Mauer, Morneau, (Pierzynski, Johan) and a bunch of Twins thoughts

The thing about a bad baseball team is that you take a week away this time of year and don't miss much. I watched the Twins stumble through their half-speed loss to the Mets last week and then pretty much took a vacation break.

Kyle Gibson 1.0 ended, Joe Mauer got concussed by a foul tip from Ron Davis' kid and the team somehow won two out of three from Detroit. Let's assume the latter was a result of Detroit's disinterest, Justin Verlander's struggles and the good fortune to miss Max Scherzer. The Twins reverted to all that ails them over the weekend in Cleveland.

This feels like a good time to offer thoughts on an assortment of topics. So here goes with 10 of 'em:

The Mauer concussion and position discussion. The "how much should he catch debate" has restarted with vigor. To me, it's simple. If catching 100 games per season is going to hamper Mauer more and more as his career continues, then it's time to turn him into a 6-foot-5 first baseman who does some catching on the side and is one of the best (count of fingers of one hand) hitters in the game. There's an opposing opinion saying Mauer wouldn't provide the same value at first base as he does catching. I say he's already provided a ton-and-a-half of value behind the plate. Plus, value to whom? Are you more concerned that the owners get some kind of perceived "value" or that a healthy Mauer is in better position to be an offensive force, maybe for another decade, while evolving into a solid first baseman? I'll take the assumption of added offense and better health, which should mean a better chance to win.

Morneau's future. Speaking of first base, the chatter about Justin Morneau's future continues. Bless Morneau for all he contributed during a prime that is now three seasons past. Now? Let's never have anyone else wear No. 33 for the Twins and wish him luck on his future endeavors, especially when there's a logical heir to the first-base job. Money spent to keep him with the Twins is better spent elsewhere. If he goes somewhere else and does well, toques off to him.

Josh Willingham. There's a touch of revisionist history at work about how the Twins should have traded him after the best season of his career – and a two-year run in which he had 64 home runs and an .851 OPS. As the Twins plot 2014, it makes sense to turn Willingham into a full-time DH who can play the outfield only if needed – and rarely. Let's a presumed outfield of Oswaldo Arcia, Aaron Hicks and someone else play the field. Willingham has never had two subpar seasons in a row, but if 2014 feels like the start of a permanent decline, the Twins can part ways with him.

Starting pitching. In the post-Johan Santana era, the Twins went to the postseason twice (and Game 163 another year) with a rotation of No. 2 and 3 starters. Since then, Twins starters have been a collection of fours, fives and guys who shouldn't be in the majors. One of Terry Ryan's challenges is to sift through this year's group of free agents, see who may be available in trade and simply do better than the Twins have been doing these last few years. Prevailing wisdom is that teams need to overpay for starting pitching, but (again) that's not an issue for a fan to worry about. (Even less so when Jim Pohlad told Phil Mackey on Saturday in an ESPN 1500 interview that Ryan can increase the payroll significantly.) Find an ace, find a couple of starters more solid than Mike Pelfrey and Kevin Correia and let the others battle for the back end of the rotation.

Adding the "right" veterans. When the Twins tried to explain their 2011 flop as a "perfect storm" of problems instead of recognizing the cliff jump that had taken place, the Twins brought in Willingham, Ryan Doumit and Jamey Carroll. All were useful; none, however, came from winning-team backgrounds. I made that point back then, contrasting them to the worst-to-first additions the Twins made between 1990 and '91 (Jack Morris, Chili Davis, Mike Pagliarulo). In 2014, if Morneau doesn't return, the core of Twins with winning backgrounds will be Mauer and … uh… pretty much nobody. I like numbers as much as most of you, but team building is a multidimensional task. Veteran players with skills – in the clubhouse and on the field – need to be part of the build.

Bring back A.J. Pierzynski? Let him catch 100-110 games and help whip the pitching staff into shape. It's called "adding the 'right' veterans."

The middle infield. If you'd asked me in April if I thought a middle infield of Brian Dozier at second base and Pedro Florimon at shortstop was a major league combination, I would have dismissed the query as rhetorical. Now, I'm pretty much sold. Ever since pulling his average above .200 at the end of May, Dozier has been a .265/.343/.488 offensive performer and a fine defensive second baseman. (Morneau's numbers in that time are .241/.309/.439, by the way.) Florimon does what shortstops should do – field. Using Ultimate Zone Rating to judge, Florimon is second among American League shortstops. He makes plays that other shortstops don't. His presence also allows the Twins not to worry as much about defense at third base, which could be an issue when Miguel Sano is ready for promotion. (Trevor Plouffe is second from the bottom is UZR among AL third basemen, ahead only of Miguel Cabrera, who brings a different set of superhuman skills to the ballpark.)

Gardy's future. In Los Angeles, apparently there will be an off-season showdown in which only the general manager or manager Mike Scioscia will be survive. Here, ownership is committed to Ryan as GM. But even if Ryan truly leads the discussion about Gardy's future, it's naïve to think there won't be input from the Pohlads. I'm not getting heavily invested in this discussion because it runs a distant third to acquiring better major league talent and continuing to develop the top players in the minors. For me, it's a "whatever" debate. If that disappoints the Gardy-bashers, so be it.

Sano's future, Hicks' future and the future of the future. I still need to be convinced that anyone in the minor-league system will be ready to make an impact on the Twins in 2014. Miguel Sano, perhaps. But selling Sano without paying attention the organization's other issues is a bit like having a really hot car – and leaving it outside during the Minnesota winter because you don't have a garage. Aaron Hicks should get another shot at owning center field next year, but am I the only one who looks back on the young Torii Hunter's struggles and wonders if it will take beyond 2014 for him to contribute at the level we're expecting? I'm looking forward to the time when the minor-league system starts producing more than end-of-bench talents, but I'm not seeing that being the case in any kind of quantity until 2015.