By Jon Laging, sports columnist

William of Occam was a fourteenth century Franciscan theologian. He was an advocate of simplicity. Occam held that the simpler the explanation the better. Don’t complicate things and stick to the basics.

Occam’s Razor is used in many fields of endeavor including science and theology. The one I’m familiar with is a management principle that gained a great deal of popularity a few years ago. K. I. S. S. (Keep it simple, stupid.)

I wondered about Occam’s Razor and our Minnesota Twins, because the Twins are seemingly unable to play winning ball consistently. Let’s apply Occam’s Razor to the problem. Remember the idea is to keep the dilemma as simple as possible.

Do the Twins need better pitching? No, it has lived up to expectations and in keeping with Occam’s philosophy, leave it alone, what isn’t broken doesn’t need fixing. Do the Twin’s need better defense? Yes, at two positions. Second base and third base. The second base problem can be eliminated immediately. Has the Twin’s new acquisition, second baseman Bret Boone, played well? No. The Bret Boone experiment has failed. Admit it and say goodbye to Boone. Let’s look at the third base problem later.

What about hitting? Aha, there is the biggest problem by far. The Twins are not hitting well and it may cost the team a playoff berth. What needs to be done? Improve the hitting of course with the available assets of the team. Using Occam’s Razor, what to do?

Stay with the present outfield. There are no better hitters in the organization at this time. Keep catcher Mauer playing and hitting as much as possible. When he doesn’t catch, use him at DH. Why? He is the best hitter on the team and the only regular batting over 300.

First base: Stop playing mind games with Justin Morneau and give him regular starts. Who do they have better? No one. second base: Put Nick Punto on second base and leave him there. Boone is gone and I don’t care if Luis Rivas is tearing Triple A pitching apart, decide and keep Punto at second base. If he is injured, face that when it comes. Do not anticipate problems. Go with your best player and stop the merry-go-round in search of the hot bat. It will solidify the team and give Punto confidence. Gardy, you’ve got a shortstop in Juan Castro. Play him.

Third base is perhaps the best example of Occam’s razor. The Twins need hitting. Who is the best hitting third baseman on the team? It’s not Terry Tiffee or Luis Rodriquez or any other utility player. It’s Michael Cuddyer. He is not the best third baseman in the American League. Far from it, but he the best hitting third baseman the Twins have. Play him.

Another position should be mentioned: designated hitter. Now, I’m a big fan of Lew Ford. I like the way he plays. He’s a good defensive outfielder and one of the few Twins that looks like he knows what he is doing at the plate. However, he is not the best designated hitter the Twins have.

Matthew LeCroy is, for both average and power. Who should play? LeCroy of course, except when Joe Mauer is not catching.

Another hitter the Twins have is Mike Redmond, back-up catcher. Use him as a pinch hitter. It seems to me that in the unlikely possibility of Mauer being hurt and Redmond not available, LeCroy could catch a few innings.

When a team has an abundance of pitching and a lack of hitting, what do you do? The answer is simple. Exchange some pitching for some hitting. When you read this, that may have occurred. If not, I think Terry Ryan in thinking too much about the complicated future and not enough about the present. That’s not Occam’s Razor.

(Jon Laging writes a commentary on regional and state sports topics from his home in Preston. )