Joe Mauer and the MVP and replacement players

This promises to add nothing to the AL MVP debate, but here goes anyway. Most of us agree that Joe Mauer is the best hitter in the American League, and also plays the most demanding defensive position on the field, and also does it at a Gold Glove level.

That's a pretty good place to start an MVP argument, though there are knocks on Mauer, too. The most common seem to be that the Twins aren't very good -- though they enter a weekend series against the Tigers just four games back -- and that Mauer missed the first month of the season.

The first part, we can't help you with here. If you knock an MVP case when it comes from a non-playoff team, that's fine.

The second part, though, seems relatively simple.

Mauer has played 121 games this season, with 462 at-bats (526 plate appearances). His first game was May 1, so he missed the Twins' first 22 games. Lets figure he would've played 18 of those.

Everything from here on out is using the rates Mauer has established this season, which would give him 31 homers and 100 RBIs, but the point here is that by missing those first 22 games, Mauer made the Twins a lesser team, and thus himself less valuable.

A good argument, so let's see just how less valuable.

The "punishable" games missed here by Mauer is 18 (catchers don't play everyday), which translates into 69 at-bats and 78 plate appearances that in an ideal situation would've gone to the league's best hitter, but instead went to a combination of Mike Redmond and Jose Morales.

Mostly because of some unexpectadly good early production from Morales, the pair hit roughly .297/.383/.351 with five doubles and no homers in Mauer's absense.

Throw that production on Mauer's line this year, and you're looking at a catcher hitting .364/.433/.575 with 31 doubles and 27 homers. He would still lead the league in batting average, on-base, and slugging percentage.

Or, to punish Mauer more, give that missed time to a replacement-level player -- we're talking your typical Class AAA guy -- and he's hitting .356/.422/.580 with maybe 30 doubles and 29 homers. Again, he would still lead the league in batting average, on-base, and slugging.

That means that even with that missed time that no doubt did hurt the Twins and should be taken in account in evaluating Mauer, what he's done the rest of the season is enough that he would STILL be winning the modern Triple Crown -- while playing Gold Glove defense as a catcher -- even if you buried his first 18 games with the kind of production you'd get by raiding the Pacific League.

Here comes my caveat, that my math may be off in places, or that this may be a ginormous whiff on trying to prove a point.

But I am fortunate enough to have an MVP vote this year, and little exercises like this make me feel better about saying that Mauer's argument is pretty strong with a little more than two weeks left in the season.