what a well thought out article. personally i think power number can be overrated. clutch hitting with runners in scoring position is number one in my book and although he doesn't have a ton of RBI's, nobody moves runners along like joe. sweet swing and smart..a 3 s player.

Good arguments. Batting Morneau 4th rather than Cuddyer seems like a no-brainer to me. Both he and Mauer have proven they can hit lefties so why split them up just for the sake of having a right-handed bat to discourage other teams from bringing in LHP relievers?
And thanks for the blast from the past by Mark Morrison, my mood has improved significantly.

So is Carlos Gomez's intro song "Here Comes the Hotstepper" ala Ini Kamoze?

I have just realized that I like to hear music when I read your blog...nice interactive touch, maestro...Although I can't understand half of the words, I have begun talking like this guy in the office.
I love seeing Mauer playing well - you could see that he was back about a month ago against the Sox when that pitcher was going for the no-no and he drove the sh*t out of the ball to left center - such a fun player to watch at the plate - nice article.

The guy is an amazing player, and it look like he's back!!
What else can be said except
"JOE MAUER WILL YOU MARRY ME?!!!!"

I have to run my thoughts along with Ryan Malone...soothing music to this blog and a cigar of choice is wonderful...

Now let's get to the point...even though I disagree with MANY of your points, arguments, thoughts, etc. in your articles...My Baseball savvy mind agrees with you on this one Spicer...who needs Home Runs when your 2 for 4 every game...I'll take consistency any day...

6'5" and hot all the way around. I think there are quite a few Saint Paul girls in line for this home town heart throb!!!I don't know Suzi, is Mauer a Morman? Hmmm, I'm not Morman myself but I would consider it for him!!! Yummy

More importantly, Mauer is 8th in the league in OPS+. The Twins need to get him into another position, as even durring his great year of 2006 he was only good for 140 games. If the Twins want to keep bringing along speedy outfielders with little power they need Mauer's bat every day. The Dodgers got it right when they started giving Russell Martin some time at third.

Twins Fan- Looking around my CD collection, I'm thinking that Mike Lamb's theme could be found in Marvin Gaye's "What Going On." (feel free to enter ?)

Ryan- I hope your office-mates haven't placed a brown paper sack over your head, or a tennis ball in your mouth.

Suzi and Sugar Pop- I don't think Mauer's with that Miss America anymore. I have, however, canceled my subscription to US Weekly, so I may bo out-of-the-loop to that effect.

Jutts- You bring up a point that will no doubt be discussed readily as Mauer's career continues, as many critics will say with increasing volume that catching will soon effect his hitting. Still: Russell Martin (and few others for that matter), have Mauer's pure athletic ability behind the dish. To move him now/soon would be a travesty. To DH him at times is just plain smart, as he's hit well at that post- .343 for his career.

Really? What is "pure athletic ability behind the dish?" Is there any way to quantify that? I guess all Russell Martin has is more gold gloves and more runners thrown out trying to steal, but that must not be as valuable as "pure athletic ability behind the dish." To not move Mauer now/soon is the travesty, his offense has a lot more to do with the Twins winning games than his defense

Great article. It's fun to look at the stats. Here's a stat that everyone is ignoring. We just got crushed 4 games in a row by the Chicago a-holes. Can we talk about that instead of Mr. Sideburns? Thank you.

Jutts- You're right, in that "pure athletic ability" is likely a generalization- yet, I think it's also an encompassing appreciation of watching Mauer over the last five years. And while R. Martin does have more Gold Gloves than Joe (1-to-0), it should be mentioned that Mauer is presently 6th in the MLB in Caught Stealing % (.326), while Martin is 14th (.205). Furthermore, this number- should Joe finish at this clip- would be the lowest of Mauer's career. Thanks for the debate.

Billy Bean- I hope you're not of the clairvoyant ilk, as the Twins have lost 3 straight to the Chi Sox, with game #4 set for 1:05 today. Talking points abound, so please revisit later this week for the negativity you crave.

I agree, it is great to see the home town kid get back on track. Hurray. However, Joe needs to give the guys taking swings in the DH spot a lot of lessons. What's there really to celebrate if the rest of the squad sucks in the batter’s box?

I think a prime example is the spanking we got in Chicago over the weekend.

Is Rondell White still available?

Judd-
I would have to agree with Jutt's! Having him at picture is a waste of his athletic ability. The young man played a variety of positions in high school, along with other sports and excelled in them. I'd like to see the twins move him to third, and find another catcher. I agree that you wont find a better catcher then Mauer, i think the twin's front office and talent staff can find a catcher that can play great D! and hit for a little more power. That way you have Mauer in the line up for at least 160 games.

As for Cuddyer...very, very disappointed with his clutch hitting performance...thats why i really dont buy his numbers...but i enjoyed the article tremendously
efe.