Mauer not pleased about slide by Weeks

[Cody Christie]

From the postgame report, it seems like Mauer was not pleased with the way that Rickie Weeks slid into home on Sunday afternoon.

 

I didn't think it was a dirty play at the time but I was wondering what others thought about the play.

[jokin]

From the postgame report, it seems like Mauer was not pleased with the way that Rickie Weeks slid into home on Sunday afternoon.

 

I didn't think it was a dirty play at the time but I was wondering what others thought about the play.

Joe Mauer must be employing Leona Helmsley's Public Relations Advisor.

[Seth Stohs]

I didn't think it looked dirty at all at the time, still don't.

[Thrylos]

Regardless, one's got to love the medical terminology the Twins are using these days (from that link above) :

Joe Mauer said Rickie Weeks' knee gave him a Charley horse in his right thigh

[Scheherezade]

Has anyone ever been put on the 15 day DL for a "Charlie horse"?

[DaveW]

This is the first time I can ever recall Mauer calling another play/player dirty, so I'd give him the benefit of the doubt on this one.

[joepaMN]

I don't think it was a dirty slide either, but clearly Mauer was not ready for it. It looked like he thought Weeks was just going to slow down and let himself be tagged out. Mauer needs to actually brace himself for contact, which he didn't try to do until it was too late.

[StormJH1]

I just watched it for the first time on several different angles (MLB At-Bat app). I don't think it was "dirty" per se, but I'm not sure what Weeks was doing on that play either. There's a great angle that shows Weeks was taking an angle inside the foul line, and Mauer was slightly off to the side, with only his foot "blocking" the plate. It was not like the Posey play where he was trying to block the plate - I don't see how Mauer could be faulted on that play. If he stood completely off to the side and did the "ole!" tag and missed Weeks, the fans would've murdered him.

 

 

It looks like Weeks just expected that there was going to be a collision of some kind, and got into that mindset. Really, though, he had a pretty good chance of scoring if he did a hook slide to the right side of the plate. Mauer might have even missed the tag had he done that. Of course, this is happening very fast, so it's easy to play Monday Morning QB. The play looks ugly because Weeks threw his legs out to the left as if he was initiating contact, but it didn't look like intent to injure. Keep in mind that Mauer is 6'5" and about 230...I think the throw beat him and Weeks was just expecting a huge collision, and (understandably) didn't want to get the worst of it.

[ashbury]

Has anyone ever been put on the 15 day DL for a "Charlie horse"?

Only if it's bilateral.

[Guest USAFChief]

So the twins have a 23m per year injury-prone player...not known for his toughness...let's leave him at catcher! Brilliant!

[Boom Boom]

http://th283.photobucket.com/albums/kk319/onesuperchef/th_booboo1.jpg

[greengoblinrulz]

Dont like the play. Not a fan of baserunners takin out the catcher when they give them home plate. Got a feelin MLB may eventually rule against that. Different when the plate is blocked of course.

[IdahoPilgrim]

I watched it and thought Weeks went out of his way to make contact - the plate was not blocked, but Weeks moved from outside the line to inside it where Joe was standing. I know that's part of the game and I'm not saying Weeks was trying to injure Mauer, but it was clearly Weeks' choice to make contact. If I remember correctly, Weeks even missed the plate on his slide because of the line he took.

[asmus_ndsu]

Mauer is a baby and weeks is a D%#$&... So i dont care about this situation

[TwinVike61]

wow...thanks for elevating the conversation...

[asmus_ndsu]

wow...thanks for elevating the conversation...

My post while it is sounds trollish, childish, or whatever you want to call it... I believe it is warranted. I absolutley cannot stand players that compain about things like this, and how much attention it gets. Collisions like this come with the job. Your the highest paid catcher in mlb history, your 6'5" 230 lbs and your complaining about a guy giving you a charlie horse.

 

Brett Favre said it all when reacting to the saints bounty In the NFL “Now the truth comes out. That’s good. But that’s football. The only thing that really pisses me off about the whole thing is we lost the game. That’s the thing about that day that still bothers me. And that’s the way it goes. If they wanted me to testify in court about this, they’d be calling the wrong guy.”

[CDog]

My post while it is sounds trollish, childish, or whatever you want to call it... I believe it is warranted. I absolutley cannot stand players that compain about things like this, and how much attention it gets. Collisions like this come with the job. Your the highest paid catcher in mlb history, your 6'5" 230 lbs and your complaining about a guy giving you a charlie horse.

 

Brett Favre said it all when reacting to the saints bounty In the NFL “Now the truth comes out. That’s good. But that’s football. The only thing that really pisses me off about the whole thing is we lost the game. That’s the thing about that day that still bothers me. And that’s the way it goes. If they wanted me to testify in court about this, they’d be calling the wrong guy.”

From the quote in StarTribune from Mauer: "But coming in hard -- that’s part of the game"

 

He was almost certainly asked about the play and he answered. I don't get how that's complaining or whining or whatever. It was a strange play. Watching it I thought I'd never really seen a collision where the guy was out by THAT much and that far from the plate when the made contact. So yeah, being asked and answering by saying it wasn't what he expected is pretty understandable, isn't it? And even if he did use a tone that implied he was annoyed, is that really so out of line that people need to get up in arms about it?

[YourHouseIsMyHouse]

I am not a big Mauer supporter, but he has good reason to complain about that. Joe is clearly on the inside of the base path where it is illegal for base runners to go within. Since Mauer was not in the basepath he shouldn't have been hit. There is no reason for contact on that play and Weeks had plenty of time to alter his path because he was dead in the water and thrown out by a mile.

[jokin]

From the quote in StarTribune from Mauer: "But coming in hard -- that’s part of the game"

 

He was almost certainly asked about the play and he answered. I don't get how that's complaining or whining or whatever. It was a strange play. Watching it I thought I'd never really seen a collision where the guy was out by THAT much and that far from the plate when the made contact. So yeah, being asked and answering by saying it wasn't what he expected is pretty understandable, isn't it? And even if he did use a tone that implied he was annoyed, is that really so out of line that people need to get up in arms about it?

 

Here's the entire quote:

 

"Obviously, I was sort of prepared for a little collision, but he kind of darted in a little bit more than I thought," Mauer said. "But coming in hard -- that’s part of the game. ... I was trying to give him -- you know, obviously be in front of the plate -- but give him an area to slide, and he kind of went right toward my thigh....(he continued with more of what Christensen implied was whining)"

 

What Mauer should've said if Leona Helmsley's Press Agent wasn't his media advisor:

 

"Obviously, I was sort of prepared for a little collision, but he kind of darted in a little bit more than I thought," Mauer said. "But coming in hard -- that’s part of the game."

 

End of story.

 

There is no reason to say anything about the play being "unexpected", even if it was. No place in baseball for this passive-agressive stuff.

[darin617]

Mauer not pleased about slide by Weeks.

 

Almost all Twins fans upset with Mauer being soft or should I say "the difference between hurt and injured."

[Fire Dan Gladden]

Here we go with more "Mauer is soft" BS

[StormJH1]

Thanks to jokin for posting the full quote. I am not a "Mauer defender" by ANY means, but if he was asked about this play and gave that type of response, that's entirely fair. It's absolutely true that Weeks was looking for contact when he probably didn't need to be. I think some baserunners in that situation make up in their head that they're going to collide and if they can knock the ball out, they'll be safe. That doesn't mean he was trying to hurt Mauer, but it didn't look great when he did that leg sweep thing after Mauer didn't full-on shoulder charge him.

[mnfireman]

Who cares. Everybody complains when Mauer and the team aren't forthcoming with information and now everybody complains when he says what he was doing and thinking on this play. Unbelievable. He stated he didn't like the slide but understands its part of the game. Would rather have his $23M on the DL like Posey or his career wrecked like Fosse? He didn't like the slide, he'll take a day or two off and the world wil move on.

[Shane Wahl]

Weeks clearly went out of his way to hit Mauer. Anyone seeing the replay and not stating that is either blind or lying.

[Guest USAFChief]

I am not a big Mauer supporter, but he has good reason to complain about that. Joe is clearly on the inside of the base path where it is illegal for base runners to go within. Since Mauer was not in the basepath he shouldn't have been hit. There is no reason for contact on that play and Weeks had plenty of time to alter his path because he was dead in the water and thrown out by a mile.

It's "illegal" for a base runner to run where Mauer was standing?

 

Maybe in T-ball.

[glunn]

Mauer is a large, heavily padded individual. Maybe he needs to clock the next punk like Weeks who comes at him. That might send a message to deter further incidents.

[jokin]

Mauer is a large, heavily padded individual. Maybe he needs to clock the next punk like Weeks who comes at him. That might send a message to deter further incidents.

That's what's frustrating with his equivocating language. Mauer is a very oversized and athletic baseball player who excelled in 3 sports, but his milquetoast interviews fail to inspire. If he could just release and assert his "inner AJ" once in a while, he'd send a strong message to friend and foe alike.

[CDog]

That's what's frustrating with his equivocating language. Mauer is a very oversized and athletic baseball player who excelled in 3 sports, but his milquetoast interviews fail to inspire. If he could just release and assert his "inner AJ" once in a while, he'd send a strong message to friend and foe alike.

I honestly can not grasp how saying the contact where it occurred was unexpected is something to complain about. Truly baffling.

[glunn]

I honestly can not grasp how saying the contact where it occurred was unexpected is something to complain about. Truly baffling.

My criticism is the same as jokin's -- Mauer is big enough and strong enough to put Weeks on the DL. Yet it's Mauer who takes the injury. Would Weeks have tried his cheap shot on A.J.?

[jokin]

I honestly can not grasp how saying the contact where it occurred was unexpected is something to complain about. Truly baffling.

Here's the complete set of quotes from the Christensen/LEN3 story (without Christensen's editorializing, clearly he and the editor were looking to sensationalize it a little bit):

 

"Obviously, I was sort of prepared for a little collision, but he kind of darted in a little bit more than I thought," Mauer said. "But coming in hard -- that’s part of the game. ... I was trying to give him -- you know, obviously be in front of the plate -- but give him an area to slide, and he kind of went right toward my thigh."

"It's better now after a win," Mauer said following his team's 5-4, 15-inning victory over the Brewers. "I don’t know, I’m pretty stiff. It’s getting worse right now, but that’s as expected."

"I forgot about that [hamstring] after that [slide by Weeks]," Mauer said. "After that happened, I really didn’t feel the hamstring too bad."

Weeks did try to slide, so it wasn't a full-blown collision.

"He did [slide]; it was pretty late, but he was coming in hard," Mauer said. "I kind of expected that, but I didn’t expect him to be that far in."

"I mean, he definitely didn't have to," Mauer said. "But it happened and you have to keep going."

 

Ron Coomer was interviewed on the radio yesterday and, all-the-while trying to be protective of the situation, strongly suggested that Carlton Fisk be brought in for some consultation with Mauer. Fisk was also an oversized catcher (but 3 inches shorter and 10 lbs. lighter than Mauer), who adroitly played the position and was as tough an SOB as there ever was. One of his many legendary moments was in one game against the Yankees, the late Thurman Munson (one tough SOB himself), was on third base in the 9th inning of a tie ballgame. The Yankee batter missed the bunt on the suicide squeeze play and then the batter tried to block Fisk from tagging out Munson, who was barreling towards the plate. Fisk threw the batter to the ground with one swipe of his arm and then immediately took the full force of Munson's colliding body at full speed- holding on to the ball, resulting in Munson being called out.

 

But the play didn't end there...

 

Munson attempted to hold Fisk down on the ground below him so the runner behind him could continue advancing. From a prone position, after getting somersaulted and then later being punched in the eye by Munson, Fisk threw Munson completely off him and literally into the air. Meanwhile, after Fisk again became upright, the batter attacked Fisk with a sucker punch, Fisk responded by throwing him to the ground with one hand, holding him down by the throat, meanwhile using his right hand to repeatedly pummel Munson. After the game (Sox won 3-2), when Fisk was asked for his response, he strangely enough didn't talk about "unexpected" contact or how sore, black-eyed, bloodied and beaten up he was, he merely said "that's Red Sox/Yankees baseball".

 

Fisk played the entire game the next day, hitting his 20th HR in the first inning, and also the next day after that (3/9 overall).

 

I would also recommend that the Twins retain Jimmy Dugan for a specific consultation on emotional control and what to say, and not say, to the media.