Weekend Preview

The Twins play the Rangers this weekend in Arlington. Here are Kubel's stats entering the series:

.267/.291/.413

Kubel appears to be suffering from the same thing affecting the rest of the Twins offense: they are having trouble drawing walks. Kubel has just 3 walks to 17 strikeouts. Some other Twins:

Gomez: 2 BB, 24 K

Young: 3 BB, 14 K

Morneau: 9 BB, 14 K

Harris: 5 BB, 17 K

Monroe: 3 BB, 13 K

Most of these guys are going to put up a similar ratio throughout the year. Kubel is the one Twins who has the best chance at drastically increasing his walks, decreasing his strikeouts, and therefore increasing his OBP.

Part of this may be the organizations philosophy of being aggressive--if you've read any of Gardy's comments regarding Delmon Young and how he's "paid to drive in runs so he needs to take his hacks," then you know that the ability to draw a walk is not valued in the Twins system, unless it's a natural ability like Mauer. Kubel has an above-average eye, and I believe it will show itself as the season progresses.

As for the Twins as a whole--they are currently last in all of baseball in walks. Coincidentally, they are one of the worst offenses in all of baseball as well. I wonder if management is smart enough to connect the two.

Here's how Kubel fairs against the pitchers on Friday and Sunday (Saturday is TBD):

Millwood

3-for-4, 2 doubles

Padilla

0-for-4, with a walk

Best of luck, Kubes.

 

Hope Springs

Perhaps Gardy has seen the light:

"DH Frank Thomas was once pursued by the Twins, but manager Ron Gardenhire said Minnesota is not interested now that the former Blue Jays slugger is available again. 'I'm happy with Jason Kubel," Gardenhire said. 'I don't know how I'd get (Thomas) at-bats because I plan on letting Jason Kubel have all of these at-bats."

No mention of Monroe. Excellent.

Of course, I'll believe it when I see it.

Twins in Oakland

The Twins are off today and begin a series out in Oakland tomorrow. Yesterday Kubel, hitting 3rd in the lineup, went 2-for-4 with a walk. His two-out single in the 10th sent Harris to 3rd and set up the game-winning single by Morneau.

In the Oakland series, the Twins will face Joe Blanton on Tuesday, Chad Gaudin on Wednesday, and Gerg Smith on Thursday. Kubel has never faced Smith, but here's how he has hit against Blanton and Gaudin:

Blanton: 0-3

Gaudin: 3-5, HR

I'm hoping for a big series from Kubel to bring up that average and OBP.

Heading Into the Weekend

...and here's where Kubel stands:

.259/.281/.463

14/54, 3 HR, 2 doubles, 12 RBI, K:BB of 13:2

The K:BB is a little disturbing. After the ASB in 2007, he had a K:BB of 33:23, which helped lead to this OBP of .379.

Hopefully that K:BB will get better over the next month or two, as recent history suggests it should. In fact, I am confident that it will.

Kubel should get the start against Cliff Lee tonight, as Monroe's career stat line against Lee is, well, this:

.148/.226/.333 in 27 AB, 1 HR

Kubel has never faced Lee.

Here's hoping for a good weekend for Kubel and the Twins.

Silver Lining

If there was a silver lining to the horrible Twins game tonight (compliments of the bullpen), it was the performance of the offense. And, on this site, the performance of Jason Kubel.

2-for-4, 1 run, 2 RBI, and a BB

Watching tonights game, although painful at the end, you could tell that Kubel is feeling very comfortable at the plate.

Off of Kubel for a second, a question for Gardy: What's the point of carrying 12 pitchers if you're not going to use them to win games? Two of your guys struggled (mightily), yet Gardy left them both out longer than he should have. Sometimes, he just blows the mind.

Kubel Update

Kubel just hit his 3rd HR of the year tonight. He is now tied for the team lead in HR with Morneau.

He was down no balls, two strikes, then worked the count full and hooked one around the right field foul pole.

Kubel has started in all the games since Cuddyer went on the DL. Assuming that Span is sent back down once Cuddyer returns, let's hope that the power and patience shown by Kubel will be enough for him to take over as full-time DH.

Gardy Has Beers with Reason, Logic

From the Star Trib:

"He had a big night," Gardenhire said of Kubel, who finished with six RBI. "I've always said, I really believe this guy can hit. And you know what? He's going to get plenty of opportunities this year. He had 450 [plate appearances] last year, and I think he's going to get more than that this year."

It seems Gardy is becoming aware that Kubel can be a key to the Twins offense now and in the future. Of course, there are still some suspicious moves, like starting Monroe at DH instead of Kubel on opening day against a RHP, that keep me from taking Gardy on his word.

On the downside, Gardenhire called Monroe "a veteran guy," which obviously means his standing is unjustly lifted in Gardy's mind. I don't think I'll ever understand his affection for veterans, especially lousy-hitting ones.

Some other observations from last night's game:

Yays

• Mauer had more two hits, and is hitting .323 
• Harris went 3-for-4 with a double
• Lamb had two hits
• Young drew a walk, which set up the Kubel GS
• Brian Bass looked good in long relief
• Gomez flashed some D in CF by robbing O. Cabrera of an XBH

Nays

• Baker gave up three HRs
• Everett failed to get a hit (although that's not what he's here for)
• Twins committed three errors, although they weren't horrible errors

Finally, an update on the Kubel vs. Monroe battle.

Kubel (26 ABs)

.269/.286/.538, 2 HR, 8 RBI

Monroe (15 ABs)

.133/.278/.267, 0 HR, 2 RBI

Yes, they are small sample sizes, but as the season progresses these stat lines will begin to take shape and show who deserves to start every game, and who should sit on the bench.