Article: Is Joe Mauer hurt or just slumping?

[NorthwestTwinsFan]

Well, I have to disagree. If he starts hitting like he did in 2010 while catching 70% of the games, it will be a fair contract for both sides. I think a lot of people underestimate how valuable it is to have a catcher that can both hit and play decent defense. It's a rare breed and allows you to have a no-hit good field guy somewhere else in the lineup without taking an hit compared to other teams.

Sure, in theory that sounds nice. But in reality the guy hasn't been a full time catcher for several years now, and might not be again anytime soon. Plus, he's not hitting either. So until either one of those things starts happening, it looks like the Twins are paying a lot of money for a DH who is pretty good at drawing walks.

[StormJH1]

Proof please? You know Joe Mauer? Wow, where did you meet him? Do you guys like , hang out and stuff?

 

Someone was going to pay Mauer that money, if the Twins didn't everyone would have cried how cheap the Twins are, kind of like this year when they dropped payroll. Get over it, crying about it now is sour grapes and just the way it rolls sometimes, spilled milk as they say (two food analogies in one sentence).

Please. I could go with the cheap shot route and simply point out "8-23". I think that argument has more merit in other sports where individual players have more of an impact, such as basketball. Then again, you could use that same point to ask why you would ever pay an individual baseball player 23 million dollars a year unless he was so clearly exceptional and dangerous that he DID have that type of impact on a lineup. Mauer clearly does not.

 

Leadership means a lot of things. And while it's totally possible that Joe Mauer is a terrific, vocal leader behind the scenes (and the exact opposite at all other times), I doubt it. Here are some characteristics that have been traditionally held by "great leaders" over the years. While few leaders possess all of them, ask yourself, how strongly does Mauer possess any of these above someone who is merely a "pretty good" player?

 

- Leader by example/Wills his team to victory by exemplary performance

- Vocal leadership/A verbal clubhouse presence who praises teammates and will criticize them when they get out of line

- Dedication & Perseverance/A player who sets the tone for the entire team by working harder than anyone else at his craft and inspiring them to do the same

- Team "Spokesman"/A player willing to put himself in front of the media and and shoulder the blame for the collective failure of the team

- Durability & Dependability/A player who inspires teammates by staying in the lineup when other players would have looked for an excuse to take time off

- Visible presence in the community/Spokesperson for the team

 

...And I can go on and on. I will say, however, the last one in that list may be something more important to fans than other players, but it is important. Mauer is a Florida resident and rather than being upfront and honest about what was going on, he was virtually invisible from the media and the team for two months while his team struggled badly. I understand that he may be trying to "right" the ship this year by playing 30 out of 31 when the team is even worse. Kudos for that. But he is a ballplayer and this is his JOB. And I'm not going to forget 2007 or 2011, or any of the other lingering "issues" about his value to the club.

 

As for his physical condition, it's tough not to wonder or think about someone like Rocco Baldelli. Hopefully, Mauer's issues are only musculoskeletal, and can be corrected. But it did look earlier in the season like he was thinking about pulling and driving the ball, and that's already gone. You can talk about bad luck (BABIP) or defensive shifts, or whatever...but if Mauer's entire game becomes simply trying to hit groundballs through holes in the infield, he's going to hit into a TON of double plays and ultimately not be incredibly valuable to this team...even if he's batting close to .300.

[JB_Iowa]

Back to the original question. I'm not astute enough to see a change in his swing but I did comment previously that it seemed like there was a hesitation (not quite a limp) as he was running to 1st Base. It appeared that he was favoring his left knee as he ran.

 

Doesn't mean he's not slumping, too.

 

And, yes, after last year, I'm sure that he and the organization are trying to prove something by having him in the line-up almost every day. And that will probably be detrimental to his health and performance.

[StormJH1]

Actually, he didn't hit like the best player in baseball in 2010. He was good, but had similar seasons in 2006 and 2008 and was pretty good in 2007 too. In 2009 he it like the best player in baseball. He's been very good every year he's been healthy, about 5 or 6 years by my count. That's what they are paying for and I'm hoping that's what they get. It's way too early to judge the contract as one of the worst ever based upon just 1+ season of play.

Mauer was paid based on his 2009 performance, with a little bit of hometown discount and "new stadium pressure" sprinkled in. Hardly anyone realistically expected Mauer to live up to the on-field performance of a $20+ million player, and we accepted that fact.

 

But that being said, how much further do we lower the bar for this guy? Forget the 2009 "Brady Anderson" year, what about 2010 Joe Mauer? I think the fanbase would eventually have warmed to the idea of a .320 hitter who has about 10 HR power (especially with the evergreens in the batter's eye, c'mon you guys...), but was still a line drive hitter who would get some doubles and, of course, be very selective at the plate and set the table for the hitters behind him. Crap, I'd almost be happy to have even THAT guy back right now, and we ripped him them too!

[Alex]

Mauer was paid based on his 2009 performance, with a little bit of hometown discount and "new stadium pressure" sprinkled in. Hardly anyone realistically expected Mauer to live up to the on-field performance of a $20+ million player, and we accepted that fact.

 

But that being said, how much further do we lower the bar for this guy? Forget the 2009 "Brady Anderson" year, what about 2010 Joe Mauer? I think the fanbase would eventually have warmed to the idea of a .320 hitter who has about 10 HR power (especially with the evergreens in the batter's eye, c'mon you guys...), but was still a line drivehitter who would get some doubles and, of course, be very selective at the plate and set the table for the hitters behind him. Crap, I'd almost be happy to have even THAT guy back right now, and we ripped him them too!

 

 

Part of my point was "that guy" you'd like to have back was actually worth the new contract. If he were actually paid for the 2009 year, they would have had to pay him a lot more. I don't think anyone wants to set the bar low, but that it's unrealistic to think that because he's being paid 23M/year he's magically going to develop into vocal leader and a guy who hits 30HR a season. He was never the former and had one great season where he was the latter, but that season was just that -- one season.

 

But WAR and player value do not occur in a vacuum....right? Each player is part of a portfolio of assets, not an isolated thing. Also, what would that value be if he was DH/1B, and not catcher?

 

And, agreed, most long term contracts don't return value every year. I don't think people are asking for that. I think they are asking to never look at Fangraphs, and to see three AL Central catchers with more WAR, one forth (give or take) of the way through the year. Rightly or wrongly.....no one wants to see that.

 

Yeah, WAR and Value are contingent on position played. I think that some people feel that Mauer ripped them off, which I think is a bit unfair and the reason I posted the value numbers. He was easily worth the amount of his contract at the time the deal was made.

 

In hindsight, obviously, he certainly hasn't been worth $23M since signing. However, he wasn't healthy last year and this year he hasn't been the same since taking the ball off the knee. He was hitting pretty well until that point. As Parker laid out, there are pretty clear indicators he's hurt or that they're at least trying to give him some rest.

 

Thanks to the problems last year he's now pretty much damned if he doesn't play (hurt or not) and damned if he plays while injured and his numbers suffer because of it.

[Mike Sixel]

I don't think it is ridiculous to ask that someone that is paid that much be one of the best players in the game. He wasn't last year, and he isn't so far this year. If he didn't want all the pressure and expectations and fame, then he should have taken a real hometown discount, like a certain pitcher on the West Coast did....

[twinsnorth49]

Leadership means a lot of things. And while it's totally possible that Joe Mauer is a terrific, vocal leader behind the scenes (and the exact opposite at all other times), I doubt it. Here are some characteristics that have been traditionally held by "great leaders" over the years. While few leaders possess all of them, ask yourself, how strongly does Mauer possess any of these above someone who is merely a "pretty good" player?

Please is right, I don't know whether Joe Mauer is a good leader any more than you know he's not. All you do is make a bunch of broad stroke stereotypical assumptions. Fans who think they can make character assessments on players and what their intangibles are based on what they see in T.V. or read in the newspaper is ridiculous.

 

Why does Joe have to say something in the press to prove he's a good leader? Who's he proving to, the fans? I'm pretty sure his team mates know what he's all about withnout having to read it in the newspaper.

 

I don't recall a lot being said about Joe's leadership abilities when he was winning the MVP award, but that had nothing to do with the fact he wasn't making 23 million at that point did it? You're basing his leadership abilities on how the team is playing now. Puckett played on some pretty bad teams, where was his leadership then? How come he couldn't will his team to win more games? That notion is farcical.

 

I really don't know, I know he's a good baseball player (or was if you prefer), Puckett was a great baseball player, that's all any of us know about them. You make it sound like you know, you've clearly read some books on leadership and know some fancy buzzwords and phrases, but you don't know, you assume. I don't assume to know anything.

[Alex]

I don't think it is ridiculous to ask that someone that is paid that much be one of the best players in the game. He wasn't last year, and he isn't so far this year. If he didn't want all the pressure and expectations and fame, then he should have taken a real hometown discount, like a certain pitcher on the West Coast did....

I agree. He has been one of the best players in baseball, especially in terms of value, in a couple of different seasons. I'd like us to give him at least one season (or most of one) where he isn't hurt, though, too, before we start judging the contract and it's actual value.