Some things are so right, so true, so meant to be, that there is no conceivable way they can play out other than expected.
Warm chocolate chip cookies go with milk.
Sunflower seeds cater to the word "spit."
City-defining athletes should remain home.
For our purposes here, that last one is the most important. Without living in Minneapolis or having any connection to the Minnesota Twins or their fans, I'm going to say that Joe Mauer should retire as a Twin. He is Mr. Minnesota. If there's a superstar that shouldn't be gobbled up by the powers in the East, it's Mauer.
With one year remaining on Mauer's current contract, the catcher has set a spring training deadline to discuss an extension with the Twins, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports. As soon as Opening Day 2010 strikes, Mauer will either be a Twin for the coming years, or he will be the tastiest name to hit the free-agent market next winter.
Good for Mauer to set this deadline. It is in the best interest of Mauer and the Twins to get a deal done as soon as possible, and I'm all for keeping contract negotiations relegated to the months from November through March. Once the games begin, it's time to prepare and it's time to win. It ain't time for business.
I suppose there is nothing easy about locking up one of the five best players in the sport to a long-term deal when he sits in line to cash in on some ungodly figure that only Alex Rodriguez can fathom, but this should be one of the easier negotiations.
If you're Minnesota, there is no reason to wait. Give me one good reason why these talks should even last until Christmas. You can't.
Mauer is the best catcher in all of baseball and has defined the Twins organization in the 21st century. The fact that he is a hometown boy, represents the city with class, keeps his private life out of the news, and so on, is all peaches and cream. The bare bottom of the issue is that Mauer is one hell of a player, a guy that is irreplaceable in Minneapolis.
I could reel off a bunch of statistics to prove to you how good Mauer is, but the fact remains that Mauer is so good, such a thing would almost be insulting. You watch the games. Mauer is 26-years-old, has won consecutive Gold Gloves, owns three batting titles since 2006 (at a position that is traditionally allergic to such offensive prowess), and is the type of hitter that should age well.
Twins GM Bill Smith knows what kind of gold he has on his hands. We all do. He would be a fool to let that slip away.
Would the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Angels, et al, be waiting to pounce on Mauer next winter? You bet, but it shouldn't get there. Mauer is going to make huge money—after all, he deserves a fair market price—but he doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who will chase every last dollar. And the fact that Mauer is represented by Ron Shapiro (or anyone other than Scott Boras) is promising for a club like the Twins that can't afford to rumble with the rich.
But, in order to avoid that nightmare, the Twins must act now. This is their opportunity to make their guy feel wanted and comfortable. If they let this go to next winter, the odds of the Twins resigning Mauer are cut in half, at least. Not that their pitch would change. It's just that $190 M Yankee dollars and life atop Manhattan will seriously tempt any man, regardless of how much love he has for his childhood playground.
Realistically, it wouldn't be out of line if Mauer commanded a six-year, $150 M deal. Can Minnesota fork over $25 M a year to one player? I doubt it. But they are going to have to swallow hard and allocate a large portion of their payroll to this one guy. I think $20 M per year would get it done with Mauer because I think he truly wants to remain a Twin for the rest of his career. Minnesota is all he has ever known, why would he want to leave?
The Twins have to be more creative than the giants that annually record the highest payrolls—you know who you are—but with manager Ron Gardenhire in place, the Twins will always be competitive.
Rebuilding through the draft is imperative for them, but Minnesota is a club that always seems to get the most out of their young pitching, and they play a relentless style of ball that keeps them clawing until the final day of September.
Forget for a moment about the heartache that would be caused throughout greater Minneapolis if Mauer were to jet for one of the coasts next winter, and all the Twins were left with are a couple of draft picks.
Smith understands that Mauer is not only an imperative part of the future success on the field, but he is also an imperative part of the future success at the turnstiles.
The Twins have that nice new jewel named Target Field ready to open next spring, and it is already going to be hard enough to get enough fans donning blankets and sipping coffees to fill the seats in the blustery Aprils to come.
If Mr. Twin himself isn't part of the future plan, Smith may as well crawl up in the baggie in the Metrodome and stay there. The welcoming won't be so pretty when the snow melts next spring and the Twins set out on another quest to capture the American League Central.
You can reach Teddy Mitrosilis at tm4000@yahoo.com.
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