A lot of fans and media have advice for highly regarded Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. Among the suggestions is to send Jason Kubel to the minor leagues as a prescription to improve his hitting.
The Twins need a left fielder and more punch at the plate. Kubel, 24, has been admired for his ability and potential. In the minors he hit .321 in 2002 and .298 in 2003. In 60 at bats with the Twins in 2004 he batted .300 and at two minor league stops that year compiled averages of .377 and .343. He missed the entire 2005 season recovering from left knee surgery. Last season he had a .241 average, with eight home runs and 26 RBI’s.
This season he’s hitting .250 with no home runs and 12 RBI’s in 96 at bats. Yesterday he stopped a 0-11 streak by going two-for-three.
Would Kubel benefit from playing every day with the AAA team in Rochester? “We haven’t even gotten there yet,” Gardenhire told Sports Headliners in his office yesterday. “We’re always evaluating…what’s going to be best for the players and the ball club. Right now we’re just trying to figure out who can go out there, step it up, play left field for us and get it done. He’s…probably one of the best projected hitters out there but you have to do it out on the field. Right now it’s just a little bit of a struggle, but he’s trying.”
Gardenhire said the plan has been to use Kubel as a designated hitter or left fielder and he minimized the likelihood of sending Kubel to the minors. Gardenhire wants to see Kubel improve his confidence and “trust himself more.”
Gardenhire said Kubel is healthy and the knee doesn’t bother him. “You gotta remember he was one of the best hitters in our (farm) system a few years ago before this knee injury,” Gardenhire said. “He’s only 24 years old. He’s got a lot to learn. He missed a complete year of baseball. He’s still battling back from that. It doesn’t come back that easy. He’s working hard. …
“His make-up is probably a little detrimental to him because he’s not one of these rah-rah, go-get-em guys. He’s kind of a laid back kid and that probably doesn’t help him in trying to come back from this thing. …He’s a little tentative. We gotta get that out. We want him to be aggressive. That’s what we’re working on right now, just being more aggressive as a player and a person. …”
Gardenhire said younger players have emotional swings and Kubel can benefit from a steady approach, not be too hard on himself and “he’ll be a better player once he learns that.”