ewen21

How is Wilson.s blocking, defense, framing and pitch calling? Is it so good that we need to keep him even though he has proven he cannot hit at the major league level? He's also 35 years old. YOu do realize this, don't you?

Proof that offseason conditioning is a big deal

They are busting him in and he can't do much about it. Look, I am not saying this is THE issue, but it's hard to get around the fact that he isn't in very good shape and he came off micro fracture surgery. HIs quick twitch muscle reaction just isn't what it was. This has reeked havoc on his confidence and ability to handle those pitches and that has an affect on what Parker calls pitch recognition. His conditioning and mindset go hand and hand and those two things are the root cause for a lot of his issues. If that questions his work ethic or character as a ballplayer then so be it. I have been a huge Sano backer since I saw Pelotero Ballplayer. I have been rooting for him and even when the allegations came through this winter I was still in his corner. Right now it is hard to brush off how he got to where he is. It is more to do with his own inactivity and overconfidence he had in coming back from the surgery without doing the work necessary.

It's becoming less and less important understanding that Buxton is a good kid who listens. etc. That is all very well and good but it doesn't absolve him from anything. This is the major leagues. He needs to put on his big boy pants and stop pressing so much. If he can't do that then maybe he doesn't have the makeup to be a major league ballplayer. Sano, needs to understand that he put himself in this position because he has terrible off seasons. We are talking five and six months at a time that he has to get healthy and in top shape. This what today's player has to do. If he doesn't understand that he will have a short career

NO ONE wanted this to happen. It would have been hard to stomach this if someone told me this would happen last October. This shows that a player can take two steps back over the winter if they aren't careful. Being a professional athlete requires a lot of attention all year round. TO refuse to accept ANY correlation between the drop in production to the changes in his body over the last several years would be to shut down a possible solution. Some people get angry about "questioning his work ethic" and such. Who cares? To spiral downward the way he has invites all kinds of questioning and it entirely reasonable to site conditioning as one of the causes. Not THE cause, but a cause. To say it has NOTHING to do with it is a far bigger assumption to make

Let's not get carried away about any Solarte, Hicks or Goodrum. If we are bemoaning the loss of them then we really need to step back and look at what we have. Buxton and Sano aren't getting all the blame, but the sure as heck need to be doing a lot better. Both are totally clueless this year and they have been given so much rope. Are they supposed to not be held accountable for their poor play? If you think the Twins are bad at developing players I agree with you. That, however, doesn't excuse Buxton or Sano for dreadful performances. There are plenty of players younger than them outperforming them by a wide margin. I am tired of hearing "give them time" These are supposed to be blue chippers. They should be performing at a much higher level and Sano really needs to take ownership of the fact he had an awful winter preparing for baseball. That is on him. Let's just face facts.

Nick, as always, excellent work. THere is one thing, however, that I have comment on with regards to this offense. This article didn't say go there, but other articles recently have with regard to the negative affect the Buxton and Mauer injuries have had on the lineup. Thus far this year these two players have given the Twins 228 at bats and have produced a COMBINED 12 extra base hits. Buxton has given us at .158 average and an OPS of .383. When these guys come back Joe is going to need to do more than just walk, hits singles and bat around .280 and Buxton is going to need to hit the reset button back to zero, pretend this is a new start, and get his act straightened out. Talk about his speed and defense all day long, but if he can't .200 in his first 15 or 20 games back I am done waiting. A demotion has to be in order. There needs to be accountability on the Twins end

It assumes there isn't even a 1% chance weight or conditioning is a PART of the cause.

Simply step away because the risks don't justify the reward of "having fun playing baseball". This goes far beyond baseball. He has a young family and I would not want my brother or my best friend playing given the same circumstances. I sure hope Joe gets some sound advice.

Relax. No need to get angry.

There is a fine line between negativity and commenting honestly about poor performance

I can't say Odorizzi has been brilliant. He seems to have an aversion to the number 6

I read his quote a few times. It actually made me think a little deeper. In the video where Hunter interviews him he is asked the same question. He was not under duress and he probably knew the question was coming. He also mentioned that famous Jim Edmonds catch and how he really wants to make catches like that. In the interviews I have seen with Hunter and MLB programs he talks only about defense. The only time he mentions offense is when he talks about not taking slumps onto the field. This is all really nice, but two things about that: 1. He could end up to be Aaron Rowand 2.0, beat up before his time 2. He needs to embrace the language of hitting and start talking about it a little more. It sure as heck couldn't hurt him. Thrylos has his take. I have mine. You have yours. And the world is good.

WHy is that a bad thing? It's a theory. You say it is OK until a person who also "claims to know" what goes on between his ears comes to a different conclusion. THat is fine. Then we discuss it civilly and present evidence. I am offering my opinion based only off reading, listening, watching. It took a couple of years for me to get there on this. There is a difference between where I am coming from and being a "hater". I am not a hater., And just so you know, I am not going to have a problem with someone offering a differing opinion so long as they aren't snarky or condescending. Even then I will try to reach out with a PM in attempt to prevent problems on the board. I happen to think it's healthy to have discussions like this. Buxton started off the last three years horribly. He talked about being nervous last year and the year before. This year Paul tried to "assure him" that he was not a bad hitter. I don't think it is off base to wonder about where he stands as far as the mental part of hitting goes. Lots of people were sure he "figured it out" after last year. It would appear that was an assumption (or wishful thinking) at this point. Eventually he is going to need to figure this out and it just might go deeper than mechanics. I am not going to write a dissertation on mechanics. I will leave that to the staff writers here. I am not good with graphics, ect… I appreciate those articles a whole lot. However, to assume mechanics is the only possible reason really is closed-minded thinking, in my opinion. An entire field is dedicated to this kind of thing. It is called sports psychology and there most certainly is a psychology to the game. I don't think it is a mere coincidence (or can be explained away by "small sample size") that Buxton is 1-27 vs the Yankees with 17Ks. He looks and acts very uptight in the box against them. I literally read everything there is to read about the Twins, for better or worse. I have read direct quotes from Buxton citing his own "anxiousness" to the point where it is considerable with him compared to so many other young players I have seen come up with the Twins over the years. I am not pulling this out of the thin air or pretending to know something. I am reading what he is saying and watching him. If someone doesn't agree with me then OK. I took the time to do some searches and in 15 minutes I came up with a number of quotes on his "nervousness" in the box LeVelle last year with a quote from Molitor: Buxton is going to be a power-speed combo guy, I have no doubt of that. But the Twins have to help him settle down, relax and be a little more selective at the plate. "We're trying to get him to just settle in," Molitor said. http://www.startribune.com/twins-postgame-thoughts-on-polanco-buxton-and-the-royals/418580463/ He was a little anxious, trying to see the ball and battle with two strikes. They got him to chase a couple times,” Molitor said http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/sports/professional/story/2015/may/05/sizzling-starlookouts-center-fielder-byrbuxtr/302426/ "He stopped pressing and is not worrying about every swing or every at-bat," Mientkiewicz said. Buxton prefers his speed on defense -- "I like taking base hits away from anybody," he said http://lacrossetribune.com/sports/local/pro/shipley-no-need-to-bury-twins-buxton-yet/article_2914ec8d-7264-527b-93d6-bdb10be0cf0f.html “I think I let the game speed up on me a little bit, which causes me to chase more pitches out of the zone. I just told myself to slow down,” he explained. “It’s tough,” Buxton said. “It’s very tough. That’s why I’ve got these teammates behind my back to pick me up, but it’s definitely tough starting off the way I do, and then you try to battle and figure things out. ... I’m just too jumpy, too anxious to want to get a hit. I need to slow the game back down and let it come back to me.” https://www.upi.com/Sports_News/MLB/2018/05/21/Byron-Buxton-hopes-to-get-going-as-Twins-host-Tigers/9411526915237/ "Just tried to get a feel of where he was at and I tried to affirm him about his ability to hit," Molitor said. "I think he knows it. He knows when he puts too much pressure on himself and tries to do too much and overthinks his at-bats." With regards to what Thrylos said, yeah.....he made sense to me. He was not under duress here in a sit down with Torii and he was asked that same question. What do I read into it? I don't know, other than he seems to like talking more about his defense. He explicitly stated it more than once and this time in a very comfortable setting. IN fact, I would not be shocked if he already saw the questions before TOrii asked. Maybe, just MAYBE Thrylos is onto something. Maybe not....but to shut him down completely and tell him he can't think like that? Do we really need to do that? I guess the mods can control that, but I don't encourage that. Another video..... Sitting down with Torii and Trout again, and not under duress, both were asked about a weakness.... and Buxton answers his throwing arm? He LOVES talking about the circus catches, too. Buxton even mentions "shyness" and overcoming that. I like that he admits it, but I sure hope that someday he isn't hampered by being "jumpy" in the box What is this all about? It is just a sample things to show that Buxton really does pride himself on his defense. He is also battles through shyness and nervousness and that shows up in his hitting. He can rely on his athleticism in the field, but hitting is a science and a psychology. He is having trouble with it for several reasons. Part of it is his struggle with mechanics, but no one can tell me that a decent chunk of it CAN'T be mental. That would be one heck of an assumption, imo. I hope you don't mind that I tried to explain where I am coming from and why I think concern for Buxton is warranted. HE has explicitly stated that he is "pressing" "shy" "jumpy" "nervous" "overthinking" THat kind of mindset and inner turmoil effects mechanics. Mechanics are tough to execute as it is. If you are stepping into the box in a panicked state your mechanics will not be as they should be. Rhythm, timing, focus, body awareness....all of those things are messed up if you step in the box all choked up.

I was ready to say.....That's a cheap shot! ....then I read the article

Unfair logic would be whatever thought process you used to accuse him of attacking Buxton personally. I saw it as "he needs to concentrate more on hitting than making circus catches". He can make a circus catch once every ten games, but he takes 25 to 30 at bats a week. As far as my favorite family member goes, I have no favorite. Simple answer. Just as it should have been for Buxton. How about this: "We won the game. Any way I can help is a good thing" And if they press him he could say: "Doesn't matter, we win" I do think Buxton needs to get the mental part of the game down. HIs mindset seems to be somewhat of a problem. Is that a bad thing to say?

I wouldn't think twice about the comment, but Thrylos made me think about it. I can see what he is getting at and that doesn't mean I support the comments. I don't think what he said is nonsense, but I am not required to defend it. I just think characterizing what he said as a "personal attack" is a bit much. The only reason I said the home run would be a better answer was because that isn't a strength of his. Notice also I followed that statement up with ………."but whatever. Personally, I don't see Buxton's comment as a big deal"

See, I don't know if that is a personal shot at all. Buxton himself said he would be more satisfied with making a game saving catch than a game winning homer. I guess, like me, Thrylos wonders, what would be the difference so long as the team wins? That SHOULD be what any player says, in my opinion. Buxton gave his preference. Certainly, Buxton is a much better fielder than he is hitter. I would actually think that hitting a home run would be the better answer for him, but whatever. Personally, I don't see Buxton's comment as a big deal, but I can see what Thrylos is saying. He never said Buxton "doesn't care". He questioned the rationale behind Buxton's answer. That's all. I don't read anything mean-spirited in his post.

OK so now what? Does Nick get punished!

Lighten up? Maybe you should follow your own advice. This is professional sports where men play for pay. Buxton and Dozier are both playing well below expectations. If you asked either of them they would tell you as much. As far as leaders go? How can Buxton be expected to lead with his level of performance? And for a guy who says, "You aren't there. You don't know" on one hand, on the other you boldly proclaim "Dozier is a leader" Oh is he? Is he still in 2018??? His leadership cred has taken a huge hit if you ask me based not only off performance, but off things he has said. He clearly was not happy about not getting an extension over the winter and talked about being excited for free agency. He's also fondly reminisced about both Gardy and Terry Ryan. Not exactly relevant to anything a leader wants to accomplish here since most of the roster has turned over already. No one has to be in the clubhouse to have an opinion about this team. MOst all of us watch this daily and some of us follow this team more than we care to admit. I hate to tell you, but not everything is going to be gumdrops and lollipops, especially when you are talking about a team that has 19-23. Nobody gets hurt here, so please..... There were no cheap shots in that article.

YOu are correct about that and I will take it a little further..... No fan should be accused of "buying the hype". Whether anyone did or didn't means absolutely nothing. What is important is that it is 2018 and just about anyone associated with this team had big expectations for this kid by now. It isn't your fault or any other fan's fault that he is playing well below expectations. I think a big thing with Buxton is the psychological part of the game. He is almost deferential out there. Kind of like he is still in the apprentice stage.

When you come to this site or even the mlb site for the Twins Buxton is prominently featured in marketing statements. Even on television he is prominently featured, assumed to be a star. Bremer, Hunter and whomever else sits in the booth heap accolades on him. Articles were written about his wonderful talents and amazing potential were for a number of years even after his shaky start. He was the 2nd pick in the 1st round and was compared to some great players. Tom Kelly, among other "sages" in the Twins organization professed an unlimited ceiling. On and on it went...… Is it any fan's fault to start wondering what the Hell is going on with this guy? I am being serious. He doesn't just look bad. He looks Brian Buchanan bad in some at bats. So bad, that the speed and defense could hardly justify a place in the batting order any longer. I never hyped him up or had super high expectations. I just don't get that way. I wanted to wait and see what the guy would do as a major leaguer and thus far he has instilled ZERO confidence in me.

I will remain cautiously optimistic

I don't see how great defense cancels out a sub .200 bat. The fact is a player usually makes four or five trips to the plate every game. They might have a few put outs per game, but almost all of them are fairly routine and there aren't many opportunities for great defenders to make great defensive plays (only THEY can make). There could be 25 plate appearances (or more) in between those events great plays and even then he is competing against other CFs who can also make great plays. For him to be a player with a lot of value he is going to need to start hitting. What he is doing now to start every season is not acceptable. Something is amiss and he needs to figure out what it is because the all-world speed won't be there as time goes forward. At that point he will be another fast guy who hits .240 and doesn't get on base. Unless he becomes a better hitter and that is questionable with what I have seen.

That's nice, but if we are having a discussion about the offensive part of his game we need to be honest. I never made the comparison to MIke Trout, but that certainly happened. Baseball America ranked him the #1 prospect, not me or any poster here. A lot has been made about him for a bunch of years already and his offense just is not very good. Can he turn it on and become an above average offensive player? That is becoming harder and harder to believe for me. I am concerned about two things: 1. His approach and results from the batter's box and 2. The mounting of injuries Is it unreasonable for fans to have a discussion about their concerns on these things? Are we only suppose to praise him for his speed and simply "accept" this kind of offensive performance? Not me.