Comments on: Mauer Pauer: Man of the Hauer

By: Nicholas

Nicholas — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:29:55 +0000

I’m not a Twins fan, but I will be personally saddened if he ends up signing somewhere. Sure, he could probably get $20-$30 million a year elsewhere. But what bothers me is the implication that he HAS to take the largest amount of money offered. The flip side of that being that the Twins CAN’T afford him, because the free agent market will demand that he take more money than they can offer.

The link below is to a piece I wrote for a small blog which, I hope, articulates this feeling a little better.

http://allswingsconsidered.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/please-joe-mauer-stay-a-twin/

By: Dave Mac

Dave Mac — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 07:17:46 +0000

I love Joe Mauer – don’t get me wrong… but, how about this catcher…

Age – slash stats
22 – .3o0/.372/.401
23 – .294/.391/.434
24 – .327/.411/.473
25 – .332/.428/.511
26 – .320/.412/.470

Yeah, that superstar is Jason Kendall. I know Mauer’s better, but there was a time when we all thought Jason Kendall was a bit of a freak as well. Catchers just don’t age well…

By: YankeesVine » Blog Archive » Cost and Value: Economic Realities (Part 1 of 3)

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 05:56:00 +0000

[...] Joe Posnanski* wonders whether Joe Mauer is the most valuable player in the game right now. While Pujols is the [...]

By: Clayton Trapp

Clayton Trapp — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:20:51 +0000

I just have to say….this was a spectacularly great piece. Football gets the dinghy chicks and boozehounds that slobber, baseball gets the great writers. Well done, this is one of the best baseball pieces I’ve read in the last 15 years.

By: Justin

Justin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:24:04 +0000

Herve Montalban [#60],

Yes, my post was overkill, but there are some (and I did say SOME) Yankee fans who seem to feel entitled to any player with a claim to greatness. Given the way the free agent market shook down last year, you can certainly see why they feel that way.

Steinbrenner’s largesse over the past several years certainly lends itself to certain members of the team’s fan base thinking they’re going to get whatever they want.

I’m sure it’s just a vocal and obnoxious minority, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a comments section on a mainstream media baseball site that doesn’t contain at least a couple of “he’s going to look good in pinstripes” comments.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that I’m a Blue Jays fan, so I’m naturally embittered by the mountainous odds my team has to overcome to come close to yours, and that bitterness only intensifies every time I hear a Yankee fan just assume they’re going to get a great player the minute he becomes a free agent (partly because of the aforementioned sense of entitlement and partly because I know there’s a pretty decent chance that prediction will come true.)

By: Jimbo

Jimbo — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 03:45:27 +0000

@74
The Nats have money (and a large market) they’re just terrible, I’m pretty sure the owner is willing to spend 80-90 on payroll and 100 on exceptional years.

By: DA

DA — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:37:59 +0000

I’m with you on Granderson, Joey!

By: David Wintheiser

David Wintheiser — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:06:43 +0000

The real lesson, both for Greinke’s Cy and Mauer’s MVP, is that Joe is now the leader of ‘mainstream’ sports journalism, which is to say, sportswriters and observers who aren’t ex-jocks.

By: Laurel Krahn

Laurel Krahn — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:47:13 +0000

Regarding Joe Mauer’s height, there was an article by Joe Christensen in the StarTribune on 04/05/2007 called “Joe Mauer growing taller” or something like that.

This is from that piece: Joe Mauer is getting a little old for a growth spurt. But the Twins catcher, who was 6-4 last season, has pushed past 6-5 and is approaching 6-6. The team lists him at 6-5 in the media guide, but Mauer acknowledged that he is actually 6-6 “wearing shoes.” I’ve been growing ever since last year,” he said Wednesday. “I don’t want to get too big, or I might have to move [positions].”

By: buddy

buddy — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:31:12 +0000

He’s not going to be another Mauer, but the next great catcher after Wieters is going to be Carlos Santana of the Indians.