For those who missed the Friday night game between the Angels and Twins, you picked a doozy of a game to skip. Yes, the bullpen stunk… again. Yes, Nick Blackburn wasn’t at his finest… again. Yes, the Twins gave up over three runs in an inning two seperate times… again.

But on Friday Twins fans were able to overlook all the painful faults of this ulcer-causing team because of one man – Jason Kubel.

Everyone knows what went down last night: Kubel hit for the cycle, finishing the feat with a grand slam that vaulted the Twins two runs  ahead of the Angels. How did Kubel do it, though? Was his historic feat a result of poor pitching, or simply solid plate appearances? Let’s take a look at each of his at-bats on Friday, April 17.
 

1. Bottom of the 1st – Morneau on first, two outs

Kubel displayed his excellent vision in this at-bat, swinging at the second pitch, which was in the zone, but passing on the first and third pitches, which were called as balls. As of now, Kubel has made contact with 94.3 percent of all pitches in the zone. He is only swinging at 25 percent of pitches outside of the strikezone.

In this case, he waited for that 2-seam fastball and split left and center fields for a run-scoring double.
 

2. Bottom of the 3rd – bases empty, two outs

Kubel waited on that curveball he loves in this instance, avoiding two pitches outside the strikezone.
 

3. Bottom of the 6th – bases empty, one out

Once again Kubel shows off his amazing eye at the plate, letting three balls go by him before settling on a fastball right down the middle. It’s interesting that Kubel was given the green light with a 3-0 count, but with a night like he was having, why not?

Rafael Rodriguez was pitching for the Angels, and he painted the corners of the plate with almost identical pitches. His out pitch is a slider, but he fell behind Kubel and needed a strike. He threw a hittable fastball down the middle of the plate with a 3-0 count, and Kubel took him the other way for a three-bagger.
 

4. Bottom of the 8th – Nick Punto, Denard Span, Justin Morneau on base, two outs

What’s the lesson the Angel’s learned from this at-bat? Kubel is a curveball masher. With an 0-1 count, Kubel extended to launch a grand slam over the right-center field wall.

So – did Kubel have the benefit of poor pitching on Friday, or is he simply a superb batter? Both. Rodriguez and Jason Bulger didn’t have the best pitch selection, but Kubel displayed his excellent vision on Friday’s game. As Nick Nelson said, “Free Kubel!”

Take a look at these batting statistics from Kubel so far in 2009:

Quite frankly, those are impressive. Compared to Carlos Gomez and Delmon Young, Jason Kubel’s statistics look Hall-of-Fame worthy.

Is it time for Kubel to have a chance to bat every day; whether from the DH position or in the outfield?