Go Go Go Gomez

[DonBo]

Originally Posted By: DonBo

Sorry, opening night lineup will have Young in left, GoGo in center and Cuddy in right. Span is gonna be odd man out till someone plays themself out of a job, or the injury thing comes along and Cuddy is certainly the odds on favorite for that.

That is what it should be based on spring performances but Gardy likes his left/right matchups. Span will be in the lineup to face Hernandez.

You may be right, we'll see. I'll be there cheering them on no matter who Gardy decides to run out there.

[SledNeck]

Do cuddys stars include his 50 rehab games in AAA?

When the game is on the line I'd rather have delmon up. My I started drinking cuddy hateraide due to his ability to always get out in the clutch.

[DonBo]

Man, I can't believe all the Cuddy bashing going on here. He's still the best right fielder we've had in years and his veteran leadership is exactly what's needed to set an example to the younger guys out there. He knows how to play the game and that's the only thing missing from the others.

[Gary Crichton]

Sledneck I see you have a warm fuzzy spot in your heart for Cuddy. I think after a couple of weeks you will come around in your reasoning and rethink your position on him.

Go Go Twins/with CUDDY

G.C.

[Willy]

Donbo, I agree with you about Cuddy. He is a good player, just had injuries. A healthy Cuddyer is our best hitting outfielder. He gets on base at a pretty good clip, usually takes pitches and does hit a respetable SLG%. Also has one of the best arms in the majors.

I don't agree with you about Span though. He will leadoff and the guy plays excellent defense. His spring stats suck, but so do Scott Bakers. Do we wanna bench him? Spring stats mean nothing. I have confidence Spansy will put it together once the regular season is here. If not, there are a few guys that would love to take his spot.

I just don't see anyone else that will be any good at hitting leadoff besides him though. When he is out of the lineup, Casilla should leadoff.

[Gary Crichton]

Well said DonBo Well said.

G.C.

[fishyguy]

Do cuddys stars include his 50 rehab games in AAA?

When the game is on the line I'd rather have delmon up. My I started drinking cuddy hateraide due to his ability to always get out in the clutch.

No but they don't include any of the 50 game suspension Delmon got for clobbering a ump with the same bat he had just struck out with either.

[Jarrod32]

Originally Posted By: SledNeck

No walks and still manages to have more HRs and better ba. than Cuddy.

Humiliating

If only we were playing Home Run Derby. If we are only worried about HR's maybe we can bring back Rob Deer, Greg Luzinski, and Matt Stairs. We won't catch a thing and strike out 15 times a game but boy we would hit alot of dingers.

Cuddy has higher numbers in slugging, OBA and fielding (outfield numbers only for a fair comparison). If you got a guy on 2nd with no one out, down by a run late in the game, who do you want at bat. Do you want the guy who hits a HR every 60 AB's but will probably go down on 3 pitches outside the strike zone or the guy who will give you a professional AB and at least try to put the ball in play to move the runner over?

We can play this game all year long. Cuddy is the more complete player right now and Delmon is a guy with loads of potential that has not got it all together yet.

That last statement is right. Cuddy is probably the better player right now. But both Gomez and Young have an upside that makes Cuddy look pretty weak. Span is nice, but doesn't have near the upside that Young and Gomez do. Span's upside puts him in the neighborhood of Cuddy. Span's upside, over an extended period of time, might come close to what he did last year. But don't expect anything like what Span gave the Twins last year to be anywhere near normal for him. He's not as good as what he showed last year.

Should go with an outfield of Young, Gomez and Span and platoon Cuddyer and Kubel at DH. Span will play himself out of the job in a few weeks when it becomes clear that the other three are all better than Span. Then Span can take his rightful place as the fourth outfielder/DH against lefties. That is the role that Span can be useful in.

[PierBridge]

Speaking of Span he's horrible right now and may not make the starting line-up.

Discuss!

[PierBridge]

Sledneck I see you have a warm fuzzy spot in your heart for Cuddy.

Yeah definitely the Anti-Bromance going on between Sled and Cuddy.

And No Sled won't be changing his tune anytime soon!

[SledNeck]

Yeah Delmon sure clobbered that ump. I hope that ump will recover one day.

It's funny, the only place I ever have discussions with fans of Cuddy is on here. Everywhere else he doesn't get much love.

[DonBo]

That IS funny because the only place I hear him getting bashed so relentlessly is on the SledNeck show.

[fishyguy]

Yeah Delmon sure clobbered that ump. I hope that ump will recover one day.

So it is o.k. since he didn't send the guy to the hospital?

[fishyguy]

It's funny, the only place I ever have discussions with fans of Cuddy is on here. Everywhere else he doesn't get much love.

Are these places discussing baseball or fantasy leagues? Two completely different subjects with different answers to the same question. Care to show me where? I would like to see what else they have to say because if I am being honest you don't come with much back up other than some kind of personal feeling about Cuddyer and the fact that Delmon hit a home run or two in spring training off some guy who will be riding a bus between Pawtucket and Toledo next month.

[wahoohendoo]

once you start to feel positive about Cuddles batting he cuts himself shaving and is out half the year. he and mauer just make me nervous watching them walk, then they decide to chew gum or sunflower seeds at the same time

just stay healthy for 2 years in a row then he will doin alright.

[DonBo]

Oh, and by the way, Mikie hit his second home run of the spring today.

[SledNeck]

So it is o.k. since he didn't send the guy to the hospital?

[fishin58]

The only time sled smiles is when he is watching the Twins!! Hopefully Gardy's love for Cuddy does not get in the way.

[Dahitman44]

I saw that game too -- I just can't figure ol' Delmon out -- he looks so clueless, like he is not sure where he is half the time. I wonder if he gets the munchies when the game is over?

Before you get on me, you have to admit that he looks like he is out of it so often ... maybe he is? That might be why he is in Gardy's Dog house all the time?

Just a thought?

[PierBridge]

Cuddy gets plenty of hate over at Rube-chat. Not as much as Delmon but quite a bit actually. Then again who don't they BASH at Rube-Chat...LOL

Now about Span who should be riding the pine when the season starts..

[fishyguy]

Now about Span who should be riding the pine when the season starts..

[Willy]

Span gets on base and takes professional at-bats. No, he has never been a perenial .300 hitter, but he has done it before. Also, look at his OBP througout the minors, pretty decent, actually very good.

http://minors.baseball-reference.com/players.cgi?pid=13869

He also plays great defense, no arguing that.

He's a leadoff hitter. His job is the get on base, take pitches, provide good at-bats. He's cold right now, but just because his average isn't always .300, doesn't mean he is not a good hitter.

Single most important stat for a hitter = OBP. Especially for a leadoff hitter. He's not gonna whack the ball all over the park, actually, his minor league numbers show he has almost zero pop. But he will give good at bats. Frankly, I haven't seen a leadoff hitter like him on our squard since Chucky. Noone else I want leading off than Span.

[Jarrod32]

From Sporting News fantasy today:

Carlos Gomez, OF (rank: 57) - Twins

March 28, 4:15 p.m.

Carlos Gomez went 3-for-3 with two steals as the Twins' No. 2 hitter on Saturday.

Fantasy spin: The plan is for Gomez to hit low in the order, but he's been far better than Denard Span this spring. He's hitting .283/.365/.587 with five steals in 46 at-bats, while Span is at .154/.257/.246 in 65 at-bats. Unless Span can turn it around before the end of the spring, the Twins will have to think about going back to Gomez in the leadoff spot.

[Dahitman44]

go-go was in the lead off spot today and player well with a couple of hits and a walk.

plus he is on my fantasy team so i hope he leads off ...

[alwaysonthemove]

Fish guy your right on there

I cannot wait to watch the twins spank the ball around I think they really got a chance to get to the big show this year.

I love Gomez that guy has a lotta heart into the game. Just wish other players [Young] had that much drive. It is fun watching gomez run. Dang thats baseball

[UdeLakeTom]

But then what fun would we have posting on FM????

:DIn response to:

Poster: fishyguy

Subject: Re: Go Go Go Gomez

Originally Posted By: PierBridge

Now about Span who should be riding the pine when the season starts..

So Pier's statement got me to go look for a couple of posts I made about Span last year when everyone was ready for to put him in the Hall of Fame and tear apart the lineup for him, who at that point, had about 60 career AB in the majors. In the end I found a post by PierBridge that includes one of my posts but his post is priceless and pretty much sums up this entire thread and the ones like it.

All this said, I hope Span has proves me wrong but I think last year might have been his career year. If he can hit .275 or so his defense, speed and ability to work a AB still makes him a nice player.

Originally Posted By: PierBridgeOriginally Posted By: fishyguySpan has had a great start with a fairly paltry sample size of 64 at bats. Span has also never finished a minor league season with an average over .300,while batting a whopping .267 last year in AAA, but now everyone wants to dump Cuddy and tinker with a lineup that is producing the 5th most runs in all of baseball. I believe Morneau was batting about .220 after 60 at bats or so. Lets wait this out before we tear apart the team and lineup for him.

Not to mention Span is like a .140 hitter against Lefty's career wise.

LOL.... that's why they don't let fans make the decisions...heck we'd have to raid highschool teams just to field a team...

Let's see... Punto would be running the drive thru at Arbys, Mauer would be a DH or 3rd basemen, Neshak would be the closer with Nathan traded for Babe Ruth, Gardy's fired, Pohlad is whacked by the mob, Yohan and Hunter would be here to the tune of a GUARANTEED 1/4 Billion, the young starters would pitch the entire game no matter what, Doug Mientkavich never shoulda been let go his glove's to good .....yada yada yada... I know I'm missing a few good ones feel free to add them to the post!

That being said I love what Spans doing so far but only time will tell how it pans out especially after there is an actual scouting report on him and teams exploit his weekness's.

Go Twins!

[SledNeck]

what if we would have kept Christian Guzman?

[Jarrod32]

what if we would have kept Christian Guzman?

They wouldn't have signed Adam Everett...

[CrappiesNCats]

anyone giving span props is a little silly. two words: Sample size. its too early to say that he takes professional at bats, especially since that wasnt something he was known for in the minors (and how lost he's looked during ST). the same people that are all over span becoming the savior are in large part the same people who loved Lew Ford.

lets wait and see. judging by results (and despite my dislike for cuddy) the starting outfield should not include span. then again, in order to see the who the true span is, he needs time and cuddy is in the way. stupid contract we gave cuddy as guys that can hit for his numbers are a dime a dozen and come cheaper.

hopefully span can step it up, but most of you are too confident.

[B. Amish]

Cuddyer hosed a guy at the plate in yesterday's game. Catch and throw double play stopped a potential big inning.