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Message #30 of 252  *NEW*
To:  All
From:  
The Olde English Ds  
Subject:  Catchers
Date:  3/18/06, 8:16pm
graphic
Sorry for the delay in the blog. Once again this week life and laziness got in the way of the important things. The goal is to complete positional analysis for the Tigers before the season starts. Today will focus on the catcher position.

Following the 119 loss season the Detroit team lacked any sort of credibility and talent in the baseball realm. The franchised lacked personality and attracting free agents to the D was a challenge. Management was forced to overpay for talent, mostly aging talent. Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez is the epitome of this fact. Pudge is still a quality catcher, but is on the downhill side of a hall of fame career while getting paid handsomely for it. Defensively, Pudge is one of the best in the business with a rocket arm and a reputation for being able to handle pitching staffs. Although up till now this has yet to translate with the Tigers. His feud with manager Alan Trammell are well documented from last season and provide part of the reason Trammell lost control of the team. For better or worse, Pudge is the face of the franchise. Hopefully he buys into Leyland’s system and plays better all around. His shining moment last season was his runner-up performance in the home run derby in front of the hometown fans.

Pudge struggled last year offensively following a strong season the year before. His batting average dropped from .334 in 2004 to .276 last year. Both his home run and RBI numbers fell as well, but were not as significant as his loss in weight. Last year he didn’t look like a “Pudge.” It bodes well for this season that he has put on some weight and hopefully won’t wear down the way he did last year. Expect Rodriguez to hit close to his career average of .304 bouncing back this season with around 15 HR and 70 RBIs. Pudge appears to be focused this year following the messy divorce last year. He reports he want to catch 120 games this year, which is nice to hear even if it doesn’t come true.

The other 42 games will be manned by veteran back-up catcher Vance Wilson. He is solid defensively and not much to write about offensively. In 61 games in 2005 he hit .197 with 3 HR and 19 RBIs. He is a lifetime .243 hitter. Hopefully this year he will get back over the Mendoza line. In a jam the Tigers can also play either Chris Shelton or Brandon Inge at catcher. Both formerly occupied the position and Inge is a solid defensive catcher.

Despite being toward the end of his career, Pudge still provides the Tigers with on of the top catchers in baseball. Taking into account all around play he is one of the top five at his position. Although he might only be the third best catcher in the AL Central with Victor Martinez and Joe Mauer if they are healthy.

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Go Tigers!!!
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Message #31 of 252  *NEW*
To:  The Olde English Ds's Blog Thread
From:  
rmayer78  
Subject:  Catchers
Date:  3/20/06, 10:23am

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Message #32 of 252  *NEW*
To:  The Olde English Ds's Blog Thread
From:  
rmayer78  
Subject:  Catchers
Date:  3/20/06, 10:50am
Let's face it, there's a lot of questions regarding pudge right now. Like, wasn't Pudges reason for losing all of that weight last year was to prevent himself from wearing down towards the end of the season?! Along with adding more quickness to his baserunning. How did he go about losing all of that weight anyway? If it was a muscle weight issue as you're implying now. I'm surprised you didn't mention the steriod issue with Pudge. I'm still a bit suspicious of that. What about the effect the world baseball championships will have on his season? Still 120 games? 100? Any thoughts of trading him? Do the Tigers have any young catching prospects coming up through the minors? How would Wilson do if he had to actually play half of a season or more? Do you think Shelton or Inge will see any games at catcher this year? What about Dmitri? They're trying him almost everywhere else! My feeling is that catcher can either be the teams strongest point this season or it's weakest point. Let's hope it's the strongest!

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Message #33 of 252  *NEW*
To:  rmayer78
From:  
The Olde English Ds  
Subject:  Re: Catchers
Date:  3/20/06, 1:08pm
graphic
I agree with your analysis and worries about Pudge. While the steroid issue was not specifically addressed in my prior breakdown it was meant to be implied. If Pudge's transformation was the result of anything other than steriods I would be shocked. Only Bond's head looks bigger on his body. However, if Pudge gets hurt or wears down this year Vance Wilson will not be the answer. He can get you games here and there, but does not have the hitting ability to be a regular. I don't expect Inge or Shelton to catch this year unless something drastic happens. I still think Inge has the talent and ability to return to the catcher position in a couple years when Pudge is no longer on the team. To your question about catching prospects...the Tigers do not have a legitimate catching prospect in the minors that I am aware of. During the spring training game against the Yankees today the Tiger's announcers talked about the lack of depth at the catcher position on the farm. Hopefully Pudge can have a solid year and I'd like to see the Tiger's trade him for future value.

OE

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