Shut down Mauer?

by Bobomojo on Aug 30, 2007 12:06 PM EDT Comment 9 comments

With the Twins season (un)officially over and Joe "Not the Face of the Franchise" Mauer nursing a sore hamstring, I'm wondering if the Twins should think about changing his role for the rest of the 2007 season.

I don't think the Twins would shut him down for the rest of the year - unless the injury is worse than it appears - but what about taking him out of the starting catcher role for September? Start Redmond behind the plate, and use Joe as your full-time DH. Either Joe or Heintz could back-up Redmond.

In my mind, this seems like a prudent move to protect a valuable asset. I guess it could also look like prematurely throwing in the towel. Any thoughts?

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It depends

on how healthy Mauer really is. If he's going to be nursing a nagging injury that could re-aggrevate anything, he should be shut down. If it's just something that's going to need another week to go away, if he's just going to be sore, then giving him a couple of days behind the plate and using him as a DH most days isn't necessarily a bad idea.

If he's going to be healthy, there's really no reason to keep him from catching. He's the best defensive catcher we have, and while it will certainly be easier (and make sense) to spell him in September, I would need a real reason to use him mostly as a DH.

by Jesse on Aug 30, 2007 12:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

the description I've read

Is that his legs just haven't had a chance to recuperate since the quad injury because the day to day grind of MLB makes it impossible. In short, the only way for Joe to get better is to rest until he's better.

Absent a pennant race, I don't see the urgency of having Joe do much of anything at all the last month of the season. He's not 100%, playing will delay him getting back to 100% and he's too valuable to risk getting hurt playing meaningless games in September.

Still, I think you wait on a "shut down" - rest him for a week and, absent the Tigers/Indians/et al. falling flat on their faces & the Twins winning 7 in a row, you shut him down.

by BD57 on Aug 30, 2007 4:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Can Redmond start everyday?

It sounds like he is being a good solider b/c Joe is hurt right now but if Joe can play I don't know if Redmond should be forced out there day after day.

Isn't there a young kid in the minors that could get some big league time? Have Redmond back him up. I bet he'd understand that the Twins need to develope their farm hands and let Joe DH everyday if you want.

I would like to think though that Joe would not be open to that. C is his position and if he can play it, I'd hope he'd tell the team he wants to. Just DHing everyday for month might be taken as a first step in removing Joe from catching and he may not be agreeable to that.

by caluofmn on Aug 30, 2007 12:58 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I don't see a need

Worst case, you bring him back too early and he blows it out. That still gives him five months to rehab and get ready for spring training.

"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot

by cmathewson on Aug 30, 2007 1:08 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm not saying we NEED to do this...

...I guess my point would be why unnecessarily add 150-180 innings of work to Joe's knees/back/lower body? The season is lost and Joe has to be suffering from typical late-summer aches and pains.

I think most people agree that Joe's time behind the plate is limited. If we could spare his body a little stress during this meaningless September, could that perhaps pay dividends in future years? Would a little extra rest - when his joints and muscles are their most worn down - be beneficial to his future endurance?

I honestly don't know, but I think there could be a case to be made for giving this young man a little bit of a break, especially when our September record will most likely be meaningless.

by Bobomojo on Aug 30, 2007 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You could go the other way

Perhaps he needs the work at the end of the year to make him stronger for next year. If you miss a lot of time in one year, it's sometimes tough to sustain it the next. This is usually true for players in their first full years in the majors, they tend to wear down after the AAA season is over because they've never played that long.

I suspect Joe will want to be out there as soon as he can because he just loves to catch and play the game. It's like the discussion about a position change. It might be good for his career, but he certainly doesn't want to do it and they won't make him change. As long as Joe feels ready to play, he'll be out there catching everyday until the season is over.

"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot

by cmathewson on Aug 30, 2007 3:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Even if Redmond shouldn't be playing...

...it seems like there are only 38 of 40 spots full on the 40-man roster. So add Jose Morales to the 40-man roster and see what Morales/Heintz can do for you. Rosters expand on Saturday.

I would rather see Mauer's hammy heal completely at this point than risk having it become a recurring injury.

by ubelmann on Aug 30, 2007 3:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Put him on the DL and call up Morales

by diehardtwinsfan on Aug 31, 2007 7:28 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm not sitting there

I'm not sitting there next to Mauer asking him how he's feeling or talkign to the trainer about his hanstring, or anything like that. I'm not going to say what the shoul do about his health on the info I have.

He should be fine to play for the last two or three weeks. He's an exciting player and I want to see him when I go to games upcoming.

Baseball is great because you cant take a knee or kill the clock. You gotta put the ball over the plate and give the other guy his damn shot E Weaver abridged

by AdamOnFirst on Aug 31, 2007 1:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs