*Those of us who go back that far watched Kirby Puckett develop from a singles hitter into a powerful force in the course of several years. By comparison, the development of Gogomez has happened in hyperspeed. Consider that in April his offensive numbers were .253 average/.260 on-base percentage/.354 slugging percentage, and some were making an argument for his demotion to Rochester. Going into this weekend, his May numbers are .323/.375/.490, a spectacular improvement. He is tied for third on the Twins in RBI and, since his game-on-the-bench-to-clear-his-head in Oakland toward the end of last month, Gogomez is 38-for-111 (.342). His numbers against right-handed pitching have improved markedly and his numbers against lefties are so slick that I don’t want to print ‘em. You can see them here, if you must. The disruption he causes pitchers and infielders on the bases make those who hit behind him fortunate and is worth the occasional bad choice that he makes. Now if he can stop that silly two-strike bunting thing…

*I was in the Metrodome press box during the Toronto series chatting with Bill Smith about Kevin Slowey. It was the night after he struggled through 5+ innings and Slowey was looking like a candidate to be dropped from the rotation if things didn’t get better. During our discussion, Bill pretty much said that Slowey would remain in the rotation. There was no use sending him back to Rochester, he said, because he’d already dominated at that level and what he needed to do was figure out a way to get major leaguers out without the struggles that marked his first few starts — high pitch counts while yielding only a handful of walks (6 in 34 2/3 innings). In Detroit last week, he made a bit of progress, pitching six shutout innings but needing 104 pitches. Last night, he threw a 101-pitch complete game. How big a step that was remains to be seen because beating the Royals right now may be a bit of a false positive. His next two starts, against the Orioles and White Sox, should be interesting.

*I’m guessing that Delmon Young sits at least one more night, and maybe a few more if Craig Monroe shows fire at the plate. I don’t think a few days off is such a bad thing given that his struggles reached the point that we couldn’t tell if his problems at the plate were being taken into the field or if his fielding problems were being taken to the plate. I hope he can learn from the professionalism that Monroe has shown during his times out of the lineup.

*If Brendan Harris makes up for his limited range with good positioning, maybe he’s the best choice to be playing shortstop, after all. Moving him there out of necessity was something I found dark and disturbing when Gardy said he’d try it. But after watching Adam Everett’s sore-armed tosses, I’m appreciating Harris’ zip and accuracy — and I feel much better having him bat ninth than Nick Punto, who’ll make a fine late-inning defensive replacement and spot starter when he returns. I wonder if Harris gets jealous watching Alexi Casilla’s range and grace at second base.

*With Ian Kennedy on the disabled list, I wonder if the Yankees will let Joba Chamberlain take his spot in the rotation Monday at the Metrodome. A national TV game on ESPN. You have to think it’s more than a possibility. (Update: On Baseball This Morning, where Mark Patrick cited my Gogomez numbers and mentioned this note about Joba, Buck Martinez said he thinks Joba on Monday “is a done deal.”)

*You can still vote in our “who’ll homer first” poll. At last count, Delmon was leading with 47.4 percent, Livan was second at 34.1 percent and Mauer was third at 18.5 percent. Polls will remain open until one of them goes deep or the new ballpark opens in 2010, whichever comes first.

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