I remember the young kid who, in his third major league game at the Metrodome, went back for a foul pop, tripped on the rubber warning track and messed up his knee, along with his debut season. I don't believe we've ever seen the best of Joe Maurer as an athlete, although what we have seen has been occasionally spectacular. Maurer is an easy case for the Hall of Fame, if we include the business side of the game. The home-town boy with the Kemps Dairy image and perfect career timing has done about as well as anyone could have imagined, from that point of view. It's too bad his body prevented him from matching that standard on the field. >> "..there have been glimmers of hope..." At this point, any glimmers we see now are likely to be from that distant light at the end of the tunnel. I don't know what I would like to see from Maurer in 2017, but I know what I would like to hear: I'd like Joe to acknowledge that his role on the team is changing.