Devin Mesoraco

[Cooper]

1. They kept the right guy. I beleive his intensity and his long term abilities will pay off. He's built like a catcher and he'll start hitting.

2. He lost the argument and won the war. The pitching staff may believe that he got over heated, but if i was a pitcher and knew that my catcher cared THAT much about the strike zone. I would love it. I think there's a positive to his over heated response.

3. I hope he gets to the point where his intensity is there, and his focus is increased. Ryan Hanigan did a wonderful job in managing Johnny Cueoto. The K zone was small and he did seem to be getting squeezed. Ryan kept his intensity and was upset about the calls -but didn't lose his focus and was able to manage Cueto through some tough times.

Dusty needs to tell Mesoraco that he loves the intensity, but not the lack of focus---it's very difficult to manage others thru a crisis if you yourself are in a crisis.

I wonder if almost getting way laid by Maybin increased DM's intensity so much that he could not manage his emotions? Those kind of issues make for one intense situation.

[CySeymour]

Assuming he gets a suspension, how long does it usually take to get an appeal heard? I would think they would try and delay it until at least Votto comes back.

[cincrazy]

Originally Posted by Cooper

1. They kept the right guy. I beleive his intensity and his long term abilities will pay off. He's built like a catcher and he'll start hitting.

2. He lost the argument and won the war. The pitching staff may believe that he got over heated, but if i was a pitcher and knew that my catcher cared THAT much about the strike zone. I would love it. I think there's a positive to his over heated response.

3. I hope he gets to the point where his intensity is there, and his focus is increased. Ryan Hanigan did a wonderful job in managing Johnny Cueoto. The K zone was small and he did seem to be getting squeezed. Ryan kept his intensity and was upset about the calls -but didn't lose his focus and was able to manage Cueto through some tough times.

Dusty needs to tell Mesoraco that he loves the intensity, but not the lack of focus---it's very difficult to manage others thru a crisis if you yourself are in a crisis.

I wonder if almost getting way laid by Maybin increased DM's intensity so much that he could not manage his emotions? Those kind of issues make for one intense situation.

I love the passion, but he has to control the anger. If anything he's going to cost his pitchers calls in the future by acting like that.

[wolfboy]

Originally Posted by cincrazy

I love the passion, but he has to control the anger. If anything he's going to cost his pitchers calls in the future by acting like that.

Agreed. It's nice to see the guy fired up, but not at the expense of winning ball games. Not only has this outburst potentially cost his pitchers future calls, he also might have put the team in a pinch once the suspension kicks in.

[Bob Borkowski]

Originally Posted by wolfboy

Agreed. It's nice to see the guy fired up, but not at the expense of winning ball games. Not only has this outburst potentially cost his pitchers future calls, he also might have put the team in a pinch once the suspension kicks in.

Paging Corky Miller?

[Mario-Rijo]

Originally Posted by Bob Borkowski

Paging Corky Miller?

I'm hoping for Navarro.

[wolfboy]

Originally Posted by Bob Borkowski

Paging Corky Miller?

From what I was reading earlier today, Miller and Navarro are not on the 40/25 man rosters.

[cumberlandreds]

I think he won a lot of brownie points with his pitchers last night. I liked the fire I saw out of him. Obviously he can't do that very much or its going to get real costly. But as one time thing I liked it.

[REDREAD]

Originally Posted by CySeymour

Assuming he gets a suspension, how long does it usually take to get an appeal heard? I would think they would try and delay it until at least Votto comes back.

It would be a total joke if he's suspended.. Mes was standing there, palms up, ball in his hand, and the ump walked up to Mes and made the contact.
It was very clear on the TV.. even Brantley said that.

This is why I have little respect for umps. The ump had every right to throw Mes out of the game, but then to walk up and bump Mes and then say "Now you touched me" (Lip read, one of the TV guys said the same).. What a tool.
The sooner they have computers calling balls and strikes the better..
They can still have the human ump there for plays at the plate.

[cincrazy]

Originally Posted by cumberlandreds

I think he won a lot of brownie points with his pitchers last night. I liked the fire I saw out of him. Obviously he can't do that very much or its going to get real costly. But as one time thing I liked it.

But even a one time thing can develop a reputation with the umpires, fairly or unfairly. That umpiring crew will remember that outburst, and you can beat other crews saw it as well. He's got a reputation now, and that isn't good.

Again, I love his passion. He truly cares about winning. But he can't act out like that, even once. It's a bad look. Also, if he was going to blow his top, why would he blow it over a pitch like that? I didn't think it was particularly close. Hell if anything he should've been screaming at Leake, not the ump lol.

[Superdude]

Originally Posted by REDREAD

It would be a total joke if he's suspended.. Mes was standing there, palms up, ball in his hand, and the ump walked up to Mes and made the contact.
It was very clear on the TV.. even Brantley said that.

I just re-watched this. Surely Mes won't get suspended for contact if they watch the video. He was making a hand gesture and the ump walked right into it. Hilarious that he made such a big deal out of it.

[Mario-Rijo]

Originally Posted by wolfboy

From what I was reading earlier today, Miller and Navarro are not on the 40/25 man rosters.

Mike Costanzo has no business on the 40, so at least we know we have a spot available, depending on what happens today.

[Chip R]

I thought there was a spot open on the 40?

[RedFanAlways1966]

If MLB has umpires that carry grudges, then it is time to clean the house. A MLB umpire, while human, is a person who should NEVER carry a grudge against an individual or a team. I like to think the umpires in MLB are a bit smarter than that. They might not be perfect (hold comments, lol), but hopefully they understand that their job requires no grudges/paybacks. I also like to think that a REPUTATION is developed by a doing this on a fairly regular basis and not based on a one-time incident. I'd hate to see this molehill become a mountain!

[Team Clark]

Glad to see the passion. Although I'm not a huge Mesoraco fan just yet, I think what he did goes a long way with his pitching staff. I wouldn't be surprised to see comments from Reds' pitchers saying the same today.

Having said that, the next time he catches, he'll be under the umpiring crew microscope. If anything in baseball is old school, it's the umpiring crews. They will have their way with this rookie if it's the last thing they do. I just hope they don't impact the game too negatively. Especially with the Reds in a pennant race.

OP ED piece here: Mesoraco, as a receiver, is not ready to be a big league catcher. I can't tell you the number of times I have watched him mis-frame a pitch, "sway" away from the strike zone with his body and glove (robbing easy strikes from is pitcher), receive the ball too early in the zone, call for changeups when the batter is well behind a fastball only to see the hitter get out of an 0-2, 1-2 count with a hard single or extra base hit. Mes, more than any other catcher I can remember calls for pitches to speed up the hitter's bat in an odd count and uncalled for situation. His game management is more that of AA. IMO.

Rarely if ever do I see him call a game according to his defense and where they are positioned. A lot, and I do mean A LOT of these things get hidden during the course of a season. Most people do not notice these things but they happen regularly. With the Reds' staff doing so well, it's easy to overlook the little things that do creep up and bite you. Just last night I saw Mes drop a 2 seam FB that was a strike but was called a ball because he simply didn't handle the pitch. Every strike counts. 3 AB's last night I can recall where Leake was off but Mes made him look WAAAY off.

I noticed when Chapman was having a lot of difficulty that Mes was struggling to get set up for Chapman. Mes sets up square behind the plate and sways to the corners. Or if he does set up outside, which is rare, he moves so little that there is no advantage. With Chapman you really can't do that unless you're pitching right down the middle. Hanigan does a tremendous job splitting up the strike zone, splitting the plate and getting those borderline calls Chapman needs to be successful. Baker and possibly Price picked up on that too.

There's a reason why guys like Corky Miller, Tim Spehr, Charlie O'Brien, Tim Lake and guys like them hang on so long. It's just simply not about throwing gear on, catching 1,200 + innings a year and hopefully getting better. Every nuance behind the plate counts. What's even more surprising is that Mark Berry and Mike Stefanski are the Reds' catching coaches during Spring Training for the entire organization. They have Mesoraco EVERY DAY and he really isn't getting better. He WILL get better, he's just not ready, IMO.