Waiter1602

The reason I wrote this piece and the one on Norv Turner is pretty simple. Joe Mauer is someone who is brought up every year because he is the face of the Twins. He will be brought up every year, good or bad. Sometimes people just like to bring light on a subject again, bring in new views and facts, just so others can agree or disagree. If I didn't bring up anything new for you, I'm sorry. Other people may not know all the fine details as well as you. Same thing that goes with the opinion piece on Norv. If you watch a sport you obviously want your team to do well. If you see something you don't like, even if you've talked it out over and over; you still tend to bring it up because it's relevant. Is it wrong of me to call out people for not doing their job? Absolutely not! Norv's offense had the 29th total yards with a young, but accurate quarterback and arguably the best running back of all time. Should I write a piece praising him? I'm sorry if this bothers you, but yes, my blog is titled Minnesota Groan, not Minnesota Yay! Basically because it's hard to be a Minnesota Sports fan from time to time, but that doesn't mean I give up on my teams and it also doesn't mean I have to happy about bad situations they are in.

So 2010-2013 before his concussion and after his big deal you would say his production didn't drop? Honestly, am I the only one seeing he went to from 28 home runs to and average around 10, his batting AVG went down 50 points, his triples and doubles either dropped or stayed the same. This is all BEFORE the concussion. I find it laughable you haven't looked at those stats and realized this. I'll apologize for bring up a sore subject for most, but the numbers after his deal and BEFORE his concussion are a major drop. Stop using the concussion as an excuse. Of course his play dropped AFTER the concussion as well, but if you want to look past his numbers from 2010-2013 that's on you.

I never said I hated him and I trimmed down the original post leaving out me being a huge fan from day one. But that was a long time ago and he isn't that player. Just because I don't want someone on a team doesn't mean I hate the person himself. It's a post to spark debate, and I've talked to many fans who agree and some who don't. If you take offense to the post I apologize, but yes people talk about it because it's an on going problem. You can't just expect people to enjoy watching a player because he's a class act. I wish people would understand that opinion on him, because many fans and many people who watch the league agree.

I understand the concept of this situation and I think you are forgetting 2010-2012 he wasn't close to that pay either. I get people have a love for Mauer, but even in 2013 again before the concussion, his average was good (which I didn't downplay in the post) but the rest of his numbers dropped. To say that other than his 2009 year he didn't decline is ludicrous. Look, I like the guy a lot, and yeah, I'm sure he'll get paid, but as of right now he is a waste of a roster spot and I'd rather give someone else a chance. You can disagree with that all you want, but I've also watched him his whole time playing in the league and since 2009 he's been a underachieving C/1B at best even before his concussion.

So are we just supposed to pay him for under performing because he had a concussion? Could you tell me how he was doing before this situation and what happened after? Do we continue to let him suck up all that money for the next 3 years or do we get out now, save the extra 69 million that will be wasted and fill the hole with someone else. I understand your concern, but just because someone had a concussion a long time ago and the effects still linger do we waste that salary and position because he's a hometown guy? If it's the concussion or not, he's not the player we are paying for.

If only. I presume they could restructure his contract? Obliviously his play has declined and he's not even close to that amount of money. Do we presume we just keep paying him 23 million for the next five years at his play level? This is a tough situation, but sometimes finding a way around it or cutting loses make for a better future.

While the rest is now history, I like to remember how incredible it felt when we first drafted Joe Mauer and how uplifting the first 5 years felt as he played for the Twins. He still had that gusto of being one of the greats because of his batting and catching prowess so no one really cared much about his lack of power at the time. He was just so damn good at commanding the plate with his bat. Any open area on the field was fair game and he would use all of it like a painter using all of the canvas. He had it. From the years 2006-2009 reporters and analysts a-like were all on the small but hopeful boat of Mauer pulling off the golden bar of hitting over .400. I too was on that boat, sink or swim. After all in 2009 which Mauer had 28 homeruns, 30 doubles, 96 RBIs, 1.21 walk/SO ratio, and a .365 AVG it looked as if we were getting to see the true potential we all dreamed of. Mauer was 25 and one of the best catchers in the league and was beginning to get the Hall of Fame talk. Why wouldn’t he? His future was astoundingly bright. No question that he had a legitimate shot at .400. Then that boat sprung a leak. The next 4 years he had 33 homeruns. Not the next year of 2010. 2010-2013 he had a total of 33 homeruns. His “Mauer Power” completely disappeared. His average dropped to (a still impressive) .314 over those years (.050 drop from the 2009 campaign), but wasn’t what Twins fans were expecting. He didn’t improve much on his doubles or triples. He didn’t become the clutch hitter they wanted. He averaged an single RBI every 7.61 at bats in that time while hitting in a mix between the 2-4 spots in the line up. That’s pretty atrocious for a spot in the lineup that’s purpose is production. He was widely known within the circle of Twins fans as a fluff AVG hitter, only getting squeak singles and the occasional double. That boat of people thinking he could hit over .400 is at the bottom of the ocean next to the Titanic. I luckily found a small door frame to float to which I was later saved. Sorry Jack, I did let go. However, amazingly he has quickly became a champion in a way: the Double Play Champion. And I know that might be a little much, and his average at the department isn’t dreadful, but when you drop off immensely at all your other positive categories that one sticks out a lot more. The last two years hasn’t changed much and it’s time I said it loud and proud: Get rid of Joe Mauer. I know many people love their hometown boy, but I feel like after he got his 8 year, 184 million dollar contract, his production has all but disappeared. It’s as if he almost settled down and gave up his on passion after he got his contract, which obviously happens to a lot athletes after they get paid. I really didn’t want it to happen to Mauer, but it obviously did. No more hard work equals no more production, folks. As of now, all he is just a hometown boy we are paying 23 million this year. So ask your self, till 2019 is he worth that much each year? Pick me! Pick me! I know! I’ll answer the question, teach! No! Hell no! Unless he starts proving he is worth that much extremely soon, why waste the money for the next coming years on a player who is about to turn 33 and not showing any signs of his 2009 season? That’s what we paid for. Not $44,401 per at bat for a .265 AVG. Not $191,666 per game with 59.2 at bats per homerun. Not $5,750,000 per homerun like last season. Just read those numbers again. It’s painful. Last year that was 25.79% of the team’s payroll for 8.4% of the team’s on field performance. I don’t know how the Twins are going to go about this, but he needs to be removed from the team, and fast. We could get a player who has decent potential or even the same stats as Mauer for a fraction of his price. Sano could play first as well as Park, Plouffe; anyone else really. I’m just sick of seeing 23 million stuck in a person who isn’t worth 5 million right now. Do you have and ideas or thoughts on this subject? Let me know and we can have a civil discussion on why Joe Mauer is a disease for this team and why we haven’t used the cure to get rid of it completely is beyond me.