Twins manager Ron Gardenhire and assistant GM Rob Antony publicly called out centerfielder Aaron Hicks for poor production and work habits before Wednesday's game, creating a story for us all.
It was a continuation of a new tough-love theme with the Twins this season, who quickly have dispatched players who are underperforming and attempted to create less of a country club environment. The net gain in talent can be debated, but there at least seems to be more fight, at least, on a game-to-game basis.
Hicks is a tricky situation, of course, because the Twins cannot just send him to Rochester unless someone wants to watch Jason Kubel, Chris Colabello, Chris Parmelee Oswaldo Arcia or a middle infielder patrol the vast expanses of center at Target Field, at least until Sam Fuld returns from a concussion.
Nobody wants to see that.
So instead, the Twins played a rare Public Rip card. It's hard to remember the last time the Twins made such a concerted effort to out someone in this fashion. Sure, Gardenhire will take a jab at a player or two for particular in-game mistakes, but this was something else entirely.
The Twins let us know that Hicks sometimes shows up without knowing who that day's starting pitcher is, which is a particularly galling notion. The numbers suggest what the Twins suggest: that Hicks is a man without a plan. His numbers across the board are pretty dreadful in a short career, but these two figures stick out:
With two strikes on him, Hicks has 23 hits in 209 official career at-bats. He only has 365 at-bats, so he is getting two strikes on him close to three out of every five times at the plate. That's either a man with a poor plan, a man with too many holes in his swing, or both.
Almost as galling: He has just 25 hits in 123 at-bats when he is ahead in the count. Again, that's either a man with a poor plan, a man with too many holes in his swing, or both -- since it suggests he is unable to sit on a pitch he expects and drive it.
