Reports of the Mets interest in Ivan 'Pudge' Rodriguez won't go away. According to Jim Baumbach - Newsday, Tony Bernazard has said, "Some of us wished we could have him with us, but the truth is that we have two catchers under contract."
Boy, is that a ringing endorsement for Brian Schneider and Ramon Castro or what? As I have stated in the past (here) , if healthy, I would rather have Ramon 'Darth Castro'* as the back-up. As if the Mets don't have enough on their plate with a concern for a pitching staff that has been less than stellar this spring, dealing with last year's collapse, and now the VP of Player Development insinuating that he would love Pudge, but is unable to deal either of his two catchers.
Bernazard went further saying, "It's not so easy to make a move right now to make it possible to have him with us." Nothing like having upper management behind you. This team has to realize that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Granted, neither Schneider nor Castro will be enshrined in Cooperstown, but that doesn't mean they aren't a big part of this team. I was disappointed with Schneider last year, and not for his offense. I felt his defense was less than adequate. In fairness, if you remember, he did miss a good portion of Spring Training in 2008, and joining a new team, might have taken him longer to become comfortable with his new staff. This will be the telling year.
As for Castro, when healthy (I know, a big if), he is among the best back-up catchers in the game. That coupled with a great clubhouse attitude is very important, especially for this team.
Imagine if Bernazard was hired by Seattle this offseason?
* - Phrase coined by Brooklyn Met Fan
2 comments:
Nothing like management mouthing off. To me when you have someone under contract why make those guys feel like there not wanted? That is not the way to motivate. The Mets really need to keep there mouths shut!
I was really hoping Bernazard would go to Seattle.
I can't stand this man.
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