Hard to explain Mauer, Papi

In an X-Men world, it would appear Joe Mauer has sucked every ounce of power from Big Papi's bat.

Of course, we don't live in a land of superheroes, although if you squint, you may see that that the Minnesota catcher is not actually human.

Monday night, Mauer hit his 11th home run in 23 games. For Babe Ruth, in his prime, this power display would have be impressive.

But this is an extremely light-hitting catcher, who never hit more than 13 home runs in an entire season.

Last year, Mauer hit 9 HR in 536 at-bats. This year, it's 11 jacks in 81, including last night's 2-run pinch-hit job off red sox stud closer Jonathan Papelbon.

So, how do you explain the sudden blast of pop?

"You guys ask me this; I still don't have an answer for you," said Mauer. "I'm just seeing the ball well and tring to keep seeing it well."

For years, fantasy pundits extrapolated that the power would come from Mauer, but we've been waiting and waiting. And for those of you who thought this was the year, congratulations.

Although, I don't believe you. Nothing hinted that the power would develop even half as much as it has this year. But that's the great part (for Mauer owners) of this game and the frustrating part (for the other 9 teams).

And if Mauer is seeing the ball well, David Ortiz needs a new prescription or the quickest Lasik surgery available.

Papi has exactly 1 more home run than everyone reading this today and that came in a 5-HR slugfest off Toronto pitcher Brett Cecil. The Blue Jays were so disappointed that Cecil gave up the Ortiz HR, they demoted him to AAA. OK, that may not be the entire story, but it sure seemed to play out that way.

The bat speed is simply gone, his average is down to .195 and the Red Sox don't know what to do. He's struck out 41 times in 40 games, including three times in an 0-for-7 May 14 outing where he left 11 runners stranded.

Terry Francona sat Ortiz for three games and since his return he's gone 3-for-20 with 9 Ks.

So, what do you do as an owner? Some Yahoo leagues won't physically let you drop him. His trade value has plummeted so far, you might not even be able to get Casey Kotchman in return.

The Red Sox are finally talking about dropping him in the order. It's about 3 weeks too late, but all that they have left. Rumors have them looking at Nick Johnson as a possible replacement.

So, my question to you: What do the Red Sox do with an aging slugger who is suffering a Sammy Sosa-like decline?

What do you do as an owner?