Positive Early Reports and Friday Links

Whether the 2012 Twins can even be a .500 team largely rests on the ample shoulders of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. Let yourself think -- just for a second -- about how fun things could be if our 3-4 hitters were healthy and productive all season long. Thus far -- yes, I know players just showed up a week or so ago -- the early reports are positive. Justin Morneau took Francisco Liriano deep in batting practice, and hasn't had to sit out of any practice or drills. Joe Mauer has caught several bullpen sessions, participated in everything, and looks and sounds completely different than he did last year at this time. Denard Span collided with the center field wall yesterday, but feels OK thus far. For most Twins fans, these few snippets have to be at least a little encouraging. Not to imply that everything else is just details, but at the very least, there's room for optimism this March.

Now, onto Friday's links.

Jim Crikket over at Knuckleballs had an insightful post on Ryan Braun's issues, and Crikket's conclusion is that a movie must be made about this ordeal. It's hard to disagree. I heard that the role of Braun's urine sample will be played by Pauley Shore.

NoDak Twins fan noted that the Twins' early schedule is quite intimidating, featuring several AL East and AL West opponents. I'm glad that I'll see them against the Orioles.

Minnesota Twins Musings notes the great payroll debate in New York right now, as GM Brian Cashman has pledged to lower payroll in the next couple years.

On the Road with Shawn implores Joel Zumaya not to retire, for fear that Zumaya will end up like the rest of us!

The Tenth Inning Stretch had a great recap of yesterday's Twins B Game. The "Twins" (Rochester Redwings, mostly) beat the "Red Sox," (Pawtucket Red Sox, mostly) and new Twin Aaron Bates hit a home run.

Michael Cuddyer is up to his old tricks -- literally.

Finally, Jim Souhan at the Star Tribune continues to remind me of Walter Matthau in Grumpy Old Men. Jim, your company lets you go to Florida and write about baseball. If you don't want that assignment, I can think of about 100 Twins bloggers who would love it.

Jim Souhan: Hack Job

This is one of the times when it's really nice to have your own voice in the blogging community, completely independent of affiliated media, such as the Star Tribune or Pioneer Press, or the actual organization that I blog about, the Minnesota Twins. Within reason, and hopefully with some degree of accuracy, I can say exactly what I think, and know that, in reality, only a couple hundred people will read it anyway.



Yesterday, I read Star Tribune columnist Jim Souhan's article, "Clueless Joe not Cutting it Anymore." If, by chance, you haven't read it, I would recommend doing so before you continue reading this post: I don't want my personal opinion to unnecessarily color your perception of Souhan's column.



OK, did you read it? Great. I'll continue, then.



It's no secret that Souhan hasn't exactly been in Joe's corner for some time now. Especially as Mauer combated physical injuries last season, as well as a blow to his public perception -- mostly a result of the confusing diagnosis of "bilateral leg weakness -- Souhan was pretty quick to take Mauer to task. And some of that criticism was very warranted. Mauer now admits that he should have been more up front last season with the media and the fans. I think it was foolish of Mauer to isolate himself from his teammates, and to isolate himself from the media. That's why rumors started that Joe had Lyme's Disease. Joe is a smart enough guy: I'm pretty confident that he has learned from his mistakes, and we've already seen more media accessibility this offseason from Mauer, assuring fans that he is 100% healthy and ready to go. Will Joe ever be the clubhouse leader that Michael Cuddyer or Torii Hunter was? Maybe not. But can he, in his own way, assume a powerful veteran leadership presence? Absolutely. And as fans, we don't know that he hasn't, or that his leadership style is unsuccessful.



Here are a couple snippets from Souhan's article: "Whether Mauer had anything to do with their mindsets or not is difficult to ascertain, but Joe Nathan and Michael Cuddyer, two long-term Twins who had spoken of wanting to end their careers in Minnesota, left in free agency . . . ." Yes, Jim, Joe Mauer shared responsibility for Cuddyer taking a considerably better offer than what the Twins made, and was also culpable for the fact that Joe Nathan wanted to pitch for a team that has been in back-to-back World Series (not to mention the fact that there's no guarantee that the Nathan of 2012 will be nearly as good as the Nathan of 2004-2009), as opposed for a team that just lost 99 games and filled their closer role for under $5 million -- considerably less than what Nathan agreed to with the Rangers.



"In the past six months, I've spoken with dozens of key people working at all levels of the Twins organization about Mauer. Most expressed disgust or dismay over the way he conducted himself last season." Ah yes, anonymous sources. I get that people in organizations that say scintillating things to journalists concerning their employer need to be protected, but I find it hard to believe that there are literally "dozens" of dissenters in the Twins organization that were literally champing at the bit waiting to talk to Jim Souhan about a private employment matter. Like any journalist, I'm sure that Souhan has his trusted and reliable sources, but this, Jim, sounds like a witch hunt.



Here's what I know: Joe Mauer has been the Twins' best player nearly every season he has suited up for them. No matter how you measure it -- Wins Above Replacement, Batting Average, On-Base Percentage, Batting Titles, Gold Gloves -- he's already approaching some all-time lists for the Twins. Mauer and his handlers made a pretty big error last season in the way that they skirted the media and the public in the face of his mysterious injuries. Most of the content in Souhan's piece has already been hashed and rehashed again, by Souhan and almost every other baseball writer, professional and blogger, in Minnesota (including myself, I'm sure). Mauer's 2011 was a big mistake, and I'm willing to bet that it won't happen again. For whatever reason, Souhan really has it out for Mauer. Perhaps things happened behind the scenes that soured Souhan? I know that Jim Souhan gets paid to write opinion pieces, and sometimes I enjoy his columns -- and I also think that Souhan is right when he essentially says that Mauer needs to step it up this year. But, as we hit Spring Training, and as we have been told and retold that Mauer is 100 % healthy, I find that it's tough not to be at least a little optimistic (or simply excited to see live baseball again), Souhan comes off as a Scrooge. Jim Scroogehan.

Joe Mauer & the Beating he is Taking

A few quick items on Joe Mauer, his tough return to MLB, and the verbal assault he is taking in the press and on the blogs:

1) I'm glad he is working out at first base, but like others, I believe this is months, if not years, late. Though Joe says that he "signed to be the catcher for the Minnesota Twins," that's not how it really works. There is nothing in his contract, or in any other baseball contract probably, the specifies the role of the player. In truth, Joe signed to play for the Twins organization. His future is not at catcher, at least not after another year or so of him aging and the nagging injuries catching up with him.

2) The swing, though coming around (a nice double last night), is embarrassing. Mauer arrived unable to hit major league pitching, likely as a result of hitting pitches from 18 year old kids in Ft. Myers, 1 % of whom actually have what it takes to someday set foot on a major league field. And it's not like he exactly tore it up there!

3) Mauer was ill-prepared to play for the Twins because he did not travel to AAA Rochester as part of his rehab assignment. We will never know the precise details of what happened, but suffice it to say that, though Gardy thought Mauer could benefit from a stop in NY, Mauer thought he was ready to return. You don't go from hitting off of kids in Florida, to ready to face Tim Lincecum (thankfully Joe took that day off) without something in-between.

4) Jim Souhan at the Star Tribune really, really ripped into Mauer yesterday. It was an interesting piece, worth reading if you haven't already. I like about half of what Souhan writes. He always has an honest take, but it is sometimes too know-it-all-ish for me. This article was interesting, however, because it was the biggest beating I have seen Mauer take in the printed local press. Suffice it to say that Souhan probably won't be getting any more exclusives from Mauer for some time. The only part I really disagreed with was when Souhan attacked Mauer for not having taken grounders at first yet. In defense of Mauer and the Twins, he had been back only 1 week. Sure enough, he did indeed practice at first base yesterday prior to the Dodgers-Twins game. A result of the Souhan article? I'd like to think not.

5) Damage Control: What can the Twins and Mauer do to repair some of the perceived damage both parties have suffered?? First, Mauer can start to play well. Second, he can DH or play first base on some of the day games following a night game. We need him in the lineup 85% of the time if this team is going to even play .500 baseball (this is assuming he begins to produce). Third, enough with all the endorsements, Joe. Sure, do a few spots here and there in the offseason, but you will not be taking home any hardware this year, and you certainly don't need the extra income, so there's really no reason to over-promote your image. Finally, just be a normal Twins player in the offseason - - lead some charity events, rest up and prepare for 2012. We have learned that an image that took a decade to create can be partially, perhaps irreparably, wounded, in the span of only a few months.