Maybe my perception of Mauer is way off base, but I’ve always kind of envisioned him as someone who’d be pretty comfortable in a “25 players, 25 cabs” environment. Just do his job and go home afterward. I do totally agree that the media scrutiny would intensify, but as far as fan support is concerned, it seems like he’s getting quite a backlash the last couple of years in Minnesota anyway.

And you’re absolutely right, we’re all just having some fun with the discussion. I appreciate your comment, as well as everyone else’s. Hopefully, Terry Ryan will get his butt in gear and give us all something “real” to sink our teeth in to very soon!

“Far fetched” is probably an understatement, in terms of the probability of a Mauer trade, but then examining any specific trade possibility at this point is probably just as far fetched. Eric’s link to Cafardo’s column last weekend got me thinking about the subject and, for some of the reasons I wrote about, I concluded that it wasn’t necessarily impossible. I do believe that, in the highly unlikely event that the Sox and Twins came to an agreement on a deal, Mauer would quite possibly waive his no-trade clause (though his agent would no-doubt insist on him being compensated in some manner for doing so).

Bogaerts got my attention because he’s currently a SS. Would he stick there? I dunno, but it sounds like he’s as likely to stick there as Sano is at 3B. Would we really want an infield at some point of Rosario, Bogaerts and Sano? Yikes. Then again, as Detroit has proven, 9-8 wins count just as much as 3-2 wins. Honestly, I like Cecchini as a 3B better than Sano. I suspect Miguel will eventually be playing 1B for the Twins (though I’m completely on board with keeping him at 3B as he progresses through the minors).

Questioning the Twins history of drafting pitchers in the past 5-6 years is preaching to the choir on this end. I think a lot of us would like an answer to how things got this bad. But it has and it needs to be fixed. One way (perhaps the only way) to fix those past mistakes is to trade for other teams’ young pitching.

The Gibson-Strasberg comparison is indeed worth discussing. In fact, I’m already starting to research an article on that topic. I doubt I’ll be the only writer tackling the subject, but I don’t think we can intelligently have that discussion until we have a better picture of the roster Terry Ryan constructs for 2013.

I guess the main thing I take from all this is, why does Boston have 3 players in their minor league system that would immediately become one of our top pitching prospects when we have been picking ahead of them in the draft for the past how many years?!?! This is where my anger comes into play. I love Terry Ryan and he’s made some shrude moves…. But how many players have we drafted in the past 15 years have actually “truly” panned out at the big league level. You can pin this on Bill Smith or anyone for that matter. I just think it’s pretty sad Tampa Bay is starting 7th rounders and our top picks are working in the real estate market or in some other non baseball career…. I also get steamed when I hear the Twins should/will drop their payroll.. “the A’s did it on a low salary, why can’t we…” The Twins need to make a Greinke type splash or this thing is going to continue to go south.

On a side note, I enjoy the Gibson to Strausburg comparisons and how the Twins should start him slow so they can maximize his use in the fall… If they don’t improve the pitching around him, it’s not going to matter much if Gibson can pitch in the fall when we’re 14 games under .500. If the Twins sign Grienke and trade for Shields… Then I see a legitimate reason to start Gibson late. Outside of that, just let the kid pitch. But I digress.

I’m just not so sure Mauer would never consent to a trade. At some point, don’t you think he will want a ring and will start looking at whether it might be easier someplace other than in Minnesota? Wouldn’t you? I know I would.

I agree, Joe Mauer is never going anywhere, a full no-trade clause pretty much ensures that. It would take a perfect storm of some great magnitude to get him out of MN, at least thats where I stand on the issue. If Joe Mauer ever does leave I plan to blame Eric for that too, which is pretty much my plan for all major disasters I encounter in my life. I was actually slated to be the first child out of the womb, but he put me in a headlock and rushed out while I was trying to catch my breath. Ever since I’ve been blaming world events on him to get even. Remember the earthquake in Haiti? Just one of many disasters he’s personally responsible for.

But then Terry Ryan would have to concede that his club isn’t likely to be good again while Mauer is still capable of playing at an All-Star level, and that he wouldn’t mind taking the heat from fans who never want to see the hometown boy wear another uniform (much less a Red Sox uniform). I don’t expect to see that. It also wouldn’t be like him to trade a player whom he, or Gardy, believes still adds value to the Twins roster and doesn’t have a clear in-house replacement.