Catcher - 2006

[Guest OlerudOwned]

The knock on LoDuca last season was that he fell apart towards the end of the year. (He hit .289 and .191 in August/September after hitting .300+ in 3 of the first 4 months). He played 132 games. So the biggest concern for me is his durability. Do they trust Castro to start 40-50 games to make sure LoDuca is fresh for late in the season, can he repeat last season? If the team is confident in Ramon, then a LoDuca trade makes plenty of sense. And they seem plenty confident in him.

[Guest OlerudOwned]

="Centerfield"]Lo Duca is regarded more for his offense than for his defense, but he is still a sturdy defender. Which LoDuca? I'm assuming they're not talking about the one who hit 6 HR's and had a .712* OPS last year. Plus he'll be making $6.25 million and cost us players? You know, we wouldn't lose any draft picks if we re-signed Piazza either. *As a point of reference, Mientkiewicz OPS was 17 points higher (.729). Piazza, Molina and Hernandez all posted OPS in the .770's.

His OPS was dragged to the dirt by a horrid September (.542 OPS)

[Centerfield]

However, he ended up there, an OPS in the low .700's isn't out of the ordinary for him. Other than his career year of 2001, his OPS hasn't even cracked .800. And only once since then has it been above .750.

2002: .731
2003: .712
2004: .758

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

I'd prolly prefer Hernandez to LoDuca.

[Guest OlerudOwned]

Centerfield wrote: However, he ended up there, an OPS in the low .700's isn't out of the ordinary for him. Other than his career year of 2001, his OPS hasn't even cracked .800. And only once since then has it been above .750. 2002: .731 2003: .712 2004: .758

September 2004: .189 AVG/.527 OPS
September 2003: .210 AVG/.537 OPS
September 2002: .287 AVG/.771 OPS (But an August swoon of .180 AVG and .440 OPS)

His wheels always fall off at the end of the season. Will Castro getting about 50 games to make sure Lo Duca is rested at the end of the year work? I don't know for sure, but it would seem that way.

="Johnny Dickshot"]I'd prolly prefer Hernandez to LoDuca.

As would I, but LoDuca is not a bad pick up. His team is desperate to move players and he's sure-as-hell better than Toby Hall.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Times profile on the new Mets catcher.

Draws many historical Met connections.

[Frayed Knot]

NYTimes:
"Although the Mets' off-season overhaul has yielded stars like Billy Wagner, an intimidating closer, and Carlos Delgado, a feared power hitter, their acquisition two weeks ago of Lo Duca, a three-time All-Star catcher, could prove just as important in their quest to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2000"

On account of that lunchpail thing he carries I guess.
Or maybe it's because his collar is blue. We all know how important it is to have a blue collar in baseball. It's why the Yanx aren't winning these days don't y'know ... not enough guys with blue collars.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

I love it: Paulie Lunchbucket.

[smg58]

Works for me. But what happens if he takes away as many home runs from the catching position as Delgado adds to first base?

[Valadius]

I think the thing we have to recognize is we have been spoiled with Mike Piazza at catcher in terms of offensive production. Production there was inevitably going to go down.

[Guest GYC]

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.asp?leaguenum=&sport=MLB&id=6325

]Ramon Castro - C - Mets Mets agreed to terms with catcher Ramon Castro on a one-year, $800,000 contract. He can earn $50,000 bonuses for 60, 70 and 80 games played. If he plays like he did last year, Castro would probably be a better regular than Paul Lo Duca for the Mets this season, especially since Willie Randolph wouldn't have any notions about batting him second in the lineup. He'll be a true backup, though. Unless Lo Duca gets hurt, Castro will probably fall short of the 209 at-bats he received last year. Jan. 10 - 1:39 pm et