Joe Mauer

[schmitty3]

Mauer likely out for the season with pneumonia. If it's not one thing it's the next. Will this guy ever be healthy?

[ted4887]

This is beyond frustrating. It's been apparent that most of the team has quit this season. Not a good sign. Hopefully Morneau and Mauer will get there stuff together next year.

[DonBo]

It's obvious the Twins season is over. No sense playing these guys that aren't 100%. Let the kids play to see who's got a shot for next season. We can only hope the M & M boys will get healthy in the off season, because we have NO shot at all in the years to come without those two.

[RumRiverRat]

Mauer is soft.

Certainly not worth the money he is making.

He is been complete garbage this year.

If you or I did our jobs as poorly as him we would not have a job.

Completely has not met expectations.

[Greg Clusiau]

Really makes you wonder. Most everyone on the team was too sick with some kind of ailment (flu,virus,along with the other sprains, tweaks, concussions, etc.) this year, even Gardy. Is that new stadium making them ill? It's just crazy.

[certified jumbo]

mauer has issues. this is going to be a tough one to fix.

[Pinusbanksiana]

I wonder if he has some kind of auto immune deficiency?

[schmitty3]

All these guys getting hurt and sick all yr long maybe they could use a new strength and condtioning coach to go along with new pitching and batting coach.

This really makes me wonder if there isn't something bigger going on with mauer. First its the bilateral leg weakness then some nagging injuries, and now he gets pneumonia. Is there something bigger and badder behind all this.

[Stratosman]

"Is there something bigger and badder behind all this."

YEah that ridiculous contract....

[greebs]

seems it's been one thing after another with him this season. hopefully it's not a chronic deal with him. if healthy, joe is one of the best players in the game but as we've seen this year, without the health, it ain't pretty.

I hope I am wrong but do believe that we've seen the last of morneau as we knew him prior to the concussion last year. sounds like they are considering him as mostly a dh next season and that might help him but even so, doubt we'll ever see mvp type numbers from him again and that really hurts this team given his salary.

[zamboni]

Report is that during a taping of his newest Gatorade commercial he got ahold of a bad batch.

I am kidding. Problem with Mauer and Morneau is with ther health history and salaries, we are stuck with them. I don't see us spending any money on free agents, and we are in for a long ride over the next few years.

[reinhard1]

i dont know if anyone out there has tried Joe Mauer brats that went on the market awhile back. when i first saw them i picked a pack up and looked at the price and i thought, there is no way this is going to sell. there are 4 brats in a pack and at that time they were just under 5 bucks a pack. well fast forward a little and sure enough i saw them for $1.50 a pack for they were close to being out of date at cubs where i shop. didn't look like they sold a pack for the spot they were in was still nearly full and all marked down. i bought a few just because of the price. they were no different than the hillshire or other brands in comparison in taste. have not seen any of his brats since. good luck.

[timjones]

We have seen the best of the M & M boys. Their finished. Get rid of both of them.

[Chad Peterson]

We have seen the best of the M & M boys. Their finished. Get rid of both of them.

It is a sad thing to think, but I would agree with that statement.

Sniffer

[WyoChris]

Mauer and Morneau are still fairly young.... there's no telling what could happen in the next few years.

Twins are just like the vikings last year. Thier previous was season of playoff caliber, then the next year, with a similair roster, become one of the worst teams in thier league. Doesn't make much sense.... things just didn't come together this year.

[zamboni]

Mauer and Morneau are still fairly young.... there's no telling what could happen in the next few years.

I can tell you. They aren't getting younger, and injuries are getting more and more plentiful every year. One day in the not so distant future we are going to have the highest paid DH only that plays 65 games a year and a first basemen that will retire early due to fears his head is going to be permanently hurt.

And the reason why things aren't coming together for them is they aren't signing anyone new that can make a difference.

[Big Dave2]

Funny how everyone on here has changed their tunes in just one year. Last year I was ridiculed for even suggesting that the Twins not sign a catcher to one of the largest contracts in league history simply because he is from here. Good luck with the next several years.

[Pinusbanksiana]

Look at their numbers of errors and then look at the number of close games they lost. Second and third base, and even shortstop were losing games for them all year. Oh, and hitting suffered. Pitching is a different story. It is easier to pitch when the team is ahead, and the infield plays error free.

[zamboni]

Plus when you are winning the bullpen gets rested. Didn't Swarzak get yanked in the 2nd inning the other night? Pathetic

[Mr.Seaguar]

I think having Mauer DH is the best thing they could do. If he did nothing but hit his average would be awesome. A catcher may never be worth that contract but a DH batting .400 sure is.

[ted4887]

A DH hitting .400? Let's be realistic. The reason you have a DH in your lineup isn't for singles, which Mauer is one of the best at, or double plays(he's pretty good at that too). You have a DH to supply power to the lineup. A successful DH, Ortiz for example, makes what... half of Mauers contract? Having Mauer fall back onto just being a DH would be a failure of epic proportions. Rather, let's move him around the field and see where he feels most comfortable. First base, perhaps? Who knows what we're going to get out of Justin, because unfortunately, the concussion effects are still lingering. This remind anyone else of Koskie?

[Mr.Seaguar]

Twins fans think thats stupid. Yankees fans think its briliant.

[RumRiverRat]

Mauer is soft and has no passion for the game.

He cannot play a day game after a night game because he is too tired.

This guy is a complete joke.

The Twins were foolish to pay him all that money.

[Harmonica Bear]

Huh?

You don't get to the Major Leagues with out passion for the game.

Not playing a day game after a night game is a Twins philosophy for the big knockers started in the Tom Kelly era. Those were the days a guy namaed Kirby Puckett was rested also.

Joke?

He is the only catcher in Major League history to win three batting titles. He has also won three consecutive Gold Glove awards (2008–2010), and the 2009 AL MVP award. He's only 27, 28?

Say what you want about "The Contract". I beleive it comes with the territory of baseball economics. Only time will tell.

Ask the Cards or whoever is going to pony up for Pujols. The could have locked him up last spring. Oops.

[RumRiverRat]

Who cares about what he has done in the past.

What has he done lately?

Not a bleeping thing that makes him worth more than a bag of balls and a box of bats as far as I am concerned.