While you weren't noticing, the best catcher in baseball came off the DL and began playing like the best catcher in history. In his first 100 at bats, Joe Mauer has been Johnny Bench's daddy.
Mauer has missed half of the season so far, yet ranks 10th in the AL in home runs with 12. In 102 at bats. His BarryBondsian .431/.516/.873 is certainly unsustainable, but if it foreshadows improvement beyond his already notable career splits of .323/.405/.477, he'll win the MVP -- or at least deserve it. You already could have made a case for him in '05 and '08.
Mauer may just be on a tear, but if his 12 dingers mean anything, he's certainly going to slug at a much higher rate than ever before in his career. His season high for home runs prior to '09 is 13 -- in 521 at bats. If there's any wrap against Mauer, it's his lack of power. (Hey, I'm a poet and I had no prior knoweledge of the matter.) But he's unwrapping that criticism so far in '09. On top of that, Mauer's athleticism makes him a first-rate defensive backstop
Actually, there's another knock on Mauer: his health. He's missed more than 200 games since '04, and at 6'5" 215, there's probably just too much lower limb to be squatting for 1,000+ innings a season. It's too bad, because were he able to compile a dozen seasons in that vein, he'd be a lock for bronzing near Otsego Lake. The bar is higher at third base, where he'd probably end up, than at catcher, but if this year's surge is a foreshadowing, that won't be a problem.
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