FORT MYERS, FLA. – Max Kepler considered the question, started to answer, and thought better of it.
"I'll keep my mouth shut," the Twins right fielder said with a slight smile, "about what I think of the shift."
Joey Gallo cursed when the topic was broached, shook his head and likewise decided to keep his opinion to himself.
"I don't want to say what I think is fair and what isn't, and wind up in a headline like always," the new Twins outfielder explained. "Every time I answer questions about the shift, people want to make me the face of it."
Justin Morneau wasn't a part of those clubhouse discussions, but he understands the sentiment, the emotion that defensive shifts trigger, particularly in lefthanded sluggers such as himself and the two Twins outfielders.
"[Players] are trained from Little League on that if you hit the ball hard, most of the time you will be rewarded for it," the 2006 AL MVP and current Twins broadcaster said. "When that's no longer true, yeah, it's frustrating. You hit a hard line drive to the outfield, and it lands in the second baseman's glove and it's an out every time, that's tough."
Which is why Morneau believes that Major League Baseball's new rule requiring infielders to position themselves on the dirt, with two stationed on either side of second base, might have more effect on hitters' mental health than on their statistics.
"Not seeing three guys standing where you're most likely to hit it, there's a certain comfort level that comes with that," Morneau said. "That first hard ground ball that rolls into the outfield, it's going to be such a lift, mentally."