Tie game in the 8th vs the Red Sox. None out. Carroll on third and has some speed. Why not have Mauer bunt the winning run in? We've left way too many guys on base this year. We'd be in extra innings right now instead of on here arguing about the game lol.

$23million/year Mauer better be able to lay a sacrifice bunt down, right?

Why not take an out for the game winning run?

You still have Willingham, Morneau, and Doumit up next with 1 out to try and get insurance runs.

Joe has hit 17 ground ball outs to the left side of the infield and not a single fly out to right field. He's either flown out to LF or popped to 3rd 10 times. If this isn't a trend then I don't know what is.

yeah, I am serious...the question should be, looking at the numbers I just posted, when are people gonna get off his nuts and understand no one comes through all the time. The ridiculous thing is, is that based on his performance this year, he needs defending at all.

anyway, have a nice night. Go Twins!

hahaha...YOU (and a few others) need to get off HIS nuts!! My God, I have never seen an athlete so staunchly defended.

23 mill for guy that will hit less than 10 HRs and 90 RBIs as a 3 hitter. I dont care if he hits .350, its not worth the discussion.

You have watched all his at bats. Then that means you know he has grounded out to the right side 17 times and has yet to so much as lift a fly ball to outfield depth in right field--aside from his HR.

His inability to turn on a baseball is alarming.

Good GOD. He makes it sound as though we are oppressors. LOL

Just telling it like it is. We all watch his at bats. Either he's hitting flares to LF or he's grounding out to 2nd or 1st. AGAIN. Not one fly out to right yet this year. Just a couple of non ground ball hits to right. Does this not register with Puck??

you have a nice night as well.

23 mill for guy that will hit less than 10 HRs and 90 RBIs as a 3 hitter. I dont care if he hits .350
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EXACTLY. His job isn't to put up some flashy numbers. It's to lead the team. He is not even remotely close to that aim.

"You're right..I'm sorry "

I don't know if you are being sarcastic or being real, but I'm sorry for getting all defensive...thing is, I was excited about that contract because I felt like the Twins were finally making the big money decision they had been afraid to for so long...I felt like that the winning ways would continue for years to come...I'm disappointed in Mauer, but not as much as I am in the Twins. It seemed liked once they signed Mauer they just stopped being aggresive again, and made poor decisions. I thought Mauer's contract was the beginning of a bigger spending era for the Twins.
I still stand by quote that I made last year saying that Mauer's 2009 season will end up being the most profitable year a professional athlete will ever have. Because if there is one thing the Mauer critics and lovers will agree on is this...his ceiling will be around 10-15 homers a year...and NO WAY does a team pay 23 million a year to a catcher that only hits that many homeruns a year...15-18 million maybe, but not 23 millions...so if Mauer averages .320 and 10homers the next 6 years, I will say that his 2009 season netted him at least about 50 million bucks.

Look man defend all you want with those numbers. A number three guy should be doing a lot more and especially when we paying him an immense salary. We have built the franchise around him. He is getting very good protection with Josh and Justin. A lazy fly to the RF could have scored a run. He is worthless what we paid for and batting 3rd and have crippled up the team with many years to come.

I hope he accepts a trade or restructure his contract. It is what it is. If you can't see it then its your loss.

Wow, I think this loss has shortened my lifespan. When I left the gym Carroll had just landed on third with no outs and I saw our 3,4,5 was coming up. When I got home we were down 6-5 and Plouffe had ALMOST hit a walk off. Then I saw Cody's homerun replay and felt ill as I saw it actually hit the corner of the right field facade and bounce over....Why must the baseball gods tease then torture us....we needed this one badly. Puke.

Weather or not he lives up to the contract, the idea that his contract will "cripple" this team for years is, in my opinion, flat out false. Honestly, do you think they would have spent that money otherwise? He11 no!...The payroll would probably be about $20 million less than it is now. In fact probably a lot less, the fan base would have been so angry with the Pohlads that, despite the new stadium, attendence and interest in the team would have tanked, causing the payroll to drop significantly.

We are now in rebuilding mode. If we draft well and develop players well, we can be competitive in a few years agian. The money Mauer is making will have no effect on this.

HUH ?

""The payroll would probably be about $20 million less than it is now. ""

You know that twenty million dollars could have landed top free agents and may be an ACE ?

""If we draft well and develop players well, we can be competitive in a few years agian. The money Mauer is making will have no effect on this.""

You don't see the effect ? we would be competitive in few years ?

Don't freaking throw this garbage at me. Go sleep wearing your home boy's jersey. Shut the he// up.

You got problems man. I don't like the way Mauer is playing either I just think you're full of it.

You think the Twins would've use that money to get an ace you are smoking something. Josh Willingham is the biggest free agent we have EVER signed. What makes you think we would've signed an ace for anywhere near $20 million.

Again, if Mauer walked, the fanbase would've been in uproar, the payrolll would've plummeted as a result of poor attendence and interest in the team. Not only would we not get an ace, we still wouldn't have signed Cuddy or Kubel this off season. Much less a big name free agent or an ace.

"Don't freaking throw this garbage at me. Go sleep wearing your home boy's jersey. Shut the he// up."

<I can't believe what an asshole you become sometimes over simple disagreements.

No offense here, but to say Mauer's contract will have "no effect on this team" is off the charts silly. Come on, man....... That's 1/5 of the team's payroll eaten up right there. If he plays like a dog then it's gonna hurt.

One of the biggest differences about the 2011/12 Twins from the division championships years is our bullpen. We have given away an absurd number of games late in ballgames that simply did not used to happen. We have a decent offense (not perfect, by any means, but very serviceable) and a passable rotation, for the most part. We need to spend on a couple of shutdown bullpen arms.

Jack -
one of the foul balls that Dustin Pedroia hit in his final at bat flew over my head so that was pretty exciting!
I'm back again Wed night and I hope for a win!

I'm just so mad we couldn't get Jamey in from third and why is Joe hitting everything to the opposite field?!?

have a good one!

IMO, our rotation is nowhere near passable...not even close. Worst rotation ERA in baseball: 6.46. Next lowest is 5.81. And we don't have the kind of pitchers that are gonna bounce back too much from that.

Yes, Liriano skews the numbers a bit, but of the 6 guys who have started for us, only 1 has an ERA under 4.70