June 27, 200917 yr Yeah I know how horrible Bonifacio has been. Boner will be a decent bench player in the future but Gaby Sanchez can replace him. The position we need the most if we are to contend is catcher. We get run on by every player in the majors and as I suspected Baker is back down to the .240-.250 range which is what scouts project him at. Baker is what he is- one of the best backups in the game. We need a good young catcher like Montero.
June 27, 200917 yr You think he's going down to .240? You also think Obama's bringing back slavery. I don't exactly count on your predictions.
June 27, 200917 yr Bad timing to bring this up....Crawford is running on everyone this year, not just Baker.
June 27, 200917 yr Author Bad timing to bring this up....Crawford is running on everyone this year, not just Baker. How has Baker performed well this season? He's been run on by everyone and anyone. David Letterman? Yeah he's the loser. He hasn't been funny since 1988. As we watch Hermida look horrible again in the outfield.....
June 27, 200917 yr Yeah I know how horrible Bonifacio has been. Boner will be a decent bench player in the future but Gaby Sanchez can replace him. The position we need the most if we are to contend is catcher. We get run on by every player in the majors and as I suspected Baker is back down to the .240-.250 range which is what scouts project him at. Baker is what he is- one of the best backups in the game. We need a good young catcher like Montero. Montero turns 26 in a couple weeks and has a career batting average of .237. What an improvement.
June 27, 200917 yr ... thank you for that. i don't think baker is comfortable hitting in the bottom of the order. he's batting .311 when hitting second. but no, fredi puts bonifacio there and continues to bat baker 6th, 7th, or 8th. fredi pisses me off
June 27, 200917 yr i don't think baker is comfortable hitting in the bottom of the order. Baker hit .330 and OPSed .959 in 103 ABs hitting 8th last year so my guess is his relative struggles this year are not because of where he hits in the order.
June 27, 200917 yr Author Marlins OPS at Catcher- .774 Marlins OPS at 3B- .579 Obviously...that's because Bonfacio is horrible! Gaby Sanchez could have a mid .700 OPS right now.
June 27, 200917 yr Marlins OPS at Catcher- .774 Marlins OPS at 3B- .579 Obviously...that's because Bonfacio is horrible! Gaby Sanchez could have a mid .700 OPS right now. Exactly...we need a 3B more than a catcher.
June 27, 200917 yr I'd like to think bakes struggles are due to fredi being an idiot and hitting him low in the order when he started the season off great in the 2 hole. But as others have posted he did fin in the 8 hole last year. Really I don't know what to think but I wish hed get going.
June 27, 200917 yr Yeah I know how horrible Bonifacio has been. Boner will be a decent bench player in the future but Gaby Sanchez can replace him. The position we need the most if we are to contend is catcher. We get run on by every player in the majors and as I suspected Baker is back down to the .240-.250 range which is what scouts project him at. Baker is what he is- one of the best backups in the game. We need a good young catcher like Montero. Why does everyone come here with high expectations? We can barely afford the bums we have now, there won't be any replacement. I love Baker. He makes me forget about Treanor and Rabelo, who looked like Little Leaguers up against a prime Bob Gibson 99% of the time.
June 27, 200917 yr In order for this team to make it to the playoffs we need a lot of things to happen. And ONE of them is getting a catcher that can throw out a base stealer without a pitch-out.
June 27, 200917 yr I'd like to think bakes struggles are due to fredi being an idiot and hitting him low in the order when he started the season off great in the 2 hole. But as others have posted he did fin in the 8 hole last year. Really I don't know what to think but I wish hed get going. Probably not the best time to make that statement seeing he just had an 0fer5 night and had a weak pop out with the bases loaded. Batting second in Toronto...0fer6. Batting second in Boston...1fer6. The positive I would take from Friday night was that in the 1st he did move Chris to 3rd for Hanley to knock in. Turns out it wouldn't have mattered, but at the time it was doing his job, even if it was on a broken bat out. Guys don't get recognized for doing that because it dosen't show up on the stat sheets. But in what should be close games it is an important AB, IMO. Maybe it's just a slump he's going through. Maybe pitchers have him figured out and he hasn't been able to make the adjustments yet. His bat has kept him at this level for this long because it sure isn't his defense. Hopefully he figures it out. If not, all the Baker fans may be watching him disappear into someone else's farm system next year.
June 27, 200917 yr Baker is OK, he is in a bit of a slide but he is still one of the top hitting catchers in the majors...Our problem is not our catching!
June 27, 200917 yr It stinks that it seems we have been run on a lot recently, but overall, I think our catching situation is fine. We have needs elsewhere, and if catching is on the list of needs, it is somewhere near the middle, if not the bottom.
June 27, 200917 yr I talked about Baker pretty extensively in the post-game thread, but its pretty undeniable that he is mired in a serious cold streak and while he may be one of the game's best offensive catchers when he is going well, those days of going well seem to be ages ago and don't look to be returning anytime soon with the way he is swinging. If Baker was a skilled defensive catcher we could ride through the cold streak and still get what we needed out of the catcher position. But with him being exposed more and more on defense, his bat needs to show signs of turning around or else somethign has to change. I like Baker a lot and have rooted for him since before he was called up. But for this team to get what it needs to out of the catcher position, we may need to go in a different direction if things don't start to improve.
June 28, 200917 yr Baker needs to hit more than what he's hitting or he becomes a problem but not too worried just yet.
June 28, 200917 yr Yeah I know how horrible Bonifacio has been. Boner will be a decent bench player in the future but Gaby Sanchez can replace him. The position we need the most if we are to contend is catcher. We get run on by every player in the majors and as I suspected Baker is back down to the .240-.250 range which is what scouts project him at. Baker is what he is- one of the best backups in the game. We need a good young catcher like Montero. While Baker doesn't have the best arm in baseball hes an excellent catcher behind the plate, and he does a fine job of defending his position, and Paulino is also a find backstop but also below avarage arm.... Sadly tho there arent a whole lot of great catchers these days. When a good defensive, and hitting catcher comes along they end p being moved to 1b or another position to save their knees ala Victor Martinez of the Tribe. In our system we have Kyle Skipworth who's a pretty decent looking catching prospect even tho he has had a rough year so far he's still extremely young (only 19) and is a few years away from being ready so I think Baker/Paulino would be a decent combo until then. Of course if someone else comes along who can blow away the management, and is young, and cheap they will get him! But personally I'm happy with Baker/Paulino as our catching duo... At least it's not "Treanor/Rebelo" again... That was horrific! And Baker has been in a funk since he got hit in the head but i'm sure his bat will come around, and he will be just fine by the time the season is over he will have nice looking numbers for a catcher. Same for Paulino.
June 28, 200917 yr Baker is OK, he is in a bit of a slide but he is still one of the top hitting catchers in the majors...Our problem is not our catching! I'm hoping this is just a cold streak. It very well could be. Only time will tell. I'm pulling for him to start adjusting to the adjustments because it looks like teams have his bat figured out. Of course, things aren't always what they look like. But let's not get carried away with the accolades. We have problems. Catching is one of them. Defensively speaking. So is the K rate. And hitting with RISP. And closer role. And...
June 28, 200917 yr I am tired of hearing that "Baker and Paulino are OK". As catchers they suck. If a decent opposing runner gets to first base, you can count on him getting to second. Opposing teams don't need to waste an out bunting to advance a runner. WE NEED A CATCHER THAT CAN THROW RUNNERS OUT!
June 28, 200917 yr I openly admit to the view that catcher is a position that ought to be looked at as defense first (defense means catching, throwing, calling the game and managing the team on the field) and batting second. Certainly there have been any number of greats in the game who could do both but if I have to settle for one or the other as the criteria by which I pick a player, I take the D every time. The fact that Baker appears to be mired in a slump whether of his own doing or where he's batting in the lineup ought to take a back seat to how well he's doing behind the plate, and there I would say the best grade you could give him is a C. In my opinion what is needed is another big, high OBP bat in the lineup and lessening the dependency on Baker or Paulino to "come through" as significant offensive contributors and if necessary replacing one of them with someone possessing quality defense first skills.
June 28, 200917 yr This would be a luxury, not a necessity. Marlins catchers are top 10 in OPS and throw runners out at 20%. This is above average production overall in MLB. The running is frustrating, but it's currently worth the offense. Improving the defense while not hurting/improving the offense here is a luxury. The Marlins have below a .600 OPS at 3B, and only Cincinatti is worse (and they have Encarnacion coming back). We literally have the worst 3B situation in MLB and it needs to be fixed through Gaby, through moving Coghlan, or through obtaining a new player. This is a necessity. There is no debate here.
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