ShareThisThere are legions of baseball fans in Minnesota that suffer when Twins catcher Joe Mauer's production lags, and there is also a crew of baseball observers in Minnesota that seem to enjoy it when the hometown hero is in the midst of a snag.
That word -- "snag" -- is used advisedly, for that was Gene Mauch's description when his star, Rod Carew, was not getting hits in clusters. As Twins manager, Mauch refused to use the word "slump" in connection with a hitter such as Sir Rodney.
Mauer went 2-for-4 on Wednesday night and is batting .316 with two home runs and 25 RBI. He has gone 24 games without a home run. And he ended an eight-game streak without an RBI by ripping a third-inning double in the 6-2 victory over Kansas City.
The absence of home runs isn't unusual when you take a look at Mauer's career. Those 28 that he hit in 2009 included only two after Aug. 31. It's a swing grooved for the left-center gap, which is not conducive to home runs -- and particularly not so in Target Field.
As for the RBI dearth, it included a seven-game road trip when the gents batting 1-2 in front of Mauer went 4-for-58.
On Tuesday, the Twins returned home and Mauer singled in the first and wound up scoring his 31st run. On Wednesday, he doubled home Denard Span in the third inning.
Mauer now has 54 runs produced in 51 games played, a pace that's slightly below his 162 runs produced in 138 games played as the American League's MVP in 2009.
The large amount of angst (as well as small degree of glee) over Mauer's lukewarm numbers was mentioned to Ron Gardenhire before Wednesday's game.
"All I can say is, 'Don't people watch the game?' " the manager said. "He hasn't been getting the usual results lately -- we haven't had our lineup -- but Joe's hitting the ball on the screws almost every time he takes a swing.
"I can guarantee you that as the manager, the least of my worries is Joe Mauer. What's going on with Joe as a hitter, and a catcher, is not something I think about. I just look at having him as a luxury."
That's exactly what it is to have a catcher with a career average of .326 and on-base percentage of .407. Gardenhire is the only American League manager who can write in his catcher as the No. 3 hitter and leave him there.
There's one other excellent hitting catcher in the league, Boston's Victor Martinez. He has more power and drives in runs at a higher rate than Mauer. Trouble is, Victor's best role would be as designated hitter, and second-best would be first base.
Next to Mauer, the AL's best all-around catcher is Oakland's Kurt Suzuki. He's improved as a hitter, he's OK defensively and he's tireless. He's also currently hitting fourth for the A's, which is more a tribute to a depleted lineup than a natural spot for Suzuki.
On Wednesday, veteran Jason Kendall was in a valuable spot as Kansas City's No. 2 hitter. Kendall, 36 later this month, has made a long career as a durable, competent receiver and a hitter with a right-field swing.
The next exceptional AL catcher should be Matt Wieters, the switch hitter in Baltimore. He's solid as a receiver and trying to get it together as a hitter.
Mike Napoli has been a capable catcher for the Angels, although not to the point manager Mike Scioscia was locked into him. Napoli has been playing a lot of first base since the injury to Kendry Morales, with Bobby Wilson serving as a weak hitting, bottom-of-the-lineup catcher.
Elsewhere in the AL, the wear and tear has gotten to A.J. Pierzynski in Chicago, John Buck is hitting a few home runs in Toronto but he's still John Buck, and Francisco Cervelli has been a competent fill-in for the Yankees.
A newcomer named John Jaso is getting the duty in Tampa Bay and so far he's hitting. And in Detroit, Cleveland, Seattle and Texas, the catchers are dueling with the .200 mark and serving as rally anchors.
There are two spectacular reasons for Gardenhire to consider it a luxury to write Mauer on his lineup card: One, the hometown hero's immense ability; and two, the talent associated with catchers in other locales.
(Contact Patrick Reusse at preusse(at)startribune.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
columnMust credit Minneapolis Star Tribune
