Jim Souhan: Twins' four-man outfield proves one man too many

One month into the season, the Twins' outfield experiment is remindful of an old line from the medical profession: The operation was a success, but the patient died.

In the world of theory and mathematics, splitting playing time at three outfield positions among four players over a 162-game schedule seems reasonable. With pitching matchups, slumps and injuries dictating occasional days off for most players, anyway, what's wrong with entering a season with an extra starting-caliber outfielder, giving the manager a potent bat on his bench and reinforcements for a long season?

Well, the plan is working, but the bats are dying. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has found logical reasons for rotating the four into and out of the lineup, but in the real world of human emotions, making a talented, young, starting-caliber outfielder worry about whether he is going to be in the lineup every day leads to lousy performances, unsettled egos and a tense clubhouse.

That might be why Carlos Gomez, the jewel of the Johan Santana trade and a key player in the Twins' long-term plans, pouted in Cleveland last weekend, earning him a chat with Gardenhire.

That might be why Michael Cuddyer, owner of a $24 million contract and a key to this year's lineup, had managed only one homer entering the weekend.

That might be why Delmon Young, acquired in a trade in which the Twins gave up potential ace Matt Garza and starting shortstop Jason Bartlett, remains the antithesis of the power-hitting corner outfielder the Twins thought they were getting.

Gardenhire's problem is that the outfielder best suited to coming off the bench is the one outfielder who has earned an everyday job -- Denard Span. As the best leadoff hitter and most adaptable fielder of the four outfielders, Span has won a steady job even though he's a lefthanded singles hitter on a team desperate for righthanded power.

That desperation led to Cuddyer's big contract, awarded him even though he has had only one highly productive season in the big leagues; the trade for Young, whose attitude with Tampa Bay prompted the Rays to look for a place to dump him; and the inclusion of the speedy, remarkably athletic Gomez in the Santana trade.

Here's the main problem with the four-outfielders-for-three-positions plan: While "competition" is a revered word in sports, most qualified baseball players perform better when they feel comfortable. None of the three righthanded batters looks comfortable now, and Gomez, in particular, seems discombobulated.

That's a harmful development for this roster, because as Gardenhire noted, "We seem to be missing something when he's not out there."

During a pregame batting practice session last week in Cleveland, Gomez ignored protocol and swung as hard as he could during batting practice. After he entered as a defensive replacement and struck out in the game, he ripped off his batting gloves and threw them into the stands. Gardenhire had a "chat" with Gomez about that.

"I told him what I saw, what I felt, and what I thought could help him," Gardenhire said. "Sometimes players don't look at it like that. I told him what I thought could help him, and that's staying on an even keel. It's as simple as batting practice swings, trying to kill somebody in the stands. That doesn't help you become a better player."

Young, known for a bad attitude with Tampa Bay, hasn't acted out or complained. He hasn't produced, either, hitting one home run in April after hitting 10 homers all last season, and looking awkward or worse in left field and on the bases.

Young and Cuddyer, the righthanded-hitting corner outfielders responsible for helping the Twins beat lefthanded pitchers, combined for two home runs in April.

Only Span has thrived, and only he knows where he will be batting in the lineup every day.

"Yeah, that's definitely a good indication that Gardy wants me to lead off," Span said. "I guess you can say that's one-up on the other guys."

Do the four outfielders talk about their predicament? "We really try not to," Span said. "Depending on who's pitching that day, someone might say, 'You're not in there today.' That's about it. I know it hasn't been easy on all of us, because all of us are young, all of us want to play every day, and all of us deserve to play every day, with the talent we have.

"I guess you just have to deal with it. We're all trying to establish ourselves."

The crux of the problem is the two players most likely to sit on any given day are Young and Gomez, and those are the two players most likely to react negatively to a benching -- and the two players who might need maximum at-bats to improve.

Is it better to have daily competition for playing time, or an assured spot in the lineup?

"I guess you could argue both sides," Span said. "I think it would be good to think that every day I've got to bring my A-game because somebody on the same team, wearing the same uniform, not in Triple-A but here, wants to play, and if he gets an opportunity he's going to play hard, so I've got to go out and play hard every day.

"At the same time, you can say that it's good not to worry every day whether you're in there, even if you go 0-for-5. So it's like you're darned if you do and darned if you don't. But I think it's going to play itself out. I don't know how long it's going to take, or what's going to happen, but I think it will play itself out."

This team will be better off if that happens quickly. Talk to any hitter having a career year, and he will say something like, "I was able to come to the park every day knowing I'd be in the lineup."

None of the Twins' four outfielders -- especially not the works in progress named Young and Gomez -- can say that today.

Jim Souhan can be heard Sundays from 10 a.m.-noon on AM-1500 KSTP. • jsouhan@startribune.com