I love the smell of off-season trades.

The Twins need to get over the hump - you know, win a couple playoff games. And they need to do it in the off season.

Going into October, most will agree signing Joe Mauer to a multi-year deal is the team's top priority. It has to get done. Fixing their weak spots comes to No. 2.

The Twins might have taken a step in that direction trading the athletic, exciting and yet confounding center fielder Carlos Gomez for the Milwaukee's shortstop J.J. Hardy. I like this trade. While it means we wlose an unpredictable and wildly entertaining Go-Go, it could also mean we've fixed our crowded outfield and found perhaps a more stable infield lineup.

Hardy and Go-Go are both coming off terrible years. However, both have the potential to be big players. Go-Go should get better at bat and Hardy has already been an All Star.

Seeing the popular Hardy play in Milwaukee in June cemented my hope the Twins would go after him. He looks like a Twins player and could fill a position the Twins have struggled with for years. He's a power-hitting shortstop (gasp, I know Twins fans have no idea what that looks like, aka Nick Punto) and he's not bad defensively. An updgrade from Cabera, minus the veteran leadership. Plus, he's way better looking. Come on, this is the important stuff in life. If you're going to watch 162 baseball games a year, the guys better be good looking.

Maybe this trade will be a wash. Two struggling players exchanged with nothing lost. Maybe one of them will become brillant. Maybe both will give their teams exactly what they need. Who knows? This is baseball.

That said, I will miss Go-Go. He played hard. He played with heart. Hey, he even played with a chip on his shoulder. But his raw talent never matured and his head still has a way to go.

But when he arrives in Target Field next summer to dive and dash around the field like he did in the Metrodome, I'll still be cheering for Go-Go, as long at the Twins have a comfortable lead, of course.