As the foremost Twins dude on the Internets I defer to Aaron’s take on the Mauer deal. But others have weighed in too. Let’s take a look-see:
- Rob Neyer (on Twitter): “I say there’s at
least a 50/50 chance that Twins are regretting the Mauer contract by
2016.” [Rob’s longer take is here]
- J.C. Bradbury: “I worry that the Twins may have stretched a bit here with this long-term
commitment . . . But the Twins are one of the best-managed organizations in baseball, so I
think they deserve the benefit of the doubt.”
- Matthew Carruth, FanGraphs: “In the short term, this deal is fair to both sides. Where it might get
dicey is down the line when Mauer reaches his mid-30s. I don’t think him
staying at catcher is needed for this to work out though. Mauer’s bat
is good enough to stand a move to first base and he would benefit from a
likely increase in playing time. My concern is simply that for being on
the hook for eight years and giving him a full no trade clause, I feel
the Twins should have gotten a bit more of a discount.”
- SethSpeaks: “Yes, this deal
is more than just about baseball, but from a purely baseball aspect,
it isn’t
a great deal.”
- Twinkie Town: “I can’t tell you how ecstatic I am about this. Right now, this looks
like a fantastic deal for both sides. It’s a very fair deal,
particularly when you expect baseball’s financial market to rebound in
coming seasons. As long as Joe stays healthy, that is.”
- Only Baseball Matters: “That’s how you handle a once-in-a-generation talent. Teams that are
run by real general managers, and owned by real men who know what the
hell they are doing, understand this.”
- TYU: “Yankee fans who were planning on acquiring him to replace Jorge Posada
will have to look elsewhere.”
- Mark Steyn: “more bureaucracy, massive IRS expansion, explosive debt, the end of the
Pax Americana, and global Armageddon.”
That last one was about health care reform, not Mauer specifically. I include it, though, because what with the global Armageddon and all, it’s not like the Twins will really have to worry about the back end of the Mauer contract. Total win-win for Minnesota, really.
