The work of a comedic genius, The Hangover, and in particular, one line from the instant classic, made me think of Twins outfielder Delmon Young.
The line: "Is this the real Caesar's Palace? Like, did Caesar actually live here?
My reaction: Is this the real Delmon Young? Like, did he really have 93 RBI's, while hitting .288 in 2007?
Back then, his mother, Bonnie Young, was presumably in good health. It was a bit over three months ago that it was discovered that she had pancreatic and liver cancer.
She passed away recently.
No one can pretend to know the emotional swings that Delmon is dealing with. Since rejoining the team on May 24, he has hit .118/.143/.118 in 35 at-bats, with 19 strikeouts.
Those numbers can be excused. But what can't is a blurb from a Lavelle E. Neal III story in Friday's paper: (Ron) Gardenhire said Young has been pleasant to deal with, but he still doesn't like getting advice about his swing.
Further troubling information was provided by the St. Paul Pioneer Press in Saturday's edition: Last season the Twins had similar trouble communicating with Young on his hitting. Asked if that's gotten better this year, Gardenhire said, "He's really easy to talk to, but then when you get in a conversation about hitting and stuff, he doesn't like to hear that."
How, at 23-years-old, can Young be so stubborn? If hitting coach Joe Vavra or Gardenhire offer up advice, you take it, especially when what you're doing isn't performing the trick. We can argue the merits of the Twins' hitting philosophies, how David Ortiz went on to unreal highs after getting out of the Twins' system, and whether their thoughts match Young's talent, but at this point, he needs to listen.
But, Young is simply not capable. Case in point: Last year a former successful big league hitter, while out with a group of friends, ran into Young in a restaurant. He offered Delmon a tip about his wrists. Delmon's response - "Thanks ____________, but my wrists are faster than yours ever were!"
That anecdote is not meant to suggest that Delmon is a bad guy. I've heard he's likable, but just very stuck in his own ways.
An underappreciated baseball website, fangraphs.com, tossed out a good solution to the Young kerfuffle.
At this point, the Twins would probably be best served if Young went on the DL with Dontrelle Willis disease, and they used some kind of mental anguish issue to get him off the roster and let him "rehab" down in the minors.
Keep in mind, since he signed a major league contract out of high school, he can't be optioned to Triple-A without passing thru waivers, and he definitely would get picked up by someone.
Allowing Young to even play two days a week at this point, when he won't listen to his coaches and isn't producing, is a waste of outs.
Something needs to be done. A trade is not an option because no one would give up anything for him. Giving Gardenhire a shorter bench handcuffs him. Even as a late-inning pinch-runner, he hurts the team because his defense is below average.
Finding any way to get him to Triple-A Rochester seems to be the best route to take.