Joe Mauer

[jn]

If you have even the slightest interest in baseball you should take time to try and watch some Twins games this year.  Joe Mauer is having a once in a lifetime year.  He is currently hitting .383 with 25 Homers while PLAYING CATCHER!!!   This is the kind of athletic achievment you are simply not going to see again.  As far as I know the only other catcher to have a year even remotely close to this is Mike Piazza.  Piazza had his big years at the height of the steroid era and was reported to have (ahem) terrible back acne.  In addition he wasn't half the defensive player Mauer is. 

If you're unaware of Mauers background he was also the top high school quarterback in the nation and an all metro are basketball player.  Find a way to watch him while he is still at his peak and before he becomes an unlovable Yankee, Met or Red Sock. 

[Skandery]

I don't really follow baseball, but I've always loved Joe Mauer. 

Although at some point, when you sit back and think about it, the guy is almost sickeningly perfect.  Pretty boy, star athlete, #1 pick overall, hometown kid, with the hot girl on his arm, down-to-earth, humble, clubhouse leader who just happens to be Ridiculous at everything he tries.

There's even a story where some players after never having known Mauer to attempt singing, watch him get up on Karaoke night and a belt a memorable tune.

Here's a couple articles from Jeff Passan. 

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-mauer070109&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-mauer062606&prov=yhoo&type=lgns   

[Reality]

Thank goodness Mauers agent is not BorAss.
Think he will stay in Minny?

The significance of the Mauer market

Friday, November 13, 2009

The agent for Joe Mauer wouldn't characterize the state of the catcher's negotiations with the Twins on Thursday, or discuss them in any way, which isn't a surprise. That's not really Ron Shapiro's style. We are accustomed to hearing a lot from Scott Boras every winter about what his players deserve, about their standing as iconic players and about whether owners are committed to winning (i.e., whether they are willing to give record-setting contracts to his iconic players).

As Mauer's contract negotiations with the Twins play out in the months ahead -- and really, in the big picture for baseball, this might be the sport's most important storyline, considering all the current concern about the state of parity and disparity in the majors -- you will not be hearing a lot, if anything, from Shapiro. He has never believed in that.

Shapiro wrote a book called "The Power of Nice: How to Negotiate So Everyone Wins -- Especially You!" The fact that Shapiro is representing Mauer should not be dismissed as a factor in these negotiations, because while the catcher -- whose talents are unique, when cast against history -- is ultimately going to get a whole lot of money no matter where he winds up, Shapiro's history of negotiating suggests that money will not be the only issue.

[ziggy]

Very high probability he stays in Minnesota.  He is from there which helps.  He is the best catcher in baseball since Johnny Bench.  Twins know it would be devastating to lose him.  I believe the reason they traded Santana was they knew they couldn't afford both him and Joe.  He will get $20m a year, and the Twins will gladly pay him.

[jemagee]

Reasons he might not stay in Minnesota:

1.  He's the best catcher in baseball since Johnny Bench but doesn't get the pub cause he plays in Minnesota.
2.  Pohlad has a billion dollars but under pays his players and lets them walk when they deserve/earn the bigger bucks.
3.  20 million a year from the twins?  For 5-6 years...when's the last time the twins paid anyone that.
4.  There's a team in Boston with an aging decrepit catcher and not a lot of prospects coming up soon which while maybe not as 'rich' as the Twins owner, isn't afraid to spend money.
5.  There's also a team in New York that has some prospects (though most project Montrero (sp?) to not be a full time catcher) at catcher but none who will be as good as Mauer.

If mauer somehow hit the open market, but the red sox and yankees would probably be in play for him, so unless the twins are willing to play with the big boys - they'll lose him...think Mark Texieria (sp?) money as he's that damn good at a much harder to find position.

As for 'being from Minnesota' - maybe late in a career yeah, but in a guys prime they tend to take the biggest offer, and any agent worth his salt will tell Mauer to hit the open market because when you can pit the Red Sox and Yankees against each other, you've hit paydirt

[jn]

Sorry for the lateness of my reply.   One other thing to consider is the stadium factor.   The Twins are moving into a new stadium that received a lot of taxpayer funding.  Among the reasons they gave for needing a new stadium was increased revenues that would allow them to spend more on free agents.  That is being put to the test right off the bad.  One would think that letting Mauer go would be such horrible PR that they simply can't do it.    That's no guarantee of course.

Mauer does seem happy playing here and seems like a genuinely good guy but hey, even good guys can decide to take and extra $20 million. 

[jemagee]

Mauer does seem happy playing here and seems like a genuinely good guy but hey,

And yet so many gusy who 'seem happy playing here and like a genuinely good guy' tend to take the biggest contract offer they can and then people stop thinking they're a good guy...I see nothing wrong with taking the biggest contract offer, maximizing your earning potential...

[jn]

That's pretty much what I said.  He wouldn't be a bad guy for taking more money, just as Torii Hunter and Eddie Guardado remained good guys after leaving the Twins for more dough.   My point really being that Mauer at least would be relatively straightforward in his dealings with the Twins.  In addition because he has such a good public image the Twins would look especially bad for letting him go.

[jemagee]

In addition because he has such a good public image the Twins would look especially bad for letting him go.

I think the twins look bad every time they let go a guy they should keep but won't pony up market value to keep - i think letting one of the best catchers of the era go might make them look a little worse, but in general I would think twins fans would be used to it.

[jemagee]

Mauer gets 27 out of 28 first place votes for the MVP award - I haven't looked but I'm going to kreskinly say it was a new york voter who voted for a less deserving first baseman

[ziggy]

Mauer gets 27 out of 28 first place votes for the MVP award - I haven't looked but I'm going to kreskinly say it was a new york voter who voted for a less deserving first baseman

It was a writer for the Seattle Mariners and he voted for Miguel Cabrera  .324 - 34 - 106 - .396 OBP - .942 OPS.  I would have voted for Mauer, and I am a Tiger fan so I have some bias, but I can understand a vote for Cabrera.

As far as Cy Young it was Lincecum and Greinke.  You have said before that the writers do a bad job with the Cy Young, what about this time?

[jemagee]

Well I think Greinke had so much momentum that even the old school folks had to vote for him - but if a yankees pitcher had gotten 20 wins - i think they still would have gone with him.

I'm shocked lincecum got it but the cardinals pitchers probably split the first place votes (though neither probably actually deserved it)

Voting for Cabrera over Mauer is a slim justification when you factor in that Mauer is one of the best and at one of the most painful positions as well.

The Robot from the future was the unanimous NL MVP choice

[ziggy]

Well I think Greinke had so much momentum that even the old school folks had to vote for him - but if a yankees pitcher had gotten 20 wins - i think they still would have gone with him.

I'm shocked lincecum got it but the cardinals pitchers probably split the first place votes (though neither probably actually deserved it)

Voting for Cabrera over Mauer is a slim justification when you factor in that Mauer is one of the best and at one of the most painful positions as well.

The Robot from the future was the unanimous NL MVP choice

Greinke and Lincecum were both the best pitchers in the league, and both deserved it.  The only competitor for Greinke was King Felix.  As far as New York writers they could have easily voted for Sabathia (19 wins), but they didn't, so I think your point has no point.

Mauer vs Cabrera, like I said IMO Mauer deserved it, but I am not going to quibble with a vote for Cabrera.  It is his vote and Cabrera was probably the second most productive hitter in the AL.

[jemagee]

second most productive hitter in the AL.

And that's the problem right there...the award definitions are corrupted themselves...the reason mauer is far and away the clear winner and should have been unanimous is because there is more to the game than just a bat, it's not most valuable hitter, it's most valuable player, and because mauer plays catcher his value to the twins is much more than cabrera (3rd base easier defensively) to the tigers.

If you believe my argument has no point go back and read keith laws twitter thread for the past few days since he made his vote public and was lambasted by cardinal fans left and right for not voting them higher based on their win total and ERA

[ziggy]

comeon Jem.  The award definitions are corrupted themselves?  What a crock of s***.  The definition is what the definition is, who does the voter think is the "most valuable player" whatever they want to use as criteria.  There is no great crime in Cabrera getting a first place vote, the guy who voted for him had his reasons and he could make a case for it, such as Mauer missed over a month.  The fact that he didn't vote for who you thought makes that corrupted?  Get a grip on yourself.

So the Cards fans thought Carpenter should have won.  I may disagree, you may disagree, but the fans in St. Louis don't.  So fricking what.  Lincecum won.  So what that Keith Law got a bunch of hate mail from a bunch of sycophantic Cards fans.  Whoop dee fricking doo.

That has relevance to your assertion that NY writers supposedly would have voted for Sabathia if he won 20 games how?  Sabathia didn't win 20, he won 19, and yet Greinke still won.  Hernandez finished second like he should have.  Verlander finished 3rd like he should have.  Sabathia finished 4th like he should have.  What if Sabathia would have won 27 games, would it have been OK for NY to vote for him?  What if he had thrown 7 no-hitters, and won 37 games, and struck out 427?  Is that enough for NY writers?  Oh wait none of that happened, so that is all just an argument in the wind, which is all that your point was.