Joe Mauer and his home run

[Getanet]

Unless all off you are retired or own your own business, (In both cases like me)I am very glad that none of you work or worked for me. 1260 posts on meaningless drivel, a good share of which is being posted on company time. Lots of opinions, but really nothing that helps any of us. Just my opinion as a business owner and former business manager.

Bobber, if you spend enough times in these forums you'll see that some of the people that post the most also claim to be small business owners or managers. I don't think slacking off of blowing off steam is a trait solely reserved for the working class

[Coach1310]

So......you don't think that you could find 2 - $12 mil players who could help the team more than 1 - $23 million catcher who needs to take a month of games off?

Dave.... I will once again point out that you are FOOLING yourself if you think the Twins would have spent 23 million on two other players if they wouldn't have signed Mauer. A HUGE portion of that revenue is generated by Mauer.

Also, this continual comparison to AJ..... It is kinda fun to see you pull out the ONLY statistics that support your point. Do you have any idea how much Mauer's presence contributes to the success of the rest of the Twins? Have you noticed how much he is being pitched around lately? How often his patience leads to extra at bats for guys like Morneau(when healthy), Kubel, Thome, Young? I know you will never let go of your end of the argument.... but then again a captain should sink with his ship!

[SledNeck]

How do these companies monitor Internet usage on a smartphone????

[mr_jman]

How do these companies monitor Internet usage on a smartphone????

Ha ha Nice!!!!!

Hopefully EVERYONE realizes that Dave will pull ANY USELESS STAT about ANYTHING in ANY post that goes against 99% of the way people think who read these forums just to get a reaction out of them... He doesn't post to win arguments he probable sits on his computer and just laughs at the responses people give. Even though the responses legitimately have him beat most of the time! He'll just come up with some dumb stat or comment that has no merit or worth to the argument, but it will get another poster going and keep the thread from dying!

My 2 cents on this thread (which i wasted 20 mins reading through every post!)

It is often said the catcher is the quarterback of a baseball team! We pay Mauer an insane amount of money, and so what if he is from MN, he is one of the best players at his position to ever play the game. Clearly location has nothing to do with it. Are the Vikings not paying Favre an insane amount of money.... Did he not come from the most hated team to Minnesota Vikings fans (don't say the Jets either)? Yet he is st

[thatoneguy]

Now I know Dave doesn't like stats, but I'll throw one more out there.

WAR = Wins Above Replacement

It's a measure of how many wins an individual player is worth over what a replacement-level player would provide (offense and defense combined). a WAR of 8+ is MVP/Hall-of-Fame stuff; 5+ is all-star; 2+ and you're a starter; 0-2 and you're just a warm body; below zero, and you're a waste of a roster spot.

Mauer's WAR the last 5 years: 7.0; 4.6; 8.7; 7.9; and 5.0 (this year's 5.0 will be higher at the end, no doubt, as Mauer's torrid hitting continues). Mauer's 8.7 a couple years ago was the highest in the majors at ANY position.

AJ's WAR the last 5: 1.6; 0.7; 0.6; 1.3; 0.5

His career high WAR is 3.7 in 2003, and his career average WAR is barely over 1.

To sum: Mauer is (and has been) the cream of the crop; Pierzynski is (and has been) barely worth a roster spot, other than a couple of decent seasons several years ago.

Oh - and Dave's been throwing around a figure of 20-some million for Mauer, for some reason. He's actually making 12.5 mil this year. One of the best bargains in the AL.

Big Bobber - congratulations on your retirement. Come up to Leech Lake and I'll take you fishing - while I'm working, even. What a country!

[Big Bobber]

Thanks for the offer. I have not fished Leech since September 2005. Had fun the few times I have been there. Had a ball one cold late September evening over by Bear Island catching large perch and some Walleye. Retirement has been fun. I woke up one Saturday morning and decided that I was sick of corporate america and went to the office and cleaned out my desk. On Monday I went in and turned in my 2 weeks notice. Ten minutes later I was back in my vehicle headed home. I started my own business and haven't looked back. It gave me the chance to spend some time fishing with my 85 year old dad, and spend some time on the farm helping my boys, plus spend about 3 weeks a year fishing in Minnesota. That has been the real bonus. I felt that I couldn't be away from work for more than a few days. I can't make up for those days I missed, but I can try to get even.

Again, thanks for the offer. I may give you a shout sometime!

[LMITOUT]

bump for Loserville USA.

[Big Dave2]

Ha Ha, I forgot about this post from last year. I got a kick out of re-reading it.

I guess the question begs to be asked......how's that $23 mil. salary working out?

[Big Dave2]

I'll predict Joe Mauer continues to be one of the 2 "pujols" best players in MLB and his presence on the Twin's gives them a 100 percent better chance to a World Series title than your idea that we are better off not having him and his contract.

Still predicting this for this year?

[zepman]

The Twins, as a whole, need to stop treating Mauer like he's made of glass.

[bowhunternw]

I guess I never did see that much value in Mauer. Sure he usually hits over 300, but he is not a power threat. If he hit over 300 with 30 homers and was actually better than average defensivley. Then yea, but it seems like whenever I am watching he either doesn't get a throw at base stealers or his throws sail high. I see just as much value in D. Span, guy is fast, great defensively his average isn't as high but makes up for it with other assets.

[ted4887]

Bowhunter - Besides Mauer being the top hitting player at his position over the last 6 years or so, he's also a gold glove player. He has thrown out 36% of base stealers in his career, which last I heard, was the highest of any catcher in the league.

[JBMasterAngler]

He's a great player, no doubt. But his contract is going to be the death of the twins.

[brian6715]

Bowhunter - Besides Mauer being the top hitting player at his position over the last 6 years or so, he's also a gold glove player. He has thrown out 36% of base stealers in his career, which last I heard, was the highest of any catcher in the league.

It's hard to throw out base runners from the bench (but I am sure you guys believe Mauer could do it)

[Mike_Top]

You have to look at value by position sometimes, like ted is saying above. D. Span is a decent player (a .300 hitter and 30 stolen bases is pretty valuable)...but outfielders are a dime a dozen compared to catchers.

[ted4887]

It's hard to throw out base runners from the bench (but I am sure you guys believe Mauer could do it)

It's also easy to write a guy off 3 weeks into an 8 year contract.

What catcher would you rather the Twins have other than Mauer? His value to the Twins goes beyond his on-the-field contributions if you want to talk just money. He's one of the top selling jerseys in all of baseball. Also, his play puts fans in the stands and sells season tickets. Over the next 8 years, the Twins will make plenty of money off of Mauer.

[jwmiller33]

Span, guy is fast, great defensively his average isn't as high but makes up for it with other assets.

you mean like how he has a career 25% rate of getting thrown out when he tries to steal? his caught stealing % was even higher in the minors @ 34%. this guy is a little too aggressive on the bases and it hurts our teams chances at scoring runs

span's minor league numbers suggest he is going to hit for average, which he did in 08 and 09 but not last year (263). he needs to learn to be a more effective basestealer. He has great speed but needs to learn when to use it and when not to

[Duffman]

you mean like how he has a career 23% rate of getting thrown out when he tries to steal?

He doesn't get thrown out trying to steal, he gets thrown out for not paying attention....aka not recognizing what the pitchers pick off move looks like.

[jwmiller33]

He doesn't get thrown out trying to steal, he gets thrown out for not paying attention....aka not recognizing what the pitchers pick off move looks like.

regardless of the specifics, he is not the best baserunner and for a speedy/on base threat/leadoff hitting OF, running the bases is one of the most important parts of his job

[Duffman]

Just funnin ya Jake.

[jwmiller33]

I think Ben Revere is going to be replacing Span in center and at the lead off spot come next year. Revere reminds me a lot of span. Hits for average, great speed, elite defense and doesn't have much power. What sets him apart is he is a great base runner and doesn't strikeout as much as span.

[Big Dave2]

You have to look at value by position sometimes, like ted is saying above. D. Span is a decent player (a .300 hitter and 30 stolen bases is pretty valuable)...but outfielders are a dime a dozen compared to catchers.

If star outfielders are a dime a dozen, why don't the Twins have at least one?

[jwmiller33]

D. Span is a decent player (a .300 hitter and 30 stolen bases is pretty valuable)

Span is yet to steal 30 bases in a season and hit 300 once. Last year he stole 26 and batted 263. I'd hardly call that decent

[SledNeck]

I think Ben Revere is going to be replacing Span in center and at the lead off spot come next year. Revere reminds me a lot of span. Hits for average, great speed, elite defense and doesn't have much power. What sets him apart is he is a great base runner and doesn't strikeout as much as span.

I don't see that happening

[jwmiller33]

I don't see that happening

ya... and I don't see Span hitting .300 w/ 30 SBs anytime soon. I do however see him getting caught stealing 30 times sometime soon