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.

I must have written Jed Lowrie’s name 25 times last winter, when tracking the Johan Santana trade discussions.  Who knows how serious the Red Sox were about actually trading him to the Twins?

We have since heard that while the Red Sox offered CF Jacoby Ellsbury and LHP Jon Lester in separate packages, the offers dropped off quickly if either one of them were included. In other words, the Twins could have had Ellsbury or Lester, but we’re not so certain they could have had Ellsbury, Lowrie and RHP Justin Masterson, just as they couldn’t have had Lester, Lowrie and Masterson.

This is why we often heard the words “moving parts” associated with Boston’s offers.

Anyway, I saw Lowrie play a few times during spring training and wasn’t overly impressed. But he is off to a good start since being promoted from Class AAA Pawtucket to help fill the void left when 3B Mike Lowell sprained his left thumb. Lowrie is batting  .375 (6-for-16), and through six games, he has played second base, third base and shortstop. Here’s an excerpt from a recent Nick Cafardo column in the Boston Globe.

Lowrie is a switch hitter who is being compared to former Red Sox batting champion Bill Mueller. He’s even heard comparisons to Baltimore second baseman Brian Roberts, though he doesn’t appear to have Roberts’s speed. He says he’s a natural righthanded hitter but doesn’t favor either side. In fact he made a point to say every day he comes to the park he feels a little different with his hitting.

Every now and then, it’ll be fun to check in on some of those names from the Santana Winter. To be clear, I am not drawing any conclusions now. I realize these sample sizes are ridiculously small. But it’s interesting to see how they’ve started 2008 after all that hype:

Melky Cabrera: .281-.358-.456 (3 HR, 7 RBI, 3 SB for the Yankees)

Phil Hughes: 0-3, 8.82 ERA (4GS, 10 K, 10 BB for the Yankees)

Ian Kennedy:  0-2,9.64 ERA (4 GS, 13 K, 13 BB for the Yankees)

These two RHPs are part of the reason Hank Steinbrenner had his latest rant about inserting Joba Chamberlain into the starting rotation.

Jacoby Ellsbury: 277-.444-.404 (1 HR, 7 RBI, 8 SB for the Red Sox)

Jon Lester: 1-2, 5.06 ERA (5 GS, 15 K, 17 BB for the Red Sox)

Justin Masterson: 1-0, 0.95 (4 GS, 23 K, 5 BB for Class AA Portland)

Jed Lowrie: .375-.389-.563 (6 G with the Red Sox. He was batting just .160 when promoted from Pawtucket.)

And, finally, the four players the Twins actually obtained for Santana: 

Carlos Gomez: .244-.262-.329 (0 HR, 5 RBI, 9 SB for the Twins)

Philip Humber:  0-2, 5.09 ERA (4 GS, 10 K, 9 BB for Class AAA Rochester)

Kevin Mulvey:  2-1, 1.02 ERA (3 GS, 20 K, 3 BB  for Class AAA Rochester)

Deolis Guerra: 2-0, 1.42 ERA (4 G, 3 GS, 15 K, 9 BB for Class A Fort Myers)

Almost forgot the man himself:

Johan Santana: 2-2, 3.25 ERA (4GS, 28 K, 4 BB for the Mets. I’m going to go out on a limb and say this guy has some potential!)

The Twins are placing shortstop Adam Everett on the disabled list with tendinitis in his right shoulder. Manager Ron Gardenhire said a player will be promoted from Class AAA Rochester, but the team won’t announce whom until after the game.

Update: The best guess on the pending promotion is Brian Buscher. Asked if he was still leaning toward a lefthanded pinch hitter, Gardenhire said, “Probably something just like that.”

Update 2: Buscher, indeed, got the call. The third baseman has batted .345 with four home runs and 11 RBI in 15 games for Rochester this season.

Matt Tolbert fouled a ball off his left foot last night, and Gardenhire mentioned that as part of the reason he went with Nick Punto at shortstop. Punto also is a .316 (6-for-19) career hitter against Cleveland starter Jake Westbrook.

Michael Cuddyer will fly to Fort Myers, Fla., on Sunday to begin working out with the Twins’ Gulf Coast League affiliate.

INDIANS

1. Grady Sizemore, CF

2. Jamey Carroll, 2B

3. Travis Hafner, DH

4. Victor Martinez, C

5. Ryan Garko, 1B

6. David Dellucci, LF

7. Franklin Gutierrez, RF

8. Asdrubal Cabrera, SS

9. Casey Blake, 3B

Starting pitcher: RH Jake Westbrook

TWINS

1. Carlos Gomez, CF

2. Brendan Harris, 2B

3. Joe Mauer, C

4. Justin Morneau, 1B

5. Delmon Young, LF

6. Jason Kubel, RF

7. Craig Monroe, DH

8. Mike Lamb, 3B

9. Nick Punto, SS

Starting pitcher: RH Nick Blackburn.

Metrodome. First pitch: 2:55 p.m.

DETROIT — After two excruciating losses against the Tigers, the Twins return home tonight to face Tampa Bay. The bullpen collapses on the just completed 3-4 road trip were well-documented, but it’s not all gloom and doom for the Twins.

Here are seven positives as they come off the road:

1. Joe Mauer snapped an 0-for-15 skid, drove home two runs last night and finished 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.

2. Carlos Gomez also snapped his 0-for-15 skid with a first-inning broken-bat double, though he had head-scratching at-bats the rest of the night.

3. Justin Morneau slugged a two-run homer (his fourth of the season) giving the Twins a 4-1 lead in the sixth inning.

4. After the Twins fell behind 6-4 in the eighth, the Twins made things interesting in the ninth, as Delmon Young hit a triple that would have been a home run had Ryan Rayburn not reached over the fence and almost caught the ball.

5. Craig Monroe followed with a one-out, RBI single, his second hit of the night, raising his average to .211.

6. Scott Baker turned in a strong start for the Twins, missing a chance to go 3-0 when the Twins’ 4-3 lead was squandered.

7. Even though Jesse Crain blew the lead in the eighth, there were encouraging signs. I was stunned to see his fastball hitting 96 miles per hour. He threw some pretty good 89-mph sliders, too. Not bad for a guy who had surgery to repair his right labrum and rotator cuff less than a year ago.

“I just think every time I’m out there I’m going to get a little more comfortable,” he said. “I was on my fourth appearance, so you know hopefully I’ll keep on getting out there.”

Crain said he’s been feeling better the day after his outings, which is another step in his recovery. With Matt Guerrier and Pat Neshek struggling, the Twins could use another late-inning option.

Note: La Velle is back in our command post tonight, so check his blog later for the starting lineups.

DETROIT — Twins shortstop Adam Everett will have his right shoulder examined by the team’s medical staff Wednesday, Manager Ron Gardenhire said, after inserting Matt Tolbert into the starting lineup for tonight’s game against the Tigers.

Everett had a throwing error in the eighth inning of Monday’s 11-9 loss and missed two games over the weekend to rest the shoulder.

TWINS

1. Carlos Gomez, CF

2. Brendan Harris, 2B

3. Joe Mauer, C

4. Justin Morneau, 1B

5. Delmon Young, LF

6. Jason Kubel, RF

7. Craig Monroe, DH

8. Mike Lamb, 3B

9. Matt Tolbert, SS

Starting pitcher: RH Scott Baker

TIGERS

1. Clete Thomas, CF

2. Placido Polanco, 2B

3. Gary Sheffield, DH

4. Magglio Ordonez, RF

5. Miguel Cabrera, 3B

6. Carlos Guillen, 1B

7. Edgar Renteria, SS

8. Pudge Rodriguez, C

9. Marcus Thames, LF

Starting pitcher: LH Nate Robertson

Comerica Park. First pitch: 6:05 p.m.