Nick Punto hoping ‘the cycle’ holds true for him in 2010

Plunks down “Minnesota Marv” Blihovde’s tuff cut “You’re My Everything” for no real reason.

John Dewan, founder of STATS Inc. and developer of a metric that calculates how many runs a player saves or costs his team on defense, agrees. From 2005 through 2007, Dewan said Punto was one of the major leagues’ top 10 third basemen, saving the Twins 25 runs. In that same span, Punto saved the team nine runs at second base and eight runs at shortstop. According to Dewan, Punto’s defense has dropped off the past two seasons, but that largely could be a result of decreased playing time.

Either way, Dewan said Punto’s best position is third, where from 2005-07 the infielder’s numbers “jumped off the page.” And if Gardenhire gives Punto the everyday job at third this season, Dewan said the Twins should have a “tremendous” left side. J.J. Hardy, according to Dewan, saved the Brewers 20 runs at shortstop from 2005-07 and is an upgrade from Punto (last season’s Opening Day shortstop) in the field.

...“I’ve been through a lot of struggles in my six years here,” said Punto, who batted .290 in ‘06, .210 in ‘07, .284 in ‘08 and .228 in ‘09. “You’ve heard it a million times, that defense wins baseball games, pitching and defense. When we win here, it’s pitching and defense and timely hitting; that’s what wins game. It’s a perfect marriage for me.”