| | It's time for Delmon Young and Jason Kubel to play every day, and let Span, Gomez, and Cuddyer battle for playing time. Do you think I'm crazy? Just a minute.
The bottom line is that the Twins are on the bubble as a playoff team. If they are going to win more than 85 games, they will have to do it by their best young players having very good years. Kubel and Young are in that category. There isn't much hope for Gomez to do very well this year; he is too young and hasn't showed signs of being close to very good. Span is also too young, but has shown much progress; still, his potential this year is not as good as Young and Kubel this year. Cuddyer is a veteran and can contribute but also could use the rest five games per month.
Take a look at their stats:
PA OPS
2nd half 2008 Kubel 212 .824
April 2009 Kubel 67 .999
2nd half 2008 Young 259 .777
April 2009 Young 50 .640
They both had great second halves last year in less-than-full-time duty. Kubel has been really hot all month; Young was in a slump through the first 15 games but has really turned it on in the last week. If they can together average 800 OPS with 600 more PAs each, the team will win the division. Furthermore, they have a chance of taking a big step forward; what if they together average an .850 OPS? Somewhat unlikely, but far more likely than Gomez even reaching a .700 OPS. If they only get 400 more PAs each and we have an extra 300 PAs of Span and Gomez, we are unlikely to get to the playoffs. On the other hand, if they underperform, no amount of Gomez and Span is going to save us, nor is an overused Cuddyer.
The Twins' only chance is to live or die with this potentially fearsome lineup, with Kubel, Young, and Morneau as heavy hitters; Crede close behind them; Span, Mauer, and Cuddyer as solid batsmen; and Casilla and Punto using their speed to the fullest. Any other regular lineup--even if it is less risky--can't make it.
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| | Posted 4/27/2009 8:35 PM - 10 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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