Article: The Elephant in the Room

[lee_the_twins_fan]

Yes, the team needs pitching, particularly starting pitching. Beyond Scott Diamond, I would be willing to trade all other starters who have played this year – get two strong arms and some for the future.

 

Whether we sign pitchers as free agents, or trade for them, we need starting pitchers. But we also need middle infielders who can actually hit the ball. I like Brian Dozier, but Nishioka should be released immediately; and Casilla should be traded. Keep Carroll as utility infielder and find someone else who can play a very good second base, and still hit the ball.

 

Starters and 2B. Those are our needs this offseason. Fielding a championship team won't happen unless we get both.

[Loosey]

I think the injustice that everyone is trying to describe is the fact that the Twins signed Mauer to a 23M/year contract for him to help the team win baseball games. They didn't just sign him to have be a good player on a mediocre or worse club. It makes no sense to spend that kind of money if you aren't in it for the long haul and to spend money on guys around him, otherwise he is basically an expensive trophy wife the team parades out there. It's an injustice to him, the fans, and other teammates.

[Nick Nelson]

Joe Mauer is to the Twins what Kevin Garnett was to the T-Wolves in the mid-2000's. I liked both guys and they were both very good players. But it was evident to everyone (except apparently KG himself) that he wasn't going to win anything if he was "the guy" and there wasn't much else around. His contract and his silly demands for playing with certain guys (Troy Hudson, et al) made sure that there wasn't another star as a sidekick.

Garnett's time here is widely looked back on with disappointment. Best player in franchise history, and only once in 12 years here was he surrounded with enough talent to get past the first round of the playoffs. People blamed it on his huge salary and its impact on the rest of the roster, as they do now with Mauer, but at the end of the day it was McHale's failure to make good moves and identify good complementary pieces that held Garnett back.

 

Mauer is headed down a similar path, but his story isn't done being written yet.

[Thrylos]

Joe Mauer is to the Twins what Kevin Garnett was to the T-Wolves in the mid-2000's. I liked both guys and they were both very good players. But it was evident to everyone (except apparently KG himself) that he wasn't going to win anything if he was "the guy" and there wasn't much else around. His contract and his silly demands for playing with certain guys (Troy Hudson, et al) made sure that there wasn't another star as a sidekick.

Garnett's time here is widely looked back on with disappointment. Best player in franchise history, and only once in 12 years here was he surrounded with enough talent to get past the first round of the playoffs. People blamed it on his huge salary and its impact on the rest of the roster, as they do now with Mauer, but at the end of the day it was McHale's failure to make good moves and identify good complementary pieces that held Garnett back.

 

Mauer is headed down a similar path, but his story isn't done being written yet.

 

This is an interesting comparison because one year Mauer was surrounded by both the Cy Young and the MVP winner (which is a rare occurrence) and with enough talent to have the second best record in the league (and one win away from the best) and still were a series and out. I think that the Twins have had way more talent than the Timberwolves did, but they never won in the post-season. I'd probably argue that the 2006 Twins had better talent that the Vikings team that got cheated by the Saints and the refs and did not make the super bowl recently... They just seem to not execute in the post-season (and the last couple seasons during the season as well...)

[diehardtwinsfan]

Joe Mauer is to the Twins what Kevin Garnett was to the T-Wolves in the mid-2000's. I liked both guys and they were both very good players. But it was evident to everyone (except apparently KG himself) that he wasn't going to win anything if he was "the guy" and there wasn't much else around. His contract and his silly demands for playing with certain guys (Troy Hudson, et al) made sure that there wasn't another star as a sidekick.

Garnett's time here is widely looked back on with disappointment. Best player in franchise history, and only once in 12 years here was he surrounded with enough talent to get past the first round of the playoffs. People blamed it on his huge salary and its impact on the rest of the roster, as they do now with Mauer, but at the end of the day it was McHale's failure to make good moves and identify good complementary pieces that held Garnett back.

 

Mauer is headed down a similar path, but his story isn't done being written yet.

 

This is an interesting comparison because one year Mauer was surrounded by both the Cy Young and the MVP winner (which is a rare occurrence) and with enough talent to have the second best record in the league (and one win away from the best) and still were a series and out. I think that the Twins have had way more talent than the Timberwolves did, but they never won in the post-season. I'd probably argue that the 2006 Twins had better talent that the Vikings team that got cheated by the Saints and the refs and did not make the super bowl recently... They just seem to not execute in the post-season (and the last couple seasons during the season as well...)

 

Had there not been a tommy john surgery, Mauer would have had a rookie of the year playing with him as well.