No catcher has won a batting title since the Boston Braves’ Ernie Lombardi in 1942, but the Twins’ Joe Mauer might be a good enough hitter to do it. Through Saturday he was hitting .357, .006 behind Toronto’s Alex Rios for the American League lead.
Torii Hunter, while not exactly an objective voice on the subject, says Mauer has surpassed Ichiro Suzuki to become the best pure hitter in the AL.
“Ain’t nothing sweeter than Mauer’s swing right now,” Hunter said. “He’s taking dirty pitches right now–dirty, nasty pitches–and they’re being called balls. That’s like having Barry Bonds’ eye, and he’s only 23. I feel for pitchers when he’s 30. He’s going to be very impressive and he’s already the franchise. I love the guy.”
Mauer’s health is no longer a question, but the Twins are reluctant to use him as a designated hitter on days he doesn’t catch. There was thought they were going to add third catcher Shawn Wooten to give manager Ron Gardenhire the flexibility to use Mauer as his DH, but instead they promoted infielder Terry Tiffee on Friday. That means Mauer will rest when he’s not catching, at least for the time being.
“He just has a great swing,” Gardenhire said. “People keep saying, is he going to hit for power? Well, who cares? The guy has a chance to win batting titles. That’s how good his swing is. You just let him play.”
Paying attention
Cincinnati’s Kent Mercker said as soon as he woke up Wednesday, he knew the Wrigley Field conditions would suit pitchers. He said all he had to do was look out his hotel window.
“I saw the waves on Lake Michigan were choppy and that brought a smile to my face,” Mercker told the Dayton Daily News.
Why was that?
“Greg Maddux taught me that when we both pitched for the Braves,” Mercker said. “If the waves are choppy that means the wind is blowing in at Wrigley. If the lake is calm and flat, the wind is blowing out. If you can surf on Lake Michigan, you can pitch.”
Confidence man
Barry Bonds was not the voice behind the following quote. Nor was Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz or Albert Pujols.
“You throw me a fastball, I’ll kill it–I don’t care who’s pitching,” the hitter said. “I’ll hit it to left, to right. I respect pitchers but sometimes I don’t know who they are until maybe after the game.”
You could guess all day and not identify the speaker. Those words came from Jose Lopez, a 22-year-old second baseman with Seattle. He entered the weekend hitting .282 with eight homers and 42 RBIs, which put him in the top 10.
Manager Mike Hargrove just moved Lopez into the third spot in the order, bumping Adrian Beltre to No. 2.
Whispers
The most important pitcher in the majors this season has been Boston’s Jonathon Papelbon, who is 20-for-20 since stepping in for Keith Foulke as the Red Sox closer. He has visited eight cities, including this weekend’s trip to Detroit, and allowed hits in only three of them. . . . Barry Bonds reportedly will deny a request from the Babe Ruth Museum in Baltimore for a memento from his pursuit of Ruth’s record. He has said he will honor a request from the Hall of Fame. . . . Kyle Drabek, Doug’s son, should go in the first 10 picks after throwing a 19-strikeout no-hitter last week in the Texas playoffs. . . . Scouts differ on how highly to expect Notre Dame wide receiver/right-hander Jeff Samardzija to go. He might be a first-round talent if he wasn’t committed to playing football in the fall, with an NFL career viewed as his top priority. . . . Joliet Catholic outfielder Joe Benson is considered the top prospect in the Chicago area. He averaged 12.4 yards per carry for the football team but wants to play pro baseball, and could go somewhere in the top five rounds.
Injuries to Ben Sheets and Tomo Ohka started a sudden unraveling for the Milwaukee pitching staff. It had a 6.18 ERA in May after compiling a 4.30 mark in April. . . . Give Pirates first baseman Sean Casey credit for getting back quicker than expected after suffering two fractures in his lower back from a collision with John Mabry. . . . Don’t be surprised to see Joe Borchard play a little first base in Florida. He has been working there before games. . . .
The Yankees reportedly have been scouting the Phillies hard, with an eye on Bobby Abreu and Pat Burrell. It’s hard to imagine how they could have enough to give, unless they were willing to move a top pitching prospect, like Philip Hughes. The Phillies’ search for pitching has had them watching Dontrelle Willis.
The last word
“It was almost like the baseball gods looked down and wagged their fingers at him.”–Tom Stevens, Babe Ruth’s grandson, after it took Bonds 20 games to go from 713 to 715.
———-
progers@tribune.com
