Monday, March 15, 2010

So wait, now everyone loves Delmon Young?

For the past couple of seasons, Delmon Young has been the subject of scorn from Minnesota fans and writers, and the subject of snide remarks from the management. It was cheered when Jim Thome was signed, because many suspected that this meant Jason Kubel would be in the field (ugh) and Thome would be the every day DH (Thome hit .249 last year, so I can see the allure). Now that he is in camp, each of the Twin Cities' papers has run a glowing report on the young man, with statements from Ron Gardenhire and Justin Morneau.
What?!
In both articles (Pioneer Press here, Star Tribune here), they mention his dramatic weight loss in the off season, demonstrating his dedication. He does look like a whole new person, by the way. They also mention that he has been, historically, a slow starter, and that his mind was elsewhere for much of last year because he lost his mother to cancer early in the season. Gardenhire, Morneau and even Jim "trade Joe Mauer" Souhan believe that he's now a projected to have a big breakout season. They remind us that he is still young and extremely talented.
I've been saying all of those things (except for the weight loss thing) for months now. Still, I struggled to find support for my beliefs until this Spring Training. I have no idea what changed. Does anyone have any idea? Is Souhan reading my blog?

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posted by Ryan | 11:00 PM

1 Comments:

Blogger thisisbeth said...

Two things:
1. His attitude is Spring Training this year is probably more focused and positive. I can't imagine he was in the best frame of mind last year, knowing he might never see his Mom again.

2. Danny Valencia. Danny Valencia is the "young, hot prospect" at third base, and people are just hoping to find someone to fill in at third until Valencia is ready for the majors. They're patiently waiting for him to gain his potential. He's been a big focus. And then someone realized that DY is younger than Valencia. While they were giving Valencia slack for still learning, they realized to be fair, they had to give Delmon some slack for being further along. He's not at the top of his game. He's still learning.

That's my opinion, anyway.

7:39 AM  

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