I'm in the Joe Mauer debate by staying out if it

I have pretty much done my best to stay out of the Joe Mauer discussions, which is a polite term for much of what I've heard and read, because so much of it runs counter to what I value as a fan, a media member and a neighbor. A few weeks ago, I had some fun comparing Mauer's production at the time to that of the legend Nick Punto and it set off people in all kinds of ways.

Joe Mauer is having a mediocre year. You know it, he knows it, your co-worker who searches for truth by watching nothing but al-Jazeera and FOX News knows it. Whether it means that he's started a career decline at age 31 or this is a big bump in his career, we'll eventually find out. What do I think? I don't know.

What I do wonder about is how Mauer would be remembered if his career was pretty much done at age 32 in a manner similar to Tony Oliva, who went from one of the game's best outfielders to just-another-starter (at DH, no less) for the final few years of his career because of the knee injuries that wrecked his game. Have Mauer's injuries taken a gradual toll much less dramatic but just as problematic as what happened to Oliva? I don't know.

Or what would happen if Mauer's career disappeared without warning, as it did with Kirby Puckett at age 35 because of glaucoma? Would Puckett's legacy have been changed for some people if he'd been able to return from the fastball-to-the-face that he took in the last plate appearance of his career, but was never again capable of the play that made him a first-ballot Hall of Famer? I don't know.

Was the prevailing wisdom that Justin Morneau was done because his play ranged from mediocre to pretty good in the three years after his concussion? Yes, you and I both know the answer to that one. And as well as Morneau is playing right now, his statistics aren't as good as in any of the seasons from 2006-10, when he was the league's MVP, an All-Star or both.

I don't know what's ahead for Mauer. I do know that trying to find silver linings in this season is as ridiculous as using this season to say that he'll never return to his previous form. I've heard a half-dozen theories of what Mauer should do, ranging from the insightful Dan Gladden to insight-impaired talk show participants who make me hit the radio button that takes me to old-school Hip Hop.

It's like that, and that's the way it is.

All of the Mauer battling takes away from something more interesting, and more in line with enjoying what's happening rather than picking apart players and each other:

For all of their shortcomings, the Twins will be a .500 team more than one-third of the way into the season if they beat Milwaukee again tonight. I was among those who were convinced that 2014 could easily be the worst of the bad seasons, so being this OK is a pretty good diversion. All the more because some pretty rotten things were done with roster management, much of it revolving around outfield depth and players named Jason.

Focusing entirely on that discounts the moves that have so far turned out to be well executed and a season that's been better than expected.