I have no argument at all with Gardy when he says that Joe Mauer “needs a break like every other catcher,” especially with the uncertainty that the manager must feel (even in these hyperflush times for Mauer) after spring training and April. But I have to think there’s some self-kicking going on about his choice to keep him out of the lineup in Monday’s loss until the ninth inning, when Mauer took Papelbon over the wall to bring the Twins within the one run they lost by.

The question is when to rest him. On a day when the batting order was already without Span and Crede, and Boston was starting its most hittable right-hander (BradTim Penny) while you’re starting the struggling Francisco Liriano, we can make a pretty good argument for getting Mauer to the plate four or five times. That’s the Joe Mauer with the 1.444 OPSBP, by the way. (Oops, even Mauer can’t do that.)

I hate making hindsight arguments, but taking a third key hitter out of the lineup was a recipe for falling short. If the rest of the lineup is at full strength, I could make a better case for sitting him out against a good lefty (Jon Lester, tonight’s Boston starter, for example) — although others would argue that you need to send your best in those situations.

Using the sample size of Thursday through Sunday, the Twins lineup clearly looks  best when they don’t try to “create” a No. 2 hitter. (Flash back quickly to Jason Tyner batting leadoff and then move on.) My guess is that Harris and Tolbert are going to hit better toward the bottom of the order instead of putting one of them in the No. 2 spot where demands are greater. The same should go for Casilla when he returns.

***

Does anyone want to write a short essay about the demands of the No. 9 slot, whose current resident has followed up his 2 for 24 slump from earlier this season with his current 3 for 34? It’s at the sorry point (.181 average/.198 on-base/.290 slugging) where the Twins need to think of Nick Punto as their designated shortstop for Nick Blackburn — the only starter much more likely to get more ground outs that fly outs — and a late-inning defensive sub. It would be akin to the handful of pitchers who have their own “designated catchers.” On a daily basis, there’s not enough defense to make up for that little offense.

***

There was a situation on one of our other blogs over the weekend that called for deleting numerous comments directed toward another commenter. A very small number of people have been posting more comments on that sort lately. (There was a time when I could go weeks without being asked to delete a comment.)

As a result we’ve had to adjust the software and that, unfortunately, will send a few more comments to moderation for a period of time. (A small number compared to the total number of comments.) Those comments will be checked and placed on the blogs as appropriate. It may take a few hours. Sending the same comment several times won’t help. A few comments that should be posted may get deleted by mistake. If you have questions or thoughts on this, you can email me here.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 at 9:22 am and is filed under Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.