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According to ESPN.com, citing the player’s agent, free-agent C Yorvit Torreabla will agree to a three-year contract with the Mets.
Torrealba’s agent told ESPN Radio in New York that he expects to formalize the agreement with the Mets this afternoon. He declined to reveal how much the contract would pay over the term.
…i am not sure what to make of this torrealba and castro combination…will it be a so-called platoon…and if so, why didn’t the Mets just bring back Paul Lo Duca and give castro more playing time next year…hopefully we will hear from Omar Minaya soon…
…added to by Matthew Cerrone…
The Denver Post writes that the Rockies will now turn their attention to ‘other veteran catchers,’ including Paul Lo Duca.
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Three things to consider:
1. Omar could NOT enter the 2008 season with two catchers vulnerable to injury. The fact that it happened had a major impact on the season’s outcome. It wasn’t going to happen again.
2. Backup catchers have a hard time establishing themselves as hitters. At the start of the 2007 season, Castro’s career batting numbers were WORSE than Torrealba’s .694 OPS vs. 704), but today we see Ramon as the second coming of Johnny Bench. Give Yorvit some time to settle in as a strater. (Yes, I know he’s sharing that role).
3. Judge Omar by the totality of his off-season moves. If this signing, plus bringing on an innings eater like Lilvan, are the only transactions of note in the off-season, consider it a failure. Buty if this is a relatively low-cost prelude to an upgrade at second or in the rotation, let’s judge this move then.
1-agree
2-agree
3-If this signing, plus bringing on an innings eater like Livan, are the only transactions of note in the off-season( and KEEPING the prospects, you’d consider it a failure BEFORE the season ever started?
“Failure” is too strong. “Inadequate” would be more to the point. i actually think with those two moves the Mets would go into the season with a fighting chance in a wide-open division. The bullpen can be improved with in-house options, so no major acquisitions are called for there. But the Mets would NOT be the dominant team in the division.
But I’m still hoping for an upgrade at second.
agreed
Now I feel that the Mets need a big name –one not named Rodriguez– more than I ever did.
I am still for re-signing Castillo and Castro.
I like Milledge, but a big name player like Santana or Bedard will cost him. Signing someone who can play defense and hit in right field is a necessity. A guy like Fukudome, who you can see hit on youtube if you doubt him, a two year rental such as Floyd or Jenkins, or even a high risk/reward guy such as Hinske or Bradley could work out well, with Gomez and Martinez well on their way. I don’t want Hunter, Jones, Rowand or Cameron due to position changes for skilled outfielders, the monetary and time costs, and the fact that only Jones is a proven star at the plate.
Personally, I have the sense that Bedard will cost less, and will be less sought out for than Santana, whom I think will be a Yankee if traded, or Cabrera who would be a Dodger, Angel or Giant if traded.
Milledge, Heilman, Pelfrey and Humber for Bedard.
Hinske is terrible. There’s no reward there. Steroids are tested for now. I’d rather see Marlon Anderson out there everyday than that. And anyone giving Floyd 2 years is foolish. The guy won’t even be in baseball in 09.
In the end, it’s all about Torrealba’s arm. In 2005-2006 he was one of the best catchers in the NL throwing out baserunners – only Yadier Molina was consistently better. 2007 – he dropped to 19 percent.
If the poor season in ‘07 was (a) the result of a non-structural injury that will improve with rest or (b) the result of pitchers not holding guys on (something only scouts and 1B coaches would know – I don’t watch games with a stopwatch to measure pop-to-pop times), then it’s a good signing. If the 19 percent guy is what we’re getting for the next 2-3 years, then the “intangibles” probably aren’t enough.
**1. Omar could NOT enter the 2008 season with two catchers vulnerable to injury. The fact that it happened had a major impact on the season’s outcome. It wasn’t going to happen again. **
OK then why did he just sign two catchers vulnerable to injury? Castro’s back will be an issue for the rest of his career — unless something has changed in chiropractic methods in the last two weeks — and Torrealba has a chronic shoulder injury going back to the winter of 2005.
catchers are vulnerable to injury.
OK well I’m happy it’s not 5 years.
Paulie was right back in June, he didn’t fit the “profile” of a Omar Minaya ballplayer
exactly. paulie’s not a winner.
you think torrealba would let Mota throw an 0-2 fastball to Spiezio?
you think the mets pitching staff would’ve completely imploded the last week of the season while torrealba’s staff is overachieving and winning 21 of 22.
So we are paying 7 million dollars for platoon catchers. What a joke.
So we are paying 7 million dollars for platoon catchers. What a joke. Was anyone else willing to bid this much for Torrealba? If the Marlins were then the Mets should have just traded for Olivo and platoon Castro and Olivo. Probably better production than Castro and Torrealba.
Olivo made $2 million and is elgible for arbitration where he should make 3-4 million. So we should have traded some good prospects for Olivo to save $3 million dollars? Or would the Marlins just have given him to us for nothing.
My understanding is that the Rockies and the Marlins were both offering 3 year deals as well. Not sure on the dollar amount per year though.
So trading for a catcher who is a little bit better than Torrealba is a good idea? Then what happens when Santana or Oswalt or any other big pitcher is on the block at the trading deadline and the Mets can’t get him because they traded away that one necessary prospect for Miguel Olivo?
What’s so hard to understand? The FO was sick of LoDuca’s antics. The guy just couldn’t stay out of his own way. 19 year old girls, gambling, ripping Willie. Not exactly traits the Wilpons think highly of. Also, I would venture a guess that they felt he could be a bad influence on DW. Now, if he hit like Piazza or even LoDuca circa 2002-04, they probably overlook that stuff.
you are leaving out the fact that he has zero power, terrible on base numbers, isnt particularly great behind the plate, and cannot hit the ball out of the infield. he is slow on the base path, and does not draw walks.
You forgot his amazing propensity to hit into double plays. That’s a unique skill that should not be ignored.
I never heard Lo Duca publicly rip willie. Last year willie deserved all of the criticism in the world…It’s not accurate to say that Lo Duca ripped willie….
I guess he was referring to the WFAN interview where when LoDuca was asked if he felt Willie should come out of the dugout and defend his players more, he responded with complete silence.
Disect this trade all you want. All you need to know is that it makes the the team no better than it was yesterday. We’re supposed to be building a WS team, and we are so far from that…its getting laughable. Our farm system is an over hyped piece of junk, Pelfrey and Humber will be nothing special, and we have no young players to trade for an Ace.
This team will look almost identical comethe start of the 2008 season. And any other acquisitions will be lateral moves…not upgrades. Torrealba brings no upgrade whatsoever. Its still the Mets…the chokers of 2007 with old men and no pitching.
At some point when the big stars hit free agency, Omar will have to open up the wallet. If he continues to pass on the key players….well, we all know how far we will go.
trade?
And what Catcher do you propse would put us over the top and back in World Series contention? Lo Duca? Hernandez? Laird? Paulino? None of them are any better then the guy we just signed, and many of which would have cost at least one ‘High-End’ prospect in return.
Michael Barrett would have been the best catching option. He is a good hitting ballplayer.
Agreed. He would have been a good #7/8 hitter. Guess Milledge is going to be protecting Delgado in the lineup now.
He’s also fought with just about every teammate he’s ever had. He’s not a good guy to have in your clubhouse.
Barrett is maybe the worst defensive catcher I’ve seen who has had a regular role. He can’t block a ball, call a game, or throw runners out.
Sure he can hit a bit, but he can’t catch. I want a catcher who can catch. Hell I’d take Charlie O’Brien over Michael Barrett if I had a choice.
Well you got your wish, because the Mets will be lucky if Torrealba hits like O’Brien. And considering that Torrealba threw out just 19% of runners last year, I’m not holding my breath.
If we’re supposed to be buidling a world series team, we just added a player who played in the World Series last year, and who according to all of his teamates was one of the majors reasons the Rockies made their run. So the Mets now have one more player that was in the World Series last year than they did last year. This guy proved he’s clutch, and he was the best option out there. Who did Omar pass up to get Torreabla? Lo Duca?
What key player did he pass on here?
Geez, one signing of a catcher and the whining in here goes to a new and unprecedented level.
Get over it.
Nice signing Robin Hood. Keep robbing from the Mets to give to your brethren.
Yay for Ignorance!
Anyone have an idea how this contract might compare to what LoDuca wants (or could get)?
All we have to do is get rid of Wright and Maine and then NOBODY will be able to address the media. Coincidence? NOT!!!!
The kiss of death for Loduca must have been when RJ Darling said on air something like “If anyone on this team would have fit in with the 86 Mets it would have been LoDuca.”
Apparently, Mets management does not like fiery guys with heart and personality who speak their minds as many of the personalities did on the mid 80’s teams.
They’d rather build a team of vanilla choir boys like a Kevin McReynolds than anyone who in their minds may reflect poorly on the organization.
Why must you always get rid of the fan favorites???
Have you no heart?
I wish LoDuca was still with us. I wish they could go back and reverse the Dykstra and McDowell for Juan Samuel trade as well. Great move.
Get rid of those damn fan favorites.
Thanks Omar! I’m sure you made the wilpons happy.
Of course the politically correct will not like your statement but…..i salute your courage for telling the truth. (a very dangerous thing to do these days)
My God…this isn’t really that big a deal. He won’t be any worse than LoDuca, but could be better. Who else were we gonna get that is better?
Theres nothing to complain about here.
yeah, actually he’s liable to be quite a bit worse than Paulie, and worse than most anybody else. He has never hit, anywhere, at any level (although to be fair I don’t have his little league stats with me). He has near-zero power, even at 5000 feet. At sea level, I see him flirting with the Mendoza line. He may be the worst (and this is not hyperbole) hitter in baseball.
I don’t get why some people think Lo Duca gives us a better chance to win. When has Lo Duca ever been a winner? I like the guy, loved having him on the team, but its over, he wore out his welcome and frankly, he just wasn’t good last year, and on top of that, he was injured, and not getting any younger. Torreabla is not an offensive force, but you know what, what catcher available is? It’s not something we need either. We need a guy who can call a good game, and play some D, and don’t give me last year’s stats for throwing out runners. One year does not take away from previous years when he threw out runners at a good clip. Playing him with Castro mixed in more is a good move. If Paulie’s “fire” was so important to this team, then why didn’t it have an effect on the team down the stretch? I don’t get that. If he’s such a great leader as you all say, why didn’t the team respond to hiim?
I do think that Lo Duca was a winning ballplayer in 2006. He hit pretty well and was a big part of the team’s success. But his 2007 season makes him a below-average player. And I agree with you on Torrealba. He did have an excellent caught-stealing ratio prior to last year — the question is whether his arm is what it once was.
I can’t tell whether people are complaining because they think Lo Duca is better than Torrealba or because they wake up every morning hoping to read that Omar acquired Johan Santana for Damion Easley, or signed A-Rod for $800 million.
I haven’t been this excited about signing a backup catcher getting the start over a starter since 1980 when we had a young 22 Alex Trevino batting .256 (in 106 games) with John Stearns on the bench batting .285 WHOO HHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
I think this ship has turned around. Now we can blame it all on LoDuca
Deal is just reported on WFAN to be 14.4million for 3 years.
The important part is how well he calls a game and manages the pitchers…Everyone wants to improve the pitching, but forget that the catcher is a huge part of the solution to helping the pitching…We must have a bunch of fans we have never played baseball…I’m a little old school, in that I don’t look for HRs from every position on the field…There are some positions where defense is more important than offense…
It’ll be a good combo with Castro and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Castro get more starts…Whoever is hot will get more starts and it provides good competition…
LoDuca is older now and breaking down…He didn’t exactly impress with his calling of a game and handling the staff…That combined with his lack of offense was his demise…He also pissed off some players, coaches and front office members with his negativity in August and September when he should of been more of a leader….All of this combined with some of his off field issues hurt LoDuca…
The catchers will make about $7 million combined…They will get good production from that $7 mil and hopefully add some much needed help to the pitching staff and defense as a result…
It wasn’t long ago that calling a good game and handling each personality on the staff was the most important trait of a good catcher…Now it’s all about HRs and OPS+ from every position for fantasy league baseball…Sad…
Everyone is always crying about pitching, pitching, pitching…We need to improve both the starting rotation and bullpen…Well, this does that, even if you have no/limited knowledge about that aspect of the game…
Good point. And the fact that he is bilingual shouldn’t be overlooked either. That will help out Duque, Mota, Sanchez (if he’s back), Ollie Perez, etc.
Omar is that you???
I’m here my friend, you know what I’m saying? I like Yorvit, he calls a good game, know what I’m saying? Lo Duca was not the “type” of ballpalyer we look for, you know what I’m saying?
Hysterical and now I finally understand your name!
You post though essentially correct is falling on deaf ears in this world driven by fantasy sports addicted fans. I’ve made similar posts to yours in the past but it is basically a waste of time. BTW it is no surprise that some of the best pitching coaches of all time, Dave Duncan and Rube Walker being two examples, were catchers.
Catchers almost always make the best coaches since they have the most knowledge of the game.
yuck….yorvit terrible-abla is more like it….i saw him play a lot w/the giants a few years ago… didnt really like what i saw then…hopefully he proves me wrong!
ps. baseball reference says most similar player is: jason phillips!!!!
what a charming screen name
anger issues?
worst attempt at a joke using someone’s name EVER
What a mickey mouse franchise!.. Horrible signing..Fire Minaya now. This is as bad as the Mota deal
Thanks for your opinion. Do you like Mickey Mouse?
we coulda just signed a-rod and traded for santana and you’d still say fire minaya like you do in every single thread on this website day after day after day after day. seriously, you’re act is more tiring than loduca’s was w/ the mets. i guess you really enjoyed the 02-04 seasons.
L*s Mets!
Is Castro offical yet?
To those killing this deal, it’s not like Brian McCann or Russel Martin were available, and Omar passed on them and settled on Torrealba. The only other option was LoDuca, and there’s not much difference between him and Torrealba.
LoDuca is a better hitter. LoDuca is a fan favorite.
Unfortunately LoDuca needs to wear sunscreen. Omar doesnt like that.
I think it is a bad signing. Keith Law at ESPN doesn’t exactly disagree but tried to see it from the Mets POV when I asked him what was up with the deal -
jLft: So Shoppach can’t hit outside breaking pitches. Yorvit can’t hit…at all. Aren’t there minor leaguers, salary dumps (Ramon Hernandez?), or younger and cheaper players (Shoppach) that would easily be able to equal or beat Yorvit’s production and not require a multi-year deal? I don’t see how this is a defensible signing. What do you project Yorvit to hit next year with Shea as his home park?
SportsNation Keith Law: (3:00 PM ET ) You have to give something up in players to get those other guys. And I don’t think the Mets wanted to deal any of their better prospects to fill the catching hole when they might want to have them available to go after a big SP.
Keith Law is exactly right. No reason to give up a prospect for a catcher, unless the catcher is an top not one and the guys available were not top notch catchers.
I’d take Yorbit for 3 years till Pena is ready and ’spend’ the prospects on a top pitcher.
There is so much more to catching then hitting. And I’d always rather have a good ‘catch’ catcher then merely a good hit catcher.
I was just reading an article on SNY’s website, and they are reporting that the deal is for 2 year, 10 million dollars. I think the exact terms of the contract won’t be known till it becomes official. There have been just way too many contractions on the amount of years and money involved.
Terrible deal in terms of years and $$.
M – My
E – Entire
T – Team is
S – Spanish
this signing is completely fine if we trade for a starting pitcher…..IF, the key word.
Maine, Wagner, Heilman, Wright, Schoenweiss= only 20% left.
Looks like Maine, Wagner, Heilman, Wright & Schoenweiss are going in trades so we can reach 100% ……
Anderson? Easley? Milledge?
Or are you counting them as “spanish” because they’re not, you know, Really American?
My list wasn’t thorough you must include Anderson. Easley and Milledge too to get to 100%. Omar will trade them too, no doubt!
you can watch the yanks on opening day instead unless they trade damon or giambino:
c posada
lf matsui
cf cabrera
rf abreu
3b a-rod
ss jeter
2b cano
1b/dh damon/giambi
p wang
c rivera
What about Milledge
Don’t count Schowenwiess please
Don’t count Schowenwiess please.
Maine, Wagner, Heilman, Wright, Milledge
I see they added “L*s Mets” as a filter word which will automatically delete your post..what a joke…censorhsip sucks.
The only thing worse then censorship is having to read your deathless posts.
In regular season play he batted .389 with 5 RBI against the Phils. He batted .412 with one homer against the Mets……
It doesn’t mean I’m anti-lat*no, just means I am noticing that Minaya favors his own WAY too much….this would be totally fine if he was going after the BEST lat*n players…but when he goes after garb*ge like Torrealba and Silva, he needs to be hammered…to be dismissed. I have no confidence in this clown. I’m guessing garb*ge like Livan or Silva will be next.
you’re like the anti-minaya energizer bunny, just keep going and going and going…dude, nobody listens to you anymore. they see your s/n and give no validity to what you’re saying. only newbies read your posts.
Hey Omar…
He’s not My-Vit…he’s not Our-Vit…he’s Yor-vit!!!
This should get us top billing on the back page over the A-Rod guy people are talking about. Gotta love life as a Mets fan.
The reason you sign Torrealba instead of Lo Duca is easy, Torrealba is 29 and Lo Duca will be 36 prior to the season. It’s that simple.
Hey, my daughter is 18. Let’s give her a contract
Better keep her away from LoDuca.
lol
Oh really? Then why didn’t the yankees sign Torrealba instead of their 36 year ol catcher posada? It’s not that simple…sorry……
Is it me, or is it getting hard to decide who your favorite Met is?
I really like that guy, you know….the one.
Sucks rooting for a logo.
Thanks Omar, thanks for focusing on whatever you’re doing, and not the fans.
if Loduca was your favorite met you got problems. i guess if you’re italian it doesn’t matter how bad a game you call or how poorly you hit, you’ll still have your loyal fans. just like the majority of that ethnicity will vote for guiliani no matter what his political viewpoints actually were or how many cousins he marries.
Does it show your ignorance one you know that I’m not Italian? I didn’t say he was the most valuable Met, but he was sure one of my favorites.
I didn’t say he was the most valuable met either, haha. And i could care less if you are italian. thought i’d give some tongue in cheek ignorance back to all the morons in here that go on and on about l-s mets.
and you have to admit, there’s a lot of sad italians today who loved “paulie”
I didn’t say you said he was the most valuable met either, haha. And i could care less if you are italian. thought i’d give some tongue in cheek ignorance back to all the morons in here that go on and on about l-s mets.
and you have to admit, there’s a lot of sad italians today who loved “paulie”
as someone who is italian i think what you said was completely unnecessary. the guy never made mention of paul lo duca being italian yet you jump on him then bash “loyal fans” of italian players and bash any italian that would vote for guilliani. before you decide to bash italians for whatever reason just remember the best position player in this teams history and the last manager to take us to the world series were both italian.
you’re proving my point of the original post. ignorant morons can continually come in here and accuse l-s mets of minaya but god forbid somebody say something about a white ethnicity. there’s a double standard in here and i’m sick of it. if people on here are too blind to realize yorvit was better last year than loduca, then god help them. i’m sick of the anti-minaya hispanic crap.
“just like the majority of that ethnicity will vote for guiliani no matter what his political viewpoints actually were or how many cousins he marries”
A You just said something rather harsh about It-lians as a group. The “L’Mets people are only talking about Omar Minaya, not L-tins as a group. R@cism is about animosity towards a group, not an individual. The equivalent would have been to say that L-’in players don’t belong on the team because their all hotheads, or something.
B Most people (in fact a vast majority) who are skeptical of Omar’s ethnic even-handedness would not mind a 100% LTN team, as long as Omar is not sacrificing better WTE or BLK players for it.
C I support the right of those who accuse Omar of his biases (I’m not in that camp yet, but I might be someday. It took me awhile before I jumped into the “Willie is DMB” camp, but I did eventually. I support the right of those who entertain that opinion to express it, just like I support your right to say unflattering things about Italians.
Keep rooting for LoDuca then man! I’m sure he’ll be playing somewhere, Wright and Reyes are what’s called “CORE PLAYERS” if you want to root for players, why not root for them.
Wanna know why the L’Mets comments get deleted? Look to the blog’s T-Shirts.
Looks like thats gotta change.
Just a few points:
1. For all the people who loves Torrealba’s game calling and defensive skills, I have just one question: besides the playoffs, how many Rockies games have you watched this season?
2. Are we really depending on a guy that hits less than .220 away from Colorado because he calls a good game? I don’t know how well he calls a game because I don’t watch Rockies baseball but I do know he can’t hit a pinata outside of Coors Field.
3. Maybe this is too soon to say this since FA period has just started but have we reverted to our old ways? It’s ironic that the last time ARod was a FA, we went cheap and ended up in or near the NL East cellar for the next 4-5 years. When Omar came around and splashed on Pedro and then Beltran, we all thought those days are over and now…it’s amazing how the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Have you been following the news for the last two weeks? Omar made it a priority to try to sign Posada. I’m sure he would have matched or exceeded what the Yankees offered him. But Posada and his agent didn’t even allow the negotiations to get far enough along to hear an offer from Omar. Is there some other big-ticket FA catcher out there that we don’t know about?
The notion that the signing of Torrealba signals the return of the bad old Wilpon-as-cheapo days flies in the face of the facts. Actually, it reads more as repudiation of the Phillips/Duquette days — giving up high-ceiling prospects for non-impact players.
I don’t think that Torrealba will hit much, but I do buy the notion that he did a great job with his staff. It was first season of over 100 games. A lot of people are citing that fact to demonstrate that he’s not much of a player, but you could look at it differently — he’s just now coming into his own as a guy who can manage a staff. If Castro and Torrealba stay healthy enough to play 162 games between them, then defensively (including pitch-calling and all the rest of the catcher-pitcher issues) we will be in good shape. If between them they put up 75-80 RBIs, we should be very happy. I think that this move may augur more playing time for Castro, if he can stay healthy.
The answer is no. There are no big ticket free agent catchers out there which is what makes this even more puzzling because Yorvit signed like a big ticket catcher that everyone was after. For crying out loud, Yorvit is signed 3 days into the FA period.
As the the game calling, where are the stats to back that up? The starter ERAs are no more respectable than any other team. Sure, the Mile High effect might have something to do with it but the away ERA is only marginally better.
As for the cheap comment, it shows with their less-than-half-a** effort on the ARod front. I don’t know ARod’s feeling about switching position but there was zero effort to go after the best free agent since 2000. I remember the lack of offense in May and June this year and you can’t tell me ARod won’t help that. While I think what ARod is asking might be a tad high but you should still make a good faith effort. The fact that ARod had to crawl back to the Yankees and ask to get back in clearly indicated the lack of pursuit from the Mets, among others. Now when next year comes around and Santana is asking $25 mil per for 8 years, will we even be in the market? We’re in the #1 market and have the resources and we should act like it.
Forget the stats between them. Break it down for me, how much will Castro get and how much will Torrealba get? I mean hell, Between Reyes and I, we can steal 70 bases easy!!!
I really wish I could honestly say that I would even consider dropping the Mets for the Nats, but it’s not realistic.
All this does is make me care a little less about MLB. Rooting for the logo and not the team stinks.
Well, since everyone is bringing up his split stats from last year … I just wanted to put out how Torrealba hit .274 away from Coors in 2006, and posted .222 at home. Obviously, they are not overly impressive numbers either. However, due to the fact that he still is young, possibly he can put it all together. If you take a look at Ramon Castro before he came to the Mets, he was very similar to Torrealba in production.
“Hope to here from Omar Minaya soon”
When will his press conferences be given in Spanish with an English translator next to him? And will this English translator be used for all the players or will multiple translators be needed.
you should just change your screen name to ignorant bigot who knows nothing about baseball.
It’s just as ignorant that you thought LoDuca was one of my favorites because I’m Italian, since I am not.
We’re all full of ignorance and racial preference I guess, why’s it then hard to believe that Omar is too?
when i said “I guess if you’re italian” it was meant in general terms. not specifically you. don’t flatter yourself. i figure there’s a much better chance robmenna is italian, than you are. so i was hoping to give him a taste of his own medicine.
I like the move. I also liked LoDuca but I think Yorbit gives us better defense is a good leader, and he is bilingual. that can’t hurt. Also, he’s 29.
I am Italian but my favorite player is Beltran. I like players with talent, not players like Torrealba.
Torrealba’s positives: 1) Pumping his fist after the pitcher strikes someone out. 2) Pointing to the pitcher after a good pitch. 3) Quickly retreating to the dugout after he strikes out. 4) Increasing the defensive players’ fielding percentage by giving them 10 seconds to make a throw. 5) Keeping the 2b/SS away from injury on steals because the throw never gets there.
Well said…Torrealba sucks……
and winning 21 of 22 down the stretch w/ a patchwork pitching staff and calling a better game than LoDuca ever thought of. but calling a game i’m sure is well beyond your IQ
Can someone show me some evidence of this so-called game calling ability? Do you remember Mets pitchers complaining about LoDuca calling a game vs Castro or Alomar or DiFelice? I’d love to see Yorvit’s pitchers’ ERA when he is behind the plate vs when other catcher on his team are.
you shouldn’t need to hear pitchers complaining about loduca’s game calling to prove it true. pitchers aren’t gonna throw their catcher under the bus like that anyways. and if you watched mets games as intently as i, there had to be times where you wondered what loduca was calling. but many average fans never consider it. but the spiezio hit in the NLCS alone was ridiculous and last season he called way too many inside fastballs to good fastball hitters w/ pitchers like glavine that can’t blow it by anyone. look at the rockies pitchers and how much they overachieved down the stretch. the catcher had to have something to do with it. yorvit is turning into a hardnosed catcher that pitchers want to throw to. like ausmus in his prime. guys like clemens would rather throw to ausmus any day of the week than posada.
first of all on the spiezio hit off mota, mota SHOOK OFF loduca, lo duca wanted the changeup and mota shook him off and threw a fastball, so you just lost a ton of credibility for your statement of how intently you watch mets games. for about 2 months after the 06 playoffs people flooded this blog bashing mota for shaking off lo duca on that pitch. As for calling fastballs inside from glavine, that is a rick peterson idea not a lo duca idea. in fact most people (including Tom Glavine himself) credit rick peterson with extending glavines career by getting him to pitch inside. come back when you have some actual evidence.
2007 ROCKIES TEAM CATCHING ERA
( CERA )
Torrealba 4.12 (112 games)
Iannetta 4.71 (60 games)
Gil 4.11 (4 games)
Bellorin 3.60 (2 games)
2007 METS TEAM CATCHING ERA
( CERA )
LoDuca 4.13 (113 games)
Castra 4.27 ( 50 games)
DiFelice 4.98 (16 games)
Alomar Jr 5.71 (6 games)
paul lo duca wasnt calling great games for oliver perez and john maine in the 06 playoffs? you want to talk about patchwork pitching staffs. to me the “calling a good game” excuse is just a way to favor one catcher over another as theres really never much proof behind it and theres certainly no statistic therefore it cant be argued with. if a GM or manager says “he calls a better game” we have to assume they know what theyre talking about. im not saying that this omars way to sneak around being bias or something, honestly its not like there was some great white or black catcher we passed up on. i just dont really put much stock into the “calling a good game” stuff.
They needed that streak to barely make the playoffs. If you’re going to use that excuse, do it mean he called a so-so game during the first 145 games of the season?
how about perez’s 8 inning vs the marlins and maines 14 k game vs the marlins. guess who was behind the plate then? ramon
It has been a while since I posted on this site.
I think the thought that comes to my mind with this move is that I would feel a lot better about it if this was setting up a lefty/ righty catcher platoon. I like the idea of saving the draft pick, but I have to wonder whether there are many other benefits to this pairing. It seems like two quality back up catchers sharing time.
I’ve always liked the idea of having on the bench, in addition to your backup catcher, a guy who plays other positions but who has a little catching experience. Robert Fick is one of those guys, and he’s a lefty. Lets you use Castro as a PH on the days he’s not starting.
We really don’t have space for another guy on our bench> I am not sure that would be a good fit.
i think a split of castro/torrealba could bat round 260 with 20 hrs and 65 rbis. having castro as the 7th hitter and yorvit as the 8th aint too bad.
Wonder how long Wright, Milledge, Maine will last on this team. Must suck being the only ones to speak English. Let’s just hope this bum Omar is gone by 2008, assuming the Wilpons don’t value political correctness over a winning baseball team.
Omar must go…he has outdone himself with the torrealba deal. I hope the wilpons blow him out of here. In fact I can’t wait until2009 when a new GM comes in here and cleans house of omar’s guys…
Absolutely. Omar has a definite plan. Time to move the whole team south…way south
Sign Rivera. Have Wagner set up Rivera- and at the same time steal the thunder and rain on the ARod parade- BIGTIME- from the NYY who always push us around and embarrass us and have a payroll that is embarrassingly DOUBLE what ours is…and signing Rivera would also take away from this embarrassing Torrealba signing…you sign Torrealba on the day the NYY resign ARod? What a joke…What a mickey mouse franchise. Wagner is a choker anyway…let him set up. Spend some money for once in your LIFE Freddie Coupons…4 years/56 million should get it done. So what if the 4th year is a wash, so be it. Rivera has the same agent as Pedro (Fernando Cuza)..and thus a relationship exists. Bring Rivera to the Mets. Only way to gain some ground back in this town, especially after a disgraceful collapse. You need to do something to win back your fans after that, especially when you ridiculously do not fire anybody or make anybody accountable for the collapse. Sign Rivera. I mean if Omar is moronically thinking of giving 45 million to Silva…just pay Rivera instead! This is such a no brainer, and don’t know why more people aren’t clamoring for Rivera. The perfect coup…and will shut up the NYY fans and have them stop laughing in our face. I mean the Mets have not gotten a single headline since the collapse. Do it.
I want a refund on my brick.