It’s no secret that Joe had a very uncharacteristic year in 2007. The folks at Sporting News have bashed him as well as given his praise. With the Twins playoff hopes over, let’s take a look at what Sporting News has to say about Mauer.

Joe Mauer’s good name has gotten some bad press lately. He comes in at No. 11 in our catcher rankings, my colleague Rob Hurtt dogged him in the latest Week Ahead column and Mauer has the dreaded “C” icon next to his name. But let me point out a couple things: Mauer still ranks sixth among catchers in Roto value and fifth among catchers in points leagues despite missing significant time because of injuries. And note that Mauer’s .676 home OPS is well below the .828 mark he put together from 2004 to 2006 — seems kind of fluky to me. Mauer will come with health concerns next season, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I see him as a nice bounce-back candidate for 2008.