Since You Asked...

Pulled from the comments on a previous post:

She-Ra wonders:
So what the heck is going on with Castillo and Morneau? Do neither of them speak enough baseball to say "I got it!"? Seems like that's at least the third time in the last few weeks that I've seen them stumble over each other in the field.

An interesting question. While I have waxed eloquent (or at least long-winded) on the Twins' recent defensive woes, I had not until now considered the possibility of a language barrier. After thinking long and hard, I have come up with two hypotheses I consider equally probable.


Hypothesis #1: No Hablo Canadian

The Dominican Republic is a long, LOOOONG way from Canada. So it's only natural that certain Canadianisms would be somewhat confusing to a Dominican. So when the ball plummets toward the infield, and Justin yells, "I've got it, eh?", poor Luis doesn't quite know what to think.

He hears, "I've got it", but he also hears a question. So he thinks, perhaps Justin is unsure that he really has it. But Justin needs to be confident in himself, so I will back off and let him catch it. He takes a step back.

But wait, he thinks, if he is not sure he has it, perhaps he does not have it! I must get it! And so he moves forward. And Justin, seeing Castillo keep going for the ball, thinks Castillo didn't hear him, and tries to get out of his way.

And the ball hits the turf.


Hypothesis #2: Whatever You Say, Eh?

On the other hand, it wouldn't be strange if, in the excitement of a play, a man lapsed briefly into his native tongue, would it? So there's the ball, coming in right between them, and Castillo cries, "Lo tengo!"

But Justin, not being a Spanish speaker and also thrown off somewhat by the crowd noise, hears "Go tango!" And it seems a little strange, really, but he hasn't been in the big leagues all that long. He wants to win Gold Gloves and hit a lot like Luis does, so he bows to the unfathomable wisdom of the veteran and does a little dance step...away from the ball. And Luis forgets the ball because, well, his teammate is doing the tango. Alone. In the infield.

And the ball hits the turf.