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3/27/12
Mack Ade - Mets Catching
By - Mack Ade
Josh Thole says he is sick and tired of hearing that he's a bad catcher. I'm pretty sick of it also, but the reality is he needed to improve his defensive skills after a year of so-so hitting and uh-oh catching of R.A. Dickey's slop
I attended every Savannah home game the year Josh was converted from a first baseman. He did a damn good job and continues to, but his game continues to come more into question as his batting average went down. Everybody knew that Mike Piazza wasn't going to win a Golden Glove, but who the hell cared?
Thole made no secret that he was going to work in the off-season on his throws as well as blocking skills. The word out of camp is he has improved in both areas, especially the blocking. Now all he had to do is convince TC to let someone else catch Dickey.
Thole is not what's wrong with this team, but the organization hasn't signed or drafted a catcher that worked out since... since... need some help here.
Not that they haven't tried. Jesus Flores was going to be the end all, but was lost in the Rule V draft (not that he worked out for the Nats either). Then there was Francesco Pena who looks like he won't get past AAAA. And lastly, the Mets drafted big with Blake Forsythe which, so far, hasn't panned out either.
Juan Centeno, Albert Cordero, and Jeff Diehl show some promise, but promise doesn't turn the turnstiles
It's a damn shame Jerry Grote wasn't still round, right?
So, let's ask the question.
Who would you rather have catching the 2012 Mets, Josh or Grote?
Through three seasons, Thole has hit .276/.350/.356/.707
In 16 years, Grote hit .252/.316/.326/.642
But Grote had all those home runs, right?
The most home runs he ever hit as a Met was six in 1969.
Grote was better defensively, but ultimately, good-hitting catchers are rare these days. And it has been worse: if you look at the 1967 AL, only two catchers hit better than .250 (one by a single point) and several regular catchers didn't even hit .200.
John Stearns was and probably will always be my favorite Mets catcher. He was a great defender and was on his way to multiple all-star appearances before his finger was mangled by a foul tip. He was tough defensively and a very good hitter with the rare ability to steal a base by a catcher.
Grote was better defensively, but ultimately, good-hitting catchers are rare these days. And it has been worse: if you look at the 1967 AL, only two catchers hit better than .250 (one by a single point) and several regular catchers didn't even hit .200.
ReplyDeleteJohn Stearns was and probably will always be my favorite Mets catcher. He was a great defender and was on his way to multiple all-star appearances before his finger was mangled by a foul tip. He was tough defensively and a very good hitter with the rare ability to steal a base by a catcher.
ReplyDeleteThe pitchers loved Grote.
ReplyDelete