Joe Mauer hit into a double play!

Today in the Twins spring training game (or yesterday or whatever)Joe Mauer grounded into a double play. It triggered a lot of jokes about Mauer being back to his form, grounding into double plays and eerything, and I remembered a period a couple years ago, where Mauer actually bunted because he was flustered by the amount of double plays he was initiating.
Let's think about this a bit more rationally, though. There are reasons why Mauer hits into double plays. He makes contact. He makes solid contact. He drives the ball up the middle. These aren't bad things. Also adding to his double play conundrum: the batters ahead of him get on base.
So I guess the question I have is... what would you have him do? He's the best hitter on the team. Do you want to waste that by bunting? Would you rather he strike out? He grounds into double plays because he's unlucky. It's not a mental thing, and it's not a physical thing. So give it up. I would rather he keep trying to drive the ball. I can't believe this would even be a debate.

Day one, and already bashing Mauer!

Ah yes, pitchers and catchers just reported, and already it's going downhill. Before I get into this piece, let me just state for the record that, yes Joe Mauer needs to be a leader this year. He is a veteran now, and he needs to take control of the clubhouse as the team leader, especially since he will be here longer than anyone else.
That said, Jim Souhan went about presenting his points in about the worst possible manner. I mean, I actually agree with his basic premise, but I can't get behind the way he got there. The entire point of the column, it seemed, instead of saying "the Twins need leadership" was to say that there were a lot of people that were talking behind Joe Mauer's back. What does that do? Essentially, Souhan is attempting to sow mistrust in Mauer. Who wants to lead an organization that isn't behind him?
Other parts of the debate, however, show just what kind of a writer Souhan is. To wit:

Whether Mauer had anything to do with their mindsets or not is difficult to ascertain, but Joe Nathan and Michael Cuddyer, two long-term Twins who had spoken of wanting to end their careers in Minnesota, left in free agency, and a group of young players the veterans nicknamed "The Fun Bunch'' seemed pleased to draw a big-league paycheck regardless whether the Twins won or lost.

So, Joe Mauer got hurt, and that's why Joe Nathan and Michael Cuddyer left? OK, maybe it wasn't the injury, but their departure was definitely his fault. Is that what I gather? And the younger players are happy to make a few hundred thousand dollars, and that's also bad, and it's also Joe Mauer's fault? Right?
And Souhan continues.

Members of the organization have pushed him to be more available for interviews, so he can present his side of every story. In sports journalism, access often blunts criticism.

If I am to extrapolate this fully, Souhan has overplayed his hand. Joe Mauer doesn't give interviews, and that means the media (of which Souhan is a member) doesn't care for him. So, basically, if Mauer was more garrulous, this article may have never happened.
Souhan turns something that is generally viewed as a positive trait, Joe Mauer's humility, into a damning character flaw. While I agree that Mauer needs to step into a leader ship role (assuming the training staff actually figures it out this year and he stays healthy) I hope he does it his way. The first thing I would do is recommend the team not give Souhan any interviews.

Sorry ladies

You have no fall back plan if you don't get to marry me. Joe Mauer is now engaged. Funny, he never seemed like the type to have women fawning over him.
Also, I intend to refrain from "leg weakness" jokes, which, depending on your attitude could be cute and wedding related, or extremely crass and honeymoon related.

Saying nice things about Joe Mauer

First, let me just express my shock that I find myself having to defend Joe Mauer (though Joe Mauer bunting is still an unforgivable offense).Joe Mauer had knee surgery in the offseason, and it came too late for him fully recover, and he was unprepared for the season, physically. Late in the season, he has developed pneumonia. In the middle, he tweaked his neck. People have called him soft, and questioned his resolve and even his remaining talent this season.
Despite being plagued by injury and only playing half of the season, he OPS+'d at a clip of 104, meaning he was above average at the plate as compared to the rest of the players in the league. Because he is a catcher, his value is even greater, and his WAR is 1.7, which ain't bad (not great, but not bad, either). Mauer generally has a high BABIP owing to his line drive clip. His BABIP is down 30 points this season, indicating an unlucky onfield performance, and his line drive rate is nearly the same, so it IS mostly luck (though his fly balls and ground balls are down and up respectively).
Basically the point is that Joe Mauer is good even in a bad season, and his bad season had a lot to do with bad luck.

Joe Mauer and first base

Ah yes, Joe Mauer bunting. Among my least favorite scenes ever at a Twins game. Last night he played first base, something that I wasn't too fond of either.
Let me get one thing straight. He was excellent at first base last night. That's part of the problem. Now, the team will be more willing to put him at first regularly. What does this mean for Justin Morneau? In essence, if you want to move Morneau you are saying you are OK with replacing Morneau with Drew Butera in the lineup. I am not OK with that.
Joe Mauer adds value as a catcher, because it's not a position in which one expects to see a lot of offense. A low power corner infielder is significantly less worthwhile, despite his batting average. That said, with the emphasis on defense that the Twins have, I worry that the team might think that it would be totally OK moving Mauer to first for good, not thinking anything of the marked lack in production the line up would have.
Of course, maybe playing first will spare his legs a little bit, and his lower body strength will allow him to start hitting it out of the park? That's the only good resultant scenario, I think.

Rethinking the Ramos-Capps trade

Obviously, with Joe Mauer on the disabled list, Twins have to wonder about their catching depth going forward. They let Jose Morales and Wilson Ramos go in the past 10 months, and now we are left to wonder what the Twins endgame ever was.
At the time of the trade, I was all for it. Ramos was an elite prospect that didn't appear to have a spot in the lineup in the near or mid future for the Twins. The team also had Morales who was a more than capable backup with a decent enough bat. As it turned out, the asking price for relievers was very high, and was an area of need going forward, so trading Ramos for Capps wasn't a terrible decision in my book.
That said, it was always acknowledged that Mauer will one day have to change positions, perhaps sooner than anyone intended. Now the Twins only have Drew Butera and a logjam at the other defensively non-strenuous positions, like DH, first base and right field. I know hind sight is 20/20 but perhaps there should have been enough foresight from supporters (myself included) to realize there needed to be a backup plan. I thought, I suppose, it would be Morales.
If we had a time machine, would we go back and undo the Ramos for Capps deal? Maybe. Maybe not. Ramos was going to be an elite catcher, and still will be, so his time in Minnesota would eventually be limited because of his eventual cost. IF anything, it was Morales that I still wish was in town as an offensive counterbalance to Drew Butera's defense. Furthermore, another trade would likely benefit the Twins in the short term (if there was someone capable of being an every day catcher on the roster), perhaps moving Jason Kubel and/or Michael Cuddyer for pitching, and introducing Mauer to right field. He can't be nearly as painful out there  as Kubel. This frees up right fielf for the arrival of Aaron Hicks or Ben Revere as well, because Jim Thome is likely in his last season in Minnesota, and Mauer could become a regular designated hitter, though it would be a shame to lose his athleticism on a daily basis.
But as it is, Ramos is gone, Capps is here for better or worse, and we are left to worry about Mauer's future as a catcher.

Joe Mauer was on TV!

Joe Mauer was on Jimmy Fallon last night, promoting MLB 2k11, the game in which he has been on the cover the past two seasons. Jimmy said that he loves Joe Mauer, which is high praise, because Jimmy Fallon is a hard guy to earn praise from.

I hate bunts

Beth has definitely been an asset to the site since she's been around, and I agree with almost everything she has had to say, (unlike, say, Steve). That said, there was only one thing about yesterday's post that I agree with: That we should move on.
But I can't. I HATE bunting with every fiber of my being. My dander was raised even more by the situation with which the now infamous Joe Mauer bunt occurred.
First, my reason for hating bunting. The most notable is the statistical disadvantage that even a successful sacrifice bunt puts you in. Let's take last nights situation, where there was a .250 hitter that was batting ahead of someone who is slightly better than a .250. If both had taken their full at bats, they would have each had a 1/4 chance (roughly) at getting a hit. Had Mauer hit into a double play, then by bad luck, they will have only had 1 chance to get a hit. With the bunt, they reduced their chances to 1 by choice. I see no way in which this makes sense.
Now, a few points specifically about the Mauer incident.
- When was the last time he bunted? How did he feel comfortable "bunting for a hit" if he hasn't bunted at all in a live game in a year?
- The primary reason that someone hitting .300 for the season would have 17 GIDPs is because he frequently has runners on base in front of him. Why not point out the fact that he has 41 hits with men on? 39RBI? Why are we going with the defeatist "at least it wasn't a double play!" attitude? It's disgusting and sad.
- What does this say about Mauer's confidence? He wasn't willing to even TRY to get a hit the traditional way in a critical juncture in a game against a team the Twins should handily defeat. It will indeed be interesting to see how he does in future spots like this. Is his contract getting to him? Is he feeling the pressure, scuffling with all those dollars backing him?
Now that I've gotten that off my chest, I think that I am officially ready to move on. Hey, he hit a home run tonight!

Yes, he did that. Now move on already

I did not want to write about this. As you can tell with my exasperation while writing this--or at least I hope it comes through in my writing--is that people are turning a simple baseball play into proof that a player sucks or is stupid or...well, I'm not sure what point they're trying to make by obsessing over one play in a game...because I think it didn't affect the game at all. It didn't affect how I think about the player. It didn't change ANYTHING for me. I thought it was simply a decision that didn't turn out as well as the player hoped, but I also think that it didn't ruin anything, either. In fact, I think fans making a big deal out of it, may change how other fans think about the player, which may affect the player's confidence in himself which will affect his hitting, and possibly his defense. So, really, all you're doing is making an odd situation worse.

I'm going to lay out a situation for you. It's the seventh inning. Your team has just tied up a game 3-3, and you have runners on first and second with one out. Coming to the plate is a man who, in the past month, sports a .258 batting average, and through the entire year has hit into a 17 double plays (tied for fourth in Major League Baseball, tied for second in the American League). The infielders are playing back. The player lays down a bunt. It's clear he's trying to bunt for a hit--he's not a speedy guy, but he's not slow, either. Alas, his bunt only goes about ten feet, and he's easily out at first; the runners are now on second and third for a man who's been hitting .274 that month. He grounds out to first, to end the inning.

When the second guy was out on his non-sacrifice bunt, I turned to my friend and we both expressed relief that he had not grounded into a double play, which is what we expected (remember the 17 double plays he has already hit into?). Imagine my surprise when I got home and found out that the entire rest of the world was apparently irate because he bunted. They were even more irate when his reasoning was that he had not been hitting well lately, and the bunt was simply poorly executed. He should not have been bunting!

The play in question happened Tuesday night. The player that bunted was Joe Mauer. Now, we're used to Joe Mauer being the perennial batting champion. It is positively inconceivable for people to imagine that he's not hitting well. But face if, he's not. Delmon Young, annual whipping boy, has a higher batting average (it's not hard to have a lower batting average than Delmon Young this year--he's tied for 11th place in the American League). Mauer looked at the situation, and realizeed a way that he could get on base (a well-placed bunt) and advance the runners (to second and third). He realized he wasn't hitting well lately (he is not unaware. He knows he's hitting under .300 for the year and while he might not know he's hitting .258 in July, he knows he's not hitting well). He's hit into a *lot* of double plays, and he knows this. So, he decides to get a hit in a way they're giving it to him by playing the third baseman back--a bunt. He fails to lay down a bunt, but advances the runners. Fans, media, and probably people in Germany are irate that JOE MAUER BUNTED. (Which is funny--I couldn't find it in my scorecards from last year, but I'm pretty sure he had a successful bunt single last year because he looked at the fielders, who were playing back, and took a shot. And it worked. And we all giggled that the batting champ bunted. What I *did* see was a note on my scorecard--on a Joe Mauer home run--that "he showed bunt on ball 2". So maybe he didn't successful lay down the bunt like I thought, but we still thought it was pretty smart of him to keep the fielders on their toes by saying "If I decided to bunt here, I'd get a hit.")

So, here's how I see it: Tuesday night, Mauer made an out while advancing the runners. Let's say Mauer didn't bunt. Let's say he swung the bat. Now, in his best year, last year, his on-base percentage was .444. That means that six times out of ten, Mauer was going to cause an out even in his fantastic MVP season. Thus, it's more likely he was going to make an out rather than get a hit--especially this year, but even last year. Let's say he flew out to left field, which is not inconceivable (he likes to hit it the opposite way). Denard Span's chances of advancing on the tag are pretty low. By letting Mauer try to get a "real" hit rather than trying to bunt for a hit, we suddenly have two outs with runners on first and second--a force-out at any base for Jason Kubel. Hmm, we don't like that so well. Let's say Mauer walks--which is less likely than a hit. Again, a force-out at any base, so when Kubel grounded out to first to end the inning, the ball may have been thrown home--and maybe a 3-2-3 double play had been started--or at least a 3-2 out. (I don't recall how hard the ground-out was--and it would depend on if Span was running on the pitch or not.) Best case scenario is a hit, which happens about two and a half in ten times, so don't count on it, or a walk, which happens less than three times in ten so again not to be counted on. Second best scenario we're looking at is...making an out but advancing the runners. Which, strangely enough...IS EXACTLY WHAT HE DID.

We just don't like how he did it, because we expect him to be a good hitter. (Funny, I bet if Nick Punto--a career .248 hitter--had done the same thing, no one would've batted an eye.) It's our expectations that are off. We're looking at what we want out of our reigning MVP. We're not looking at the fact that this year, he's not an MVP. It wasn't lack of intensity. It wasn't stupidity. It was a failed play, like happens approximately seven out of ten times for batters.

What's funny? If the lad had hit into *another* double play, no one would remember it today--we would've groaned about it happening AGAIN and moved on. Instead, Mauer gave Kubel (someone who is hitting better than him--.274 in July) a chance to get the runners home. And everyone's mad about that.

I do not get the ire. I'm happy he took a risk. I'm happier that he didn't hit into another @#$@#$* double play.

* I never swear, really, so if you were talking to me, it would probably be "another stupid double play." I have no idea what swear word that's being substituted for. You're on your own to fill in your own adjective for the anger you feel about Joe Mauer (and the Twins in general) hitting into double plays. Unless you're not a Twins fan in which case you're looking for something like "awesome" and I hate you and your team.

Ugh, with the bunting

I have heard all the excuses, and there is no good reason that Joe Mauer should ever be bunting. Bunting is what a player does when he is terrible at baseball (see: certain little leaguers and Nick Punto) or what you are told to do by a manager who has no faith in his team to get base hits (Ron Gardenhire) or when there are 0 outs, a runner on second and its the bottom of the 9th in a tied ball game (good baseball strategy). I mean, Gardenhire didn't even tell Mauer to to do this. I'm baffled and saddened. At least they are winning this afternoon.

*sigh*

I haven't been sleeping well lately, waking up way earlier than I want to. I usually need the radio to sleep, and I have it on KQRS, the classic rock station here in the Cities for those that don't know. Mountain helps me sleep. When I wake up in the middle of the night, it's the same thing. Turn on the radio, blissfully fall back asleep to the dulcet sounds of Bad Company.
Well, this morning I woke up at 7, which caused me to turn it on in the middle of the Morning Show, which is hosted by loud mouthed imbeciles. Usually, I have a problem with they overwhelmingly angry cynicism, racism and misogyny, but I have been blessed with a job that allows me to wake up after the show is over on most days. Today, I woke up not knowing what time it was and have a new reason to complain about the KQ Morning Show.
Their stupid is getting into my baseball.
Host Tom Barnard and PiPress sports guy Bob Sansevere were talking about the Twins and how disappointed they have been with Joe Mauer performance so far this season.
Jigga wha?!
Joe Mauer, the one who his hitting .338 with an OBP of .408 with an OPS+ of 140?! You are disappointed?! Why? Barnard (paraphrasing) said that "I know he is the home town kid and everything, but he's got to get it going" after Sansevere noted that Mauer has 22 RBI, putting him on pace for a paltry 76 on the season.
Ugh. If you are still using RBI as a gauge of the quality of a players performance, I simply don't have time for your stupidity. Again, most RBI, even from the greatest sluggers, come when a player drives someone else in. Therefore, Mauer's total has more to do with the fact that Denard Span got off to a slow start than anything. Mauer's still scoring plenty, because he is on base all the time (the only thing he really has power over).
As for the home run total, I'm not worried there either. Note that before last season, he less than 9 homers a season, on average, and only had the one huge power streak last season. If it makes you feel better, Joe is on pace for a career high in doubles, and that's pretty good too.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you are in any way disappointed in Mauer, you are a moron.

Opening Night Baseball, Joe Mauer and You

The Red Sox play the Yankees tonight on ESPN2, a game which isn't going to matter all that much to anyone further west than Scranton (although both teams do have strong national followings) and it isn't going to matter a whole lot in the standings (approx. 1/162nd of the entire season). But hey, baseball is back and to you, dear Minnesotan Blog Reader, that means Twins and that Mauer guy. I'm told he's pretty good.

Being a hockey guy myself, I always enjoy taking a moment to blog about something else when given the chance. I love hockey, but I'm not a one-trick pony either. Although the actual estimate would be more like 1 3/4 tricks -- 1 trick hockey, 1/4 football, 2/4 everything else.

So getting off of that tangent, Your Minnesota Twins are set to start play at that b-e-a-utiful Target Field that we've all heard so much about. And that's a lot, coming from someone who hasn't left the state of New York in a few months. I don't know if it's the fact that it's supposed to be so absurdly awesome or the idea of building an outdoor baseball field in, if you'll excuse me, Minnesota is so completely out-of-whack to all of us who don't live near the state but still choose to judge. Although something tells me the Twins may be playing the first week of the season on the road because the folks who make the schedule may have thought "early April in Minnesota = snow," which for the record, it apparently doesn't as it's supposed to be freaking 70 degress next weekend.

But aside from the weather and the stadium there are other good reasons to be excited. This Mauer person is going to be spending the duration of his career in a Twins uni and that the Twins are favored to win the division this year. Four of out of five MLB.com talking heads agree (including Gammons!) that the Twins are the favorites.

So while you're watching That Game Between Those Two Teams ESPN Never Stops Talking About (and get ready, they won't stop with that or Favre until November) be excited, Minnesota. Things are looking good for this season. It should be more interesting than this post was, anyway (I promise less parenthesis next time!). And we'll all be bored of both about halfway through.

Looking at the other side of the fence

I determined last week that I wasn’t going to write anything more about Joe Mauer until he signed his contract; everyone else was speculating and debating so I wasn’t going to. He signed on Monday. You win this time, Mauer.

There are idiots in the world. They come from all over. There are ethnocentric people, racists, nationalists, etc. There’s nothing wrong with believing your team, city, state, country, county, province, family, etc., is the greatest. It’s kinda expected. However, it’s another to think that your group is superior and that everyone wants to be you.

Let’s look at Mike Silva. He wrote “Mauer deserves the big stage of New York.” The reason he wrote this is because he feels that New York is the center of baseball. Why, everyone remembers all the big stars that went to New York. No one will remember A-Rod with the Rangers, or with the Mariners. They’ll remember him with the Yankees. That’s true. But why will they remember him with the Yankees? There was a lot more drama. If he would’ve stayed with the Rangers, he would’ve been remembered with the Rangers (he is one of the best players in baseball; that would not be forgotten if he decided to play his entire career in Kansas City). People will remember Ichiro Suzuki with the Mariners. Everyone will remember Ken Griffey, Jr., Cal Ripkin, Jr., and Kirby Puckett, and none of them played for the Yankees. I’m going out on a limb here and saying more people will associate Johnny Damon being with the Red Sox than with the Yankees.

Silva quotes Mark Teixeira as saying, “Look, it’s really kind of simple. If you don’t want to play in front of 50,000 people every single game, if you don’t want the energy of the best city in the world behind you every day, good or bad, and if you don’t want to be in a position where you can win a championship … well, then you probably shouldn’t play in New York.” He uses that as proof that everyone should want to play there.

I probably shouldn’t break it to Mr. Silva that if Mark Teixeira played for the Cubs, he’d say that Chicago is the most passionate city about their team. If he played for the Diamondbacks, he’d say the support of the team was absolutely incredible. If he played for the Giants, he’d call that the best city. Superstars—or at least those that want to keep in the good graces of the team—don’t say, “Oh, it’s an okay city I guess. I just play here for the paycheck.” So using a player quote about being the best city holds no water.

Do I think New York fans are passionate? Yes. Do I believe there are more fans of the Yankees than the Twins? I’d be an idiot to try to argue otherwise. Do I think the average Yankee fan is any more passionate than the average Twins fan? Not a bit. Even the Montreal Expos, with their few fans before they were moved, were every bit as passionate as the Yankees fans. There are more Yankees fans because New York is a bigger city. A lot of kids dream of visiting New York. A lot of kids dream of living in New York. But a lot of people are just as happy living in another city altogether. It’s not a perfect city. (For example, because of the higher cost of living, Joe Mauer’s contract in New York would’ve needed to be more to equal in value the contract he got from Minnesota.)

Beyond the insanity of Mr. Silva, and beyond all the other comments of Joe Mauer staying in Minnesota, there are still some that don’t like the contract. Besides Ozzie Guillen’s comment that he was glad for baseball that Mauer signed in Minnesota, he was sad that he had to continue facing Mauer 19 times each season (to be fair, since Mauer doesn’t play every day, Guillen’s teams will probably face Mauer between 14 and 17 times each year).

An unnamed Indians fan wrote an excellent rant about how he was not happy that the Twins signed Joe Mauer. To him, it was a reminder that the Twins were the luckiest team in baseball. They took a Rule 5 pick and he turned into a two-time Cy Young winner (who, incidentally, politely asked for a trade to a bigger market—so, Silva was right in that some players want the experience of the bigger stage of New York—although I’m fairly certain Santana would’ve gone to Boston, too). The Twins would’ve had the opportunity to sign Mark Prior as the #1 pick in 2001 when they picked Joe Mauer, and their decision was made when Prior didn’t want to come to Minnesota.* (There’s no saying what they would’ve done if Prior had been open to the idea of playing in Minnesota; they may still have gone with Mauer anyway—firstly, because they believed he’d be a great player, and secondly, the hometown kid always wins the fans, and the fans bring the money.)

I really wish the Twins would sign Prior to a minor league contract. After he signed, I hope he becomes a respectable pitcher—maybe a good bullpen guy. It would be a little lesson in humility to him, and a reminder of what maybe, possibly could’ve happened if he wouldn’t have been so anti-Minnesota. Just because they sucked through most of the 90s, didn’t mean it would last forever.

But this fan, whom I shall call Alfred, brought up a good point: “It doesn't set a precedent for anyone except for somebody who might idolize Joe Mauer and none of our players [Cleveland Indian stars] do that.” He’s right there. Mauer is not necessarily setting a precedent. I’ve heard rumors and speculation that Mauer actually wanted more money, but settled for a lower amount to stay in Minnesota. He wasn’t like Kirby Puckett staying in Minnesota. He’s not like Zach Greinke staying in Kansas City. Kirby Puckett was born in Chicago, and likely grew up cheering for one of those teams. Zach Greinke grew up in Florida. Their families are likely still in those areas.

The only precedent this may have set is for Albert Pujols. While Pujols didn’t move to Missouri until he was in high school, he did live and play there prior to a major league career. Joe Mauer, as is well-known, was born in and grew up in St. Paul—seven miles from where the Twins played. I’m pretty sure he will not deny that that is part of his decision to stay in Minnesota. (The other part is the firm belief that Minnesota had the opportunity to win.) Albert Pujols may make the same decision. But Mauer’s decision does not apply to Zach Greinke or many other stars on small-payroll teams. It simply applies to a very unique situation: a star player on his hometown team. The best it can do is make other star players realize that if they believe their small-market team can win, it’s okay to stay there.

Timberwolves update: They have a 0-3 record since I last reported. They’re now at 14-58, or a 19.4% winning percentage. The have the worst record in the West, but New Jersey has the worst record in the NBA, 8-63, reportedly on pace for a record year.

Wild Update: The Wild have a 35-32-6 record, for a 47.9% winning percentage. They’re not technically out of the playoff picture yet, but neither are the Baltimore Orioles.

Does Joe Mauer have what it takes?

This is a picture of Joe Mauer before he almost broke down in tears. Do we really want such a basket case commanding that much of our team's salary? What a crybaby.

PS I love that they cut to him gearing up when he talked about loving to put on a Twins uniform. Wow! He DOES love putting on that uniform!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I think that I don't need to add any real analytical insight beyond the headline. Heck, I'm not even really breaking any news with this post. So, um... 

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

It's All Relative

Ryan wrote earlier this week about Delmon Young. I wrote a month ago regarding a column Minnesota Sports commentator Patrick Reusse wrote—before we knew Young lost 30 pounds over the winter (although ten of it was due to illness).

I thought about it, and I’ll expand a little bit on the comment that I made on Ryan’s article, so bear with me if this is a little bit of a repeat.

Let’s look at his first two seasons with the Twins. His first season, he was playing under the pressure of an attitude for a bad reputation. (Remember his altercations with former {Devil} Rays teammate Carl Crawford--which, in my opinion, Young came out looking more mature by only commenting mildly when forced to by the media?) He was on a new team, and likely felt pressure, knowing he was traded for a rather good pitcher. It would’ve been an adjustment year for the young man, learning a new team/system. In his second season, likely feeling the pressure of the first not-so-stellar year, he also had to deal with something no 23-year-old boy should: he knew his mother was dying. Mrs. Young had pancreatic cancer, which was just discovered prior to Spring Training. Delmon Young had to walk into the club house for Spring Training with the very real possibility he might never see his mother again. He had to face the first two months of the season knowing a phone call could come any day. (As it was, he was fortunate enough to be there just before she died. As I mentioned last month, his season did improve.

The year Justin Morneau won the MVP (2006), Twins fans—and apparently MVP voters—were willing to set aside Morneau’s April, wherein he batted an unimpressive .208/.274/.416 at age 25. Twins fans need to let Delmon Young’s age 24 season April (.241/.276/.315) and May (.236/.288/.236).

Second off, let me start with one of my favorite amusing stats. In 2008, Geovany Soto of the Cubs won the Rookie of the Year award. Soto was born January 30, 1983, so he was 25 years old his entire rookie year. He wasn’t particularly young as a rookie, but he wasn’t particularly old, either. A reasonable age for a rookie. That same year, Twins Joe Mauer brought home his second batting title, completing, technically, his fifth full year in the majors (fourth, if you don’t count the injury-riddled rookie season). Mauer didn’t turn 25 until a couple of weeks after the 2008 season started. You don’t often think of a kid winning Rookie of the Year being older than a two-time batting champion. Yet, there we are.

Twins fans have been waiting for a third baseman ever since Corey Koskie left the Twins after the 2004 season. After watching (in no particular order) Michael Cuddyer, Nick Punto, Mike Lamb, Brendan Harris, Tony Batista, and some other random guys whom I’m forgetting, the Twins fans were finally hanging their hats on minor-leaguer Danny Valencia. He’s the up-and-coming hot prospect. The fans don’t expect him to start this year, but the hope is he’ll come up this year, and be the full-time third baseman next year. The fans can accept the wait, because he’s still a young player and they don’t want him called up too early. (This is all arguably. Plenty of people thought he should’ve been a September call-up in hopes of him starting this year, but they’ve accepted the way things are for the moment.)

And then someone mentioned this spring that Valencia turned 25 last fall—September 19 is his birthday. Delmon Young turned 24 this fall—September 14. That’s when it became clear that Delmon Young, despite having been in the majors for three full seasons, was actually a year younger than the “kid” we were all hoping would take over third base. One of his first years with the Twins, in Spring Training, a reporter noted he was sitting with the minor leaguers. They commented on how cool that was, and Young shrugged and mentioned that these guys were his age.

People had a lot of expectations for Delmon Young that he didn’t live up to, and people weren’t willing to forgive. Delmon Young is still very young. There are guys older than him in the minor leagues who aren’t considered washed-up.

My point in this is answering exactly why Twins’ media (both professional and bloggers) seem to be higher on Delmon Young than they have in the past. There’s probably more to it as well (the weight loss—showing a sign of dedication to the game in the off-season—for one), but these two reasons, in my opinion, are a good start of the turn-around in feeling. I just hope the fans can stay calm if Delmon starts slow. After all, as stated earlier, Justin Morneau had a slow start in 2006, and it all turned out okay in the end.

Timberwolves update: They have a 0-4 record since I last reported. They’re now at 14-55, or a 20.3% winning percentage. The have the worst record in the West, but New Jersey has the worst record in the NBA, 7-61, reportedly on pace for a record year.

Wild Update: The Wild have a 34-29-6 record, for a 49.3% winning percentage. They’re not technically out of the playoff picture yet, but neither are the Baltimore Orioles.

A Tale of Two Joes

Remember what I said last week that athletes are role models regardless of their desire to be a role model? Therefore, the excuse “I don’t want to be a role model” in invalid for poor behavior? Perhaps I should mention to Torii Hunter that while he’s often a good role model, he’ll also be the man I use as an example to children of “think before you speak, or you can get into all sorts of trouble.” (Doug Mientkiewicz will also be mentioned, along with A.J. Pierzynski.) Torii made some marginally racist comments, which were a small portion of his larger concern, but still brought the sports blogosphere up in arms. While his main focus may be true (and we could argue that), his wording was very poor.

I could write about three long posts today, but I’m shortening them. The first was shortened in my mini-rant at the beginning, so let me focus on A Tale of Two Joes for the main entry.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way…*

* If you don’t recognize the quote from Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities, it makes me sad. I don’t care if you’ve actually read the book, but at least recognize the quote! It’s the English major in me that gets all uptight about this sort of thing.

The Twins had almost every position on the field filled with quality players (some are unproven, but have shown high potential—namely Delmon Young and J.J. Hardy’s offense). The starting rotation, while lacking a #1 starter, had a plethora of 2-5 starters. There even was hope in a true #1, if reports from Winter League about Francisco Liriano were true. Hope abounded. The bullpen issues were solidified with the addition of Jon Rauch and replacing Bobby Keppel with Clay Condrey. It wasn’t an All-Star lineup, but there were All Stars in it. It wasn’t a feared rotation, but it could be respected. It wasn’t a lights-out bullpen, but strong enough to concern other teams.

And then Joe Nathan was pulled from his first spring training appearance after facing two batters—but 20 pitches. Then it was reported that he was flying to Minnesota for an MRI—‘just to be sure it’s only from his off-season surgery, but it’s probably nothing.’ And the next thing we knew, he had a torn ligament and was possibly facing surgery (which, at his age, would likely be career-ending). Many people see this the end of the season. And many people reassure us that it’s not. I’m on the fence.

Joe Nathan is a great closer. The difference between a good closer and a bad closer is something like seven games. On one hand, out of 162, seven isn’t very many. On the other hand, the last two years, the Twins have gone to game 163. Without those seven wins, the Twins don’t make it to the playoffs in 2009. Or 2003. And gone to 163 (or not made the playoffs) in 2006. So, a good closer could make a huge difference. Joe Nathan could be a difference-maker in a season.

Yet… Remember back to 2004? In the off-season prior to the start of the season, the Twins lost their closer, Eddie Guadardo and their set-up man LaTroy Hawkins. As Torii Hunter said, “This stinks! It looks like we’re rebuilding again. If I had known this was going to happen, I probably wouldn’t have signed my deal… You’d think we could have offered that (what Hawkins got from Chicago). I think we’re forgetting who we’re dealing with here. Joe Nathan is no LaTroy Hawkins. He might be a good pitcher, but LaTroy has proven himself here, and he’s a chemistry guy.” (See above side note about Torii speaking before he thinks.) This quote was not pulled intentionally to pick on Torii. Purely a coincidence. Besides, Torii said what a lot of fans were likely thinking. Joe Nathan had one save before joining the Twins, in four opportunities and 19 holds. He pitched a total of 263 innings. His strike-out to walk ratio was 1.41. Not exactly the numbers you hand over a closer role to. If I recall, they slowly broke him in. And by slowly, I’m talking Olympic sprinter slowly. He had 47 save opportunities that year, which is the third most in his six years as a closer. And he became one of the elite closers.

The Twins don’t have a closer in the wings…yet. They have a couple of minor leaguers that could break into the role, but not for a few years (probably). And those aren’t sure things, either. Jesse Crain was groomed as a closer. His struggles with injuries have derailed those plans. Pat Neshek was a closer in the minors, and injuries have derailed that. There’s nothing saying that now that both of them have recovered, one of them couldn’t step into the role. Jon Rauch was a closer for a while. While his stature is typical of a closer (someone to fear), his pitching is not necessarily. Matt Guerrier has been a solid set-up man for years now. Perhaps it’s his time to step on the mound with the game on the line—in the ninth, rather than the eighth.

Moving onto the other Joe. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… Joe Mauer is coming off a career year—that we all hope he somehow surpasses in 2010 (As CBS’s Scott Miller said to Mauer, “It’s going to be hard for you to be the Comeback Player of the Year.”) He’s definitely one of the elite players in the game. Other teams covet him. The fans of the big-money-spending teams are drooling for the day they can snatch him in free agency. He’s a nice guy, by all reports. He’s a great player. He’s a competitor. So..it is the best of times.

But his contract is up at the end of 2010. He’s an elite player, and elite players can command elite prices. Usually—but not always—one of two things happen: the player is signed to a larger contract before Spring Training, or is traded before the trade deadline. Mauer didn’t sign before Spring Training. Both sides have, mercifully, kept mum on the contract status. What it comes down to is this: Joe Mauer is a competitor and wants to win. He will play where he feels he has a chance to win. If he signs with Minnesota, he could command up to ¼ of the salary, which would hamper the team’s ability to win. Many teams, other than the big spenders, would be in the same boat regarding Mauer. It comes down to whether or not Mauer feels he can win in Minnesota, or if there are better chances elsewhere. So, for the fans, waiting on his decision, it’s the worst of times.

There is nothing we can do about either situation but wait and watch it all play out.

“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."**

** It’s the ending of A Tale of Two Cities. I don’t expect you to know that, though. I looked it up.

Timberwolves update: They have a 0-3 record since I last reported. They’re now at 14-51, or a 21.5% winning percentage. The have the worst record in the West, but New Jersey has the worst record in the NBA, 7-57, reportedly on pace for a record year.

Wild Update: The Wild have a 31-28-6 record, for a 47.6% winning percentage. They’re not technically out of the playoff picture yet, but neither are the Baltimore Orioles.

Joe Mauer

Rick Anderson announced that, based on his performance at the end of the year last year, Scott Baker would be Opening Day starter. Those who follow Scott Baker closely—which is probably limited to me—will recall that this is the third year in a row Mr. Baker has been designated the Opening Day starter for the Twins. Those keeping track at home will recognize that Mr. Baker has yet to make an Opening Day start for the Twins, due to injury and then illness (2008) and injury (2009). I hope his injury issues are now over, and he will be able to start Opening Day for the Twins for years to come.

Probably one of the bigger minor stories in baseball this off-season is the status of Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer. I say minor, because the story is mainly whether he’ll get a contract extension. His current contract is set to run out the end of this year. I didn’t think it was that big of a story. Certainly it bears some monitoring by the local media—teams aren’t likely to let a player like Mauer walk in free agency, not when they can get more than a couple of draft picks by trading him, so they’re likely to work out a contract before the season starts, or trade him before the season starts. So, what’s the status? Hard to say. The Twins are usually quite silent on these grounds, and Mauer’s agent is also the type to keep the battle from happening in the public sphere. Nonetheless, I know that when the Colorado paper publishes (online) a blog post dreaming about Joe Mauer, it’s bigger news than I thought.

Brent Briggeman writes “Think about it, the small-market Twins haven’t had any luck signing their hometown superstar to a long-term deal.”

He’s partially right. The Twins, despite increased revenue from being in their own stadium, are not a big market team. They will not have the resources of the Red Sox or the Yankees. However, I would argue that the new stadium does move them out of the confines of “small-market” to more of a mid-market team. They’re still going to have to watch the budget, and depend heavily on scouting and drafting (and trading the right players at the right time for the right prospects), but the days of not being able to afford much other than other team’s cast-offs are mostly over.

But the Twins haven’t always depended on rookies and cast-offs entirely.

Brad Radke stayed his entire career in Minnesota; he may not have been a super-star, but he was in the Cy Young voting and sought after by big market teams (the Red Sox reportedly made him a nice offer in 2004, the year he signed his last contract with the Twins), but chose to stay in Minnesota. That wouldn’t be done if the contracts weren’t fair. Joe Nathan is considered one of the elite closers in the league, and he’s been under contract by the Twins since he became a star. Justin Morneau won the MVP in 2006, and is under contract for what would be considered his prime years. And while it’s almost 20 years old, the Twins did keep around a pretty good center fielder by the name of Kirby Puckett. (In the 90s, they had few guys worth keeping around, so there is a dearth of superstar contracts by default.) In short, they’re pointing out that the Twins weren’t willing to pay either Johan Sanatana (who wanted to pitch in a bigger theater than Minnesota anyway) or Torii Hunter (whom the Twins did make a reasonable offer to, but the Angels made a longer one—one that many feel that the Angels may live to regret towards the end). I wouldn’t say that they haven’t had any luck signing any of their superstars. It’s just that they’ve lost two.

Secondly, the proposed offer that the writer brings up is for a top pitching prospect, a top catching prospect, and an infielder. The Twins got four prospects out of Santana—a pitcher who can only play once every five games--so I really can’t see them coming away with less prospects for Mauer—a player who can play three out of four games.

Now, it’s crazy to think that the Twins would make a trade of this caliber without a pitching prospect being included, so that part of the proposed offer makes sense (and no doubt this would also include a lower-level pitching prospect, too, because that’s often the Twins style as well). Middle infield is presently a concern for Minnesota, so that makes sense. A team can always use more catchers, although that’s not a present need of the Twins (immediate need, sure, but they have a couple of strong prospects in lower levels). But the need the Twins presently have is major-league-ready outfield prospects. I don’t know if the Rockies have any of those, but the Twins right have now have Jason Kubel as their back-up outfielder. If Denard Span ends up ill or injured, the Twins are faced with deciding between Michael Cuddyer, Delmon Young, and Nick Punto in center field—or calling up Jacque Jones. If that doesn’t scare you, you’re probably not a Twins fan.

But none of that is the main problem I see with this proposal. In the first place, Joe Mauer wants to win. He’s going to consider the team that gives him the best chance to win. The Rockies and Twins will probably have similar payrolls from here on out. If the problem the Twins might be facing is having one player eat up ¼ (or more) of their payroll and therefore not being able to surround him with other high-caliber players to support winning, the Rockies will face the same problem. The advantage of him staying in Minnesota is that his grandparents can still attend every home game; Colorado would have to bring something else to the table. (I’m not saying that Mauer will base his decision on his grandparents’ ability to watch him play, but rather all things being equal, that would be a deciding factor.)

It’s not a bad article. People like to dream. It would be fun for me to dream how Tim Lincecum could be a Twin. But that doesn’t mean it’s based in reality.

Timberwolves update: They have a 0-3 record since I last reported. They’re now at 13-42, or a 23.6% winning percentage. The have the worst record in the West, but New Jersey has the worst record in the NBA, 5-49.

Wild Update: The Wild have a 30-27-4 record, for a 49.2% winning percentage. Both their goalies are back in health! They’re now on Olympic break, and have five players in the Olympics. The Finns (Mikko Koivu, Antii Mietinen, and Niklas Backstrom) beat Belarus 5-1—Koivu had three assists. The Czechs (Martin Havlat and Merek Zidlicky) beat the Slovaks (former Wild Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra

Hoping...

There are the reports that Joe Mauer is approaching a 10 year deal with the Twins. Sure it's not signed or confirmed yet, but I have to say that the prospect of a 37 year old catcher under contract in 10 years has never sounded so good to this Twins fan.

Momentary panic attack

I was watching a bit of the High School State football championships, in which Eden Prairie played St. Paul high school Cretin-Derham Hall. I was reflecting on the history Cretin has, putting several players in professional sports, including Paul Molitor and Chris Weinke. This reminded me of one of their most famous athletes, a guy named Joe Mauer.
Back when he was in high school, Mauer was a three sport star, playing basketball as well as football and baseball. He was a great quarterback, and many got their first glimpse of him in consecutive state championship games for Cretin. In fact, he was named the national quarterback of the year, and had a scholarship to play at Florida State.
The kid who apparently loves Minnesota, was ready to jet off to Tallahassee for 4 years to play football and eventually start an NFL career. If he loved Minnesota so much, why didn't he want to resurrect the Gophers? He was ready to leave Minnesota for NO money (well, not as much).
And this is why I had a momentary panic attack.