Alright before I do this let me give you my baseball resume so you don’t think I am out of my element. I was a catcher pretty much all ofmy life. I played junior varsity my freshman and sophomore years and did fairly well. I was on varsity my junior year, and by “on varsity” I mean glorified bullpen catcher. I played one inning and accumulated one at-bat. In thatat-bat, I hit the ball probably 53 inches in front of home plate. The catcherthrew me out by roughly 37 steps. I didn’t eat my Wheaties that morning. Have Iconvinced you that I know what I’m talking about yet?
My senior year I stepped in and started at catcher, hit.300, and defended my position very well. My arm was comparable to a bag ofRamen noodles, but I could block balls, and I certainly knew how to block theplate.
I was unable to watch last night’s Met game due to aprevious commitment. And by previous commitment I mean last second BBQ. Anyway, I am watching the highlights this morning and I saw this play cost them the game:
Josh Thole, WHAT WAS THAT??!!! Are you kidding me?! Watch that again. He ran away from the plate! That was pathetic! That was thesorriest attempt at blocking the plate I’ve ever seen! Not only that, this playoccurred in a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the 7th inning. In thatsituation you have to make sure Carlos Quentin regrets ever even thinking aboutrunning you over. Your goal should be dislocating his shoulder at the risk ofyour own. (In my best Under Armor commercial voice): YOU MUST PROTECT THISHOUSE! Watch it in slow motion. Thole thinks about putting his shoulder into Quentin taking the shot like a catcher is supposed to, he says, “Oh shit. This guy is really big. Instead of letting him hit me like a man and keep the game tied for my team, which is what they pay me $498,920 to do, I am going to turn away from him and let him hit the ball out of my hands.” By the way, thatsalary is accurate. Google is a wonderful thing.
Look Josh, I am sure you are a great guy and all, but thisis was the straw that broke the camels back for me. The Mets cannot moveforward with this guy as their catcher. He is a .260 hitter with no power, a below average catcher, and couldn’t tag a runner out to save his life. Orshould I say save a run?
Ever since Buster Posey’s leg nearly snapped in two, the art of blocking the plate has beencompletely lost. Nobody blocks it like Mike Scioscia anymore. Catchers areafraid and it’s agonizing to watch. To be a catcher you’ve got to love those collisions. You have to live for them. You have to take a step in front of theplate, hold the ball in your mitt with your free hand, and not let anything through you. Make the guy regret hitting you. When you see a guy rolling around third and you know thereis going to be a play at the plate, you have to get excited, not scared. Josh Thole gets scared.
