Article: What lies ahead for Aaron Hicks?

[wavedog]

I would consider moving him to the lower part of the batting order out of the leadoff position if they feel he is putting too much pressure on himself before a demotion to AAA.

[Riverbrian]

Alex, I'd say end of May. completely PoA, with zero thought.

 

Since we have Trevor May in our system... Can we make it TD policy to not use the phrase "End of May". The Karma makes me nervous.

 

Thats all... Carry on with the future of Hicks.

[ashbury]

Since we have Trevor May in our system... Can we make it TD policy to not use the phrase "End of May". The Karma makes me nervous.

 

For similar reasons I do not wish to read any articles about the Wins Above Replacement for Correia.

[kab21]

I'm not one to overreact and I have had no problem giving Parmelee time to work through his supposed problems (over .800 OPS now) and running Dozier out there for awhile. Hicks however has been dreadfully awful. He's now 2 for 34 with 15 K's. He can have a couple more weeks but I will lose patience before the end of April. Long term this is just a blip and he should still be a very good player but he's been pretty bad so far.

[Badsmerf]

I'm not one to overreact and I have had no problem giving Parmelee time to work through his supposed problems (over .800 OPS now) and running Dozier out there for awhile. Hicks however has been dreadfully awful. He's now 2 for 34 with 15 K's. He can have a couple more weeks but I will lose patience before the end of April. Long term this is just a blip and he should still be a very good player but he's been pretty bad so far.

I'm right there with you. Hicks has been much worse than I thought he would, and I didn't think he was going to do very well to start out. Too bad Benson is doing so poorly and Arcia can't play CF lol.

[Ultima Ratio]

Move Hicks to the 9-hole and mover everyone up a slot, again. Same order, but without giving away an out to start the game.

[kab21]

I didn't expect much this year honestly and I wouldn't be surprised if he rebounded later in the season but batting leadoff at the MLB level isn't working right now.

[LaBombo]

Move Hicks to the 9-hole and mover everyone up a slot, again. Same order, but without giving away an out to start the game.

Mauer leading off? Cold day/Hades in for an old-schooler like Gardy.

[Riverbrian]

He's gotta go down... Come back up later.

 

His heart has got to be in his throat right now. I know he doesn't want to go down but I'm sure he doesn't want what he's going thru right now either.

 

This ain't a slump... This is Jeez... All these pitchers can throw.

[snepp]

mauer leading off? Cold day/hades in for an old-schooler like gardy.

 

Sp...Sp...Sp...SPEED!

[Ultima Ratio]

Mauer leading off? Cold day/Hades in for an old-schooler like Gardy.

I know. Heaven help us remember that Jacque Jones lead off. I'd rather have Parmelee lead off at this point if Mauer must bat 2-4. We aren't getting blown out of games, we need base runners, and if the lead off guy can hit for some power....so f'in be it. Get creative!

[Chief_Roberts]

When Hicks gets two strikes he might as well head for the dugout because it's all over but the crying.

 

The Twins cannot continue to have an automatic out batting leadoff, especially with the rest of the line-up struggling the way it is.

[Alex]

He's gotta go down... Come back up later.

 

His heart has got to be in his throat right now. I know he doesn't want to go down but I'm sure he doesn't want what he's going thru right now either.

 

This ain't a slump... This is Jeez... All these pitchers can throw.

 

The thing is he can't even take his normal approach, a more patient one, because there's no reason not to throw him strikes. DickBert talk about how he's always behind in the count and that makes it tough to hit, but he's behind in the count because he's not feared as a hitter.

[jay]

Gardy blasting Hicks (front page of startribune.com) for a lack of hustle on the flyball that Cain dropped. I'm not so sure he would have been any farther along than 2nd even if he had been in a full sprint the whole way.

 

It almost looks like Gardy is laying some groundwork to make a change of some type...

[Mike Sixel]

Wait, Gardy publicly blasted a young player? Color me shocked.

[Mike Sixel]

It is really bad leadership to rip a guy publicly before you talk to the guy in person. I mean, just really bad.

[Winston Smith]

The good thing is that Gardy works so well with young players that he can mentor Hicks and get him going in the "Twins Way". You know doing the little things they all do so well.

[StormJH1]

It is really bad leadership to rip a guy publicly before you talk to the guy in person. I mean, just really bad.

 

This makes me really irritated. I just watched that play several times on MLB At-Bat. On one view, they had the camera isolated on Hicks the whole time. Hicks busted down the first baseline and continued running at probably 70 to 80 percent speed as he rounded first. He only hesitated after Cain dropped the ball, which surprised everyone in the stadium. And that ball was so shallow, he probably wanted to assess whether Cain or Franceour could throw him out if he got to 2nd. What did Gardy expect him to do on that play - 3rd base? Inside the park home run? Crap, if Morneau or Willingham were running that out, they'd have barely gotten to 1st when Cain dropped it.

 

This why I loved it when Torii Hunter came up with the term "false hustle" (describing guys like Punto diving into 1st base). Demanding effort from players for appearances when it has little to no chance of possibly benefiting the team is stupid (and can get guys hurt).

 

Hicks has been terrible, but to call him out in this way just stinks of desperation by Gardy. They literally have no other leadoff options (Mastroianni's career OPS is in the mid-600's), and Hicks clearly isn't ready yet. I say give him the next homestand in the 8th or 9th spot and see if he can get it back on track. His defense, from what I've seen, has looked MLB-ready.

[StormJH1]

The thing is he can't even take his normal approach, a more patient one, because there's no reason not to throw him strikes. DickBert talk about how he's always behind in the count and that makes it tough to hit, but he's behind in the count because he's not feared as a hitter.

 

I've seen him both live (Opening Day) and on TV, though that's obviously a very small sample size. The funny thing is that he's NOT Carlos Gomez up there - he actually is taking pitches and working counts a little. But unlike Ben Revere, who couldn't hit, but made contact on almost every swing, Hicks' contract rate and timing have been awful so far. I have to think he's just overwhelmed.

[Twins Twerp]

He has a great approach, but like has been said, so overwhelmed. Even those calling for him to go to AAA to start the year thought he would be a little better than this. I thought he would at least draw a lot of walks from the reports I read. But he has looked utterly awful. I think he still will be ok and eventually be a solid up the middle player who has a high OBP and 20/20 hr/steals on a yearly basis.

[Guest USAFChief]

I agree with Gardy that it costs nothing to hustle, all the time, every time, and it's not too much to ask of major leaguers. I expect it, I want a manager who expects it. That being said: A) I agree this wasn't any sort of egregious lack of hustle from Hicks. I agree with the posts above that 2nd base was where he should have ended up on the play and that's where he ended up...standing, by the way. I don't see Mauer bust his arse all the way through 1st on one of his 7 hoppers to 2nd, nor do I see him rounding second as one of his lazy fly balls settles into the left fielders glove...why the difference, Gardy? C) I am a firm believer in the "praise in public, criticize in private" school of personnel management. What possible good can come from having "Gardy rips Hicks" in both local papers? If you have a problem with the play, pull the kid aside quietly on the plane ride home, say your piece, and move on. 4) I wonder if any of the players are quietly asking themselves if Gardy is mentally "hustling" every day, after they watched a win slip away Monday night in the 8th inning without a reliever even warmed and ready while Gardy napped in the dugout? Take a look in the mirror, Ron. Are you giving the team and its fans 100 percent effort every day?

[Alex]

I've seen him both live (Opening Day) and on TV, though that's obviously a very small sample size. The funny thing is that he's NOT Carlos Gomez up there - he actually is taking pitches and working counts a little. But unlike Ben Revere, who couldn't hit, but made contact on almost every swing, Hicks' contract rate and timing have been awful so far. I have to think he's just overwhelmed.

 

I've watched probably 80% of his at bats, and wasn't faulting his approach. My point is one of the most important aspect of his hitting skillset is his drawing walks. You can't draw walks, even if you get deep into counts, when a pitcher isn't afraid to throw a strike.

[jokin]

I agree with Gardy that it costs nothing to hustle, all the time, every time, and it's not too much to ask of major leaguers. I expect it, I want a manager who expects it. That being said: A) I agree this wasn't any sort of egregious lack of hustle from Hicks. I agree with the posts above that 2nd base was where he should have ended up on the play and that's where he ended up...standing, by the way. I don't see Mauer bust his arse all the way through 1st on one of his 7 hoppers to 2nd, nor do I see him rounding second as one of his lazy fly balls settles into the left fielders glove...why the difference, Gardy? C) I am a firm believer in the "praise in public, criticize in private" school of personnel management. What possible good can come from having "Gardy rips Hicks" in both local papers? If you have a problem with the play, pull the kid aside quietly on the plane ride home, say your piece, and move on. 4) I wonder if any of the players are quietly asking themselves if Gardy is mentally "hustling" every day, after they watched a win slip away Monday night in the 8th inning without a reliever even warmed and ready while Gardy napped in the dugout? Take a look in the mirror, Ron. Are you giving the team and its fans 100 percent effort every day?

 

A, B, C, 4???

 

I'd like to add (E) or (5). [Take your pick.]

 

If anyone saved the Gardy postgame interview last night, check it out! It appears that not only is Gardy "napping in the dugout", he also might be nipping in the dugout. First off, it was obvious that DicknBert never got the memo about the "Taking Hicks to the Woodshed for not gettin' after it the Twins Way" meme. Secondly, while he spoke with a clear voice, even if the Hicks thing seemingly came out of Left Field, what was discomfiting and disturbing was Ron's incessant back-and-forth swaying throughout the interview. I know you have to find ways to stay warm on a raw night with about 800 rowdy and drunken fans in attendance, but still....

[Guest USAFChief]

One of the (few ) sabermetric memes I buy into fully is this: anyone can hit anything in 40 ABs. Just my opinion, but I'm not ready to pull the plug on Hicks based on 8 games. If I were in charge, once I'd made the decision to hand Hicks the job based on my observations of him through years of minor league play and a major league spring training, I'd be damned reluctant to change that decision after a week and a half of play.

[Guest USAFChief]

A, B, C, 4???

Hah! I guess I should lay off the bottle at 8AM.

[Mike Sixel]

I agree with USAChief on that.....if you were confident before the season, 8 games should not change your opinion*

 

*of course, maybe Ryan and staff were wrong, and he is not ready enough to be here....I don't know they thought he was ready to be good, but I think they thought he was ready enough to be here that he would survive and learn here just fine.

[jokin]

Hah! I guess I should lay off the bottle at 8AM.

 

Anyone who put up with the performance in KC is probably entitled...

[jay]

One of the (few ) sabermetric memes I buy into fully is this: anyone can hit anything in 40 ABs.

 

Consider me stunned! The light has already begun to shine down upon you. Now, come forth, and be saved!

[Badsmerf]

Gardy already ripped Hicks for something he didn't do? Awesome job Gardy. Glad we have you around to give these young guys confidence. Hicks absolutely hustled on that play. I was actually impressed with his hustle. I hate this method of managing. Gardy has done this with young players over and over again. This is one of the main reasons I wanted Hicks in AAA to start the year, where I bet he'd be struggling as well.

[TheLeviathan]

This has been the Gardy method for a long time. Sad to see it this soon with Hicks though. The kid gets a kick in the pants enough seeing his batting average every AB much less hearing his manager rip him in public.