Jim Souhan: Go-Go offers a reminder to us of what makes him go

On his way into the Metrodome on Monday morning, Carlos Gomez got stuck in a revolving door and banged his head, opening a cut that required two stitches. "It's really funny," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "I mean, it's not funny. But it's really funny."

As a pedestrian or player, Gomez knows how to entertain, even unintentionally. He must be the most captivating player ever to reach late May with two RBI and an uncertain future.

Monday, as the Twins lost 6-5 and the Red Sox limited Joe Mauer to just one home run in one at-bat, Gomez offered his usual menu of spectacular fielding, wild swings and the obligatory moment of electricity.

Gomez went 1-for-4. His hit was a hustling double to right-center, with him taking third on an overthrow.

That started the sixth and led to a two-run rally. Gomez also stole a home run away from Jason Varitek by sprinting back to the center field wall and leaping, and stole a single away from Dustin Pedroia with a brilliant diving catch.

Gomez is that tantalizing baseball enigma -- the explosive yet unrefined athlete.

He possesses the power to launch the ball 500 feet, but his pitch selection and lack of consistent contact rarely allow him to hit more than a line-drive double. He might be the fastest player in baseball, yet he has succeeded on only four of seven stolen-base attempts this year. Bunt hits alone should buoy his average, yet he is batting just .225 with no homers and two RBI in 89 at-bats.

"I know I can do it," Gomez said. "I never change my mind. It's all about time. I'll take my time and do whatever I can. I work whenever I have to work, and I worry about the team. I know I've got the ability to play here. The only thing is the approach.

"Not many people who are 23 years old would do like I'm doing right now. I'm the youngest guy on the team. I've got two or three more years to play here and be that real player when I get to be 25, 26."

Confidence is Gomez's crutch, and his restrictor plate. Confidence allows him to remain cocky during slumps; it also causes him to swing like a blindfolded kid whacking at a piñata, because he believes he can hit any pitch. "I'm not frustrated," he said. "I take my swings. I take good at-bats, and that's what's important for me right now. Sometimes you feel mad, but that's normal."

Gomez arrived last year predicting he would mature into a "No. 3 hitter." When the Twins are healthy, he's now used as a ninth-place hitter or bench player, even though he might be one of the best-fielding outfielders in the game. His struggles have turned the Twins' trade of Johan Santana into an embarrassment, since the pitchers acquired in the deal -- Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra -- offer little hope.

Considering that Twins sources have denied that the Red Sox ever put a quality package of players on the table -- or that they pulled an intriguing deal off the table before the Twins could act -- the Twins, in retrospect, might have been wise to keep Santana for the 2008 season and let him leave in free agency.

With Denard Span recovering from illness and Delmon Young back from his mother's funeral, Gomez could soon return to his bench role. "Gomez had a good ballgame today," Gardenhire said. "He had some good at-bats, some quality at-bats, and he battled. That's a good, positive note.

"It's a work in progress. We know what he is. We thought he was better in spring, and then he comes in and gets out of whack again. We understand that when he gets in situations with RBI out there he gets crazy and swings too hard, but today, he actually calmed himself down enough to have some good at-bats.

"Those are the days you say, 'Wow, this is pretty good.' But you've got to have those more consistently.

"Off the bench, it looked like he might be able to handle that role."

For now, the Twins have to settle for having the the most entertaining work in progress in the big leagues.

The Twins would prefer not to wait.