yes, a serviceable catcher is all that is required, but if we got kendall for little of nothing with the right trade wouldnt you consider it ?

 

 

i'm just concerned that too much load will be on sandy and if he goes down, we become even weaker at catcher

yes, a serviceable catcher is all that is required, but if we got kendall for little of nothing with the right trade wouldnt you consider it ?

 

 

i'm just concerned that too much load will be on sandy and if he goes down, we become even weaker at catcher

You do not listen. :headshake

so you all think that we will be fine with sandy/burke/davis

even if sandy goes down sore/ injured?

so you all think that we will be fine with sandy/burke/davis

even if sandy goes down sore/ injured?

Then we give up some some low prospect for zaun or myers, someone of that ilk.

Jason Kendall: .317, .396 OBP, .781 OPS, 2 HR, 30 RBI. He's thrown out 34% of would be base stealers which is good compared to his career numbers. Owed big bucks for another 3 years.

 

Johnny Estrada: .338 AVG, .388 OBP, 4 HR, 44 RBI

He is throwing out just 19% of would be basestealers which is downright AWFUL. However, in an extended period of time in 2001 he threw out .35% of would be base stealers.

I think he is still a year away from being arbitration eligible (He has played parts of 3 other seasons in the majors) and a few years off from becoming a free agent. I'm not sure if two of his years count though, so he may still be under control by the team that has him for a bit longer. However, Estrada is hitting .381 vs. righties.

 

Greg Zaun - Switch Hitter

.312 AVG, .401 OBP, .820 OPS, 2 HR, 15 RBI

He is throwing out 46% of would be base stealers, although his career numbers indicate he should be a bit lower. He is hitting .297 vs. righties this season (.413 OBP) and .333 vs lefties. He has more at bats against righties on the season.

 

Brian Schneider - L

.251 AVG, .301 OBP, 8 HR, 21 RBI.

May not be great offensively, but he is a stud behind the plate. Throwing out 53.3% of would be base stealers. Last season he threw out 52.9% of base stealers and in 2002 it was in the upper 40%'s. He also only has two passed balls this year, which tells me he does a good job blocking the plate.

 

If you ask me a deal with Schneider and Livan Hernandez/Zach Day/Tony Armas could be interesting.

 

Another option: Benito Santiago. He is out 6-8 weeks with a broken hand, but is expected back at the end of July. Who knows, he could be a waiver deal as well. Has postseason experience and would be a hell of a leader down the stretch.

You are absolutely correct with the thinking that if Sandy goes down, we will be hurting.

OK... so if we are fine with sandy/burke/davis then why oh WHY was everyone crying foul over MO leaving

 

 

it's not like i am saying get kendall or die, but i think it would be good to be proactive and get some help before we need it and get screwed.....

 

 

now that someone mentioned it..... Zaun would be a decent pickup for the right price.... plus he hits the sox very well so that would be a plus

Personally I think any of the guys I mentioned would be good pickups. Personally I like Zaun or Schneider because they are better defensively and both are solid offensively. Zaun could possibly be had relatively cheap though and who knows maybe Schneider could be too cause he's due arbitration. Plus both are left handed bats (well Zaun is switch) which is nice.

OK... so if we are fine with sandy/burke/davis then why oh WHY was everyone crying foul over MO leaving

 

 

it's not like i am saying get kendall or die, but i think it would be good to be proactive and get some help before we need it and get screwed.....

 

 

now that someone mentioned it..... Zaun would be a decent pickup for the right price.... plus he hits the sox very well so that would be a plus

Mo is a fan favorite, and most people took for granted that he'd be here for a while.

 

He's replaceable. But it's almost like losing Maggs, without considering losing him a possibility.

 

It hurts. We are not hurting in the catcher's department, but losing Mo hurts.

Personally I think any of the guys I mentioned would be good pickups.  Personally I like Zaun or Schneider because they are better defensively and both are solid offensively.  Zaun could possibly be had relatively cheap though and who knows maybe Schneider could be too cause he's due arbitration.  Plus both are left handed bats (well Zaun is switch) which is nice.

I like Schneider a hell of a lot. He'd be solid as hell.

MO-less does hurt a bit... but i do recall a fair amount of disdain over him leaving because of his defense... but anyway

 

zaun would definitally cost prospects... toronto is looking to semi rebuild ......

schneider i dunno.... do ya think mlb will be doing much before they sell the team to its new owners?

Why exactly do we need to go out and get a catcher?

I think Kendall's value as a catcher is superceded by his value as an ideal #2 hitter with speed.

 

Let's face it, Uribe is a free-swinger, and with Willie's inconsistency, having Willie-Uribe as 1-2 against Shilling/Pedro/Vasquez/Brown is a very risky proposition. Willie I could stomach as a lead-off man, but Uribe is a #7 spot hitter.

 

But, damn, that contract of Kendall's is just painful to read. If I am spending that kind of money, I'll be better off begging Randy Johnson to come to Chicago and be our #1 in 2004 and 2005 instead.

I think Kendall's value as a catcher is superceded by his value as an ideal #2 hitter with speed.

 

Let's face it, Uribe is a free-swinger, and with Willie's inconsistency, having Willie-Uribe as 1-2 against Shilling/Pedro/Vasquez/Brown is a very risky proposition.  Willie I could stomach as a lead-off man, but Uribe is a #7 spot hitter.

 

But, damn, that contract of Kendall's is just painful to read.    If I am spending that kind of money, I'll be better off begging Randy Johnson to come to Chicago and be our #1 in 2004 and 2005 instead.   

I agree, Brando. He'd be a nice fit, but that contract is cost prohibitive.

we dont "need" offense from our catcher but a number 2 hitter would be really nice.... yeah uribe had a fast start and was amazing at the begining but he is far from a good number 2 hitter... kendall would be our best contact hitter and if you look at our wins and our losses you can see uribe's average makes a big difference its like .340 in wins and around .200 or so when we lose... basicly kendall would be a lot more constant .300 which = more wins

I think Kendall's value as a catcher is superceded by his value as an ideal #2 hitter with speed.

 

Let's face it, Uribe is a free-swinger, and with Willie's inconsistency, having Willie-Uribe as 1-2 against Shilling/Pedro/Vasquez/Brown is a very risky proposition.  Willie I could stomach as a lead-off man, but Uribe is a #7 spot hitter.

 

But, damn, that contract of Kendall's is just painful to read.    If I am spending that kind of money, I'll be better off begging Randy Johnson to come to Chicago and be our #1 in 2004 and 2005 instead.   

He would have been in San Diego if the Pirates were willin to absorb about $5 mill more of his salary, as part of the Brian Giles. There are a lot of catcher options available, KW will get 1 I'm sure, if we need 1. Let's see how Burke, and Davis hit for about 2 weeks 1st.

I like Schneider a hell of a lot.  He'd be solid as hell.

Found this on Schneider,

 

He batted .230 in April, .253 in May, .293 in June ... See a trend here?

I really like the idea of getting Zaun, he'd be relatively cheap, is decent defensively, and is swinging a hot bat. I don't think you could find a better fit.

 

Pitt will have to give Kendall away to get someone to take him(they've been trying to dump that contract since they signed it), offering Rauch for him would be inane, and Rauch+? No Way!

I really like the idea of getting Zaun, he'd be relatively cheap, is decent defensively, and is swinging a hot bat. I don't think you could find a better fit.

 

Pitt will have to give Kendall away to get someone to take him(they've been trying to dump that contract since they signed it), offering Rauch for him would be inane, and Rauch+? No Way!

That pretty well sums it up. If we take on say $5 mil a year of Kendall's contract, we aren't going to give up a top prospect to get him. We would give up a C rate prospect having a decent year, but with no real upside. Now if we get them to take on most of his contract, then we would have to give them someone like Rauch, maybe more.

Why exactly do we need to go out and get a catcher?

 

Our offense is good enough to compensate for a catcher who hits just .250.

 

After all, Olivo was hitting .270 and only playing roughly 2 to 3 times per week.

 

We will surely miss him on defense, but Alomar is a veteran with postseason experience and Burke and/or Davis are ample backups.

 

I like Olivo for his potential, but right now he really had little to do with our success this season up to this point.

It's not just because he can hit, but because he's a real solid defensive catcher with the ability to call good games.

Jason Kendall

Kris Benson

Jose Mesa

Cash

 

for

 

Jon Rauch

Aaron Rowand

Joe Borchard

Josh Stewart

 

Jason Kendall

Kris Benson

Jose Mesa

Cash

 

for

 

Jon Rauch

Aaron Rowand

Joe Borchard

Josh Stewart

 

That's about an extra $10 to $15 million salary we'd be taking on this year. No thanx.

That's about an extra $10 to $15 million salary we'd be taking on this year. No thanx.

That's where the cash comes in. Pittsburgh pays some if not all of the remaining salaries for this season much like KW got with Everett and Alomar last season.

That's where the cash comes in.  Pittsburgh pays some if not all of the remaining salaries for this season much like KW got with Everett and Alomar last season.

We're not giving up Rowand AND Borchard. It's 1 thing to trade Reed, but another thing to trade 2 more young outfielders. Doubt Pittsburgh would want Stewart, and Mesa always worried me. Benson hasn't been poitching fantastically either.

In expressing my concern over losing Olivo yesterday.. I was told not to worry so much about it. The only thing that will be missed will be his arm, and that's not as important in the big picture. That 95% of the game is called from the bench anyways, and all catchers need to do nowadays is squat for 9 innings. Pitching wins. And that this team with Garcia reminded someone of a winning team he played on in Boston..

 

 

And BTW Yas.. he said the olive branch will never be big enough.

I would take Kendall in a minute, I would like Benson as well, he shut down the best hitting team in the National League yesterday.