The Twins have 86 games left in the season. It's a pretty good bet that means they only have 57 games with Joe Mauer in the lineup. Why? Because it appears Mauer needs to have a day off every third day. At first glance, it appeared that manager Ron Gardenhire was the responsible party for keeping Joe out of the lineup. To be honest, I'm not so sure it's not Joe himself.
I've been one of the biggest proponents of keeping Mauer behind the plate and not playing him anywhere else in the field. My rationale was simple: he was drafted a catcher, he's been one of the best catchers in baseball since he became a permanent starter, and he signed a huge mega-deal to play catcher. Simple as that. But extreme times call for extreme measures. With Justin Morneau hitting the disabled list earlier this week to have surgery on his neck, and Delmon Young landing on the DL Sunday morning with an ankle issue, the Twins had two open spots in their lineup.
The active outfielders on the roster going into Sunday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers were hitting a combined .235, and were only even that high because of the .292 batting average that Michael Cuddyer has put up. The starting lineup included Ben Revere, Michael Cuddyer, and Jason Repko in the outfield, and after a double-switch late in the game, Rene Tosoni was brought in to play right field when Cuddyer slid into the infield to play first base. Again, we all know my disdain for Delmon Young. I'm not shy about bringing that up. And yes, a couple of weeks ago, I suggested playing Jason Repko in place of Young in the outfield, because Young refuses to show up during a contract year and I thought the Twins needed a little shake-up in the lineup.
Today, I'm changing my tune a little bit. I still think Delmon Young is worthless in the outfield (and at the plate). But, I do believe they need a little shake-up in the outfield. And the person who might need to shake that outfield up is #7 himself. One problem, however, is that apparently Joe doesn't care to play anywhere else, as evidenced by his absence from the lineup on Sunday. A gaping hole in left field and another at first base, and yet Mauer sat for the second time in five days.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the point of putting him on the 60-day disabled list to ensure that he was going to have enough strength in his legs to catch five or six games in a row and be effective doing so? I swear I heard the Twins saying they didn't want to bring him back too soon. But, it would appear that Mr. Mauer's legs are a little weaker than they should be, since he's continuing to take an abnormal number of days off. What's the definition of a "team player"? Clearly, right now, it's not Joe.
So, what does it take to get through to Mauer? This year, we've heard it all. We've heard that Joe and his "people" were the ones monitoring his rehabilitation from the off-season knee surgery he went through. If the Twins were taking the bull by the horns, so to speak, they would've started his rehab out much sooner, and we may have had him up to full speed by the end of spring training, as he should've been. We've heard that Joe is the one telling Gardenhire that he "needs a day off" when his manager asks if he's able to play. I guess the inmates run Gardy's asylum. Last time I checked, the manager was the one that filled out the lineup card, not the players. When you have a player on the roster like Michael Cuddyer, who is a fantastic clubhouse guy and seemingly willing to play any and everywhere you'd need him to play, someone like Joe Mauer appears to be more of a prima donna or a "diva" each and every day. Yet Mauer is the face of the franchise, and the name on the back of over 50% of the jerseys you see at Target Field. Hmm...makes you wonder some times.
When you add all the pieces together; injuries to both Morneau and Young, a day out of the lineup on Thursday, and the fact that the Twins were playing their final game in a National League ballpark, it would seem logical that the star player, the face of the franchise, and the supposed team leader would've made every effort to find his way into the lineup, even hiding himself in the outfield if he had to. Instead, his legs should be well rested to start the series against the Dodgers this week.
No comments:
Post a Comment