It had been a couple of quiet weeks since the JJ Hardy trade for the Twins until Monday’s little he said, he didn’t say fiasco over Joe Mauer’s pending contract negotiations.

The confusion started Monday morning when a site called Fantasy Sports Portal reported that, “Mauer has informed the (the Twins) that he will break off talks if the two sides haven’t reached an agreement by spring training.” My immediate thoughts at 10:25 am were the following:

Not only was I shocked that a source like Fantasy Sports Portal would break this story, but it just didn’t seem like Joe’s words or tone. Especially after he had repeatedly said that the contract would “happen when it happens.”

However, a day later Twins MLB.com beat writer, Kelly Theiser, reported that Joe had texted her and denied any reports of a extension deadline. My first thought on this was…. why doesn’t Joe Mauer text me? Then this:

Anyway, my thoughts don’t really matter, the bigger issue is that of Joe Mauer’s contract. I think it’s safe to believe that Joe is true to his word that he will not set a deadline, but there is also no doubt that he doesn’t want to have to worry about this and answer questions from the media every day of the 2010 season. Joe is a very methodical and focused baseball player and will only want to worry about doing whatever it takes to make the 2010 Twins win.

I believe the Twins front office understands the magnitude of this contract negotiation and I’m sure it’s always at the forefront of their mind. I just simply hope they take this little media confusion as a message. Joe Mauer is willing to work and negotiate to remain a Twins, so let’s get it done and both sides will win.