The CERA's for the Mets catchers last year: Schneider -- 4.72 in 437 innings Santos -- 4.47 in 680 innings Castro -- 4.49 in 181 innings Thole -- 4.18 in 127 innings You have to go back to 2004 to find a year where Schneider had a lower CERA than his primary backup. That's enough time to be meaningful. Thole's numbers probably aren't a big enough sample size to talk of him too favorably, but at least it's encouraging. I suppose Castro left Santos the keys to the doghouse. I have to agree with the survival mode comment, though. Santana, Maine, Pelfrey, Perez, and Rodriguez all regressed and/or got hurt, with only Feliciano showing a clear improvement from the previous year. I'm sure Warthen would love to see the blame get placed on departed catchers.