Joe Mauer is overrated and way overpaid

This is my first blog post, I love the twins and love reading blogs about them.  I had to create a blog because I feel the need to vent.  Please let your comments rip, lets go!

The Twins have done nothing to improve this off season, we traded away one of the best shortstops in  game for a couple of prospects, we have lost a couple of relievers who have been vital cogs in one of the best bullpens in the majors for the last few years.  And the Twins front office is trying to sell us on a middle infield of Alexi Casilla and Nisho, whatever his full name is, to improve team speed.  I hope I am wrong on Nisho and Casilla but I believe that it is a matter of when not if they fail in 2011.  Casilla is just not a capable everyday major league player any way you cut it, he is a poor defensive player at second and short, he is  equally inept at the plate, and worst of all he is a terrible situational hitter.  Nisho on the other hand is coming from a league that has talent equivalent to double a baseball and we expect him to make the jump to the major leagues playing one of the most demanding positions in baseball, speaking little or no English on top of all this.  Forgive me if I have no confidence in our new middle infield tandem.

  So why are we in this situation, why have we lost Crain and Guerrier, why did we have to trade Hardy away for nearly nothing in return? 

Joe Mauer, Joe Mauer's contract is going to cripple the Twins for the next 8 years. We paid Joe Mauer to be an elite game changing Major leaguer, which he is not.  Mauer is a very one dimensional baseball player, he does one thing really well and that is hit for a high average, he does not hit for power, he has never drove in 100 runs, he should be our #2 hitter in the batting order.  Everybody thinks he is an elite defensive catcher, having a great arm does not make someone a great defensive catcher, I do not think he is particularly good at calling a ballgame.  Don't try to tell me he is great defensively because he wins gold gloves, Jeter wins gold gloves every year as well.  Mauer is a very nice player, he is not a game changing elite talent who gets a 8 year 182 million dollar contract.  How much better would this team look if we paid Mauer 12 million a year, what he is worth, and had an extra 10 million a year to spend on our roster?