Doesn't Mauer batting second feel so much better? If you are like me, it makes the frustration I have that he does not drive the ball to RF almost completely go away. I now think of him as a Rod Carew type #2 hitter and not an Albert Pulhols or Miguel Cabrera type hitter that can carry the team on his back. I could never understand why Gardy wanted him in the #3 slot. Now I can finally appreciate him for who he is and not be annoyed that he is not the hitter he was the year before he signed his big contract (28 HRs).

Somewhat off the subject, Why do opposing managers, not do a reverse shift on Mauer? They should play him like a slow pitch softball team with a short fielder in LF. I guess the problem is what position do you leave open. When he does pull the ball, it is usually a ground ball to second for a tailor made double play. No RFer would be scary but that is probably the place he never hits the ball. If he gets the ball up in the air to right, it is a HR. Maybe I am not ready to be a MLB manager...

While Mauer doesn't hit a lot of fly balls to right, he does hit hard ground balls and line drives to right. Mauer isn't fast by any means, but those hits would pretty much all be triples, and anything pulled down the line could end in an inside-the-park home run.

I'm all for wild shifts, but this one might be too extreme for me.

I think he should be batting 3rd. I hope Dozier shows he can hit well enough to hold down the 2nd spot in the lineup. I really think the best hitter on the team, one as good as Mauer with RISP, should be batting 3rd. Just the 50 or so extra base runners in front of Mauer in the first inning alone,(compared to when you bat him 2nd) provided by by even a below average 2nd place hitter, makes it worth batting Mauer 3rd.

Mauer hitting 2nd instantly puts pressure on the pitcher to get Hicks out, which should give Hicks more hittable pitches. Unfortunately, Hicks is starting the season with a lot of whiffing. That should change as he settles down. Already the few walks Hicks has drawn have paid off, with Joe Mauer right behind him.