Comments on: Joe Mauer – Dollars and Sense

By: Brett

Brett — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:07:36 +0000

“Mauer is the best player the team has ever had.”

Got some chills, as I mulled over what that statement means, and found that I agree…

By: Bill@TDS

Bill@TDS — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:57:55 +0000

Gotta agree with Brett about Santana and Hunter. If there’s anything riskier than giving a long, expensive contract to a catcher, it’s giving a long, expensive contract to a pitcher. 2009 was a good example of why–I hope this doesn’t happen, because I still like the guy, but there’s a very decent chance that Santana goes the next five years without ever again being worth anywhere near the amount of money the Mets are stuck paying him. I have to think the Twins could’ve gotten a better deal for him than they did, but paying what it would’ve taken to keep him would have been foolish.

And Torii? He’s *never* been an $18-mil-a-year sort of player. If the Angels were going to be dumb enough to hand him that kind of money for his decline phase, the proper thing to do was to wish them good luck and move on.

Mauer truly is a completely different situation. Not just because he’s a hometown kid and it’s going to be their second year in the new stadium (though those are certainly factors), but because Mauer is a truly unique talent. There’s never been a player like him, and he’d be impossible to replace. Torii’s a pretty good player; Santana had a good run as the best pitcher in the league; Mauer is the best player the team has ever had. If you get a guy like that, you have to keep him. (And they will.)

By: Fred Simmons

Fred Simmons — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:54:11 +0000

I wish Seantrel Henderson could understand about the statue thing and how signing in Minnesota as a home town boy would assure his place in Minnesota history and provide for so many more opportunities after his college and pro carreers were over. Brewster would go down as the best gopher coach ever.

By: TommyT

TommyT — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:05:20 +0000

1. I’m glad you agree.
2. I hope so, too.
3. Good catch about Kirby. I was more familiar with Cal and Tony.
4. The twins blew it with Johan. If they knew he wasn’t going stay they should have signed him or traded him earlier – as in before he decided to leave.
5. They’d have to be close to those dollars, and it’s gonna take that to keep him.

By: Brett

Brett — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:29:42 +0000

As a Twins fan, I’ve got just a few points.
One, I fully agree with you on what Joe should do.
Two, I have full confidence that it will happen.
Three, Kirby Puckett is the name you should’ve mentioned in regards to Shapiro.
Four, you are way off-base on Johan and Torii, and the only commonality to Joe is that they’re all good players. Johan was never going to stay. He made comments during the season that made that clear, and he was going to ask the organization to break the bank to keep him (the trade stunk, but oh well). Torii was going to be very expensive, and the Twins had a promising (and now delivering) Denard Span waiting in the wings. And mostly, both of those guys were let go with the foresight that Joe was going to command a huge contract, and it was simply not feasible to sign them all.
Lastly, regarding the figures you threw out, I fully expect the Twins to be in the neighborhood of a 10-year-deal, $200M. I think we’ll find out pretty soon.