…Other than the Metrodome, I’m pretty sure that Toronto and Tampa are the only teams that play on turf. So he basically quoted a home/away split, which is beyond ridiculous. Especially considering he’s still going to play half of his games at home.

I am actually more open to most that the Twins might be better off not signing Joe Mauer. However, his main reasoning was really poor. The splits are ridiculously close and have more to do with home/away than what surface. Then calling a catcher who’s had over 600 plate appearances in 3 of the last 4 seasons also seems a bit silly.

It’s more just the massive money that scares me, even if Joe keeps up good production and doesn’t become massively injured that’s a lot of money to pay anybody. However, with his marketability or “face of the franchise” label combined with his ability, they have to sign him, whether it’s the best move for being a better team might be debatable. However, whether it’s the best move for the franchise being successful is not.

This article is trash because Joe Mauer basically batted .322 on grass last season. There are many players that would kill for that average.

On the other hand, the author is spot on because Joe Mauer did his numbers while missing all of April 2009. His first appearance of the season compares with Michael Jordon’s first appearance against the Knicks in New York when he first came out of retirement in March of 1995. Keep in mind that Michael Jordon chose to walk away from basketball. Joe Mauer had no choice but to miss last April due to injury. Keep in mind that he is doing great in terms of numbers despite an injury prone career. Translation, you don’t usually know when the injury bug will strike, but there is a pretty good chance that catchers will get injured and a good chance that Joe Mauer will be injured again. I am not saying that Joe Mauer will be injured again, but injuries happen to anybody including both Joe Nathan and Johan Santana and they are big due to the contracts given to them. However the Johan is stuck with an injury prone Mets team while the Twins will be able to plug in Joe Nathan’s roster spot and sign a free agent starting pitcher to help the rotation. Finally, with players like Danny Valencia (3B), Ben Revere (CF), and Wilson Ramos ©, the Twins seem to be able to fill any hole.