ESPN: Knee problem a major concern for Mauer
Knee problem a major concern for Mauer
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=rogers_phil&id=2007927
By Phil Rogers, Special to ESPN.com
Phil Rogers Archive
After Joe Mauer caught three innings in his first game of the spring,
reporters surrounded him. With the attention paid to Mauer, backup catcher
Mike Redmond couldn't resist cracking a joke.
"Joe, how did your hair feel?" Redmond said, reportedly drawing smiles all
around.
Joe Mauer
http://espn.starwave.com/media/mlb/2002/0218/photo/a_mauer_hi.jpg
Joe Mauer played in only 35 games last year due to an injury to his left knee.
But Mauer's health once again isn't a laughing matter for the Minnesota Twins.
He's continuing to experience soreness in the left knee that he injured last
April in the Twins' second game of the season.
Mauer was scratched from a scheduled start Monday and seems likely to miss a
week, maybe more, and will probably find himself back in a tube taking another
MRI. Making the latest setback especially ominous is that Mauer wasn't able to
get comfortable last season after his surgery, which initially was not
considered overly serious. As late as October, Mauer reported hearing some
"clicking" in his knee.
This is not what the Twins were envisioning when they took the all-everything
athlete from Paul Molitor's old high school in St. Paul, Minn., instead of
USC's Mark Prior with the first pick of the 2001 draft.
It is called bad karma, a commodity the Twins have dealt with infrequently in
recent years. They won 92 games a year ago despite having Mauer available for
only 35 games but are counting on him even more heavily this season with Corey
Koskie in Toronto, Cristian Guzman in Washington and Doug Mientkiewicz with
the Mets.
As a gifted defensive catcher who can really hit – he batted .308 with six
homers and 17 RBI in 107 at-bats as a rookie – Mauer is widely considered the
best prospect in the game. Baseball America listed him as its No. 1 prospect
in both 2004 and '05.
But his knee problems make you wonder if he's destined to stay behind the
plate. Perhaps, like a Dale Murphy or a Craig Biggio, Mauer will have to make
a position change early in his career.
He's such a good hitter that the Twins were hoping to use him as their
designated hitter in the American League Championship Series had they upset
the Yankees in the Division Series – a very good possibility had they not
gotten a horrible break in Game 2, when Koskie's opposite-field liner hopped
over the left-field wall in the top of the eighth inning, keeping the go-ahead
run on third base in a contest the Yankees eventually won 7-6.
But Minnesota doesn't appear to need a DH this time around. General manager
Terry Ryan didn't trade Jacque Jones after outfield prospect Jason Kubel tore
up his left knee while playing in the Arizona Fall League in late October.
That means the outfield (including Shannon Stewart in left and Torii Hunter in
center) is intact. And there's no place to play Lew Ford, whose unexpected
contributions (.299-15-72 with 89 runs scored) helped offset Mauer's absence a
year ago.
Limited Success
How Joe Mauer fared in 2004:
G AB H HR RBI AVG.
35 107 33 6 17 .308
Third base might be a long-term option, but it's hard to imagine Mauer
learning an infield position on the fly this season. So Ryan and manager Ron
Gardenhire may have no choice but to hope he's well enough to play behind the
plate.
Their options at catcher are limited. Henry Blanco filled in nicely a year
ago, helping fellow Venezuelan Johan Santana to a Cy Young season. But Blanco
signed a two-year deal with the Cubs in the offseason. Redmond is a career
.284 hitter but has never played more than 89 games. Corky Miller, Matthew
LeCroy and Rob Bowen are other catchers on the Twins' roster but are unlikely
to be regulars.
So Gardenhire is extremely worried about Mauer. "We were told this should not
be a big deal but that doesn't mean a whole lot," Gardenhire told the
Minneapolis Star-Tribune. "That's like spitting in the wind."
Mauer's surgery was performed last April by Dr. Joel Boyd, the team physician
of the NHL's Minnesota Wild. Boyd said he removed a "moderate to large" piece
of Mauer's medial meniscus cartilage in his left knee.
Boyd has told the Twins' doctors that it's inevitable Mauer will have problems
as he adjusts to the constant strain that catching puts on knees. But Mauer
had caught only seven innings this spring – three innings last Friday and
four on Saturday.
After reporting to camp, Mauer said his "legs are as strong as ever." That
sounds like wishful thinking at this point.
Mauer's goal this year is simple.
"He's got the capability of being one of our best players. You can't point a
player to that extreme when they have just 35 games under their belt, but he
has a highceiling."
— Twins GM Terry Ryan on Joe Mauer
"I just want to stay healthy, play a full year and prove to everyone that the
knee is fine," he said at the start of camp. "Hopefully, I won't run into any
problems."
Gardenhire wants to hit Mauer second in the Twins' lineup. The manager
believes Stewart and Mauer could be igniters at the top of the batting order.
"He's got the capability of being one of our best players," Ryan said of
Mauer. "You can't point a player to that extreme when they have just 35 games
under their belt, but he has a high ceiling."
That's why all his aches and pains are felt throughout the Twins'
organization.
Phil Rogers is the national baseball writer for the Chicago Tribune, which has
a Web site at http://www.chicagosports.com.
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