ewen21

And I wanted a big red fire engine for Christmas in 1972 and ended up getting an Etch-a-Sketch box

You would say Gibson is better than Odorizzi? I don't know about that one

I think the message was it’s going to take more than throwing money at free agent pitching By the way, Houston got their pitch through trades and the Cubs big signing (Darvish) has been a disaster. There were people screaming that we should hand him a blank check! Caveat emptor. Like I said in my last post, the culture has to change if we are ever getting anywhere in the postseason. Getting to the postseason seems to the objective and then hope for the best. As if we are waiting for fairies and angels to grant us luck ...and if they don’t OK we made it to the postseason, so that’s good enough. That mindset isn’t cutting it. I thought it was dead and buried but it’s not. Rocco confirmed that by telling us he’s just fine not winning a game in the postseason

I feel you. I honestly do. However, we scored 7 runs in 3 games and that just isn't cutting it. This has happened time and time again against the Yankees. Go after pitching for sure....but until the culture changes we will continue to lay down like lambs against them. It was a hard thing to come to terms with, but that is what I did after the 2010 season ended. We had possibly one of the best lineups this franchise ever had that season and we STILL tightened up and played like weaklings I think we have lost against them not because we haven't pitched well enough. We have lost to them because we average less than three runs a game against them in the playoffs. Even if we had Strasburg, Cole, Frank Viola and Jack Morris we still probably would not win if we hit like that

If isn’t being talked about because it’s justified. The discussion only started because people feel he got screwed.

How are we talking about "service time manipulation" with Buxton? The guy hit .159 in 90 at bats with the big club, got injured a few tines and was hitting .235 in AAA going into August 26th. He didn't play well enough and he was injured. It was a lost season and that is all on him, not the Twins. He would only look silly if he tried to file a grievance. He needs to worry about his game more than anything else.

The discussion has gone off topic (although it has been an interesting read). No way in the world are these two players comparable. No matter how good Buxton is in the field he isn't good enough to counter the fact that he was beleaguered with injuries and migraines and hit .156 in his time with the team. As a matter of fact, he was hitting .235 in Rochester as late as August 25th: http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=621439#/gamelogs/R/hitting/2018/MINORS To assert that the Twins somehow screwed him by keeping him down is absurd. He had four good games in a row to get his average up to .272. Four good games is raking? Are we actually being serious? Too little, too late.....AND the Twins were playing meaningless games. With his luck that year he might have ran into a wall and nearly killed himself. It was best to just send him home and let him do some soul searching. Byron Buxton's 2018 was about as big a disappointment I have seen from a player who was supposed to be on the rise as I have ever seen. He needs to put the big boy pants on, learn how to hit more consistently and stay on the field. I think the desire for Buxton to do well is so great here that some folks are accentuating the positives so much it muddies the big picture.

I do not know what to expect from Garver in 2020 so he could very well be a one hit wonder. He's a 28 year old that arrived last year and then suddenly this past season he hits four times as many home runs. It would be rather silly for me to expect that his first real season (his 28 year old season) to be repeated because he has no history as a major leaguer apart from last year. We have to be careful assessing last season as the norm for him I respect you for allowing me to clarify. YOu will notice in my first post I said I like him so I was not disparaging him. I am just unsure about what he really is.

Please stop playing semantics here, Mike. I said "last year might be a one hit wonder" Last year was the first year he was a reasonably effective one and he turns 29 in January. Grandal is only a year and a little more than a month older and he has accomplished a lot more as a catcher AND he can hit for power as well. A seasoned catcher can do more for our pitching staff than you or I can even quantify right now. I love my offense, but one place I sacrifice a little would be at the catcher position. Stop trying to play AH HA with me. I am not by any stretch of the imagination disparaging Garver, nor do I think we should simply discard him. I am interested in having a solid, established catcher. Grandal fits the bill

Did not say he couldn't hit, but it is entirely possible that last year turns out to be his best year. He looked so exposed in the playoffs and his home run rate spiked massively last year. Power is his main strength as he doesn't particularly hit for average. Just saying I do not expect him to hit home runs at such a ridiculous rate. Maybe you do and that I just swell

Not sure what the big attraction about Wade is. He is a AAAA player in my estimation

Some people like chocolate, some vanilla and others strawberry...... Stu likes rocky road

He has to play a full season. He has been given four opportunities to do so and he has over 100 games ONCE. If he fails to do so again, or has a weak year offensively in 2020 I don't give a damn about his glove or his speed. The run should be over. This is it for me. I am tired of hearing about his potential and how his glove cures cancer. He is not around half the time (literally) and half the time he is around he is an offensive liability. He needs to be a more reliable player. THe injuries and prolonged bouts of offensive ineptitude is just too much to shrug off anymore. He is in his prime and that isn't going to last long if he keeps on getting hurt

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.