June 8, 2008 – Well, 62 games have come and gone and there are 100 games left to play and the Twins are sitting with a .500 record. After losing Hunter and Santana and going into the season with a no name starting pitching staff you have to think that playing .500 baseball would satisfy most fans as they watch some of the young players gain experience but apparently that is not the case. That kind of surprises me because this team is fun to watch most of the time but there will be games that will make you wonder. The loss of Hunter and Santana does seem to have negatively impacted attendance as average Twins home attendance in 2008 has dropped to 24,234 from an average of 28,350 in 2007. On the road the Twins are not a good draw either, as only one team, the Baltimore Orioles have attracted fewer fans then Minnesota has. Seldom near the top in overall attendance, the Twins are currently 23rd in overall attendance as compared to 22nd in 2007. Hopefully the fans will get behind this team as it has some stars like Morneau, Mauer, and Nathan and some stars in the making like Gomez, Casilla, and Young. This team just needs experience to challenge for a division title.
Having said that, I am very frustrated with Twins management failure to do something to plug the hole they have had at 3B for years. If this is a young team getting used to playing with each other and getting experience, why are the Twins sending out Lamb to play 3B? Lamb is certainly not a stellar 3B nor the power hitter that the Twins thought they were getting, he has limited range and his throws to first are almost always an adventure. He has provided no power to-date. Geez, get the guy out of there and bring up somebody from the minors that can play the position and let him get some experience. What have the Twins got to lose? Realistically they are not in the division race although they are only 4 games out and the experience gained by a young 3B would be invaluable. What do we gain by sending Lamb out there day after day? If Twins management thinks they are in this race, then do something, make a deal for a REAL 3B and let Lamb do what he does best, pinch hit and play 1B & 3B enough to rest the regulars. So Mr. Smith, you signed Lamb for 2 years, admit the mistake and let’s move on, don’t keep tying Gardenhire’s hands behind his back by forcing him to send Lamb out to 3B day after day.
The pitching staff needs your attention too Mr. Smith, make a deal and sending Boof somewhere where he can get another chance to get in the rotation and acquire some young talent for us to build on. Rincon has shown that he is done here in Minnesota, why do we keep sending him out there? He will probably not fetch much in a trade but I think we have a case here for addition by subtraction, bring Korecky back and he can fill Rincon’s spot, he can’t do any worse. If nothing else, bring Danny Graves up and give him another shot.