Last week, when our favorite, teeniest superhero was placed on the disabled list, I was concerned for the entire metro area. While, Lil Nicky Punto may not have been doing anything effective on the field, he was actively protecting the good citizens of the Twin Cities. Kittens were being saved, old women were being helped across the street, and Packer fans were being quelled. Without his constant vigilance, the entire state may crumble into a crime-filled mess.
It wasn't until yesterday's game that my fears were tempered. What I hadn't realized was that Lil Nicky had been quietly training his replacement over the past season and a half, both in the field and in the streets. Brendan "Don't call me Brenden" Harris has emerged as the next teeniest superhero to fill our gapingly deficient shortstop position.
Since coming from Tampa Bay as part of the Delmon Young trade, Brendan has been filling in as a utility player in the Twins rotation. He has provided sufficient defense and the occasional timely hit, but he has gone larger unnoticed in my mind. That was until the last couple of games. Not only did he have a run preventing play in the field last night, he also went yard on Sunday against the Rays. For these reasons, I decided to do some investigative work into Harris' background in order to find out for about this mysterious man.
Who are you Brendan Harris?
Unfortunately, there is very little information out there. His upbringing is veiled in secrecy and riddles. Apparently he grew up in Albany, New York, but he has been on the move for several years. He was drafted and played for the Cubs, spent time with the Expos, Nationals, Reds, and Rays before landing in Minnesota.
After several hours of research, I can start to form some conclusions. When he entered into the Twins clubhouse last spring, Lil Nicky obviously saw some potential in Harris. He was a scrappy player that had spent the majority of his career as an unknown. Due to this, Punto decided to take him under his tiny wing to teach him the ways of a Twins superhero.
Chasing down evil doers who place the Twins on their no-trade clause.
Soon, Punto and Harris were working in tandem, patrolling the mean streets of Minneapolis in search of wrongdoers. Punto was dedicating so much time to teaching young Harris, that his play in the field started to suffer. He mistakenly picked up his ass-bat from 2007, and didn't properly stretch in pre-game warmups. Before we could realize that Lil Nicky had stretched himself too thin, he was batting .187 and pulling his groin.
Luckily, the teachings of Punto had sunk in for Harris. He had become a tiny superhero in his own right, and has even begun to spread the Lil Nicky lessons to other scrappy members of the team.
Harris and recent protege Matt Tolbert
Best of luck Brendan. May the scrappy play and headlong dives into first work for you as well as they have for Punto. Actually, hopefully they will work better. Much, much better.
The picture below was captured during the Twins' recent day off. I think he'll do fine.
Saving puppies, saving the Twins, saving Minnesota
-Sota
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