Comments on: One Small Step For Mauer

By: Thursday Links - Puckett's Pond - A Minnesota Twins Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:08:15 +0000

[...] And in a complete turnaround, Joe Mauer took some time out of his busy winter conditioning schedule to sit down with the media, discuss his injury plagued 2011 season and what lies ahead for him in the years ahead. Knuckleballs’ Jim Crikket writes that it is a step in the right direction. [...]

By: PK

PK — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 20:00:37 +0000

Good post. I agree this is an important step for him as a team leader. Maybe Terry Ryan’s continued emphasis on communication has influenced Mauer. I suspect the prospect of not having the “unofficial team spokesman”, Michael Cuddyer, around has also made him realize that he and Morneau are going to have to step up and be more vocal in their leadership and willingness to talk to the media.

By: birdofprey

birdofprey — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 16:55:08 +0000

Good to see some semblance of awareness on General Soreness’s part. He didn’t fail his team and his fans by being injured or sick. He failed them by reacting poorly and by not reacting at all. I’d love to see his body language change when he’s between the lines. The General should show a little frustration when he takes called strike three.

By: AW

AW — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 14:59:06 +0000

Agreed – this was a good step in the right direction.
The best step would be to report to spring training raring to go, play most of the games next April at catcher, to bat over .300, and to help the team at least look somewhat competitive.

By: JB_Iowa

JB_Iowa — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 14:41:53 +0000

JC, I agree that his comments yesterday seem a bit more candid and a bit more mature than his comments earlier this year. Maybe someone in his family whopped him on the head — or maybe the time off just gave him time to reflect a little.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. As I’ve posted before, I was dismayed by his apparent unwillingness to rehab in Rochester. I hope he now realizes that everything his does — and doesn’t — do is part of his leadership (or lack thereof). He may not want to be a leader on the team — and I agree that it doesn’t come naturally to him — but when you command the salary he does, he is going to be perceived as a leader — good or bad — so he needs to embrace it.