(Section 220 reader John Morrison lives closer to Fenway Park than most of us — about 25 miles west — and decided to has looked at Joe Mauer’s amazing start, with an eye toward what it would take for him to bat .400. That hasn’t happened since Ted Williams of the Red Sox did it in 1941. It’s way too early to get too caught up in the idea, but watching Mauer so far this season, a person can’t help but wonder what it’ll be like if he’s teasing .400 in a couple of months. Here are Mr. Morrison’s thoughts on the subject:)

Since Teddy Ballgame’s historic .406 season in 1941, 25 players have taken a .400 average past May while qualifying for a batting title.  Among those 25, only two had an average as high as Big Joe’s current .436 after May — Stan Musial in 1958 and Rod Carew in 1983; both peaked at .437 before falling off to .337 and .339.

Joe Mauer is certainly putting himself in rarified air, Ted Williams post-May high water mark was .431 on June 7, 1941.

So can he do it?  To qualify for the batting title, Joe needs 502 plate appearances.  Based on his rate of 15% fewer at-bats than plate appearances, Joe could qualify at 430 ABs on the season — and would need to hit .388 over the next 320 ABs to be at .400.

Despite the grind of catching, I believe he can!  Heck, Joe can “cool off” by 4.8 hits per 100 ABs the rest of the way and still be the first hitter since Williams to qualify for the batting title with a .400 average.  (The closest was George Brett in 1980, who took a .400 average into the Royals 150th game, 27 PAs short of the 502 PAs needed to qualify.)

While it would be an unbelievable feat,  the media crush alone could take a toll.   Still, we just may find Joe chasing hitting’s holy grail during the season’s final weeks.  Wouldn’t that be an unbelievable way to close out the Metrodome?

I can hear the packed houses now. Are there records for curtain calls??

(Just heard Bill Smith being interviewed on XM-Sirius and he said that he sees the Mauer contract situation being more like that of Justin Morneau and Joe Nathan than a certain left-hander who now wears No. 57 for the Mets. Smith said: “I think Joe Mauer wants to stay here — and if he wants to stay here, there’s going to be plenty of opportunity to get a deal done.” I hope he’s right.)

(After the interview, XM-Sirius host Seth Everett said that by asking Smith about signing Mauer, “I hope we were doing not only a service to Twins fans, but to the fans who think [their teams] have a shot at him.” I hope he’s right too.)

Enjoy the weekend.

(Note from Howard: Longtime friend of Section 220 — and longer-time friend — Gregg Anderson  took in Saturday’s Twins-Yankees game from the cheap seats at New Yankee Stadium and offered up these observations. Gregg, who grew up in St. Paul is a teacher at Tantasqua Regional H.S. in Fiskdale, Mass.)

I took in all the chatter last week about whether the new Yankee Stadium would dispel the curse that seems to be affecting out beloved Twinks in NY-I guess (as of Sunday PM) we have an answer to THAT! I’ve seen the Twins in NY a lot over the last 20 years- I can’t remember the last time I saw them win there! Anyway, Saturday being a rare no-lacrosse day in the ganderson household (well, # 3 son did have a game but I was being a bad dad) I thought I’d take # 2 son down to NYC for the Twins-Yankees tilt on Saturday. We hopped in the car and headed down the Merritt Turnpike to the city that never sleeps to get our first look at the NEW IMPROVED Yankee stadium.

First the game- a good game, (that @*&^%$$ A-Rod) but I must ask- wouldn’t it have been prudent to have Gomez and Span out there for D in the late innings? I love the Koobs, but… and perhaps some of you had a better view but I thought that that Matsui’s double might have been caught- just asking because I couldn’t really tell from the bleachers where we were.And I thought, even though NY scored the tying run, I hated the decision to bunt Matsui over to third- it just seems you don’t gain much- and you’re taking the bat out of Derek Jeter’s hand- if it’s Punto, bunt away, but Jeter?

As for the stadium, well, it was kinda odd. First of all I was in the bleachers, where I don’t often sit- not so much because I’m snotty about it (although I am) but because I got free seats from my wife’s work colleague (Thanks, Jacquelyn). My glasses, as the great Hugh Laurie once put it-are “thick as a whale omelet”, so I often have trouble following the ball from out there, especially during day games. I’m told Morneau’s HR was massive- didn’t see it though. I did know A-Rod’s was out without having to see it CRACK!!)

For all the hype about how expensive the tix are in Yankee Stadium, these were $12- not bad. My advice though is to eat a hearty meal before entering he park- I had a bag of peanuts and a Diet Pepsi- $10. I know one shouldn’t go to the ballgame looking for food bargains, but sheesh…I didn’t have the courage to see how much the beer was. (And I might add- economists looking for evidence of a recession would not have found much at the corner of 161st and River Av in the Bronx.)

I have to say though the new park is weird- it looks a LOT like the old one- spiffed up to be sure, but the general configuration’s about the same, the facings on the upper deck are about the same (and the Yankees beat the Twins, just like in the old park.) I almost felt as if I was caught in an episode of Sliders and was in an alternative universe Yankee Stadium. ( I think I caught a glimpse of the evil Mr. Spock…) A couple things I noticed that the Twins may wish to consider- the ushers and the cops actually keep order- tell people to stop swearing and to sit down- although they apparently didn’t notice the guys standing in front of me much of the afternoon. ( on a somewhat tangential note- why does everyone in the world seem to have a camera that they bring everywhere- does everything need to be recorded for posterity?) The bad thing is that it’s hard, at least from the bleachers, to get much info about the game. I had to turn around to see the scoreboard, and there wa no info posted about the DP on which Morneau scored- and since there’re ads between innings you get no info then either. Irritating.

Next, and I must preface this by saying, without trying to provoke a political argument here on Howard’s blog, that I believe in commerce- I like it- I think human beings are at their best when selling and buying, and making things, etc. That said, however- do we need to, as paying customers (not me obviously, but you get the idea) be bombarded by advertising at every single second of downtime? I may be fighting a long lost battle here, but I’d like to be able to have a conversation during the game, and it’s not easy at the new Yankee Stadium. It’s not at US Cellular Field levels (thanks, Jerry Reinsdorf, for bringing non stop ear piercing noise to the modern arena) but it’s annoying enough. Perhaps the Twins will consider a “kinder, gentler” approach next year.

Anyway though, it was a nice afternoon at the park, some good “dad ‘n’ lad time, topped off with a delicious Mexican dinner at Paladar in the East Village- Highly recommended.Thank goodness for XM radio- I could listen to the Tigers-A’s game from Detroit- where #1 son was in attendance.

(Note: Section 220 commenter JimCrikket has been filing reports all week on his spring training trip. This is his final installment, which was much appreciated and more interesting that most anything I could have done to keep you entertained this week. — Howard)

By the time anyone reads this, I’ll likely be in the air heading back to beautiful Cedar Rapids, Iowa. That’s OK. To be honest, a week of this 85 degree weather and nonstop baseball is enough for me. That said, I had a great final day at Spring Training!

I checked out of the hotel and headed for the Twins complex about 9:00 and once there, made my normal round of checking the major league batting cages and then on over to the minor league fields. Once more, Tony Oliva was working with a hitter (could have been Brendan Harris, but I wouldn’t swear by it) and Carlos Gomez was getting some hitting work in (he’s been down there every morning that I’ve checked in this week).

Things got more interesting over on the minor league side of the complex. As I had on Tuesday, I watched various pitchers’ workouts as well as infield drills of the players at various levels. I was watching a bit of AAA practice when I struck up a conversation with someone I overheard tell another fan that he was from Iowa. I mentioned I was from Cedar Rapids and he said he was from Manchester. Turns out we’re both booked on the same flight back to Cedar Rapids Friday morning. It also turns out it was Twins’ pitching prospect B.J. Hermsen’s father.

B.J. was drafted by the Twins out of his Iowa high school last year, but was generally expected to go to Oregon State where he had accepted a scholarship. He ended up signing with the Twins late in the season so this is his first Spring Training. According to his dad, he has yet to give up an earned run. Not too shabby! His dad left to drive across town to find the Red Sox’ minor league complex where B.J. was scheduled to pitch that afternoon, while I continued to watch he and his team mates go through a number of drills involving covering bunts and covering first base on balls to the first base side of the infield.

All in all, I’ve decided that next time I’m going to spend more time on the minor league side. Guess I’m just a bit of a geek that way.

It wasn’t until I got in to the stadium that I found out about Scott Baker going on the Disabled List. That’s got to be disappointing. When Franicisco Liriano was pulled after just three innings, it was a pretty good signal that he was going to be moved up in the rotation to open the season against Seattle. Franchise vs. King Felix should be a worthwhile opening night match up!

My seat today was about 10 rows up, directly behind home plate, so I can’t complain about that. I confess that I only watched about four innings, though. It was enough to see Liriano look relatively sharp and see Michael Cuddyer rip a triple and a double. I’m really not sure why he gets ripped on so much by the blogging community, but if he can be productive, it should really help out the offense.

Now… I noticed there were a few comments in one of the blogs about Nick Punto’s injury-induced miss of a pop fly to shallow LF, so I’m going to set the record straight. I don’t like all the Punto bashing that goes on. I don’t feel he deserves it. Most of it is just mean-spirited and since he gets so much criticism, I tend to avoid piling on. But that play today was just butt-ugly. It wasn’t just that he missed a fly ball he should have had (he did and he should have had it), but it was the way he played the pop up that I couldn’t believe. He never turned to run out for the ball, he backpedaled the whole way, right up until it fell just behind him and he toppled over backwards and (so I’ve since read) landed on the ball. That is simply no way for a major league shortstop to play a pop-up.

I did stick around long enough to see Jason Bay take Brian Duesing yard. That’s the second Bay HR I witnessed down here. I suggest we walk the guy during the season if he ever comes up in a situation where he could hurt us.

I also stuck around long enough to see Kubel, Cuddyer and Crede go single-double-single to tie the game at three runs apiece… just before Carlos Gomez grounded in to a rally killing 5-4-3 double play. That was enough for my Spring Training adventure and I took off for the exit.

On a lark, I stopped by the RedSox minor league complex on my way out of Ft. Myers to watch the last few innings of the three minor league games going on there. It also gave me a chance to visit a little more with Mr. Hermsen, although B.J. had completed his two innings on the mound before I got there.

As the games wrapped up, I dug out a pen and the foul ball I’d managed to capture during minor league batting practice a couple of days earlier and picked up autographs from Ben Revere, Steve Singleton, Chris Cates, Joe Benson and, of course, my Iowa homeboy, B.J, before they trekked to their buses. I’m really not a big autograph collector, but I had enjoyed watching these guys during their morning workouts and I’ll always have this little reminder of the trip.

So that’s it, folks. My thanks to Howard for loaning me Section 220 this week and thanks to all of you who’ve taken the time to read and maybe even leave a comment. There’s no way you enjoyed this week as much as I did, but I hope you’ve found some measure of entertainment from my daily musings. If you ever get a chance to make the trip to Ft. Myers for Spring Training, I obviously highly recommend it.

Now it’s time to get serious about the game… and time for me to start getting jealous of all of you in the Twin Cities area who get to watch the games regularly when they count.

(The JimCrikket spring training tour is filled with interesting discoveries from the ballpark and along the highways of Fort Myers, which don’t go where you want them. Kudos to our guest blogger for his week of insights.)

Let’s face it. The Wednesday game between the Rays and Twins was a bit of a yawner, at least as much of a yawner as a 2-1 game can be. Don’t get me wrong, I like good pitchers’ duels. But those are usually duels between two aces who go 8-9 innings each. I vaguely remember a 1-0 Twins loss I went to as a kid where Sam McDowell out-pitched Jim Perry. I think Perry may have even given up that one run in the first inning. Now that’s a pitchers’ duel.

A 2-1 spring training game needs something a bit more interesting to focus on. Fortunately, there are a couple of subplots going on with the Twins that made even this 2-1 loss something interesting to watch.

See, in case you haven’t heard, there are a couple of positions on the Twins roster that are yet unsettled. If my reading of the situation is accurate (hey… it could happen!), the final bench spot is down to Matt Tolbert vs. Brendan Harris and the final bullpen spot is down to Phil Humber vs. R.A. Dickey. (Yes, I’m awarding a spot to Brian Duensing. But Brian, if you’re reading this, I wouldn’t relax yet, just based on my instincts. I’ve been wrong once… maybe twice… before.)

So with a snoozer of a game laid out before me at the Rays’ new Port Charlotte ballpark (yes, I know it’s not “new” because the Rangers used to play there… but it’s new to the Rays!), I started paying close attention (or as close as I can pay on a hot afternoon with a beer or three under my belt by game time) to these subplots.

First up, R.A. Dickey. I found a table on the Boardwalk in centerfield near the tiki bar (with all the money they spent on remodeling this stadium, you would think they could afford a real roof on the bar, rather than all that thatch, wouldn’t you?) that looked straight down over the Twins bullpen. From there, behind the catcher, I could watch Dickey (what do you think he goes by… R? RA?) warm up before the game. Now I threw knuckleballs back in my pitching days so I know what they do. But mine didn’t do anything close to what Dickey’s did. I’m glad I don’t have to try to hit that thing. Apparently the Rays didn’t feel much more comfortable trying to hit him either. Four shutout innings and three strikeouts later, he called it a day and waited for Phil Humber to try to match his effort.

Humber got off to a rocky start and managed to cough up the one-run lead the Twins had staked Dickey to practically by the time R.A. had a chance to towel off and get a glass of Gatorade. Dave Gross’ two-run HR in Humber’s first inning had me thinking he was going to make Gardy’s (or Bill Smith’s… whoever is really in charge of these decisions) choice an easy one. But to his credit, Humber recovered and not only got out of the 4th inning without giving up any more runs, he also rather easily skated through two more innings.

By the way, now is a good time to mention Anthony Slama. In the box score, you’ll notice the young Twins prospect pitched the final (8th) inning without a run, hit, walk or strikeout. But here’s what you won’t see in the box score. Slama was up in the bullpen warming up at least four times during Humber’s three innings. So, as if the prospect of facing the defending AL champions in front of your organization’s major league manager in a one-run game isn’t enough for a young guy, he’s had to think about it non-stop for about 45 minutes. I certainly wouldn’t have blamed him at all if he had left his best pitches in the bullpen and gotten a bit roughed up by the Rays (including legit major leaguers Pat Burrell and Willie Aybar) once he entered the game. But he didn’t. He went in and sat the Rays down promptly. Kudos Mr. Slama. I have no idea if you made any impressions with Gardy or Andy, but you did with me.

But back to our subplots. So, in my layperson’s judgment, the Dickey-Humber battle was a draw. Dickey was very good and showed he could not only serve relief duty but even a spot start would be doable. But Humber showed he could do exactly what his anticipated long-relief role would require… throw three innings and keep his team in the game, even if it means having to battle back from a tough start out of the gate.

Now, turning to Tolbert vs. Harris. I have to ask… are we absolutely sure these two guys aren’t actually just the same person? In the second inning, Harris starts things out with a base hit. A Gomez base hit later, we’re looking at Tolbert at the plate. So is he going to let Harris impress while he fails? Heck no. His base hit matches Harris’ and actually drives Harris in for what would be the Twins’ only run of the game. “Yes,” you say, “but Harris played 1B today, demonstrating his versatility!” That’s nice and all but Tolbert played 3B, LF and SS… all in the same game. How much more versatile do you want?

All I can say is I’m glad I’m not the guy having to choose between these guys and I’m also pretty excited by the fact that the team has this kind of depth this season. This has not always been the case in Twins Territory.

Enough about the baseball, though. I have a bone to pick with some comments “Jason” made in response to a prior report. He chastised me for going to the dogtrack/poker room when I could play poker back home where it’s been snowing. He suggested I try Sanibel Island instead.

First, let me say, I was mildly irritated initially (very, very mildly). After all, it’s my vacation, right, and that sounds an awful lot like something one’s significant other might say, doesn’t it? And I’m pretty certain my wife’s name (even her internet name) isn’t “Jason”. On the other hand, much like those irritating things your significant other says to you on vacation, I had to admit Jason had a point. (I’ll let Jason decide if he should feel good about being right, even though doing so made him come across rather spouse-like.)

In any event, after I made my way back to Ft. Myers from Port Charlotte (and just let me say, those two cities may be “close” to one another… but there is NO quick/easy way to get from one to the other), I pointed my rented Malibu in the direction of the beaches, intent on having a margarita or two at an outdoor bar as I watched the sun set. I’ve done this many times in the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area where the road runs right along the Gulf and you can stop literally anywhere and walk out along the beach. The people in Ft. Myers, however, have apparently decided that the Gulf shores are reserved for private homes, condos, yacht clubs and country clubs, because I found almost no place that I could even see the coast from the road. (This is also what I remember of Sanibel Island, so I didn’t even bother going out there to try again.)

I did finally find a friendly place to have a beverage before heading back closer to my hotel. On the way, I decided I should find out if Shoeless Joe’s wings were as good as their pizza (they are).

Now I can feel like I didn’t totally waste my evenings here in Ft. Myers. Not only did I make a tidy profit at the poker table (and managed not to lose it betting on dogs running in circles), but I also went out exploring greater Ft. Myers. This allowed me to spend my final night in Ft. Myers with a sense of accomplishment.

Thursday, I’ll check out of my room and head for the minor league complex in the morning. I’ve got a ticket for the Red Sox/Twins game in the afternoon and then will be making the two-hour drive up the coast to St. Petersburg. I’ll have one final night there before my flight back home Friday morning. Assuming I have wifi at the airport hotel, I’ll try to send one final report from St. Petersburg.

Oh… one more thing I have to get off my chest tonight. Florida drivers are flat out terrible! You know how the rest of the country seems to finally have the hang of the whole “stay in the right lane of the interstate highway unless you’re passing” thing? Not here. Here, the mentality seems to be, “I have just as much right to be in the left lane as you do and if I coincidentally want to drive exactly the same speed as the driver next to me in the right lane, that’s just what I’ll do.”

There. I feel better. Thanks for letting me vent.

(Note: The JimCrikket tour continues with a visit to the minor league fields, a long Jason Kubel home run and praise for Nick Blackburn.)

I’ve turned the corner on my week at Spring Training, with just three days/games left before heading home Friday morning. I have to admit, I’m gaining greater appreciation for the media types like LEN and Joe who have to work down here every day. Sure, I know it SOUNDS good to have to get up by 8:00 or so in the morning (in order to get some of the free breakfast at your hotel before it closes at 9:00), get to the ballpark by 9:00 or so, wander the fields watching players running, throwing, and hitting, and then watch a full nine-inning ballgame. Of course, then they also have to write about it and try to track down players and others for information to feed the beast (That’s us, folks, the ever-hungry hoard of fans that demand new information on the Twins every hour or two).

I really enjoyed spending time in the minor league complex this morning. I spent most of my time there watching the AA guys go through infield, outfield and batting practice. During BP, Tom Kelly and Paul Molitor were on either side of the batting cage hitting ground balls to the first and second basemen (Kelly) and the shortstops and third basemen (Molitor). Now, I ask you… if you’re a 24 year old prospect and those guys are hitting you ground balls, wouldn’t that make you focus awfully hard on doing things right? I know it would have that effect on me. It’s great that the Twins have so many guys with so much knowledge working with their kids in March every year.

Speaking of guys with knowledge working with kids, I also watched Tony Oliva in the batting cages working with a couple of hitters. For this child of the sixties, standing there six feet away from Tony-O and watching him work is still a thrill.

As a former light-hitting Pitcher/Infielder, myself, I admit I’m easily impressed with guys who demonstrate they can hit the ball a long ways. So I enjoyed watching Mark Dolenc take batting practice this morning. He’s a big (6-3, 218#) former Eagan HS/Minnesota State-Mankato product with great skills. How do I know this? My trusty Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook tells me so, that’s how! All I would know otherwise is that the guy can hit a baseball a long ways. Yes, I know I look like a geek sitting there in the bleachers at the minor league complex with my laptop open, but since that’s where I have Seth Stohs’ terrific book, that’s what I took to the ballpark. Next year, I get the old fashioned (and much lighter weight) version before coming to Spring Training. Live and learn.

As for the game, I have a confession to make. I didn’t stay for the whole thing. Normally, I’m one of those “stay until the last out” kinda guys. But these ARE exhibition games, after all, and while I enjoy watching some of the prospects get their shot at impressing the major league staff, a little of that goes a long way. And when the New Britain Rockcats essentially destroyed the Pirates closer, Matt Capps, in the 7th inning, I figured I had seen enough. Besides… it really was hot! (all together now… “awwwwwwww”)

Nick Blackburn looks ready to roll, gang. Yeah he struggled a little in the third inning and gave up a dinger to Jack Wilson, but other than that inning, he seemed to be putting the ball right where Redmond wanted it and the Pirates sure didn’t hurt him. Ayala and Nathan had back-to-back shutout innings, as well, and something tells me that’s not the last time we’ll see that this season.

I see that the Pirates put up six runs in the last two innings of the game, after I was long gone. It’s not often that I feel relieved that I left a game early to do a load of laundry at my hotel, but that’s exactly how I feel tonight.

From a hitting standpoint, there were two highlights for me Tuesday. Of course, Kubel’s monster shot beyond the right field wall was one of them. This guy is looking locked in to me right now. I don’t know whether he can carry that through 162 games but if he can, this could be a fun season. The other highlight came from Brock Peterson. In the box score, it was just a routine sac fly to left field that netted him an RBI. That’s nice. But that sac fly came with the bases loaded and he backed the Pirate leftfielder all the way to the wall. It sounded and smelled like a grand slam HR when he hit it. I just wish he would have gotten five more feet out of it.

Today’s game is up at Port Charlotte, the new Rays’ facility. I keep hearing how great it is, so I’m anxious to see for myself. Not much point in going up there early, though, so maybe I can sleep in a little bit (a guy should do that at least one day of his vacation, right?).

For now, the laundry is finished and I have clean clothes for the rest of the trip and there’s a poker tournament down at the dog track at 7:00 if I get ambitious. I know… ambition isn’t exactly my strong point, but those people were so nice to me last night that the really deserve an opportunity to give me more of their money tonight!