castro at shortstop today?

[BUTLER REDSFAN]

Any chance Castro is starting today at shortstop over Gonzalez not running out that pop up at the plate last night?

[captainmorgan07]

has to be that there's no other reason why gonzo would be sitting for castro.

[DannyB]

At least Jerry wanted the job.....

[reds44]

Apparenlty Mack says you are oing to see Javy more behind the plate. He called him "an untapped resource".

[Carolina Red]

Are they allowed to fine players anymore? Maybe a few grand out of their pockets every now and then would make them play a little harder.

[Dunner44]

Apparenlty Mack says you are oing to see Javy more behind the plate. He called him "an untapped resource".

may god have mercy on our souls. Look for pitcher's ERA and stolen bases against to rise significantly.

[AmarilloRed]

Juan Castro should be immediately DFA'd and have Keppinger take his place. There might have been a good reason for him to join the team if he was still a good defensive backup, however, he has lost much of his defensive skills, and is no longer a viable major league player. Keppinger is leading the International League in hitting, and there is no reason to have him still at AAA. As for Valentin, he is a good bench catcher and pinch hitter. That should be the extent of his catching duties. Mackanin must be on drugs to call him an untapped resource. I believe Ross leads the league in throwing out baserunners. He is also good at handling a pitching staff. Both of those would take a hit if Valentin starts at catcher.

[AtomicDumpling]

I agree that Keppinger would be better than Juan Castro. But the fact he leads the International League in batting average doesn't impress me much. The fact is that almost all his hits are singles. No power. No speed. He is 27 years old and is not a prospect. Hopper and Denorfia led the league in batting average last year and they aren't good prospects either. Batting average is just a poor, outdated measure of a player's offensive prowess. Be that as it may, Keppinger is still a much better player than Juan Castro as you said.

Regarding Valentin, I think he should get more time playing catcher. Ross has proven he is not worthy of a starting role on a major league team. His career line of .225/.300/.456 is woefully inadequate for a big leaguer. His complete ineptitude at the plate negates any defensive advantage he has over Valentin. I would gladly give up some stolen bases to get Ross' horrid bat out of the lineup.

Wait a minute -- Valentin's career line (.247/.305/.403) is not any better than Ross'! LOL We really need to bring in a decent catcher.

[markymark69]

First off I agree with the DFA of Castro and bringing up Keppinger. But Marty had some insight into why Gonzalez wasn't in the lineup or why he didn't hustle. On the Brennamen/Jones on Baseball show, he said that Gonzalez is battling a hamstring injury which probably answers both questions.

[BigJohn]

Then play Phillips at short and Freel at 2nd!

[berryluther]

I agree that leading the IL in hitting isn't that impressive, but Castro couldnt lead a league full of retards in hitting.

[AmarilloRed]

Castro may have been in the lineup because Gonzalez didn't run out a play. However, that doesn't explain why Castro is still on the team. I don't believe a catcher has to be a good hitter if he is good at defense and handling a pitching staff. IMO, that is the most important thing for a catcher. It would be nice if David Ross could hit the way he did last year, but I think his bat will come around. He just got off to a terrible start, and will get his hitting back on track. In any case, I would gladly say batting average is the best way to grade any player's offensive potential.