MVN - Most Valuable Network

Harris shows his value

Who knew that Brendan Harris would do more than Delmon Young when both men came from Tampa Bay in the Young/Matt Garza blockbuster trade?

Young was the centerpiece of this trade because of his ability to hit home runs, but it has not worked out for him this season. He has done okay, but not to the expectations that the Twins had when they acquired him. He will eventually get there.

Right now, Harris has done more than Young when it comes to making an impact in games.

The Twins shortstop had a career day on Saturday afternoon. He went 3-for-3 against the Tigers. He homered and drove in three runs to lead the Twins to a 6-5 victory against the Tigers.

The Twins gave him a shot to be an everyday player in spring training. He did well in March, but there were some people that thought Nick Punto would take Harris’ job by the summer.

Harris is still standing, and he has established himself as a legitimate hitter on the Twins. It has to be a good feeling to know that he can play with an idea that no one is out to take his job away. When a player is playing with a good frame of mind, his confidence can only soar, and it is now showing.

With Harris playing everyday, it makes Nick Punto’s job easier. Punto is not an everyday player. He is a player that does well twice a week at best. He is having a good year because he is not starting everyday. So Harris winning the job was not only a win-win for him, but it was a win-win for Punto.

It’s not just his offense that is drawing good reviews. He can play defense. He does a good job of setting up the double play with Alexi Casilla.

There is a lot to like about this team this season. What’s fun about this team is seeing the new wave of players developing into productive players. Harris is one of those guys. He has made everyone in Minnesota forget about Jason Bartlett, who was part of Young/Garza trade.

He was considered a throw-in in this trade, but he has not played like one.

He is an integral part of this team’s success.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 13th, 2008 at 12:06 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.