In just one game, Byron Buxton restores hope (and calm) for Twins
The strange juxtaposition of a condensed MLB season in which every game should matter more and the expanded MLB playoffs giving teams a greater margin for error collided head-on with the Twins' fortunes at the end of August.
A six-game losing streak — which math would tell you is akin to a 16-game losing streak, at least proportionally, in a normal 162-game year — had fans howling in despair. I might have even seen a few suggestions that the precipitous drop from 20-10 to 20-16 was going cost the Twins a playoff berth.
In truth, their playoff odds dropped from about 99% to 96%, per Baseball Reference, even after putting up nothing but consecutive Ls for one-tenth of their season.
The Twins probably know they're going to make the playoffs in an American League that doesn't have eight great teams. Getting up for every single game, in front of cardboard cutouts, with that looming near-certainty as a backdrop has to make a 60-game season feel like a slog even if it's far from the dog days of a six-month schedule.
What's clearly more important is whether this is a team that can do anything of consequence once the expanded postseason arrives.
But why not send one man for two jobs?
Especially if that man is Byron Buxton, who in just one game back from injury restored both a sense of calm for those anxious about the regular season and a sense of hope for those with bigger dreams about this Twins team.
If Nelson Cruz wasn't having another absurd season — this one after turning 40 a couple months back — Buxton would be the Twins' leader in wins above replacement among batters.
Most of that comes from his glove, while none of Cruz's value does, so it is not far-fetched to call Buxton the Twins' most important non-pitcher (and perhaps even their most important player given how he makes every pitcher better when he plays).
Buxton gave the Twins a jolt Tuesday, robbing what looked to be a home run to keep the Twins down just 2-1 against the White Sox in the sixth inning. In the seventh, he delivered the RBI hit that proved to be the difference in a 3-2, streak-snapping victory.
He does things that no other Twins player in the field, at the plate and on the bases. They can win without Buxton, but I don't think they can win a World Series.
His return (and that of Michael Pineda and the impending return of several others) was a reminder that, oh yeah, the Twins sure were missing a lot of really good players while they were losing a lot of games.
They didn't just snap their fingers and make everything OK by winning one game. The six-game slide pushed them from first to third in the AL Central, and there certainly could be home field value (all three games of that opening round series) in finishing among the AL's top four teams. Then again, the postseason very well might wind up being played in a bubble, essentially eliminating the value of winning the division aside from perhaps a more favorable first-round matchup.
So save your worries for another month. With Buxton and others on the mend, the Twins are plenty good enough to make it to the finish line. And if the man in center field can stay healthy, there's reason to hope they're good enough to make a push into October.