Dojji

As already discussed, his "lack of defense" is an average to below average throwing arm. As a receiver and gamecaller Kottaras has actually been winning kudos. As to players with low AAA batting averages... http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/N/Mike-Napoli.shtml 2005 AA .237/.370/.508/.880. Napoli is now one of the better power hitting catchers in the American League. I want to make this clear. I am not saying Kottaras is Napoli. Napoli has much more raw power than Kottaras. However, a low AVG in the minors is NOT a bar to effective big league performance as long as a player's game translates reasonably well.

FWIW: Brown is projected to a .255/.326/.410 line

I'd sign up for that. Thats roughly a .335/.396/.731 out of basically a backup catcher and it's within spitting distance of .340/.410/.750, which is pretty much Tek's line from 2007. Also if you can project that from a guy in his rookie year... not bad at all.

The. Twins. May.. Very. Well. Lock. Up. Mauer.

Batting average is a dead stat, Chief.

Believe me I know all about Soxprospects having been BANNED there mostly because I talked up prospects considered yesterday's news, dared to talk about unconventional possibilities and praised slagheap players I liked (two of those players, I might add, went on to play supporting roles in the 2007 World Series run) and because I "posted too much." I'll admit I was a bit of an idiot towards the end, but when you feel like everyone's ganging up on you you do irrational things. Anyhow though, they got Pedroia right, got Lowrie right, got Youkilis right, got Papelbon right, got Delcarmen right. They overhyped Ellsbury and Buchholz a bit but those two have time to prove Soxprospects right as well. Their track record is pretty good all things considered. As for JSinger I dislike him intensely as a person but there's little denying that he generally knows what he's talking about and even when he's wrong he takes a stance backed up by a reasonable interpretation of the facts at the time.

Who are the Sox gonna sign next season? Every interesting catcher is signed through 2011.

http://www.soxprospects.com/players/kottaras-george.htm His "poor defensive reputation" amounts to a concerns over his average throwing arm -- much like Varitek's or Hatteberg's -- heck, we don't miss what we've never had when it comes to throwing arms. And even there, his arm is considered strong with the problem being his pop time. And reading between the lines of that Soxprospects report we see a guy who might be nearly as hard a worker and as coachable as Varitek was at first and that counts a ton on my book. Besides that Kottaras has been developing an offensive reputation in AAA as a clutch hitter. If you believe in clutch (I'm on the fence) that might count for something. Out of the guys we have I would have little problem with letting Kottaras be the guy who got intensive mentorship from Tek. Combine power, discipline, good recieving skills, and a useful platoon skillset for right now, and I think we could do a lot worse. BTW anyone notice Kottaras' line in winter ball? 0.308/0.419 /0.462 / 0.881

Mauer is available for anyone in 2011. Let's not make the mistake of assuming that we're the only one who would wany a premiere catcher. Besides with Polahd gone I wouldn't lay too long odds that the new owners mightn't open their wallets to KEEP Mauer.

Because he's been given any kind of chance to prove what kind of catcher he is.

The 10 mil guaranteed offer Tek "refused" was the offer of arbitration, since arbitration practically never assigns a pay cut.

Why do I feel like I'm having a conversation with an earlier version of myself? We can fill a lineup and rotation without Buchholz, that's not the question I have in my mind. Wagner hit a brick wall this year in AA, ahs Expo will be starting this year at single-A Salem, so counting on either of them to be the catcher of the future at this point is categorically absurd. As for Kottaras, he has the ability to develop into an average to above average catcher but I certainly wouldn't object to a surer thing. As for the concerns about his D, Varitek wasn't the best defensive catcher in the world when he first started either, but with work he improved. I have little difficulty believing Saltalamacchia can make the same improvements. Bearing in mind of course that Buchholz isn't exactly a perfect complete package of awesome right now either. BTW -- considering that both the pieces we got back in the Hanley trade turned into huge contributors to the 2007 World Series win I consider us well compensated for Hanley.

Good luck collecting on that, meanwhile baseball is a poor place for grudgesso I think the rest of us still grit our teeth and deal with the Rangers.

Let's remember this the next time he tries to bring up Beckett's long and glorious injury history.

Don't forget Dusty Brown. He seems to be an afterthought but that's really kinda unfair to Brown. By all accounts he's a fine catcher and he's got a rifle on his shoulder and he hit better than Kottaras. And he, also, can handle the knuckleball.

quite honestly I'd think about it. Clay is good but he didn't impress me much last year, they monkeyed with his delivery, and Catcher is a position of need. If we can deal him to fill that need with a top-notch replacement we do have 3 other prospects who could at least potentially become staples of the rotation if needed next year -- Bowden, Masterson, and Kris Johnson. If you're going to deal prospects there's worse times to do it.

Honestly? Kottaras should have every chance to earn more responsibility for himself. As a LHH catcher who can handle a knuckler he's got a couple points in his favor to make the roster as a backup even if they sign 'Tek. Most of our other options are about 2-3 years away and none of them are guarantees to make it as far as Kottaras did (no, not even Exposito and his low OBP). He also fits the Sox' philosophy as a walk-taker who's been flashing some power around. Interesting quote by Theo at Soxprosects on their Kottaras thread which is mostly the reason I top this -- when Kot was called up instead of Brown last year it caught some people by surprise, but he did it because he felt that Kottaras was the better reciever, which is interesting and worth bearing in mind.

Some people think BB's genius is in-game tactics. It isn't. BB's genius is in developing people, not plays. Matt Cassel is the perfect exsample of this. If you have a guy who's humble enough and talented enough, and he stays healthy, BB can turn him into a superstar whether he's a player or a coach and regardless of position.

You do? Who pitches instead if you take advantage of that luxury?

Do the Dodgers play the Yankees in interleague play?

That makes Ramirez sound like Jon Still. Is his glove that bad?

Beceause you're missing the other significance of what it means for a guy to Kerry Wood himself. Or perhaps more to MY point, to Mark Prior himself. By leaving a guy who was drafted with preexisting health concerns to put a ton of mileage on his arm you are running the risk of, when he returns to the bullpen, him being so injury prone, or his arm being tired, he goes Gagne or in some other way proves unreliable. Whereas by playing it safe you, at least in principle, make sure that even though he's just a reliever, he's a healthy reliever who will be able to pitch for several years and possibly even close for you once Mo inevitably retires.

No, because Teagarden and Ramirez both have options. There is no roster crunch here. Texas is under no obligation at all to make a trade and signing Melhuse (not exactly a premiere backup) signifies nothing less or more than a willingness to build up insurance, probably in case Saltalamacchia can't improve defensively.

Both Clay and Hughes have the odds on their side to "get it" eventually. A lot of starters hit the rocks early, especially if like both Hughes and Clay, they had limited AAA time. (this is a mistake I note Theo is NOT repeating with Bowden) For examples, see: Zack Greinke, Jon Lester, Curt Schilling, just about every power lefty in history from Randy Johnson to Sandy Koufax to Johan Santana

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