One cannot help but wonder how Salty has been impacted by the pressure of playing in Boston, the tough start for the 'Sox, and the big shoes of Tek that he is trying to fill. Though 'Tek is really struggling at the plate, I would take that for the confidence pitchers have in him and his experience behind the plate.
I feel better with 'Tek starting than Salty. Though it is early, Salty may be on a short leash.
As to possible trades, 'Sox have some bargaining chips in their farm system. This situations bears watching.
Examining the Red Sox catching conundrum - Extra Bases - Red Sox blog
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
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We all knew this was coming. Management hung their hat on a guy who has potential, yes, but who also has not been with the Sox a full year. Given his throwing issues in the past and the fact that he doesn't know the staff at all, what could anyone expect?? Yes, Beckett praised Salty during Spring Training as having Varitek-like qualities. The guy obviously showed up, worked hard and did his level best to try to handle the staff. But let's be real! These pitchers were used to throwing to Tek. It took V-Mart a minute for everyone to connect with him too. The only one who seemed to click with Vic right away was Buchholz. If the Sox are really intent on making Salty the second coming of Varitek, they're going to have to have some patience with him AND the staff. If the Sox had a better record right out of the gate, you'd probably see Salty in there a lot more. But with the way things are, the team is trying to plateau. They can't do it with an unknown like Salty.
ReplyDeleteAnd poor Tek. He's in, he's out. He's back-up, he's a security blanket. If he wasn't so secure in himself, he'd probably be mumbling to himself about naps like Crawfish right about now. The thing with Tek is that we all know his offensive prowess has gone down considerably in the last few years. But, with the lineup we've got, we're supposed to just hit around Tek. I remember when Billy Ripken played for Baltimore. He was a very good 2nd baseman, but he couldn't hit a lick. Even at a tender young age I used to tell my Dad that it didn't matter if Billy hit in the #9 hole. The rest of lineup would just hit around him. Same thing here with Tek. If we place more emphasis on Tek's catching role, and he happens to start hitting in the #9 hole, it will seem like pudding!
Beckett's on the mound tomorrow night. I'll be coming to you live from Anaheim. I probably won't get to see the lineup until I get to Angels Stadium, but I seriously wonder if Tek will be there again for Beckett. We want to continue our success on the road. The Sox have 4 against Anaheim, so they ought to put their best foot forward as soon as they can.