Red Mosquito

spike wrote:

verb_to_trust wrote:When you are too much of a pussy to throw to a base, cant handle the bat one single bit and you mandate David Ross play in a major league game you better be lights out. Lester has just been a slight disappointment this year as a result....

155 million dollars...

if his two playoff starts would have been up to expectations (wins), then I think the regular season performance is forgiven. This is why they have him is for these games. He just appears to have no confidence on the mound.

Royals/Mets would be an awful series

I've always thought Lester wasn't near good enough to merit a personal catcher.

numbers wrote:I've always thought Lester wasn't near good enough to merit a personal catcher.

The personal catcher is such a rediculous concept. If anything, they should be partnered with young first year starters about to grind through their first year in the bigs, not top dollar proven commodities.

I think it's an extension of the pervasive superstitious character of baseball players in general. It really shouldn't be endorsed by management.

I don't have a problem when a team has a pairing hat is obviously working, but when guys have their own personal catcher and they can't work with another one is where I draw the line.

Some guys just can't catch the knuckleball.

It wouldnt be as big of an issue if guys like Ross weren't such a zero at the plate.

Yeah, it's not really an issue that a back-up catcher gets a point in his favor for having a good relationship with an ace. But it seems like the idea of signing David Ross was a conversation Lester had with the Cubs before he signed with them. The right catcher can be very important to a young pitcher. A veteran like Lester shouldn't need to be so dependent on a specific catcher.

oh but david ross has been invaluable in the clubhouse with all these young players!

david ross is the man

He may be, but he sucks at baseball.

he went on a tear in the 2013 alcs

i don't know. Greg? maddux insisted that paul bako be his catcher because of trust and he made him more relaxed.

The back-up catcher is probably the least important spot on the roster. Offensively, most teams don't get a lot out of their starting catcher, let alone the backup. Teams just need a guy who can go out there 25-40 times a year so the starting catcher's knees don't break in half every August. So having a specific pitcher-catcher pairing doesn't really change what a team would be doing anyway. In the postseason, it's obnxious. The only reason to have a backup catcher in the postseason is as insurance.

Chris_H_2 wrote:i don't know. Greg? maddux insisted that paul bako be his catcher because of trust and he made him more relaxed.

lester is no maddux

The Argonaut wrote:The back-up catcher is probably the least important spot on the roster. Offensively, most teams don't get a lot out of their starting catcher, let alone the backup. Teams just need a guy who can go out there 25-40 times a year so the starting catcher's knees don't break in half every August. So having a specific pitcher-catcher pairing doesn't really change what a team would be doing anyway. In the postseason, it's obnxious. The only reason to have a backup catcher in the postseason is as insurance.

the catcher, whether it be the starter or backup, has a huge influence on games.

Cubs fans are starting to lose their cool.