While chasing down a Mauer rumor last week that wasn't true, I had heard that the sides weren't that close to a deal. But indications are that Mauer and Shapiro got together over the last couple of days and realized that the Twins weren't going to improve on their offer and took it.

Indications are that Mauer was looking for something in $25 million range, perhaps higher.

That's a lot of dough. $23M is lot for for the Twins. Say their payroll is around $100M next season. That's $77 million for the rest of the roster - with Justin Morneau ($14M) and Joe Nathan ($11.25M) getting a third of that. Keep that in mind.

While the Twins have insurance on Nathan's contract this year. I have heard that they DO NOT have insurance on his 2011 salary. I don't have all the details, but I vaguely remember something about teams usually purchase insurance by the year or 2-3 year increments.

Mauer's contract is insured - although we're not sure if all eight years are.

Twins fans should cringe at that final number, but also rejoice. Yes, the Twins have a new stadium opening and revenue streams to pay such a salary. But they also have been competitive over the last several seasons to keep the fan base coming to games and buying Twins gear. If 'Pittsburgh and San Diego - two places with modern ballparks - had Mauer there's no way they would be able to keep him. The Pods are experiencing that now with Adrian Gonzalez.

If you read between the lines of Jim Souhan's column last week on the negotiations, the Twins were NOT afraid to trade Mauer if he had continued to reject their offers. I'm curious to know at what point would Mauer had become the villian in all of this? Would it had been the Twins' fault if $24-25 million wouldn't have been enough?

That's all I got. I got here on Feb. 16. Today was my first day off since then. I left the team in Joe C"s hands, and look what happens....What a beat....