The Twins have to be patient with Carlos Gomez. The rest of us don’t.

From the time I first saw him in spring training, I wondered when I’d reach a point where I’d recommend a different course of action with him. That time has come.

Watching him go 0-for-5 with four strikeouts Tuesday was my final straw. He has six hits — and no walks — in his last 45 plate appearances. That translates into a .133 on-base percentage, the most important stat for a leadoff hitter. (Numbers corrected.)

He has 24 strikeouts in 89 plate appearances this season. Most players who strike out at that rate are power hitters. See Ryan Howard (30 Ks), Bill Hall (25), Carlos Pena (24). Gomez has a .310 slugging percentage. Howard’s is .367, Hall’s .444 and Pena’s .463.

Gomez needs a one-game break, at the very least. The Twins should even consider sending him, and not Denard Span, back to the minors when Michael Cuddyer returns from the DL on Friday.

Gomez leads the AL with nine stolen bases. He’s made two very nice diving catches, including a potential game saver on Sunday against Cleveland. He also is batting .167 (5-for-30 with nine strikeouts and no walks) with runners on base.

So who bats leadoff instead of Gomez? I would give Span his shot. Let him play center, his natural position, and see if he can turn in some quality at-bats that might settle down the entire offense.

By no means am I suggesting burying Gomez permanently. I see loads of potential. I went along with the Twins’ idea that by playing every day, stealing bases, etc., he would gain enough confidence to help him overcome the canyon-sized holes in his swing.

But the scouting report is well-established now. Pitchers are feeding him lots of sliders and getting him to chase lots of pitches out of the strike zone. The results are getting progressively worse. These are things he can work on in a less-pressurized environment.

The Twins shouldn’t let this 22-year-old shatter the confidence that is such a huge part of his game.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008 at 1:18 pm and is filed under Twins thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.