Oh, Delmon

Oh, Delmon, why didn't you play like this when you played for the Twins?

Wait a second - - you played exactly like this. I remember a stretch in 2009 where you were hitting the hell out of the ball, and during significant portions of 2010 you really led the team offensively. When I went to Baltimore in July, 2010, it seemed that every ball off your bat was a rocket, regardless of whether it was a hit or an out. But I also remember you flailing in left field, turning singles into doubles, and taking the strangest of routes to fly balls. In your hitting you were inconsistent, and occasionally brilliant; in your fielding you were both consistently dangerous and a liability, and also sometimes just cringeworthy.

I'm happy to see you having your moment in the national spotlight. In fact, I don't wish anything negative for you. It's actually nice to see an AL Central team doing relatively well (relative being winning 1 postseason game) in the playoffs. Right now, you're clearly in the middle of a hot streak, made all the more impressive by the fact that you are playing through an oblique injury, and are facing some pretty decent pitching.

But I'm also happy the Twins got rid of you (though I wish they had just done it when your value was higher). Those with more advanced metric skills than myself have pointed out, time and time again, that your fielding is so awful that, unless you DH, you provide hardly any aggregate value to a team, even if your offensive statistics are decent. If there's one thing that the 2012 Twins can't have, it's more weak fielders. So, I'm sure you will catch on somewhere in 2012, and are probably playing yourself into a pretty decent contract by the way you are using the national spotlight. Good luck, and hopefully when we see you next season you will be playing left field, and won't be in the midst of a hot streak at the plate.

Sincerely,

Twins Fan From Afar