Obviously during the course of a baseball season, you have to try new things. It's even more important to change things up when your original plan isn't working. As a result you end up with some wild and crazy ideas, like the one the St. Cloud Times columnist Mick Hatten has for Ron Gardenhire.Why not bat Joe Mauer at the top of the order?
This next move is going to sound radical: Have Joe Mauer lead off.
Why? Perhaps all these sabermaticians are warping my mind, but why not have the guy with the best on-base percentage on the team bat lead off?
On the Twins roster, Mauer's .396 on-base percentage is the best on the team - by 40 points.
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If Mauer is regressing into a nonpower hitter, this team needs a lead-off hitter. Remember Hall of Famer Wade Boggs? For those of you not old enough to remember him, Boggs was a slow-footed third baseman and contact hitter extraordinaire.
Boggs had one season in which he had a slugging percentage of better than .490 (.443 for his career). But Boggs' career on-base percentage was .415. Like Mauer, he took a LOT of pitches. If Mauer wants to watch strike one and strike two go right down the middle of the plate, it's a lot easier to take if he's leading off.
If Mauer (.463 career slugging percentage) is turning into the next Boggs, he should lead off like Boggs did for the majority of his career.
Yes, and while were at it, let's move Michael Cuddyer into the starting rotation. He's got a cannon!
While Hatten's idea probably couldn't hurt to try, I'm not sure it's the best solution for the long run of Mauer's career. His drop in power production could be attributed to the injuries he's suffered this season. Also, Mauer's lack of home run prowess never seems to be a big deal when Justin Morneau is hitting.
There's also the fact that Gardenhire likes to run, and I'm not sure he'd be able to with Mauer at the top of the order. Joe's already had leg problems in his career, and forcing him to squat behind the plate for three hours and then have him run wild on the basepaths would be unfair to him.
Sure, Alexi Casilla hasn't been tearing it up at the top of the order so far, but he just got there. A couple of weeks is not enough to judge a baseball player at any position. When you look at Casilla he reminds you a lot of the guy he's replaced, Luis Castillo. There's no reason to believe Casilla won't become the same kind of slap hitter and base stealing threat that Castillo used to be.
So leave Joey Sideburns where he belongs, batting third.
(Hat tip to BBTF)
