Who Is It Going To Be?

For a few years I defended Nick Punto from the criticism of my friends and other Twins fans because for a while I did like him, I enjoyed watching him play and I did want to see him do well. He certainly possesses some skills that make him valuable. He's versatile, he's patient at the plate, he's a good defender, he's a great teammate and he hustles more than perhaps any other player on the team. My partiality for him continued through and beyond his pitiful 2007 season, but that all came to an end last year.

It's simply impossible to overlook the fact that Punto was pretty terrible last year. Despite his good glove work he's the kind of inconsistent offensive player that makes watching his at bats so frustrating. Going into the All-Star break last season he had a .201 average with a .234 slugging percentage. Look familiar? He hit .210 with a .217 slugging percentage in 2007. He managed to improve a little in the second half ending the season with a .228 average and a .284 slugging percentage, but adding that to his history of injuries and lack of any hitting power, there just isn't enough good to outweigh the bad.

Now I don't want to be TOO hard on Nick, because while he may not hit for a lot of power, he does make a lot of contact, draws a lot of walks, and it is certainly true that his offense last year was not as bad as his numbers would suggest. One could argue that Punto should regularly be in the lineup if not only for his skill in taking some pitches. But how long can that last? Without an ability to hit with some authority, there's no reason for pitchers to throw him anything other than strikes.

The real question is, is Punto's glove more needed than Harris' bat? I don't think so. And though I'm hearing a lot of fans saying batting Punto ninth in the lineup is less of a concern than Harris' defense, I completely disagree. Harris is far from perfect himself but defensively held his own last year and was undoubtedly the superior hitter of the two.

The problem here isn't Punto. He is who he is and despite his poor offense he continues to plug away, trying to compensate for his lack of offensive talent with drive and hustle. No, the real problem here is Ron Gardenhire. No matter how poorly Punto has performed, Gardenhire has allowed him to maintain a starting role and will continue to sing his praises all while inflating Punto's value to the team by describing him as "invaluable", "fantastic", and "irreplaceable", among many other over-the-top quotes in his appeal to suggest that Punto is merely undervalued.

Punto is an offensive liability, plain and simple. His glaring weaknesses should be a huge concern by now and need to be addressed if the Twins are going to go deep in October. He is just not one the Twins can count on to be consistently productive. I believe that any team that will give Punto 300+ plate appearances is in trouble. And while his hitting may not be bad enough to push the Twins out of playoff contention, I don't think that means that the Twins should give up this opportunity to return him to the utility role he's best suited for and give Harris a fair shake at third.