Not So Weekly Poll: Backup Catcher?

by Tom Dakers on Mar 21, 2009 6:52 PM EDT in Fun Comment 7 comments

Last time we asked who you thought should lead off against right-handed pitchers and you guys agreed with Hugo and I and picked Lyle Overbay. Not that I imagine Cito will and try him in that role but it interests me that as a group we are willing to try a pretty non-conventional player in that spot.

Today I was wondering what your thoughts were about who should be the backup catcher, since it's on Cito's mind at the moment. I'm going to include a couple of players that have been sent down to the minors already, even though they are no longer candidates to win the spot that doesn't mean that some of us don't think they still would be the best choice.

Poll

Who should get the backup catcher job on the Jays?

JP Arencibia

11 votes

Michael Barrett

99 votes

Raul Chavez

12 votes

Brian Jeroloman

1 votes

Curtis Thigpen

44 votes

Someone Else? Let us know who....

2 votes

169 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

my order of preference

would be Barrett, Josh Bard (who was just released by Boston), Thigpen, Chavez, and then Jeroloman and Arencibia. I really think those two could give us an incredible 1-2 catcher punch if they can reach their potential but I think both still need considerable work. I’d like to give them both a shot this season and then see what they can do next year.

Not that it matters too much who the backup catcher is, but I don’t buy Barajas as an everyday catcher over a full season. I think the backup is going to get work, and I don’t know that calling up Arencibia to play every day would be a good way to deal with a Barajas injury. So I want someone who can hit. It’s true that Thigpen hasn’t done anything over the past couple of seasons but I have a hard time believing he’d be worse than Chavez at the plate.

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Mar 21, 2009 7:04 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

oh well

the Nationals just signed bard

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Mar 21, 2009 8:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Go Jays Go Favourite:

JOEL COLLINS!

http://gojaysgo.tumblr.com/post/88313912/hughbenham-gojaysgo-who-is-your-uncle

by dlb on Mar 21, 2009 10:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

we like Joel Collins too

hope he takes a step forward this year, kid’s got some power

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Mar 22, 2009 4:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

would have been nice to sign i-rod for 1.5, but they couldn't "affford it" (but frasor will make 1.4)

by Andy Mc on Mar 22, 2009 3:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

And Barajas is about $2M we wouldn't be able to unload

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Mar 23, 2009 6:18 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'd actually

probably pass on pudge . . .

when bill james ranked the top 100 catchers in his Historical Baseball Abstract (2000), he called about 10 of the Top 20 “born catchers” (pudge being one of them). pudge is at an age where the guys who were “born catchers” are all pretty much done (bill dickey, johnny bench, roy campanella, bill freehan, thurman munson, darrell porter and lance parrish). Gabby Hartnett had, maybe, one year left and Carlton Fisk was obviously still a great player, but I don’t much care for those odds. Especially after seeing what he did with the yankees last year.

"The NY Mets are my favorite squadron" -- Apu Nahasapeemapetilon

by jessef on Mar 23, 2009 10:39 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs