Wow! Delmon does it again!!

[Dahitman44]

Ok -- he is my favorite guy to rip on. He has made some strides, but not in the fielding area.

I was watching the game yesterday during my lunch and he is pretty clueless in the field.

A ball was hit in the air and it was a tough wind -- granted -- but this is a PROFESSIONAL baseball player. He camps under the ball and waits for it to come down then he starts to backpedal big time. He almost falls over and the ball sails over his head.

Nice play, Delmon.

I know they can't make all of the plays, but every time I see "D" ready to make a play I start hearing circus music and I imagine him with clown make up on. Why is that?

I think they should start thinking of him like they did Chili Davis back in the day - -don't even issue him a glove.

We wanted a right handed DH to split with Thome right?

Just a thought.........

[mrklean]

haha everyones favorite whipping boy. Did he drop some weight this year? I thought i heard he was slimming up and taking a different approach this year.

[Dahitman44]

Yep different approach, less weight but still lost in the outfield.

[Zelmsdawg]

Hes young...literally...i still have faith. Besides, most the general complaining i've heard over the years is that the Twins are good in the field but lack bats and think this is what we get now. We sacrificed glove to try and get some bat. Sure everyone wants to have their cake and eat it, just seems everyone always wants what they don't have

Zelmsdawg

[greebs]

it seems that delmon is one of those guys that just doesn't adapt to change very well for whatever reason and he definitely struggles out there. what I don't understand is why they don't have him and cuddy try switching spots. delmon was a right fielder before he came to the twins and from what I've heard he did all right.

I know they've put cuddy in cf a few games this preseason and didn't do bad other than being a bit slower than your typical cf. I'd think he would do all right in lf and maybe delmon would play closer to the level he did earlier in his career if he went back to his spot that he was used to? I suppose though maybe he's been out of rf long enough it would be just like starting over for him?

[Dahitman44]

honestly Del is a well below average OF with a decent yet not very accurate arm -- to me that has DH written all over it.

[Cicada]

Delmon doesn't have the arm to be a right fielder, that is, after he goes and picks the ball up. Cheap shot? Yes.

He is still young and there are growing pains, but he will not learn anything from the bench.

[SledNeck]

honestly Del is a well below average OF with a decent yet not very accurate arm -- to me that has DH written all over it.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=2909515

[mrklean]

haha very nice find sled he was ahead of hunter that dude had an arm along with Vlad

[PierBridge]

He has absolute cannon of an arm... he just struggles a bit judging and catching the ball.

Glad to see him in shape this season and hopefully he can have a break-out year!

[fishyguy]

There are many parts of Delmon's game that can and should be questioned. Arm strength is not one of them.

[mrklean]

well at least he didnt hit his mom with a foul ball

[zamboni]

Thome sitting on the bench is a waste. They need to split Young and Kubel and do the rightie/lefty matchups. Can't believe Gardy sometimes. Thome as a DH everyday is 30+ hrs.

[PierBridge]

That's just silly!

[Dahitman44]

ok Boys -- did you see Del goof it up again today in LF?

Yep DH -- take away his glove.

He might have a strong arm but he has to catch it first ...

[Cicada]

Keep Kubel as the DH. He had better numbers than Thome last year. More home runs per at -bat and more intentional walks(respect from his contemporaries). He is younger and getting better every year. Thome is getting older and his numbers are going down hill. I could be wrong, but with fewer at-bats and the age thing Thome will be gone by the All-Star break. It's tough enough to produce when you get your regular ab's, but he won't get them barring an injury. I like Thome, but I just feel there must be a better person to fill a roster spot than an aging, slow, left handed stick that can't play in the field anymore. Kubel will play left field when Mauer needs the day off from behind the plate.

[PierBridge]

Maybe we can turn this into a Michael Cuddyer type of thread/season!

BOMB! and a sweet hustle play for an infield hit!

Go Delmon!

[Hamper]

Can't risk Kubel messing up his knee out there again. Guess we'll just be treated to the hilarious misadventures of Delmon in Left Field.

[Dahitman44]

Yep -- Ol' Del gave that one a ride last night. That HR had serious velocity on it.

Now ... his fielding was not bad, because I just hold my breath and shut my eyes ...

[Jarrod32]

Not only the home run and the adequate job in the field, but he was hustling enough on that missed hit-and-run that he ended up with a stolen base.

[mrklean]

lets hope that homer last night was the start of many for delmon. By the end of the year this is gonna be the we love delmon thread

[Dylan33]

He had a good game! Holw cow! Trade him NOW! His value is as high as it will EVER be!

maybe we could get a bag of batting practice balls for him?

[solbes]

I think there's a lot more we've yet to see from his bat. Fielding is a different story of course. But if he can bat for close to .300 with some decent power, say 20 dingers, I would be plenty happy.

That is until I take a look at Tampa Bay's short stop.

[greebs]

I thought the biggest stat of the night for delmon was that he had no strikeouts. Maybe his bat speed is better with the weight loss? When you put bat on ball, good things can happen and it was good to see that from him last night. hopefull more to come.

[Dahitman44]

Ok Guys let's not put him into the Twins Hall of Fame yet -- but last night was encouraging.

We all know he is a talented kid -- maybe he will finally take a step ... That or we can trade him for a bag of Circus Peanuts. Remember them? ... man they were good.