This. Apart from whether the two strikeouts in the Mexico game were questionable or not, Joe has a real "notion" up there at the plate, every time. As I mentioned in another thread, I was there in Phoenix last weekend, and one of our running jokes was "bet Mauer swings on the first pitch?" each time he was up. I can't remember if he ever crossed me up on that; and most times, he'd make the pitcher throw him one strike looking, sometimes two, before picking out something to take a good whack at. I sat there griping, when he'd look at a strike on 2-0, "this is *why* you work the count to 2-0, to get a pitch like that." And yet, he had a really good WBC first-round series, and more times than not he made a monkey out of me and my petty griping. Maybe the line-drive foul he sent one seat down and to the right of me was a message. At least, I wasn't "that guy" yelling Sterrr-roids! Cheeea-ter! to Braun in left field or when he was up to bat. By the second game, some lady a few rows down from him complained, and either he shut up or was escorted elsewhere, I don't know which.