February 16 2011 Last updated at 07:40 PM ET
NEW YORK -- If there's one player who knows exactly what Albert Pujols is going through, as his self-imposed contract negotiation deadline with the Cardinals has come and gone, it's the Minnesota Twins' Joe Mauer.Last March, Mauer, the former AL MVP, and the Twins agreed on an eight-year, $184 million contract extension. Mauer's goal was to get the deal done before the start of the 2010 season.
"I can see why (Albert) did it this way," Mauer told FanHouse, "because he didn't want it to be a distraction to the team. That was my biggest thing. I didn't want it to be a distraction to the team."
With the deadline having come and gone, Mauer believes that in the end things will work out for both Pujols and his teammates.
"Obviously there are a lot of things he can't control, but I think he's trying to help his teammates and help the situation by saying 'I don't want to talk about it,' " Mauer said. "I hope it works out for the best for him."
"Obviously there are a lot of things he can't control, but I think he's trying to help his teammates and help the situation by saying 'I don't want to talk about it.'"
-- Joe Mauer With an eight-year contract extension inked, the questions came up as to whether or not Mauer could find himself crouched behind the plate when his contract expires in 2018. As far as Mauer is concerned, he wants to be behind the plate as long as physically possible. With a $23 million annual salary, his health is the most important factor in the positional equation -- a concern which came to light this past December.
Mauer, who is coming off minor knee surgery in the offseason, claims to have his health in order and is looking forward to getting back on the field this week, when pitchers and catchers report.
Before he took off for Fort Meyers, Fla., on Wednesday, Mauer took some time to meet with the media and play a little home run derby in 3D. He's the cover model for "MLB 11: The Show."
Mauer admits that while growing up he was a Tecmo Bowl and Baseball Stars fan, and now it's a little wild to see himself in 3D, let alone on the cover of the video game. He also makes the case, if you will, for using the game not only to pass the time but also as a "learning tool."
"One of our starting pitchers likes to use it to see what lineup he's going to face," Mauer admitted. "Like, if we go to Detroit he'll play against Detroit's lineup. It's so realistic you can see how a guy stands at the plate or his movements. Guys use it that way, which is pretty cool."
Mauer, however, prefers the old guard, using hard work and natural ability to improve his game. When asked about his steep decrease in power this past season, going from 28 home runs in 2009 to nine total home runs in 2010, Mauer claimed that he has no intention of tweaking his approach in order to rediscover his power stroke.
"I always tell everybody, we won a lot of home games last year. We had the best record at home in the American League," he noted. "I think I hit one home run at home last year. If we keep winning ballgames and I only hit one home run I'm fine with that."
Twins fans will tell you that as long as he remains healthy and the Twins keep winning, the home run totals won't matter much. Fantasy baseball owners, on the other hand, might disagree.
"You get a guy come up to you and say, 'Joe you're on my fantasy team! I hope you guys lose, but you gotta get two hits!' It's kind of funny that way," Mauer laughed.
No comments:
Post a Comment