Who can catch?

[Cocos Disciples]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3785786&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines

 

Doumit signed a 3 year extension.

[Dipre]

My problem with Johjima is that apparently he has some problems leading the staff, because he still calls the game the way they play in Japan, which is pitching "backwards", I.E setting up the fastball with breaking balls instead of the other way around.

 

However, it probably will not be a problem if he goes to the Red Sox, who excel at fixing players' flaws.

 

On the offensive spectrum of things, i agree with diony on the accounts that his BABIP, LD% and contact % all suggest that his season was clearly a fluke and he should rebound.

 

However, i think the catcher situation can wait until the Tex one is settled.

[Dojji]

I think the fact that the catching situation (read: an actual roster hole) has to wait until the Tex one is settled is yet another strike against the idea of acquiring Teixeira.

[ORS]

Dojji, it's gotten to the point where if you found a stark white Coco Puff in your cereal box, you'd present it in the case against Teixeira. The offseason trade market tends to lag the free-agent market, as teams prefer to let the money acquistions play out before they start moving on-field assets. The only way to circumvent that process is to make an offer very attractive. It's in their best interest to wait.

[Dojji]

Dojji' date=' it's gotten to the point where if you found a stark white Coco Puff in your cereal box, you'd present it in the case against Teixeira. [/quote']

 

Nice one.

[Paradisecity]

I believe that Teixeira's name breaking the "i before e" rule not once but TWICE, should be two more strikes against the idea of signing him.

[naptownsoxfan]

I think every Ms pitcher hates Johjima for a reason. I can't imagine the Red Sox's without Tek leading that young staff.

 

And about Johjima's 2008 season it was a big fluke, everyone expect him to bounce back, including the Ms. If Theo can land him as a salary dump move, it'll be a complete steal. A few points:

 

1) Johjima's BABIP was .233 after putting a .291 BABIP in 2007, that is unsustainably low.

 

2) He only struck out 33 times, while his contact% was 88%, means this guy puts a lot of balls in play, but he was unlucky.

 

3) His LD% was a career high of 21.1%, 1% higher than 2007's. Which means he was hitting the ball better.

 

Bill James projected him with a solid .265/.319/.408, for $6 million. The Red Sox can live with that for 2 years. Without giving Bucholz, Bowden or Masterson.

 

I rather give a 18/2 to Tek, but that's just me.

 

Good points, if you can get a guy like that why not. Your really not going to have to give up much...low risk high reward.

[naptownsoxfan]

I think the fact that the catching situation (read: an actual roster hole) has to wait until the Tex one is settled is yet another strike against the idea of acquiring Teixeira.

 

The Tex thing has taken over and you are right there is a real hole to fill at catcher, but every discussion seems to fall back to Tex. Lets just hope it comes to a end soon so we can all talk about real needs.

 

Tex would be great to have but look if we don't get him we are still a good ball team that should have gone to the WS last year with the lineup we have ( minus Tek ).

 

I like this thread WHO CAN CATCH?

[Cocos Disciples]

I believe that Teixeira's name breaking the "i before e" rule not once but TWICE' date=' should be two more strikes against the idea of signing him.[/quote']

 

Tiexiera? Nah.

[SCM33]

Yankees sign Kevin Cash.

 

******* move. No other way to slice it.....just a bunch of D-bags over there.....looks like they really want to get the rivalry going in full force again.

 

(I posted this same post in minor offseason moves also)

[TheKilo]

lol really?

 

They can have him

[Dipre]

Yankees sign Kevin Cash.

 

******* move. No other way to slice it.....just a bunch of D-bags over there.....looks like they really want to get the rivalry going in full force again.

 

(I posted this same post in minor offseason moves also)

 

Goddamn it, he was a key component of our team......

 

Whatever shall we do now.............

[TheKilo]

http://news.bostonherald.com/sports/baseball/red_sox/view/2008_12_28_Red_Sox_agree_with_Brad_Penny__Josh_Bard/srvc=home&position=also

 

The Sox have all but given up on re-signing longtime catcher Jason Vartiek, and continue to discuss possible trades with the Texas Rangers (Taylor Teagarden, Jarrod Saltalamacchia), and Arizona Diamondbacks (Miguel Montero).

[Cocos Disciples]

Predictable, considering the Bard signing and their splits.

[jacksonianmarch]

This would make me think that the sox are about to acquire Montero. Tek is better vs lefties and Bard fits the bill there. He makes for a perfect fit with a lefty hitter like Montero. Montero had a mid .800s OPS in the minors for the DBacks and hit 62 homers in parts of 5 minor league seasons. In his MLB time, he hasnt had the solid OPS, but he has hit 15 homeruns in what amounts to less than a season of work. His OPS of .765 in limited duty last yr if far better than Variteks and one would assume that a better lineup AND a platoon would likely lead to better performance for this kid. I would applaud this move if I were a sox fan. And then, maybe, we will see exactly what kind of "force" vtek was with his pitchers. I call BS on that since Vtek couldnt throw and wasnt great at blocking by the time his tenure in Boston was wrapping up

[Dojji]

This would make me think that the sox are about to acquire Montero.

 

If they trade Michael Bowden for a middle-teir catcher when they don't have to I just might hurl. Bowden's way more talented than that if he can get a chance to prove himself here and he's probably the most polished of our Big 3 based on what I've seen of him. He certainly covered himself with more glory than Buchholz did in their time here this year and the guy's gonna be 22 years old next year with an effective big league start under his belt.

 

No matter what you think of Montero, what he isn't is a franchise talent. A guy like Bowden should be on the table for franchise talent only. A good year from Johjima is as solid as a good year from Montero, and you can have Bowden pitch to him.

 

At least we know Johjima can play in the American League and that he has hit there in the past.

 

Oh, since it's germaine to the thread -- I was intrigued by the acquisition of Bard because it did signal the demise of the campaign to make Varitek our own again. I predicted in the Moneyball thread that if catcher became officially an open position we'd see Theo starting to kick the tires on a lot of middle tier catching talent and letting a lot of different guys try out and lo, it has begun.

 

I expect to see at least one more catcher acquired on a NRI deal which doesn't preclude picking up a bigger name in trade. Michael Barrett is a possibility there. That gives us 4 catchers competing for 2 roster spots and gives us some organizational leverage to acquire a better catcher in trade.

[jacksonianmarch]

Johjima hit .227 and had an OPS of .609. For comparison, he was 30 points worse than Melky in terms of OPS. You could probably have him for an empty whiskey bottle and part of Ted Kennedy's tumor.

[Cocos Disciples]

Michael Barrett signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3798451