Let’s cut to the chase, get down to the nitty gritty, use another cliche that doesn’t come to mind right now. There were National League teams that had better production from the designated hitter position than what the Twins had. It started with Rondell White, who couldn’t muster anything resembling offense at the beginning of the season, followed by an amalgam of guys whose name began, invariably, with J. Jason Tyner was a light hitting option who took until his fiftysomethingth (that’s research!) hit to get an extra base hit. That’s not 50 at bats. That’s 50 HITS. Not cool. Not if you want to generate offense, in any case. Jason Kubel seems like the prototypical DH, he’s big, ugly, strong and he can’t run. Kubel, however, never felt comfortable in the role, and all season long, we pined for Carlos Zambrano. Not for his arm, but for his bat.
The Twins have already made a couple signings in Ken Harvey and Jeff Cirillo that seem to be candidates for time spent in the DH role, but seeing as the Twins are going to bring back Rondell White to play left, Kubel will inevitably spend the most time as DH. I don’t suspect that Terry Ryan has anyone on his radar to play left or DH, as he still needs another arm (Steve Trachsel and Sidney Ponson are on the radar… we’re primed for 1999!) for the rotation, and he only this past week arranged for a veteran utility player in Cirillo. While I would love to see the Twins add another big bat, if they are going to take on a contract, I would much rather it be one of a pitcher. And besides, Kubel will be better this season, since his knee will be reminiscent less of a motorcycle accident.
So that’s it. I’m finally done with my Twins p/review thing. Your thoughts – Ryan
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