it

I don't necessarily disagree with the rest of the content here, but hitting was a HUGE factor in why we lost. if you are going to score 7 runs in three games don't expect to win--even if you have Verlander and Cole. That being said, there is no way in the world we should have waved the Mets off if they were asking for Buxton straight up for Syndergaard. Buxton is a guy with a .292 career OBP and yet he is untouchable? He can't even stay on the field and we have to have him? I don't get it.

Right. This argument I have seen about how pitching wins is a load of BS. No one thing wins it for any team. You have to have balance. Houston has Carlos Corriea bating 7th. They have a pretty darn formidable lineup. I think pitching and hitting are the most important thing with defense clocking in at third. If I had to have one thing that was below average and two things well above then give me offense and pitching all day long.

What is Byron Buxton really? We can go all day on how fast he is and how his glove cures cancer, but he is nothing more than a question mark for me coming into next season. He has played in 115 major league games over the last two seasons and in 361 major league at bats he has 10-50-.235. He has never had an OBP over .314. it doesn't seem like he will learn that running into walls In fact, he has acted somewhat defiant about it. As if that is one of the most essential things that makes up his identity. I can't say for sure what he is going to be going forward, but I wouldn't bet a penny on him getting at least 400 at bats next year. He has made it to 300 at bats once. He has played over 100 games once. These are facts. We can talk him up and hype him up from here to eternity, but it isn't going to change what has happened and will happen. If history teaches us anything he will need to tweak his game to be able to stay on the field.