Too Much Vacation for the BP Catcher

So we missed a bunch, but to recap:

• The Twins kicked the Tigers' asses
• The Twins are now in first place
• They almost were no-hit while I was enjoying a beer at Old Chicago
• Carlos Gomez thankfully wasn't sent to the minors and became the first Twin to hit for the cycle since Kirby Puckett did the task in 1986.
• Bring on the Red Sox

Gomez to the minors?

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune's Joe Christensen blogs today suggesting the Twins putting Carlos Gomez in Class AAA to refine his skills. One thing I definitely agree with Christensen about is that Denard Span should stay with the big team when Michael Cuddyer comes back from the DL. Span deserves the chance to stay in the majors and prove himself. It's time for the Twins to see what they've got with Span. He needs to show the Twins if he is a big leaguer or a big disappointment -- not Gomez. Gomez will be a major league player for several years and (given his age) has time to work on hitting in the minors.

Gomez is a major disruption on the basepaths. If he can get on base, he can alter games single-handedly. If he can get a bunt down, he can change defensive coverages. The ifs there are pretty important.

The other night Gomez struggled to even foul off a sacrifice bunt attempt when needed. That's a fundamental. In this sense, then, I agree with Christensen. Send Gomez down for a few weeks to work on a few things.

Conversely, can the Twins keep hovering near .500 without Gomez? His nine stolen bases lead the American League. His defense is reminiscent of Torii Hunter thus far. He looks like he has a lot of fun and seems well-liked by his teammates. Gomez is, if nothing, not crushing under the psychological pressure of filling the HUGE shoes of the Hunter/Puckett eras. Gomez reminds me of a young, pre-steriod Mike Cameron (who had to step in for Seattle after Ken Griffey Jr. was traded).

What to do? Here's a way to wrap our brains around Christensen's query:

• If Gomez goes to the minors, who will bat leadoff?
• Why not drop Gomez in the order and put that person at leadoff and see what happens first?
• Span isn't exactly Bob Allison out there in the field, so how much does defense matter?
• Gomez is hitting .230.
• Cuddyer comes back Friday
• Brian Buscher has four at bats
• Forget Frank Thomas -- the Twins (surprise) don't want him (idiots! Why would we even think the Twins would consider? Will we ever learn that all we get is washed up Ruben Sierras and Sydney Ponsons?)
• Jason Kubel is hitting .292 with 3 HR and 13 RBI

I'll go out on a limb and propose Buscher goes back to the minors, the Twins keep both Span and Gomez and let them duke it out for playing time, and pray the Twins were bluffing on Frank Thomas (they're not).

Trip to Detroit creates new trends

Blowing a lead in Detroit
shows the Twins of '08
By The Bullpen Catcher

In the blowing the lead department in losing to the suddenly terrible Tigers, the Twins demonstrated their new trends of 2008:

Neshek is the new Ron Davis; Kubel is the new Cuddy; Mauer is the new Punto; Span is the new Gomez. Ugh.

Blackburn strong, but bats weak

Nick Blackburn gave about all you can expect of him and even Matt Grrrr worked himself out of trouble in relief, but the Twins bats have less hits in them than Taylor Hicks.

The Twins remain the lone team in Major League Baseball without a homerun. How 'bout that new, more powerful top of the lineup? If not for Carlos Gomez and Delmon Young putting the ball in play, there's not much to brag about across the batting order.

It's impressive that Blackburn held off that Angels lineup. They may be one of the top four hitting teams in baseball. When a kid gives you an effort like this you've got to provide a run or two. Here's hoping Morneau makes contact in the series finale so the team can earn a split.

Twins 162-0, Gomez MVP, Hernandez 35-0

If nothing, the first Twins game of the season was exciting. In Minnesota's 3-2 win over the soon-to-be 2008 World Champion L.A. Angels of Anaheim, California, Monday night the fans learned a few things about this version of the Twins:

• Carlos Gomez is, if nothing else, entertaining;



• and sounds exactly like Tony Olivia in a post-game interview;



• Torii Hunter was never really great in big pressure situations -- particularily in the playoffs or first games back in his old stadium;



• Livan Hernandez is more entertaining to watch than his virtual statistical twin Carlos Silva;



• Hernandez is a far cry less exciting to watch than Johan Santana;



• Joe Mauer is now officially the best in the league at a "productive out" (according to Dick Bremer), and we should look forward to a season full of him grounding out to second base in order to push Gomez over to third. Ugh;



• Justin Morneau is nowhere near in a groove;



• Delmon Young is no Lew Ford (thank God!);



• Craig Monroe looks to be no Rondell White (thank God!);



• and, Michael Cuddyer looks just fine out there in right again.

In all reality, it would be best if Gomez could pop off two games a week like Monday's this season (2-for-3, 2 runs scored, a double, 2 stolen bases, a bunt hit, and--gasp!--a walk). He has Cristian Guzman's speed with the baserunning ability of Rod Carew. That's a nice distraction if he can get on base somehow.

* * *

Another Thought ...

No doubt the Twins will struggle desperately due to lack of consistent starting pitching (how long do YOU think it'll be before they offer a contract to 45-year-old David Wells?). The bullpen is strong enough to take games from the sixth inning on and Joe Nathan should be great again, but what can we possibly expect of this rotation?

That pitching issue is a big one, but the real problem with this team is lack of bats off the bench.

On Monday with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Twins brought in Jason Kubel to pinch bloop-hit for Monroe. He singled to put men on first and third, which made the Angels intentionally walk George Herman "Bab" Lamb to load the bases. This brought up Brendan Harris. When your team is up one run on a team as good as the Angels, it's time to pinch hit with some pop instead of sending up Harris and Adam Everett. But who to use?

Nick Punto was already off the bench, pinch-running for Kubel (damn that was a tiring single to run out). Mike Redmond was a possibility, but he had to be available if Mauer got injured or the game headed for extra-innings. All that was left was someone named Matt Tolbert, our new light-hitting utility infielder (hey, isn't Punto already on the roster?). My thinking from the bullpen is there is a need for one more hitter capable of hitting higher than .200 off the bench.

Enjoy the quest for the perfect season.