Joe Mauer came into the league with high expectations, primarily because of his hometown hero status amongst those in the state of Minnesota. He's been one of the best catchers in baseball over his seven year career. As we all know, Joe's biggest challenge has been to stay healthy. That's always been the big question in Minnesota. But, when you see numbers like those put up by the Braves' Brian McCann, the bigger question in Minnesota should be, why can't we expect those kind of numbers from Joe?
Joe's knee problems started early, so it's not a surprise that the Twins, namely Ron Gardenhire, are trying to protect his body by giving him days off. No one is angered or outraged over that fact. As I just stated, McCann has had 12 days off thus far throughout the first half of the season for the Braves. What many like myself are irritated with is how many days off behind the plate Mauer seems to get. Here are Joe's last 10 days:
- June 28th - DH
- June 29th - C
- June 30th - No game
- July 1st - C
- July 2nd - DH
- July 3rd - C
- July 4th - C
- July 5th - C
- July 6th - PH in 9th.
So, here's my next question: Understanding the idea of giving Joe a day off behind home plate every now and then, why was he given three days off from catching (28th, 30th, 2nd) in a span of five days? If he's not able to catch five days a week, then why is he off the disabled list? That would indicate to me that he's not fully healthy. I think we'd all be very happy if he caught five days a week, and then was given a day off. Instead, he's catching two days, then either DH'ing or being taken out of the lineup all together. Gardy might be making out the lineup card, but if a player of Joe's caliber wants to play, he finds a way to play.
Some are saying part of the reason Mauer is struggling this season after returning from his stint on the disabled list is because the Twins rushed him back when he wasn't ready to return this spring. What people should be more angered and outraged over was why he wasn't prepared to start the season in the first place. Mauer's thought process from the beginning after he had his knee operated on was to "be ready for Opening Day," rather than to be ready for Spring Training. What that meant was that, rather than using Spring Training to fine-tune his game like most players, he was using Spring Training to more or less rehabilitate his knee. It's been stated by some that Mauer was conducting his own rehab during the offseason after the surgery. As we can see, that meant "taking it easy" and not pushing anything too hard. In fact, he didn't start playing in games until half-way through the Spring Training season. The question is, had the Twins been running his rehab, would he have been ready to do that fine-tuning in Spring Training instead of trying to get healthy? We'll never know that answer.
Joe needs to take a lesson from Brian McCann and keep himself in the lineup, whether that be catching, DH'ing, or playing first base. For the record, I don't agree with moving him to a different position permanently, but on a one-off basis, it makes sense to keep his bat in the lineup. But again, if Gardy is telling Joe he's not playing today, Joe needs to tell him, "Yes, I am," and get himself in there. His teammates deserve it, the fans deserve it, and, for $23 million a year, the Twins as an organization deserve it.
The talk of Mauer and his three batting titles as a catcher being the foundation of a solid Hall of Fame-type resume is valid. But, looking at the following...what does that make McCann? Right now, I can tell you where I'd rather spend my money.
Career Stats
- J. Mauer
- 6'5", 235 lbs, 7 years pro, .324 Average, 81 HR's, 479 RBI's, .996 Fielding %
- B. McCann
- 6'3", 230 lbs, 6 years pro, .291 Average, 126 HR's, 513 RBI's, .989 Fielding %
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