Span vs Gomez

So here's the thing, the Twins have two of the best up and coming center fielders in the AL (dare I say baseball?). Not surprisingly, one of Gardy's most challenging decisions every game is to decide who plays while the other rides the pine. Not the most enjoy situation to be in, to say the least. So here's some food for thought: "Who do you play? Denard Span, the prototypical leadoff hitter that takes pitches, draws walks, and hits .300 while having close to a .400 OBP; or Carlos Gomez, a lightning bolt lassoed into the body of a baby-faced Dominican that can run faster than Cool Papa Bell?"

To keep from ranting for an hour, lets say that they cannot split playing time. Thus, we will disregard individual game situations (i.e. playing the left-handed Span vs RHP and the right-handed Gomez vs LHP). Let us now consider each players individual characteristics.

Carlos Gomez. The heart of the Johan Santana trade. There is truly no telling what this guy could do if he learns to control himself. Cannon of an arm, serious pop, hell of a competitor, ... oh and did I say that he's fast? Drawbacks: Looks as though he's made up his mind whether to swing or not before the pitch is even thrown, unpolished basestealing technique, and can't hit a breaking pitch to save his life. .258 AVG and .296 OBP are definitely not numbers you want to see out of your leadoff guy either. I want to point out that although I think Gomez needs to learn to control himself, I'm saying that half-heartedly. Carlos Gomez did not get to be the Mets's #1 prospect and essentially traded for Johan by being a passive baseball player. Just a little maturing is all.

Denard Span. I've got to admit, I've had my mood swings with this guy. During spring training last year, I wanted Span to be the guy to replace my beloved Torii thinking he had earned his chance and fit the mold of the guy at the top of the lineup. However, once Go Go won the spot and I saw him play, I fell in love. Span could retire in AAA for all I cared. (pause for added effect...) Boy, have things changed! Denard Span is the shit. .294 AVG, .387 OBP, while stealing 18 bases in 93 games last year was just what the Twins needed to hit in front of the M & M Boys. Span only looks to increase these numbers while batting .321 with a .381 OBP through the month of April.

Pick: Denard Span. Although Gomez might have a higher ceiling, Span is the guy the Twins currently need. Some might say that Gomez is the better defensive player and I agree. But that is not to say Span can't fly and can't gun down runners either - Gomez just looks sweeter while doing it. I've truly been impressed with the ABs Span has been taking. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about Gomez. Until Gomez can harness his talent, Span needs to be in the lineup. (Note: The only way Gomez will learn to harness his talent is if he plays. Gardy has been doing a great job at playing all four outfielders this season. I've chosen not to talk about mixing Go Go in there, because we decided to only choose one centerfielder. Talking about mixing them both in there is out of scope of this blog, bitch.)

Thoughts?

- Sam

He's Baaaaaack

The best hitting catcher of all time (just try and argue this one) makes his return tomorrow to the Twins lineup and it couldn't come at a better time. The Twins did fine treading the April waters finishing .500 at 11-11 but to say that Joey Baseball wasn't missed would be stupid. Because I missed him, and Sam missed him more.

Placing Mauer back into his 3 hole makes the Twins lineup deadly. Lets take a look at the two lineups:

Pre Mauer:
Denard Span
2nd baseman (Harris/Casilla)
Justin Morneau
Jason Kubel
Michael Cuddyer
Joe Crede
Delmon Young
Jose Morales
Nick Punto

Not a bad lineup and Morales has been more then impressive as he is batting well over .330 right now (side note: This goes out to Mike Redmond... I love you, but you must retire and go into coaching, now. With Mauer coming off the DL and Morales playing very well you are the odd man out. You don't want to go to the Minors do you? I suggest that you say that you are more hurt then you are so you can still be apart of the team (60 day DL) but you do not take up a roster spot. Sorry).

Post Mauer:
Denard Span
2nd baseman (Harris/Casilla)
Joe Mauer
Justin Morneau
Jason Kubel
Joe Crede
Delmon Young
Michael Cuddyer
Nick Punto

Wow, now that is a big league lineup. Anytime you can have a guy like Michael Cuddyer or even Delmon Young batting 8 for you, you are in good shape. The Twins have struggled with scoring runs as they have only scored 10+ twice this year. The Twins are however undefeated in 1 run games, not sure what that means but good for us and them.

It will take Mauer some time to get back into hitting singles up the middle but in the meantime watch out for 6-4-3's. Hopefully this team can catch fire in the summer months but for right now I like where the Twins are at. Liriano does not have a win yet and yet they are still .500. April is always the tough month to get through but once it is over you start to see the separation of good and bad teams. Sorry KC, this is not your year.

-Andy

Welcome

Welcome all to our blog. Sam and I have been kicking these ideas around for a long time now and we are finally acting on all of our big talk. In this blog you will get our thoughts on the team everybody loves (but us more then others), the Minnesota Twins. Right now we will bring you blog posts but eventually we will have videos of us doing Twins related activities and possibly a podcast...possibly. Get ready for wall to wall Twins action and enjoy, because we sure do.