This is a real blow job article. Money shot:

He's a winning player, but more important, he's a winning person. He's the kind of guy you'd like to see daughter walk through door with and say, 'Dad, this is who I'm marrying.'

Joe Mauer and Buster Posey also belong in the conversation

What a strange thing to write. Mauer was the best catcher of the aughts and is clearly the guy that Weiters has to unseat if he wants the title of best catcher in baseball. If 2011 was more than just a down year for Mauer, and if 2012 is any indication of Weiter's true ability, then he will probably succeed in doing so. But acting as though Mauer is just another guy "in the conversation" makes no sense.

The Mauer contract is looking predictably horrible. His hitting has dropped off, and he's not even really much of a full-time catcher anymore. The defenders of his contract promised a ridiculous move to 3B, or at least to corner OF, if he couldn't handle the load of catcher. Instead, he's been moved to DH/1B.

Six more years of this nonsense, at $23 million per. Egak.

What a strange thing to write. Mauer was the best catcher of the aughts

If by "aughts" you mean 2000-2009, it's pretty clearly Posada.

Mauer was the best catcher of the aughts and is clearly the guy that Weiters has to unseat

Maeur hasn't been Meaur since Morneua was Mornaeu ...

If by "aughts" you mean 2000-2009, it's pretty clearly Posada.

Agreed. Here's a poll I ran:

All-Decade Team: 2000s – Catchers

Wish the Cubs would have drafted him at #3 instead of Josh Vitters. Cubs probably would have screwed him up some how.

Wish the Cubs would have drafted him at #3 instead of Josh Vitters. Cubs probably would have screwed him up some how.

Wieters turned out just fine in the organization with one of the worst player development records of the last decade plus. I think he would've been ok anywhere.

If you really want to feel the sting then look to the second round in that draft. The Cubs lost their 2nd round pick to the Nationals because they signed Alfonso Soriano to his mega-contract. The Nationals draft Jordan Zimmerman with the pick. The Cubs could have had Wieters or Heyward in the first and Zimmerman or Stanton in the second. Instead the Cubs biggest contributor from the 2007 draft is Darwin Barney. Which is a name that just sounds like a fail, doesn't it? From 2004 to 2007 the two best Cub draftees were Sam Fuld (Fuld only gave the Cubs .1 WAR and the Cubs loved him so much they drafted him twice)and Darwin Barney. Total WAR received from all draftees from the years 2005 to 2006? 1 WAR.

Or how about the famous 2002 draft? The Cubs had 6 picks in the first two rounds. Do you know how many of them ever even got to the majors? Exactly none. They could have drafted Joey Votto, Jon Lester, Brian McCann, and Curtis Granderson. Instead they draft Bobby Brownlie who even before he was drafted was projected no better than a reliever in the major leagues.

If by "aughts" you mean 2000-2009, it's pretty clearly Posada.

Yeah, I worded that poorly. I was looking at 2001-2010, and Mauer beat Jorge on WAR over that time period in 3 fewer seasons.

Either way, Mauer was clearly the guy to beat from 2005-2010.

Catchers with most WAR 2003-12


Catchers with most WAR 2008-12

It took the last guy only 40 days and 40 nights ... but at least Wieters isn't waiting until his age 33 season to hit his peak.

Morneau is the comeback story of the year so far. I never thought he'd see a 113 OPS+ again and certainly didn't expect an ISO>200 in the seriousball era.

I know Mauer is a "catcher" but his still having nearly 1/4th of his career games while he is still a productive player, being at DH, really sours me on him. I think Mauer is the best catcher in baseball from 2007-2010. If I extend it out 2007-2012 then it has to be McCann.

I predict that in the fall we'll be complaining about Wieters being robbed of the MVP.

I predict that in the fall we'll be complaining about Wieters being robbed of the MVP.

I think he very well may be in contention for the MVP, but right now it's Hamilton's award to lose. And in my opinion, there is no one close to him (ditto for Kemp in the NL).

Hamilton? Pujols has done much more to assure the Rangers win the division than Hamilton.

I know Mauer is a "catcher" but his still having nearly 1/4th of his career games while he is still a productive player, being at DH, really sours me on him.

When he hasn't been hurt, Mauer has caught as many games as anybody. The problem isn't that he doesn't catch as much as Molina or McCann, it's that he hasn't been as healthy as Molina or McCann. The fact that he's been a good enough hitter to DH on his "off" days shouldn't sour you on him. It's also not his fault if the manager decided that the best way to deal with Morneau's injuries has been to use Mauer at 1B sometimes (although that's been a whopping 25 games).

If you really want to feel the sting then look to the second round in that draft. The Cubs lost their 2nd round pick to the Nationals because they signed Alfonso Soriano to his mega-contract. The Nationals draft Jordan Zimmerman with the pick. The Cubs could have had Wieters or Heyward in the first and Zimmerman or Stanton in the second. Instead the Cubs biggest contributor from the 2007 draft is Darwin Barney. Which is a name that just sounds like a fail, doesn't it? From 2004 to 2007 the two best Cub draftees were Sam Fuld (Fuld only gave the Cubs .1 WAR and the Cubs loved him so much they drafted him twice)and Darwin Barney. Total WAR received from all draftees from the years 2005 to 2006? 1 WAR.

Or how about the famous 2002 draft? The Cubs had 6 picks in the first two rounds. Do you know how many of them ever even got to the majors? Exactly none. They could have drafted Joey Votto, Jon Lester, Brian McCann, and Curtis Granderson. Instead they draft Bobby Brownlie who even before he was drafted was projected no better than a reliever in the major leagues.

Jeez, thanks. I got to the point where I expected to hear that Jim Hendry ###### my sister, too.

Which is a name that just sounds like a fail, doesn't it?

I don't understand this sentence. Darwin Barney is a great baseball name.

Darwin Barney is a great name, but not for a fast little infielder. He needs to be a sourpuss old catcher, played by William Demarest in the movie.