Happy Nick Punto Day, I guess.
I met the brainchild of Nick Punto Day, Andrew Kneeland, a couple of summers ago and he's typically impressed me with wise commentary about the Twins.
But Nick Punto Day on the web?
As more than one person has pointed out, for whatever reasons, every day seems to be Nick Punto Day on the web, especially for those who need to hit the same target over and over again. Imagine the lonely figure in the boxing gym hitting the speed bag over and over and over again.
Yes, it's a cheap trick for a blog owner to incite conversation by working Punto into a post. (I've done it.)
But many times it doesn't much seem to matter. A post about the bullpen ... or the outfield... or the racing sausages of Milwaukee could be hijacked into yet another debate (sometimes highly uncivil) about Punto.
Most of those could be summarized as: NICK PUNTO: Pariah or merely the Anti-Christ.
My thoughts about Punto: On a team that fancies itself a championship contender, Punto should not be batting second. On a team that could run out a batting order that also included Orlando Cabrera, Carlos Gomez and Brendan Harris, adding Punto was one more troublesome lineup filler. On a team that has improved itself at second base (Orlando Hudson), shortstop (JJ Hardy) and bench/DH (Jim Thome), it's bullying to bang on a decision to have Punto bat ninth and play third base -- if that's what ends up happening.
