Gardenhire: Pressure to make All-Star Team to blame for Mauer's Poor First Half

[JB_Iowa]

Phil Miller ‏@MillerStrib  · 17m 
Ron Gardenhire believes pressure to make All-Star team is to blame for Joe Mauer's subpar first half. "I've never seen him miss like that."

 

Rhett Bollinger ‏@RhettBollinger  · 17m 
Gardenhire says he sees a difference in Mauer since coming back from injury. Said Mauer was pressing earlier to make the All-Star team.

 

Mike Berardino ‏@MikeBerardino  · 15m 
Gardy revealed for first time today his theory on Joe Mauer's slow first half. He was feeling "a lot of pressure" to make All-Star Game.

 

Mike Berardino ‏@MikeBerardino  · 14m 
Gardy said when he saw the relief on Glen Perkins' face at making hometown ASG, he realized what Mauer must have been feeling.

 

 

 

This certainly puts a different twist on Mauer's failures from the post-concussion syndrome that some of us have been assuming.

 

And if this is in fact the case, it really makes me wonder about Mauer's ability to lead this team in the post-season (of course, that ship has probably sailed anyway).

[drjim]

Another example of Gardy really not doing Mauer any favors with his comments to the media.

[Squirrel]

It still could've been post-concussion syndrome.  What I've said all along is that it was a number of things coming together, not just one thing.  Before we jump on this bandwagon, the word to keep in mind here is 'theory.'  This is Gardy's theory.  Granted, he's closer to the situation than any of us, and I don't discount that idea ... as something that was in the mix of a lot of things.

[Craig Arko]

I like my guess better than his.

 

It has something to do with Mauer not doing any baseball activities at all from August of last year until reporting to camp in February, because of the concussion.

 

P.S. - don't encourage them to confuse the terms 'theory' and 'wildass guess.'

[Squirrel]

I like my guess better than his.

 

It has something to do with Mauer not doing any baseball activities at all from August of last year until reporting to camp in February, because of the concussion.

I'm sure that contributed, too.

[JB_Iowa]

In fairness, Berardino expands a little:

 

Mike Berardino ‏@MikeBerardino  · 14m 
Gardy on Mauer: "He was pressing. there’s no doubt, before the All-Star Game. I really think that played a part in it."

 

 

Mike Berardino ‏@MikeBerardino  · 13m 
Gardy: "It’s the first time in my career that I’ve seen Joe Mauer really want something bad, and that was to play in that All-Star Game."

 

 

Gardenhire said "played a part in it" not was the "sole cause" or something similar.

 

 

Still, I think it is an interesting perspective to add to the speculation about Mauer's first 1/2.

[Squirrel]

 

 

 

Still, I think it is an interesting perspective to add to the speculation about Mauer's first 1/2.

No doubt.  A lot of things adding up.

[jokin]

Another example of Gardy really not doing Mauer any favors with his comments to the media.

 

 

Gardy might have walked his quote from Twitter back a bit for Berardino's just-published article, but saying that he's never before seen Mauer "really want something bad" isn't the most flattering thing to say, either:

 

 

 

“There’s no doubt he was pressing before the all-star game” Gardenhire said. “It’s the first time in my career as a manager here that I’ve seen Joe Mauer really want something bad, and that was to play in that all-star game. I really think that played a part in it. I don’t think he would ever admit to it, but in my opinion it definitely did.”

 

Mauer was announced in April as an all-star ambassador. That, combined with a position change to first base, may have led to Mauer trying to put up bigger power numbers in order to keep pace with a different set of all-star competitors, Gardenhire suggested.

 

“There was a lot of pressure that we can’t feel from everything that was put on his shoulders,” Gardenhire said. “You have to live with that. Believe it or not, he is human. I saw frustration in him that I hadn’t seen in a long time, and it all was built around wanting to be part of that. Expectations can be tough, but right now he’s as relaxed as I’ve seen him in a long time.”

[S.]

Lord knows how much stress he might be subject to if he badly wanted to win the World Series.

 

If the stress of trying to make the All Star game turns him into a pumpkin, then he should probably start seeing some doctors in the next couple years before we try to make a real playoff push. If this is just Gardy making excuses, then he really needs to quit it because it isn't doing him, Mauer, or the team any favors by saying crap like this.

[RealTwinsFan357]

I don't like Gardy talking about his players like this...Mauer had a rough first half, yes, but now he's just going to say it was from pressure to play in the hometown ASG? So everything's back to normal now? Doesn't that put pressure on Mauer to just go back to hitting over .300 and stay there? I just think this comment is kind of inappropriate.

[Mike Sixel]

Could any team handle how they talk about their superstar worse? But if true, super sad.