2012 MLB Regular Season Running Thread

He isn't a 3/4 time catcher, at least not now. Whether he gets back to that in the future will alter the argument.

In the broad sense, a guy with those numbers and not much pop isn't going to need to be paid near what Miguel Cabrera makes, regardless of position.

 

I disagree with the last point. At shortstop or full-time catcher, it would make sense, assuming consistent production and quality defense. But Mauer's started 79 games this season, 40 at catcher.

 

My larger point is, it's silly to take potshots at FanGraphs, here.

There are few, if any comparisons. He's a unique talent.

For those so quick to say he's not worth $23 million, I can only say the Yankees or Red Sox would have paid more, and likely thought him worth it.

 

He'd have more value if the Twins let him lead off. He's such a natural fit atop the order.

 

And the Red Sox and Yankees would have been wrong, as they often are when they spend money because they can.

 

Many a blogger agrees with you. I think Gardy's too old school to ever try it. Best hitter hits third. Just how he does it.

Hilariously, one year when Mauer was struggling with injuries, Gardy would hit Drew Butera third on days when Mauer got the day off, which became more frequent.

His argument was that he didn't want to move the rest of the guys around. I love the guy, but there's no arguing with him.

 

His place in the order is irrelevant. That is at least partially a function of the Twins sucking.

To follow up on your comparison to Gwynn, Mauer's batting average may be lower for this year and for his career, but for his career he has a higher on-base percentage and slugging percentage than Gwynn.

 

Not a fair comparison at all. Ruiz has never come close to what he is doing this season. I'm guessing it is as much of an anomaly as Mauer's power surge in 2009. He has had over 400 at-bats in a season only once and he is 33 years old, much older than Mauer was when he signed that contract.

 

Personally, I think he's worth every penny he's making and likely more -- but his contract wasn't my original point.

I just wanted to point out that the people who thought he wasn't going to go down as a great player -- and a HOFer -- were nuts, by any measure, and I'll stand by that.

I hereby officially return you to your not-Nats subject matter.

 

It's still $5M opposite $26M. That makes up for whatever discrepancy you see.

 

Never said he was worth $26 million, though I will say that some of y'all are relying heavily on hindsight here.

I am saying that there is no comparison of Ruiz's value now to what Mauer's was when the Twins gave him that deal. His value going into this season was far below what Mauer's was at that time.

 

I argued for years that Chipper Jones should have been hitting leadoff for the Braves — at least until they got Michael Bourn.