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We Want a Catcher, Not a Belly Scratcher (split fr/Get Used)

AG/DC Mar 16 2008 09:26 PM

So in addition to a freak injury taking out Delgado just as he's maybe sorta finding his stroke, Ramon Castro joins Schneider on the hammylist. Cancel and Casanova are your catchers.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Mar 17 2008 05:40 AM

And the Saloman Manriquez Fan Club disbands due to lack of membership funds.

AG/DC Mar 17 2008 06:22 AM

So, Pedro back. Castillo back. Delgado down and Castro down. Two steps up, two steps back. But I'm hoping the two steps up are larger.

TheOldMole Mar 17 2008 09:36 AM

Who do they have left behind the plate? They may have to switch Joe Hietpas back.

Benjamin Grimm Mar 17 2008 09:38 AM

I was briefly intrigued by Gustavo Molina. During yesterday's telecast, Gary Cohen quoted Willie Randolph saying that Molina isn't ready yet, but he's going to be really good. I looked him up today, and found out he's a 26-year-old journeyman. Not that he can't still become really good, but I prefer my prospects to be closer to 21, especially if they're not ready yet.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Mar 17 2008 09:43 AM

Officials in the Snooze today said Raul Casanova is prolly first in line. Like Nelson Figueroa he is also an original product of the Mets system -- traded away for Tony F. Fernandez, and had years with Detroit and Milwaukee and a few other teams. At best he's kind of a Ramon Castro type.

Triple Dee Mar 17 2008 09:49 AM

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I was briefly intrigued by Gustavo Molina. During yesterday's telecast, Gary Cohen quoted Willie Randolph saying that Molina isn't ready yet, but he's going to be really good. I looked him up today, and found out he's a 26-year-old journeyman. Not that he can't still become really good, but I prefer my prospects to be closer to 21, especially if they're not ready yet. The loss of Jesus Flores is really going to hurt the Mets. It would have also spared us from seeing Mike Defelice and Sandy Alomar Jr laboring around home plate towards the end of last season.

MFS62 Mar 17 2008 10:11 AM

Casanova is, IIRC, also a switch hitter, which could be a deciding factor VS Molina. Later

DocTee Mar 17 2008 12:12 PM

Recently-released Doug Mirabelli gotta be a better option, no?

seawolf17 Mar 17 2008 12:19 PM

metsguyinmichigan Mar 17 2008 12:34 PM

="seawolf17"] I agree. Let him come back, play in some April games while Castro is hurt, get the thunderous applause he deserves then retire as a Met. I'd even throw his number on the wall the next day. Mets get an adequate back-up for a while, Piazza get to go out on his own terms, at least more so than going out because he didn't get a spring training invite.

AG/DC Mar 17 2008 12:39 PM

Well, the problem is that he may not want a one-month job, and he won't be as easy to make go away after a month. OE: Not that I wouldn't eat it up.

AG/DC Mar 17 2008 12:48 PM

Interestnig note: Piazza's availaibility is holding up the draft order, as he's the only remaining eligilbe free agent with a compensation value (Type B). These things should expire earlier.

Nymr83 Mar 17 2008 01:23 PM

Bonds doesnt qualify?

AG/DC Mar 17 2008 01:32 PM

I don't know. Maybe Piazza was offered arbitration and declined and Bonds wasn't. But I read that at a Yank blog on Friday. http://riveraveblues.com/2008/03/14/2008-draft-preview-update-1-2307/

Frayed Knot Mar 17 2008 01:46 PM

Bonds wasn't offered arb ... mainly cuz he would have snapped it up in a minute and the Gigantors would have been on the hook for at least 80% of whatever he was earning last year. Piazza's a 'Type B' FA, meaning that Oakland would gain only a supplemental pick while the signing team doesn't lose one of their own. Remember also folks that this guy didn't catch at all last season (not even in ST) and wasn't very good at it when he was younger, healthier and working at it regularly ... not to mention that his hitting isn't what it used to be. His ship has sailed as far as I'm concerned. He's an AL DH at best and no one is rushing those jobs to him either.

AG/DC Mar 17 2008 01:48 PM

I think everyone remembers all that.

Nymr83 Mar 17 2008 01:56 PM

Obviously there are 30 GMs who remember that.

soupcan Mar 17 2008 02:11 PM

AG/DC wrote: ...But I read that at a Yank blog on Friday. SteveJEdgyDC?

AG/DC Mar 17 2008 02:18 PM

THAT'S NOT FUCKING FUNNY!

Valadius Mar 17 2008 03:37 PM

I'd take a flyer on Piazza.

TheOldMole Mar 17 2008 07:17 PM

What are you doing reading Yank blogs?

AG/DC Mar 17 2008 07:28 PM

Searching for Mike Piazza.

seawolf17 Mar 17 2008 07:44 PM

If Mike Piazza signed with the Yankees, I would personally kick him in the gonads.

Fman99 Mar 18 2008 09:15 AM

AG/DC wrote: THAT'S NOT FUCKING FUNNY! To hell it isn't!

MFS62 Mar 27 2008 08:32 AM

Justin Huber was traded by KC to the Pods yesterday for a PTBNL. Didn't he originally catch for a few years in the minors? Later

Frayed Knot Mar 27 2008 08:42 AM

MFS62 wrote: Didn't he originally catch for a few years in the minors? Yeah, but he wasn't any good at it - which is what dropped him from a better-than-average prospect back in the day to a slow-ish RH bat w/o a real position now. Still, he's put up some good minor league hitting stats over the last 4 years (.275/.370/.520), is still only 25, and I was half-hoping he'd wind up here as a 1B/corner OF guy off the bench who could also be the emergency catcher that you never need but would allow them to PH Castro more often.

mario25 Mar 27 2008 08:46 AM

They can go with Casanova until Castro is ready....he has some pop in his bat

John Cougar Lunchbucket Mar 27 2008 08:51 AM

I like Casanova and hope he lights a fire under Castro's fat ass.

smg58 Mar 27 2008 12:17 PM

The Indians opted to demote Francisco Cordero rather than cut Jason Michaels. I have to think one of those two could be had. On edit: Somehow this wound up in the wrong thread. Sorry.

AG/DC Apr 24 2008 11:15 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Apr 25 2008 05:39 AM

Surprised as I was by Nymr's tolerance (preference even) for the defense-first approach the Mets have taken to filling their catching roster this year, I was thinking about this season's lack of catching punch, and wondering if it's on a pace (recognizing, duly, that paces can be deceptive this early) to be among the most punchless receiving corps (corpses?) in Mets history. The one that I remember is the homerless outfit from 1980. Stearns was compromised by injury, and his primary sub, Alex Treviņo, had a passionately level swing. Turns out we had some clearly worse hitting catching squads in the early years, but this year's is projected to be one of our worst since the BC (before Carter) years. Come back, Castro. Note the stat I'm ranking by is sOPS+. The "s" is for "split." These are the squad's OPS ranked against all other catchers, rather than against all other batters, so a player who would get an sOPS+ of 60 against only catchers, may get an OPS+ of 44 when ranked against the general population. Rank Year PA HR RBI BA OBP SLG OPS sOPS+ Catcher 1 G Catcher 2 G Catcher 3 G Catcher 4 G Catcher 5 G Catcher 6 G Catcher 7 G Catcher 8 G 1 2000 695 42 126 .311 .392 .568 .960 151 Piazza 124 Pratt 71 VWilson 3 2 2001 690 36 95 .285 .368 .523 .891 151 Piazza 130 Pratt 31 VWilson 27 Phillips 5 3 1999 716 43 142 .304 .366 .551 .917 143 Piazza 137 Pratt 52 Kinkade 1 Wilson 1 4 1996 690 42 115 .270 .364 .543 .907 142 Hundley 150 Mayne 21 Castillo 6 Greene 1 5 2002 689 36 116 .276 .348 .501 .849 141 Piazza 121 VWilson 66 Phillips 7 6 1998 678 26 92 .292 .368 .497 .865 140 Piazza 99 Castillo 35 Spehr 21 Pratt 16 Fabregas 12 Wilkins 4 Tatum 4 Hundley 2 7 1997 673 32 112 .268 .380 .496 .876 136 Hundley 116 Pratt 28 Castillo 34 Bieser 2 8 1985 697 31 102 .271 .353 .458 .811 133 Carter 143 Reynolds 25 Hurdle 17 9 1986 699 26 110 .264 .340 .438 .778 126 Carter 121 Hearn 34 Gibbons 8 Lyons 3 10 1978 665 15 77 .264 .354 .396 .750 119 Stearns 141 Hodges 30 Trevino 5 Benton 1 11 1982 661 11 58 .274 .351 .405 .756 118 Stearns 81 Hodges 74 Bochy 16 Reynolds 2 12 1976 646 10 60 .253 .343 .360 .703 117 Grote 95 Hodges 52 Stearns 30 Kleven 2 13 1968 656 6 53 .264 .333 .342 .675 116 Grote 115 Martin 53 Goosen 1 Dyer 1 14 2004 667 22 71 .276 .348 .438 .786 116 Phillips 87 VWilson 69 Piazza 50 TWilson 3 Zeile 2 Hietpas 1 15 2005 671 26 99 .245 .322 .436 .758 114 Piazza 101 Castro 99 DiFelice 11 16 2003 660 22 90 .265 .340 .424 .764 112 VWilson 89 Piazza 64 Phillips 29 DePastino 1 17 1964 651 11 63 .287 .337 .389 .726 111 Gonder 97 Cannizzaro 53 HTaylor 45 18 1995 566 18 65 .248 .358 .405 .763 110 Hundley 89 Stinnett 67 Castillo 12 19 1977 660 12 61 .265 .368 .389 .757 106 Stearns 127 Grote 28 Hodges 27 Rosado 1 20 1994 471 17 53 .244 .314 .415 .729 101 Hundley 72 Stinnett 41 21 2007 691 20 90 .267 .309 .410 .719 101 Lo Duca 113 Castro 50 DiFelice 16 Alomar 6 22 1988 649 12 62 .245 .296 .368 .664 99 Carter 116 Sasser 30 Lyons 14 23 2006 719 9 60 .289 .338 .401 .739 99 Lo Duca 118 Castro 37 DiFelice 15 Stinnett 7 Marrero 2 24 1975 641 6 50 .264 .329 .349 .678 98 Grote 111 Stearns 54 Hodges 9 25 1969 641 12 66 .241 .297 .351 .648 97 Grote 112 Martin 44 Dyer 18 26 1981 421 2 33 .277 .337 .322 .659 97 Stearns 66 Trevino 45 Hodges 7 27 1971 624 4 47 .258 .326 .340 .666 96 Grote 122 Dyer 53 Estrada 1 28 1987 700 23 104 .237 .290 .386 .676 96 Carter 135 Lyons 49 29 1989 625 7 59 .243 .283 .342 .625 91 Lyons 76 Sasser 62 Carter 47 Lombardi 16 30 1972 615 12 57 .215 .291 .333 .624 88 Dyer 91 Grote 59 Sudakis 5 Nolan 3 31 1980 666 0 71 .269 .319 .330 .649 88 Trevino 86 Stearns 74 Hodges 9 Benton 8 32 1990 596 11 62 .259 .314 .361 .675 86 Sasser 87 Mercado 40 Hundley 36 O'Brien 28 Lyons 23 Trevino 7 Liddell 1 33 1974 645 9 53 .234 .310 .312 .622 85 Grote 94 Dyer 45 Hodges 44 Hampton 1 34 1991 597 5 48 .226 .304 .313 .617 85 Cerone 81 O'Brien 67 Sasser 43 Hundley 20 35 1962 620 8 45 .242 .317 .339 .656 84 Cannizzaro 56 STaylor 50 Coleman 44 Pignatano 25 Landrith 21 Chiti 14 Ginsberg 2 36 1979 682 7 64 .238 .311 .333 .644 82 Stearns 121 Trevino 36 Hodges 22 37 1993 635 15 74 .237 .281 .366 .647 80 Hundley 105 O'Brien 65 McKnight 1 38 2008 84 0 9 .284 .357 .297 .654 80 Schneider 15 Casanova 5 39 1992 607 9 50 .221 .271 .327 .598 78 Hundley 121 O'Brien 64 Sasser 27 40 1965 557 13 37 .202 .264 .316 .580 77 Cannizzaro 112 Stephenson 47 Gonder 31 Schaffer 21 HTaylor 15 Goosen 8 Berra 2 41 1983 580 1 32 .235 .317 .274 .591 73 Hodges 96 Ortiz 67 Reynolds 24 Fitzgerald 8 Bishop 3 Ashford 1 42 1966 586 6 49 .217 .285 .292 .577 71 Grote 115 Stephenson 52 HTaylor 29 Goosen 11 Coleman 5 43 1970 629 4 45 .242 .309 .294 .603 71 Grote 121 Dyer 41 44 1973 640 3 57 .235 .281 .289 .570 68 Grote 81 Dyer 60 Hodges 40 May 4 45 1984 623 2 53 .220 .285 .272 .557 66 Fitzgerald 107 Hodges 35 Ortiz 32 Gibbons 9 Stearns 4 46 1967 583 4 34 .204 .237 .255 .492 57 Grote 119 Sullivan 57 Goosen 23 HTaylor 12 Reynolds 1 47 1963 605 8 40 .196 .257 .254 .511 50 Coleman 66 Sherry 52 Gonder 31 Cannizzaro 15 STaylor 13

Nymr83 Apr 25 2008 12:27 AM

]Surprised as I was by Nymr's tolerance (preference even) for the defense-first approach the Mets have taken to filling their catching roster i'm not sure if its a preference, i'd take a mike piazza any day of the week, but recognizing that such a player is unavailable i think i like schneider's defense more than i'd like a .270 hitter with no pop and no glove. as for a backup catcher its nice when they have pop AND defense like castro, but one can hardly expect an organization to have their 3rd and 4th catcers be any good at all, if they were they'd be playing elsewhere because its a very shallow position in terms of talent league-wide.

Triple Dee Apr 25 2008 01:02 AM

I really wonder what led the Mets to change their attitude regarding catchers. It's not like Lo Duca was a horrible defensive catcher that warranteda drastic rethink (not that I believe the Mets should have re-signed him). If the issue wasn't the availability of a decent offensive catcher, I would hazard a guess to say Peterson may have raised the suggestion.

Nymr83 Apr 25 2008 03:19 AM

i dont think loduca was any better than piazza (in his prime) defensively.

AG/DC Apr 25 2008 05:41 AM

Maybe, but we're working from hunches and stuff.

Benjamin Grimm Apr 25 2008 05:53 AM

Triple Dee wrote: I really wonder what led the Mets to change their attitude regarding catchers. I don't know that they "changed their attitude." Schneider is the best guy they were able to get, and they're probably thinking, well, at least he brings great defense. Remember, before they dealt for Schneider they tried wooing Posada.

Triple Dee Apr 25 2008 06:29 AM

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Remember, before they dealt for Schneider they tried wooing Posada. I wasn't aware of that (I was probably away on holidays at the time).

Benjamin Grimm Apr 25 2008 06:43 AM

It was a very brief courtship.

AG/DC Apr 25 2008 07:36 AM

But, man, look at that 1963 squad, and to think how juiceless they'd have been if third-stringer Jesse Gonder didn't string together a pretty good year. Let's hope these guys don't remain in the conversation. Catcher PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO HbP SF SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Choo Choo Coleman 263 236 18 42 0 0 3 9 22 46 4 0 4 4 .178 .260 .216 .476 Norm Sherry 158 145 7 19 1 0 2 10 9 26 3 1 1 0 .131 .196 .179 .376 Jesse Gonder 122 115 13 36 4 0 3 13 5 22 0 2 1 2 .313 .336 .426 .762 Chris Cannizzarro 34 32 4 7 1 0 0 2 1 8 0 1 0 0 .219 .235 .250 .485 Sammy Taylor 41 37 3 7 0 1 0 7 3 9 0 1 0 0 .182 .250 .273 .523 Totals 618 565 45 111 6 1 8 41 40 111 7 5 6 6 .196 .256 .254 .511

TheOldMole Apr 25 2008 09:20 AM

Anything new on Schneider's thumb?

AG/DC Apr 25 2008 09:48 AM

Last time I checked, some boogers, and some crud from his keyboard.

Benjamin Grimm Apr 25 2008 10:37 AM

I'm glad I'm not the one in charge of checking that.

TheOldMole Apr 25 2008 11:16 AM

Yuk.

Elster88 Jun 07 2008 10:54 PM

Cancel cancelled, Casanova back.