Prior vs. Mauer: Who's sorry now?
There are some conversations you just never forget.
No matter how hard you try.
For at least a couple years, I've been trying to block out a chat I had with Terry Ryan, the former Twins GM, who in 2001 was unable to afford Mark Prior, and instead was forced to draft Joe Mauer.
Ryan was the Minnesota boss for 13 years, winning four division titles in five years from 2002-06, until he stepped down in 2007, tired of the daily grind and wanting to get back to his scouting roots.
I always enjoyed talking to him because he's a bright guy who never complained and always made the most of a small payroll, often more creative than his rich brethren with whom he competed.
He also used his goofy ballpark to his advantage, building teams that flourished in the Metrodome, to the point of forcing the White Sox after 2004 to adjust their lineup and style of play, sick of the September beatings handed to them by the Twins.
During a game on the South Side in September 2003, I was suggesting again to Ryan how unfair it was that he couldn't use the No. 1 pick in 2001 on Prior, who was competing for the Cy Young Award on the North Side and pushing the Cubs toward a playoff berth.
Sure, Mauer was a 20-year-old who had a big year in Double-A, but Prior was a full-blown, No. 1 starter in the big leagues, about to win 18 games and strike out 245 (vs. 50 walks) in 211 innings.
He was a Hall of Famer waiting to happen. All he had to do was stay healthy and stay out of his own way.
But Ryan would have none of it, and he pleaded with me to stop feeling sorry for the Twins, though at the time I was certain he was whistling past the graveyard.
This time, he put his hand on my shoulder, hoping I might finally believe him, and said, "We got a terrific, left-handed hitting catcher, and they're extremely valuable and hard to find. Five years from now I think we'll better be able to discuss whether it was a good choice for us.''
It's been six and three would have been enough.
Prior is, well, Prior.
He's collected $19 million in 9 years since being drafted and made 106 major league starts with 42 victories. He even suckered the Padres into giving him a million bucks in each of the last two years, but - surprise - he's too sore to pitch.
Mauer, meanwhile, is a 6-foot-5, 225-pound catcher just entering his prime at age 26, going to his third All-Star Game in four years, and hitting a paltry .373 after going 0-for-the-weekend against the White Sox.
He's also got 15 homers and 49 RBI in only 64 games, numbers that would look pretty sweet on the offensively challenged Cubs, whose catchers are hitting .227 with 10 homers and 35 RBI in 86 games.
Yeah, that Mauer guy's all right after all.
But six years ago, you have to admit it did stink of a big market stomping the small market again, and stealing an all-world arm in the process.
Today, however, that whole notion of feeling sorry for the Twins looks pretty stupid.
And somewhere, Terry Ryan is probably watching a minor-league game, looking for a gem, and laughing.
At the Cubs' expense.
For the record
On the night of which I speak, Sept. 9, 2003, the Sox defeated the Twins and took a 2-game lead over Minnesota.
That was remembered as "the Jose Paniagua game,'' because manager Jerry Manuel brought in Paniagua for no apparent reason in the ninth and he nearly gave away an 8-2 lead, forcing the Sox to scramble with the tying runs on base and barely hold on for the victory.
The Sox then lost 10 of their next 15 games. The Twins won 13 of their next 14 and captured the division by 4 games over the Sox, who fired Manuel at season's end.
Draft review
Speaking of the 2001 draft, in hindsight it was an interesting first round, as most of them are when you look back a few years later.
After Mauer and Prior, Tampa took pitcher Dewon Brazelton, Gavin Floyd went fourth to the Phillies, Mark Teixeira fifth to Texas, pitcher Josh Karp sixth to Montreal, lefty Chris Smith seventh to the Orioles, and righty John Van Benschoten eighth to the Pirates.
Other first rounders of interest included Kris Honel (16th-White Sox), Aaron Heilman (18th-Mets), Mike Fontenot (19th-Orioles), Bobby Crosby (25th-Athletics) and Jeremy Bonderman (26th-Athletics).
Just managing
Glad to see ex-Cubs manager Jim Riggleman get another shot as interim boss in Washington.
They're bad jobs with bad teams so most temp jobs end badly, as it did for Riggleman in Seattle last year when he got the job midseason, and now he's got another rotten team in D.C.
The only difference this time is his new boss is acting GM Mike Rizzo, the former Rolling Meadows-based scout who saw Riggleman at his best in Chicago and might have the leeway to give Riggleman a real chance this time.
Best headline
Sportspickle.com: "Blue Jays say they will begin listening to offers to relocate to other divisions.''
And finally-
Scott Ostler of the S.F. Chronicle, on the Cubs' volatile personalities: "May I suggest two moves? Hire Bobby Knight to coach third base, and hang a piñata in the dugout."
brozner@dailyherald.com