Michael Cuddyer's improvement in the outfield might just be one of the brightest spots of a dark Minnesota Twins season. He might just deserve a Gold Glove.

I'm going to make my argument. Those who actually get to vote probably will disagree, but I'll try anyway.

Negative: Cuddy sometimes gets stymied by the Metrodome's roof. 

Positive: He's gotten
better jumps on flyballs this year and has made some stunning plays.

Negative: Cuddy doesn't get a whole lot of action with Torii Hunter playing next to him.

Positive: He's learning from Hunter. Among American League outfielders, Cuddyer ranks 13th in double plays, 16th in games started in the outfield, 18th in games, 18th in innings, 22nd in total chances, and 24th in putouts.

Negative: Cuddy's made four errors, 11th-most in the league. He ranks 21st in the league in fielding percentage.

Positive: Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki, Cleveland's Jason Michaels, New York's Johnny Damon, and Oakland's Travis Buck are the only regular outfielders with no errors. Of those errorless outfielders, none of Michaels, Damon, nor Buck has played in 100 games. Suzuki probably is a shoe-in to win a Gold Glove.

Negative: There are a lot of great outfielders in the running for an American League Gold Glove, including Suzuki, Boston's Coco Crisp, Kansas City's David DeJesus and Mark Teahen, Baltimore's Nick Markakis, Toronto's Vernon Wells, Cleveland's Grady Sizemore, New York's Melky Cabrera, and -- of course -- Hunter. 

Positive: Above all else, the best argument for Cuddyer is his rocket arm. He leads all outfielders with 18 assists. Wow!

Good luck to Cuddy. Even if he doesn't win a Gold Glove, I know that his improved play in the field is one of the reasons the Twins are as good as they are. 

Note: The statistics noted above are as of Tuesday. To read more about Cuddy, go to http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=150212.