It’s like pitching a tent in your backyard, only not quite as much fun. S’mores, anyone?
With the exception of a few at-bats wasted on the useless Doug Mirabelli, catcher has been an unbelievably strong position for the Padres. And, as with the bullpen, the guys who are getting the job done have been acquired on the cheap.
Rumors of Mike Piazza‘s demise proved premature. No, he cannot throw out base stealers (what else is new?), but in most other aspects, Piazza is as good as or better than his predecessor, Ramon Hernandez, behind the dish. On the other side, Piazza also has provided just as much offense as Hernandez, and isn’t under contract for the next 47 years.
In Piazza, the Padres also have — with all due respect to Trevor Hoffman — probably their most media-savvy player since Tony Gwynn. Piazza has done it in Los Angeles and New York. He can handle just about anything that comes his way, which takes a lot of pressure off the rest of the team.
In other news:
Klesko, Castilla could be on way out (San Diego Union-Tribune). Thanks to Peter for the heads-up. From the article: “Towers said he has told Klesko, who has full no-trade powers, that the club is committed to first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, 24, which would leave Klesko out of the daily lineup.” Billy Hall, Corey Koskie, Wilson Betemit, and Andy Marte are mentioned as third base possibilites. The club is shying away from Aaron Boone (woo-hoo!). Players mentioned as potentially being moved include George Kottaras and Scott Linebrink (“by far, the most asked-about player on our club” according to Towers). Stay tuned…
As for the backups, waiver claim Rob Bowen played very well early before landing on the disabled list. Playing time has been hard to come by for Bowen since returning to the active roster thanks to the presence of Josh Bard, acquired from Boston for Mirabelli in what is turning into one of the key moves of the season.
Apparently Bard couldn’t catch a knuckleball, which isn’t nearly as much of a problem for the Padres as it seemed to be for the Red Sox, who preferred a washed-up backstop who can’t really do much of anything at this point in his career. Their loss is San Diego’s gain, as Bard has been outstanding at the plate and behind it.
The acquisition of Bard has helped to remove some of the sting from the Mark Loretta giveaway, to say nothing of allowing Piazza to stay fresh throughout the season. With Bard and Bowen on the roster and performing well, Bruce Bochy hasn’t had to fight whatever urge he may have had to overwork the veteran Piazza.
As a group, Padres catchers have hit .317/.378/.529 for the season so far. They lead big-league catchers in SLG and OPS, are tied for the lead in doubles, and are second in homers and OBP. Given that they’re doing it with one guy who supposedly no longer can play the position and two others who weren’t wanted by their former teams, it’s hard to call the Padres’ catching situation in 2006 anything other than an unqualified success.
Grade: A
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