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Three Catchers

MFS62 Jul 19 2010 10:15 AM

Here are their numbers A/O a few days ago: Rod Barajas 230 ABs .235 avg .272 obp 11 HR 32 RBI .698 OPS Henry Blanco 74 ABs .284 avg .345 obp 2 HR 7 RBI .764 Josh Thole 20 ABs .500 avg .565 obp 0 HR 5 RBI 1.115 OPS What would you do? Keep them? If not, who goes? Why? Later

metirish Jul 19 2010 10:21 AM Re: Three Catchers

I think we are getting exactly what would have been expected from the catching position, send Thole back if all he is getting is a few AB's a week.

Edgy DC Jul 19 2010 10:23 AM Re: Three Catchers

How does an offense-hungry team send down a guy hitting .500?

metirish Jul 19 2010 10:25 AM Re: Three Catchers

Edgy DC wrote: How does an offense-hungry team send down a guy hitting .500? Makes no sense all right, they should start him every day then.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jul 19 2010 10:27 AM Re: Three Catchers

I don;t mind Thole being up here especially because he's been hitting so well. I think he got here mainly because Blanco & Barajas were banged up but he's making it awfully hard to send him down and I hope they don't. I also don't think they would sacrifice either B or B, so Thole hanging around would hafta be at the expense of another bench hitter or reliever if Jerry could, which he can't.

TransMonk Jul 19 2010 10:28 AM Re: Three Catchers

12 days to the deadline. I think they all have varying degrees of value, but value none-the-less. If we're going to send one down (and popular opinion suggests it should not be Thole), then might as well trade him for what we can get. Blanco and Barajas are somewhat redundant as far as I can see. I'm not opposed to moving Thole in a trade either, if the value is there.

Edgy DC Jul 19 2010 10:30 AM Re: Three Catchers

It's certainly not popular opinion that puts Thole at the head of the demotion line, but available options.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jul 19 2010 10:33 AM Re: Three Catchers

Thole's a whole lotta offense out of the catcher position to send away... and he doesn't seem terrible with the tools, either. He and Blanco-- who has a surprisingly good idea of what he's doing at the plate (at least compared to Rod)-- make a nice backstop semi-platoon. I would shop Barajas for peanuts, and see what I can get there. (Same with Ollie, whose freight you have to pay as a parting fee.) Moving him is the benefit; anything else you can get is bonus.

Edgy DC Jul 19 2010 10:38 AM Re: Three Catchers

TransMonk wrote: Blanco and Barajas are somewhat redundant as far as I can see. I'm also dubious about this. Blanco provides a dangerous arm and has use as a late-inning replacement. Barajas is a slugger in a deep dark slump. They're redundant in their relative value I suppose, but they get there kind of differently.

smg58 Jul 19 2010 10:46 AM Re: Three Catchers

I think Barajas is the guy you move. I'm not sure who's looking for a catcher, though.

Frayed Knot Jul 19 2010 10:54 AM Re: Three Catchers

- I don't believe Barajas or Blanco CAN be sent down so it's pointless to even treat that as an option. - Trading one (or the other) of the B & B boys "for peanuts" just so as to be rid of him doesn't make much sense for a team supposedly in a pennant race. Both are useful ML catchers and suddenly getting caught short down the stretch due to an injury would be real stupid. - Yes, Thole is hitting over .500 ... on a ridiculously small sample size. Do remember the .267 minor league hitter prior to that in your calculations.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jul 19 2010 11:24 AM Re: Three Catchers Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jul 19 2010 11:28 AM

Frayed Knot wrote: - I don't believe Barajas or Blanco CAN be sent down so it's pointless to even treat that as an option. Not without their authorization, no. - Trading one (or the other) of the B & B boys "for peanuts" just so as to be rid of him doesn't make much sense for a team supposedly in a pennant race. Both are useful ML catchers and suddenly getting caught short down the stretch due to an injury would be real stupid. Barajas is pretty decent defensively, has great taste in AB music, and seems to be a better evaluator of talent than some of the guys in the Met FO. He's also-- short stretches of power aside-- a pretty terrible offensive player (hell, he may just end up with 20 home runs this year... and be of less offensive worth than Blanco in doing so). If you want this sort of package down the stretch-- say, in the event of a season-ending Blanco injury-- we've got it at Buffalo in Barrett, or on the FA list in somebody like Paul Bako. Blanco, on the other hand, is a defensive weapon... and he's worth more offensively-- occasional moonshot aside-- than Throbby. Also, he looks like he's ex-MS 13, and I'd be frightened to send him away without his okay. If you're looking to build the strongest major-league team you can-- if not the deepest-- right now, then cutting Barajas absolutely makes sense. (I'm not saying for certain that this is what should be done... but it's a reasonable option.) - Yes, Thole is hitting over .500 ... on a ridiculously small sample size. Do remember the .267 minor league hitter prior to that in your calculations. That's a .267 average (and .353 OBP/.430 SLG) including a .172 (/.242/.259) April; he'd been hitting .319/.411/.521 in the two-plus months since until his promotion. Over more than 1700 PAs in the minors, he's put up a .289/.376/.381 cumulative line (with the slugging above .420 and climbing in each of the last three seasons) and walked more (11.4%) than he's struck out. He's walked more in three months than Barajas has in two years. Even if Barajas were hitting like he were in April/May, Thole would be the better offensive player... and it's not that close.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 19 2010 11:27 AM Re: Three Catchers

I'd prefer to hang on to Thole's small sample size (and the .500 batting average) over Barajas' large sample size. (Isn't he hitting .180 over the last seven weeks or so?) Combine that with Thole having more of a potential future than Barajas, I'd much rather see him stick. If we're going to have two catchers, I'd prefer them to be Blanco and Thole.

Ceetar Jul 19 2010 11:36 AM Re: Three Catchers

I'd keep the three catchers for now, giving Thole more time to assess if he's worthwhile for the stretch run, and seeing if Barajas will ever wake up. I'd use them as pinch hitters when necessary, and I'd dump Carter (who's basically filling a PH role anyway, so the third catcher can do that, plus Thole is taking grounders at first right? :-P) since he's not really doing that well, and i'm not sure Jerry really trusts him either. Maybe Barajas is really more of a light load type of guy, and we should play him barely 33% of the time for a couple of weeks, he'll wake up, and be healthy and April-May fresh for Sept-OctobeR? In a couple of weeks (well, maybe 10 days depending) you assess if you think Barajas will provide some pop and at least not be an auto-out going forward. See if you can trade him, or just trust him and get Thole the seasoning for a month (back 9/1 presumably). If not, just play Thole, let Barajas go (it's alright, we'll mail him a ring) and be done with it.

Edgy DC Jul 19 2010 11:45 AM Re: Three Catchers

I agree with LeiterWagner that Barajas is looking less valuable right now and for the foreseeable future than Blancito. That said, I have problem with the Ceetar plan of carrying all three and maybe splitting PT three ways. How they fit, I don't know. Maybe send Jerry down. HAR! I"m becomng a crank. I imagine know the Mets would like to have all three in September, and finding a way to get through the next five-six weeks without losing one is probably something like the plan. But yeah, I think a traded Barajas probably isn't much of a strategic loss, but you probably have to be confident that Blanco and Thole can carry the load down the stretch. The Mets never seemed to think Blanco can handle steady work.

Ceetar Jul 19 2010 11:48 AM Re: Three Catchers

Edgy DC wrote: I agree with LeiterWagner that Barajas is looking less valuable right now and for the foreseeable future than Blancito. That said, I have problem with the Ceetar plan of carrying all three and maybe splitting PT three ways. How they fit, I don't know. Maybe send Jerry down. HAR! I"m becomng a crank. I imagine know the Mets would like to have all three in September, and finding a way to get through the next five-six weeks without losing one is probably something like the plan. But yeah, I think a traded Barajas probably isn't much of a strategic loss, but you probably have to be confident that Blanco and Thole can carry the load down the stretch. The Mets never seemed to think Blanco can handle steady work. I don't know that i like my plan, but it seems better than just demoting Thole because of options. maybe they _are_ actually being smart and using the three catchers to rest Barajas to get him fresh.

metirish Jul 19 2010 11:49 AM Re: Three Catchers

Hojo has plenty of work to do. I could live with a Thole/Blanco combination but I do think that Barajas will start hitting for power again, I mean that's what's gone right, his hitting is the same otherwise?

TransMonk Jul 19 2010 11:50 AM Re: Three Catchers

If we keep Thole up and trade Barajas, who would be the backup if/when Blanco goes on the DL?

metirish Jul 19 2010 11:55 AM Re: Three Catchers

TransMonk wrote: If we keep Thole up and trade Barajas, who would be the backup if/when Blanco goes on the DL? Jason Bay........his numbers would fit right in too.

Ceetar Jul 19 2010 11:55 AM Re: Three Catchers

TransMonk wrote: If we keep Thole up and trade Barajas, who would be the backup if/when Blanco goes on the DL? I may vomit if i see Omir Santos again.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jul 19 2010 11:57 AM Re: Three Catchers

I may vomit on Ceetar if Santos comes up. Here's the thing, though: even if Barajas hits like he did in April during, say, August... he's still a less valuable offensive player. His peak years in the majors-- 20 HRs in 400ish PAs-- still haven't given him a 100 OPS+ in any of them. Granted, FK, trading Barajas for nothing may NOT be the best way to go forward... but for relief help? Thole + Blanco + 2nd, half-decent LOOGY/guy who can pitch to lefties >>> Barajas + Blanco + bullpen as is.

themetfairy Jul 19 2010 12:03 PM Re: Three Catchers

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: I may vomit on Ceetar if Santos comes up. The combination of your avatar and that statement is priceless.

Edgy DC Jul 19 2010 12:07 PM Re: Three Catchers

I find it hard to believe Santos (or many floating catchers) could be less productive than Barajas.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jul 19 2010 12:12 PM Re: Three Catchers

TransMonk wrote: If we keep Thole up and trade Barajas, who would be the backup if/when Blanco goes on the DL? Barrett? A free agent like Paul Bako or Toby Hall? Another minor-league trade for, say, Jose Molina? There are options, and they're roughly as good as keeping Barajas, frankly. As for a trade partner... howzabout Tampa Bay? Jaso's the only catcher over there doing anything; both Shoppach and Navarro have been liabilities (offensively, defensively, and injury-wise). Omir? He's Barajas minus the power... and defense.

Edgy DC Jul 19 2010 12:17 PM Re: Three Catchers

Mike Nickeas isn't the worst option --- a defensive specialist hitting all year (for once) at Bingo. And again, these are just fallback scenarios if someone gets hurt.

metirish Jul 19 2010 12:22 PM Re: Three Catchers

Did I miss some games where Santos was so terrible?

TransMonk Jul 19 2010 12:25 PM Re: Three Catchers

Is Mike DiFelice still around?

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jul 19 2010 12:28 PM Re: Three Catchers

DiFelice is managing the Kingsport Mets. Santos was pretty terrible after an OK start offensively last year (and providing the feel-good moment of the entire year) and it came out later that the pitchers and coaching staff weren;t thrilled with his game-calling & D, either.

metirish Jul 19 2010 12:42 PM Re: Three Catchers

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: DiFelice is managing the Kingsport Mets. Santos was pretty terrible after an OK start offensively last year (and providing the feel-good moment of the entire year) and it came out later that the pitchers and coaching staff weren;t thrilled with his game-calling & D, either. Ah yeah , I remember that now.

batmagadanleadoff Jul 19 2010 12:47 PM Re: Three Catchers

Ramon Castro rakes in his ideal gig as a lightly used catcher.

Frayed Knot Jul 19 2010 01:19 PM Re: Three Catchers

I'd rather survive without Thole for six weeks *GASP* than risk getting caught short behind the plate because we lost one of the others simply to clear a spot or in exchange for some other never-will-be prospect.

TransMonk Jul 19 2010 01:22 PM Re: Three Catchers

Frayed Knot wrote: I'd rather survive without Thole for six weeks *GASP* than risk getting caught short behind the plate because we lost one of the others simply to clear a spot or in exchange for some other never-will-be prospect. I'm leaning toward being in this boat as well.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jul 22 2010 12:58 AM Re: Three Catchers

This doesn't strike me as the best use of the resources at hand. Kevin Burkhardt wrote: Jerry said today Blanco will catch Santana, Thole for Dickey, and Barajas the other 3 days. #Mets =#008000]about 8 hours ago via UberTwitter

G-Fafif Jul 22 2010 01:02 AM Re: Three Catchers

...are better than none. Three catchers, I mean.

attgig Jul 22 2010 08:49 AM Re: Three Catchers

so, who are our back up if'ers and of'ers? because we have 3 catchers, we have 1) one backup OF'er, that we're apparently trying to trade away. (Frenchy) 2) one guy backing up 1b, 2b, 3b, and ss. (Cora) 3) one guy we only use as our DH and PH, but never let him take the field (Carter) 4) two guys backing up ONE position. This is not a good roster/depth chart. I was also 1/2 expecting Cora to hurt his hand again yesterday on that tag @ 2nd base when he ran on the wild pitch... we need a better backup infielder and we shouldn't have 3 catchers with only Cora backing up 4 positions...

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jul 22 2010 09:33 AM Re: Three Catchers Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jul 22 2010 09:59 AM

Yesterday's Rubin article really does seem hysterical and out-of-bounds... until you actually look at the roster.

Edgy DC Jul 22 2010 09:45 AM Re: Three Catchers

I'm certain that Carter is prepared for first base duty, and probably others as well. It's an imbalance, certainly, but a single transaction (Francoeur out, Hessman in?) will restore something like normal ratios and it will problably occur by the end of the Dodger series, if not sooner. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Yesterday's Rubin articlereally does seem hysterical and out-of-bounds... until you actually look at the roster. It's a disaster and I was embarassed to see Rubin's name on it.

Ceetar Jul 22 2010 09:51 AM Re: Three Catchers

Edgy DC wrote: I'm certain that Carter is prepared for first base duty, and probably others as well. It's an imbalance, certainly, but a single transaction (Francoeur out, Hessman in?) will restore something like normal ratios and it will problably occur by the end of the Dodger series, if not sooner. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Yesterday's Rubin articlereally does seem hysterical and out-of-bounds... until you actually look at the roster. It's a disaster and I was embarassed to see Rubin's name on it. Rubin seems to have an axe to grind with Ollie. Not that he hasn't sucked, but where is the objectivity? He got pissed last night when I suggested his "scout" was an idiot. (Again, it was not objective. Purposely classifying Perez's couple of fastballs as one to make it seem like his velocity has even taken a hit since April.) I know Oliver sucks. But can I get a report on how he pitched in Buffalo without implying that he sucks with comments like "liberal strike zone" He then did the same thing with a scout's report about Cordero. just seemed to be a negative spin on everything .

attgig Jul 22 2010 09:56 AM Re: Three Catchers

Edgy DC wrote: I'm certain that Carter is prepared for first base duty, and probably others as well. it doesn't matter if we're certain. He's played 12 games in LF and 11 games in RF. He has yet to play 1b for the mets this year. On top of that, if he were to play 1b, he would be taking over another Left Handed bat....

Edgy DC Jul 22 2010 10:18 AM Re: Three Catchers

I'm not sure what the problem is there. I thought the issue is that there weren't enough backups if injury should strike, not that there weren't players to give us desirealble matchups. "It doesn't matter if we're certain"? My point is that he's played plenty of first in his career and we're not going to get caught without a firstbaseman if he's available, and he wasn't listed.

Frayed Knot Jul 22 2010 10:20 AM Re: Three Catchers

so, who are our back up if'ers and of'ers? because we have 3 catchers, we have 1) one backup OF'er, that we're apparently trying to trade away. (Frenchy) 2) one guy backing up 1b, 2b, 3b, and ss. (Cora) 3) one guy we only use as our DH and PH, but never let him take the field (Carter) 4) two guys backing up ONE position. This is not a good roster/depth chart. I was also 1/2 expecting Cora to hurt his hand again yesterday on that tag @ 2nd base when he ran on the wild pitch... we need a better backup infielder and we shouldn't have 3 catchers with only Cora backing up 4 positions... As Gary & Ron discussed briefly during yesterday's game, that while it's a very poor and non-versatile defensive bench, there also aren't any regulars who need defensive replacement so PHers are pretty much just going to be PHers. Other than that: - the OF is fine, - the middle IF backup doesn't hit enough but virtually no backup IFer does and if Cora does get hurt he'll be replaced by a nearly identical model from the Tejada/Turner factory, - the catching in more than fine, - and at 1st & 3rd ... well, we're pretty much up a creek. All of which means that neither David nor Ike get a day off until Sept 1, or until a catcher is swapped out for something on the order of Nick Evans. It also means that the Met fans who spent the last 2-1/2 years ragging on Tatis when he didn't deserve it, or gloating their ' I told ya so's ' this year when he did, got their wish and are now going to have to live with it.

Edgy DC Jul 22 2010 10:56 AM Re: Three Catchers

It's really come down to two disadvantages. 1) If Cora is in the game, we don't want to pinch-hit for him with Castillo (or anybody) late and close, because his potential availablity at second, third, and short needs to be maintained. 2) We're hoping that Wright doesn't get hurt (or tossed) which we generally hope for anyway, and if he does, that they haven't already. But if any of that happens, Cora's the backup.

Ceetar Jul 22 2010 11:27 AM Re: Three Catchers

The solution to that is really easy. Don't play Cora. ever.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jul 22 2010 11:43 AM Re: Three Catchers

Ceetar wrote: The solution to that is really easy. Don't play Cora. ever. This makes sense in, like, 4 different ways.

Edgy DC Jul 22 2010 12:20 PM Re: Three Catchers

Well, until they run out of guys at a position he can man, but sure.

Ceetar Jul 22 2010 12:22 PM Re: Three Catchers

Edgy DC wrote: Well, until they run out of guys at a position he can man, but sure. Cora's gritty enough. He can play any position on the field in an emergency! 2B, 3B, CF, C, he'll pitch, hell, he'll even step in for Manuel in a pinch.

Frayed Knot Jul 22 2010 01:47 PM Re: Three Catchers

Ceetar wrote: The solution to that is really easy. Don't play Cora. ever. I agree. He should be immediately replaced with one of those high average backup infielders with power and the ability to play SS.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 22 2010 01:57 PM Re: Three Catchers

Cora's been hated on since he arrived, and I don't understand it.

Ceetar Jul 22 2010 02:00 PM Re: Three Catchers

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Cora's been hated on since he arrived, and I don't understand it. Just for the record, i don't hate Cora. I think he's fine. But if we're going to only carry one backup IF, and Castillo and Reyes are always better options, there is little reason to play Cora. Which, again, is fine. That's what a backup infielder is for.

Frayed Knot Jul 22 2010 02:14 PM Re: Three Catchers

The problem with Cora playing "too often" is that the other middle IFers keep getting hurt. I mean it's not like he plays instead of a healthy Reyes and only occasionally is inserted instead of a gimpy Castillo and, despite fears to the contrary, started about 1/4 as often as the similarly bat-challenged Tejada. Tatis was/is in the same boat w/Met fans - the U.S.S. Hate. Don't hate on these guys because they're not good enough to play everyday - they were never designed to. Instead, blame the circumstances that forced them into ~ 700 & 500 PAs over the last couple seasons.

Ceetar Jul 22 2010 02:19 PM Re: Three Catchers

Frayed Knot wrote: The problem with Cora playing "too often" is that the other middle IFers keep getting hurt. I mean it's not like he plays instead of a healthy Reyes and only occasionally is inserted instead of a gimpy Castillo and, despite fears to the contrary, started about 1/4 as often as the similarly bat-challenged Tejada. Tatis was/is in the same boat w/Met fans - the U.S.S. Hate. Don't hate on these guys because they're not good enough to play everyday - they were never designed to. Instead, blame the circumstances that forced them into ~ 700 & 500 PAs over the last couple seasons. That depends on what you consider 'forced'. I think Jerry overused Tatis like crazy last year, and not because he was "forced to". But there is really no need for me to get into a Murphy vs. Tatis argument. Earlier this season Castillo was dealing with the bone bruise. supposedly this didn't affect his ability to play, and he didn't need to rest it. So either he should've been on the DL earlier or Cora shouldn't have been playing as much as he had. There was a short stretch where they came close to playing nearly as often as each other. Cora does not need to play even 1 in 5 games. I understand Castillo got a day off the other day, and that's fine because It did seem they rushed Castillo's rehab. But we're in a rough spot, so let Castillo play the four games, he'll get another rest off-day, and let him continue to play everyday. I'm not sure actively playing him everyday has ever led to him breaking down, and possibly the opposite.

Edgy DC Jul 22 2010 02:25 PM Re: Three Catchers

If Cora wasn't sharing time with Castillo during the Bone Bruse Era, he certainly would have been sharing time with Tejada, which he eventually did.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jul 22 2010 02:30 PM Re: Three Catchers

Cora's been hated on since he arrived, and I don't understand it. We've been over this before, right? At the risk of getting into another back-and-forth thread, I'll bite: I think it's 2/3 the process that brought him, and only about 1/3 his performance. Last year, when he signed as a Met, there were other options at 2B/SS that were a handful of at least equivalent (Eckstein, Kennedy, Lopez) that ended up signing lesser contracts... and outperforming him. He was playing hurt, granted. But he wasn't just bad with the bat, he was appallingly bad, and played middling-to-poor defense to boot. So, thanks for playing and keeping your chin up... this seems like a no-brainer slot to upgrade-- or at least go cheaper with-- right? Only he came back. With many of the same guys from the previous offseason now available again, along with some others. On a $2 million deal. Before the market was set. Hell, on the first day of FA. With a layup of a player-side vesting option. At the same price. Now, ostensibly healthy and ready to help... he's performing worse on-field than he did last year. He's Rod Barajas, without the power... or, really, the defensive value. He's barely outslugging an intermittently-injured Luis Castillo. And if he plays 28 more games-- not starts, but plays-- his ticket's punched for next year, at the same way-above-market rate.

Frayed Knot Jul 22 2010 02:37 PM Re: Three Catchers

The only problem I had with Tatis's use was late last year when Nick Evans went un-used vs LHPs in a Murph platoon in favor of Fernando although I think that said more of Jerry's apparent dislike of Evans than I think it did about over-reliance on Tatis - and, even then, that was maybe a few dozen ABs out of the 700-ish he logged since early '08. Aside from that, the myriad of injuries to both the starters and the younger more attractive replacements (Milledge, Martinez) forced his use and FT absolutely bailed that team's collective ass out during the injury rash in '08 until his own injury helped scuttle the team in September. As far as Cora/Castillo, look, I know that when a player gets injured everyone wants the medical staff to issue an assurance that it'll be all nice and healed on the 18th around noon but life doesn't work that way. And whether they should have DL'd Castillo immediately instead of taking the wait-n-see approach, the fact is they tried taking the workload off him in hopes of avoiding the DL which means the manager has to turn to Cora. And then when Castillo was finally DL'd the 20 y/o replacement brought up in his place got most of the starts.

attgig Jul 22 2010 02:41 PM Re: Three Catchers

I'm glad Cora's in the clubhouse yellin at people for laughing after they lost.... wonderin why nobody else did that...cuz if someone would do that... we wouldn't really need Cora, right? Can we bring in a clubhouse bench guy to replace cora that can actually hit?

Ceetar Jul 22 2010 02:45 PM Re: Three Catchers

Frayed Knot wrote: As far as Cora/Castillo, look, I know that when a player gets injured everyone wants the medical staff to issue an assurance that it'll be all nice and healed on the 18th around noon but life doesn't work that way. And whether they should have DL'd Castillo immediately instead of taking the wait-n-see approach, the fact is they tried taking the workload off him in hopes of avoiding the DL which means the manager has to turn to Cora. And then when Castillo was finally DL'd the 20 y/o replacement brought up in his place got most of the starts. The general word seemed to be that rest wouldn't help heal the injury. the "wait and see" was to see if he could play through it. And some of those times (grain of salt here, since it's jerry an all) Jerry said it was a scheduled start for Cora anyway. Even though he scratched Castillo out of the lineup. It just went on too long. There was a period of time where Cora made something like five starts in nine days. I have no problem with his contract or money. $2million may be a little more than a backup IF should get (but then again, he played hurt, he played hard last year, and how do you reward that with a pay cut?). I don't know if there were any given upgrades this offseason that definitely wanted to be a backup. It seemed like Omar decided he'd just grab the guy that he wanted, and move on.

Frayed Knot Jul 22 2010 05:12 PM Re: Three Catchers

I'm glad Cora's in the clubhouse yellin at people for laughing after they lost.... wonderin why nobody else did that...cuz if someone would do that... we wouldn't really need Cora, right? Can we bring in a clubhouse bench guy to replace cora that can actually hit? No, you don't really need Cora as long as you find a different backup capable of playing SS who can actually hit. Do that and I don't think anyone would care if he was a deaf/mute in the clubhouse. Problem is that backup middle IFers who can hit have a unique title in baseball, it's called starting middle infielder. The Yanx do have several they'd probably be willing to give up and I bet we wouldn't even have to give up that much for either: Ramiro Pena: .193/.236/.205 - or Kevin Russo: .188/.250/.289 -- who have combined for 145 PAs this year, or about 30 less than Cora