Joe Mauer

He is Mr. Minnesota.

The $184 Million Dollar Man. 

More importantly, Joe Mauer is the reigning AL MVP coming off one of the best statistical seasons baseball has ever seen.

Yet this season he has been just an average Joe (no pun intended). 

It isn't the lack of Mauer Power this season or pedestrian .297 batting average that should worry Minnesota fans, but instead it should be his comments after Tuesday's loss to the Cleveland Indians.

What do Craig Biggio, Pablo Sandoval, and Neil Walker have in common? All three saw a significant amount of time behind the plate in the minors but found new positions in the big leagues.

The trend of moving young catchers to other positions because of their defensive deficiencies behind the plate or to increase longevity has left fantasy owners with a diluted pool of catchers from which to choose. 

After starting the season with most everything clicking, the Minnesota Twins have experienced a rough couple of months. Injuries, rotten luck, and even simple incompetence has contributed to the Twins' drop to third in the AL Central, and the future doesn't look any better.

Of course, as does every blogger, I know exactly how to fix the team. Here are three steps Minnesota needs to take in order to have a successful second half of the season.

Let's face it: The AL Central is the Minnesota Twins' division to lose, and they did just about everything they could to lose it in the last month or so before the All-Star break. The starting pitching was atrocious and the offense faltered. 

So what should the Twins do? With Mauer and every starting pitcher besides Pavano underperforming, it's looking pretty rough. I've got a few ideas to entertain:

Trade for Dan Haren or Ted Lilly

As we approach the All-Star break, the Minnesota Twins are sitting in third place after a 6-5 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night.

The Twins are only a game and a half out of first.

This doesn't sound bad, but expectations are high and anything besides a deep playoff run would be a disappointment.  

The problem is that this was supposed to be the year the Twins put everything together.

Another series of rumors took the Internet by storm last night. According to a Detroit radio station's Twitter account, the Twins and Mariners agreed to a deal that would send Cliff Lee to the Minnesota in exchange for Wilson Ramos and Aaron Hicks.

Eventually, various beat writers and reporters shot down the rumors but did confirm that the two teams were in serious discussions. At this point, I think it's time we draw some conclusions, in order of confidence:

1. The Twins are interested in trading for Lee.

When a town's citizen receives the call to the Bigs, his hometown usually goes crazy.

He gets a parade, streets are named after him, the whole deal.

But what happens when the local neighborhood kid is playing for the local favorite team? Everyone goes crazy.

The standard for a hometown hero was set long ago, when Lou Gehrig, a young man from the Yorkville neighborhood of New York City, began his career with the New York Yankees.

For the 2010 season the Minnesota Twins spent big money.

Their payroll, usually closer to the bottom of the league than to the top, is now the eleventh highest in Major League Baseball at $97.6 million.

They signed Joe Mauer to an eight year $184 million contract extension that will land him among the top five paid players in Major League Baseball in 2011.

All this and a new ball park has the expectations higher than ever for this perennial AL Central contender.

Yet, there is a hint of concern in the air of Twins fans.

For as long as I can remember, the Twins have been a small market team. Rare were blockbuster trades or multi-year signings for the Minnesota teams of the past few decades.

All of that changed this season. With a new stadium expected to bring a revenue increase, and an owner who isn't afraid to spend some cash, the Twins had one of their most expensive offseasons in franchise history. By bringing in JJ Hardy, Orlando Hudson, and Clay Condrey, as well as extending Carl Pavano and Joe Mauer, the Twins gave a clear message to their fans: We're no longer a small market.

With the draft on the horizon it is the perfect time to take a look back at some of baseball's all time best #1 picks. Just because someone is drafted #1 overall doesn't mean they are going to be the next best thing just look at Brien Taylor. Sometimes, however, teams who did their scouting wind up with future hall of famers.

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