No problem, and I understand that. My point is his numbers dropped off from his 54 high and by a significant amount 20% to be exact. Those numbers may not be a big deal, but Mauer dropping off from 28 to 9 isn't as big a deal as he is making it.

...and Mauer has not been healthy in the two years following 2009. That alone plays a large part in what has happened.

I also believe Mauer could regain his long ball power...but as 4th mentioned I agree that there still looks like something going on with Mauer.

"You don't make any sense. Loss of strength ? what a coincidence huh ?"

You make me laugh...you need to investigate the Roswell incident and the JFK assassination. They may be more interesting.

I don't obsess with him like you do.

The statistics explain it all. All players have big seasons but they all end up back to their career averages.

So Royal ya going to buy a Mauer jersey tomorrow?

At this point in time in the season, I think Willingham should be moved up to the #4 spot and Morneau moved down to #5 for the simple reason that Willingham has earned it. Everyone who has watched the games knows that a lot of runners have been stranded on the bases this year, so the move wouldn't hurt the teams chances of capitalizing on some of them potential runs.

In terms of the M & M boys, I like to look at the big picture. Both guys missed a lot of games last year and Morneau had concussion issues. I get that. It doesn't surprise me that Morneau is not the same MVP caliber player he once was, I didn't expect him to be after his concussion issues. In terms of Mauer's drop off, I understand that he can't hit .365 every year.

My concern about the teams success or lack there of is with the amount the Twins are paying the M & M's. If they're making $42million+/season (combined) and the Twins' entire payroll is roughly $100million, then obviously those two players alone eat up over 40% of the payroll. And I understand why.. they're both proven MVP caliber players. However, with the Twins only having a $100million payroll, not having the M & M's play MVP caliber baseball prevents the team from going out and signing MVP caliber pitchers and players in general to help the team win games.

Morneau's contract is up soon, at the end of next year IIRC, so that's not too shabby. However, Mauer still has many years left on his, so hopefully he can get some of his magic back as time goes on. I don't expect Morneau to ever be an MVP caliber player again with his concussion issues, but I do still hold optimism that Mauer can at least manage a .300+ batting average throughout a season.

It's still early in the season, so there's no point in getting too negative or upset. We all knew this was likely to be a tough season.

So, you want to take Willingham's bat out of the lineup?

If you make that move Willingham will be walked every time there is a situation he can hurt you. Right now Parmalee and Valencia offer some protection for Willingham...Morneau doesn't.

Of course, what reider82 said just happened. Morneau was bumped to 5th and Willingham takes over the no. 4 spot. You make a good point about protection for Willingham, but at this point, who cares. Maybe it will be the spark Justin needs. Also, Morneau is playing 1B today. Hopefully this will prove to him he can still play and he continues to play 1B, bringing him back to a sense of normalcy while taking the mental pressure off of him hitting clean-up. I mean, it's worth a shot. I like it. Kudos to reider82 on the prediction.

We'll see how the lineup goes...I think the twins will care if Willingham's offense drops of...because then there will be none...

But, the move may benefit Mauer...because Morneau was provided zero protection. That's one good reason Mauer was walked twice with runners in scoring position yesterday...the ending result for Morneau led to a strike out and a GIDP...

Ooh, good observation with Mauer. This move could be good on a lot of fronts. You're also right about the Twins being concerned if Willingham struggles, but I don't see any reason for that to happen. Now if only we could improve Willingham's defense...

Well as long as Willingham has something to swing at his being hot right now can't hurt him or the team.

when we were giving our optimal batting lineups before the season started, many of us had Willingham already batting 4th.

Did you finally put a gun to Gardy's head Puck;-)

"So, you want to take Willingham's bat out of the lineup?"

No. I just want the Twins to win as many ball games as possible. Before tonight's game I felt that Willingham earned that spot (batting 4th).

"If you make that move Willingham will be walked every time there is a situation he can hurt you. "

No.

"Right now Parmalee and Valencia offer some protection for Willingham...Morneau doesn't."

Really? I thought Morneau made the Yankee's pay tonight. Parmelee didn't play and Valencia came up with yet another clutch hit late in a ball game. I was really impressed with the entire team tonight to be honest. The pitching was good, the hitting was good, the fielding was good, and even the base running was good (nice slide by Doumit at home plate). The only thing I really didn't care for was the call for Carroll to steal 2nd base in the first inning when you have Mauer and Willingham ready to make the Yankee's pay. It could have easily been an 8-3 game. Either way, great team victory!

Sirseef - Thank you!

One game and your an expert.

Maybe Morneau playing at 1B made the difference in his play...some players can't DH.

I still stand by what I posted.

First, if they take the bat out of Willingham's hands they won't win more if the rest of the team continues it's struggles. It just happen today that Mauer who has great numbers against Garcia had great numbers again tonight. Morneau as I mentioned above may feel more comfortable playing in the field instead of DHing. So before you declare yourself an expert I would wait a week or two and see when Morneau shifts from 1B to DH and how Willingham get's treated by the pitchers to see if this will work.

"Before tonight's game I felt that Willingham earned that spot (batting 4th)."

Maybe, but the main reason Gardenhire moved Morneau down was to get the lefty righty lefty lineup to cause havoc to the other team's bullpen.

Whether you see the point or not others have.

hahaha.

Nah, seems he finally saw the light is all :-) Putting him in the 4 spot out of ST was a no-brainer...don't know why it took Gardy so long to figure it out, but here's to hoping it works well for the offense.

Of course, it's just one day and it was the 9th different lineup in 10 games, so who knows what happens next.

I agree that Willingham may have earned the clean up spot...but that move may or may not have resulted in last night's win.

As I mentioned: Willingham may not be better off in the four spot for the reasons I mentioned.

Also, Mauer hits Garcia very well and that was maybe one reason he had a good game last night.

Lastly, Morneau has a history with numbers lower across the board when he DHs. So DH may not be for him.

So, on that note it doesn't help to move people around in the lineup but the move may not be the reason the won last night.

BTW You are the one that came off snidely...at least that's how it came across to me. I don't troll, I make worth while comments whether you appreciate them or not.

Okay, I am sorry if I came off that way. I try to keep things simple and too the point on here.

I don't claim to be an expert on anything in life and I don't claim that switching Morneau and Willingham's spots absolutely resulted in that win last night, but at the same time I don't believe it hurt their chances either. It was a complete team effort. As a fan, I was sincerely satisfied with that victory. The team was really good in every aspect of the game. But I do admit I was happy with the line up change as I like to see people get the spots they earn. If Morneau earns his spot back, I'm all for giving it to him.

I'm also in favor of Willingham batting 4th, for the reason of a L/R/L hitting order. Unfortunately it put a stop to Willingham's hitting streak.

Speaking of 'hitting' and 'batting', do you think Mr Bremer understands the difference? Of course it's just semantics...but when a player steps into the batters box, he becomes a batter! Time will tell if he's a 'hitter'...but according to Bremer the player is a 'hitter', or "will hit next" etc. This is not wishful thinking on his part, it's purely his incorrect usage of terminology. Even Halsey Hall new the difference.

Willingham had a hit in the first inning last night. His hitting streak is still very much intact