Mauer is out with "bilateral leg weakness" until May...wait, bilateral leg weakness??? That sounds like it's time to change positions. This is crazy how much of a beating and physical toll playing catcher is taking on Mr. Mauer.
I don't know where to put him, but I would be ok with never seeing him behind the plate ever again. With the abundance we have of RF/DH's, I don't know that there is a way we can put him out there. Obviously, we can't take Morneau out of the lineup and put him at 1st. Can he pitch? If he plays 3rd, that leaves Valencia as the odd man out. Maybe Valencia can play short or 2nd. I don't know that there is a solution without taking a solid bat out of the lineup, but these stints on the DL are getting very frustrating! Sore legs should not be an issue, as I think Mauer is the first player to ever go on the DL for that kind of injury. Is this like the "tired arm" injury that Blackburn was suffering from last year?
I need some ideas here. Where can we put our favorite catcher so he doesn't end up out for 2 weeks with tired legs ever again? Luckily, Nishioka and Mauer will be coming back around the same time now to make our annual second-half run to the Central Division title and leave Ozzie Guillen as confused as ever.
Well...if it makes you feel better, I have 6 guys currently on the DL in my fantasy baseball league including Mauer, Longoria, Hamilton, and Jimenez...
ReplyDeleteBut perhaps its time we trade Liriano or a SP and one of our many RF/DHs to the Yanks and see if we cant snag one of their 3 solid prospect C's
Tough one... I am going to vote for Right Field in your survey. Although I think Mauer would be an instant improvement on defense in left. I like Young's offensive game, although it has been down right offensive lately. Is Young to young to be DH? I could see him splitting time with Thome at DH and filling in at left, or even right when Mauers legs get weak in the outfield (day game after a night game anyone?).
ReplyDeleteI was always an advocate of having Mauer play catcher as long as his body could take it. I just thought that it would be 4-5 years from now. On a day when Capps blows the 2nd of 2 saves, I really, really regret the hap-hazard trade of Ramos.
Butera? He's my own personal Punto.
I agree with the outfield take. In reality, that is probably his most likely spot to end up. It doesn't look promising that Cuddyer will be back next year (although as Gardy's BFF, it will be hard to dump him too now that Punto is gone.) Cuddyer is above average, but sometimes I think we place too much stock into his "versatility." His range in RF continues to diminish, and he's not an answer at 2B. If we see Young as our DH/Outfield filler, then we really don't have a need for Cuddyer's right-handed bat. Kubel is not an answer in the outfield - fill-in at best. So, my vision includes a 2012 outfield of Span, Revere, and Mauer! I said it. But what about 2011? Ah geez what a headache... Mauer remains our catcher... this year at least.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting dialogue. Although I think Mauer would transition best to the outfield, I don’t think that is an option for the Twins this year. That would leave too many pinch hitters on the bench that can’t play anywhere in the field. Their flexibility is almost nonexistent carrying only four bench players, two of which are a backup catcher and Thome.
ReplyDeleteI would like to try this: Mauer and Valencia play the left side of the infield – it doesn’t matter to me which one plays where. Valencia played a little firstbase in college and shortstop in high school. The other thing I would consider is when Nishioka gets back, he moves to shortstop, Valencia goes to second, and Mauer plays third. In effect, what the Twins would be doing is replacing Casilla with Butera in the lineup. Let’s face it, the only thing that changes with Butera in the lineup is speed. Now you have Thome, Repko, Casilla (or Hughes or Tolbert), and a backup catcher on the bench.
The problem I have is that the Twins have no contingency plan at catcher. Let me rephrase that: based on their actions over the last several months, their contingency plan for replacing an injured Mauer is horrible. On a side note, the contingency plan at the other positions seems to be: if someone gets injured, Cuddyer can play there! Sure enough, more often than not, he succeeds.
I just hope that this injury is not more serious than missing a month of playing time.
Get Mauer Healthy and then trade him. Yes, I did just say "trade" and "mauer" in the same sentence
ReplyDeleteTrade value is lower than ever right now. I can't think of a team that would take on that contract right now either (not even the Yankees). Besides, are we still talking about the batting champ?
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