"Guys that have all this talent and are so exciting," Vavra said, "sometimes have a tendency to never get as good as their potential because they never back off and see how it all works. They never slow it down and try to make it work fundamentally."

Gomez might not have agreed at first. His lack of production and playing time in April had him so worked up that manager Ron Gardenhire called him in for a sit-down. The message, simply put, was be more like Joe Mauer. Show less emotion, be a better team player and, above all, use your time to get better.

Gomez, Vavra said, has responded with a newfound interest in improving his swing, his plate discipline and his approach to each at-bat. After rarely spending time with his hitting coach last season and earlier in 2009, Gomez and Vavra now hardly go a day without working through drills together. For a 7 p.m. game, you'll find Gomez on the field taking early batting practice by 3 p.m., working on his bunts and slamming into the center-field wall to practice robbing home runs as first-base coach Jerry White hits fly balls from second base.

"He works his tail off. He's ready to play, he understands in the course of a ballgame where he might be used," Gardenhire said. "It's not an easy situation because you've got a very good young Baseball player that I'd love to have out there every day. You can only play three in the outfield and one as a DH."

But can Gomez really benefit from all that work with Vavra if he doesn't face live pitching consistently? Gardenhire contends that Gomez will get enough playing time. In 13 games this month before Delmon Young left the team to be with his ailing mother, Gomez had compiled just 15 at-bats, been in the starting lineup four times and played only three complete games (though one was a rain-shortened six innings in Baltimore).

Gomez is hitting .207 with a .277 on-base percentage in 58 at-bats this season. At 23, he still has contract options, which means if the Twins thought he'd best benefit from playing every day, they could easily send him to the minor leagues. Did they weigh that possibility?

"I think that was discussed between him and the manager, what was the right option," Vavra said. "Really, he's going to get his at-bats here. He's going to be an everyday guy, he's going to be a really good player, but I think it's an opportunity for him to say, let's get a better plan on how this all works. He's not bitter about his lack of playing time; he just understands what he needs to do. We'll get there, but it's the time frame that's kind of iffy because we've got to be patient about how we do this."

With Young absent, Gomez has had a chance to put his plans into action. If he proves he's improved, could he wriggle his way back into the starting lineup?

"If he goes out and goes 4 for 4, yeah. That's common sense," Gardenhire said last week. "But we've got a plan here and we'll stick to it as best we can. He knows the situation here. ... I want to see improvement from him. I hope he gets better because he's working very hard, and I expect him to."

If he does supplant someone as an everyday outfielder, chances are it would be Young.

Young is batting .277, but the left fielder has just two extra-base hits in 83 at-bats, making that .277 one of the most hollow averages in the American League. Among the 125 AL players with at least 75 plate appearances through Thursday, Young's two extra-base hits tied for last (along with Alexi Casilla and Nick Punto), and his .325 slugging percentage is just three points higher than his on-base percentage.

With Vavra, Gomez has been working on keeping his weight off his front foot, closing the front half of his body and keeping his head behind the ball. Gomez said he's focusing on identifying pitches and choosing more carefully the ones he can hit. He's especially working to stop chasing pitches outside of the strike zone, using one drill in particular.

Vavra numbers different parts of the strike zone and throws a pitch. Gomez then says which zone -- one through five, with five being out of the zone entirely -- he thinks the pitch was in. Early on, Vavra said, Gomez would call three when the pitch was in zone five.

"I work with Joe on being more consistent, know the strike zone," Gomez said. "Don't swing if they're not strikes. I think every time I swing at strikes, a lot of things can happen. But I get in trouble if I swing at a ball. That's what we're working on -- don't swing if it's a ball.

"We do (the one through five zones) drill every day, and I think, yeah, it helps a lot. I've improved a lot. Last couple of games, I've looked at a lot of pitches before I swing. I take pitches if I know it's a ball. Look for fastballs. (Tuesday), I take the walk -- breaking ball, breaking ball. I think if I swing at a strike, I don't have to hit a breaking ball."

That walk, in Tuesday's victory over Detroit, came in the eighth inning and Gomez later scored. First, though, he worked the count full in a nine-pitch at-bat. He never took a looking strike and never swung and missed, either.

"Battling to 3-2 and taking a walk?" Vavra said. "I think that's progress."Taking a breathCarlos Gomez, the 23-year-old outfielder with a world of promise, has been sidelined, told to work on gathering himself. The Twins say he's worth the investment.By Kelsie Smithksmith@pioneerpress.com