Chad Moeller has been a backup catcher for ten years. He's one of those guys that make you scratch your head and wonder how he has had a job for so long. The guy has never hit. He was a starting catcher only once in his career. Refreshingly, he knows he is lucky and wonders himself how he has stayed around for so long.
The feature baseball writer for the New York Times simply lets Moeller talk about pitchers he has caught and stays out of the way. It's a brilliant post and easily one of the most entertaining this Fan has read in a long, long time. Check it out yourself here.
The Fan doesn't know about you, but if Moeller and other catchers would put out a book with honest remembrances about pitchers they've caught it would be on the Fan's must have list in a heart beat.
Showing posts with label Chad Moeller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chad Moeller. Show all posts
Monday, March 01, 2010
Friday, May 29, 2009
The Matt Wieters Show Begins Today
Some of you might be sad to see the Gregg Zaun and Chad Moeller era end in Baltimore. After all, you may miss the .620 and .619 OPS they have respectively put up this year and the combined six RBI. Yes, you might miss the 24% success rate throwing out base stealers or the .571 OPS with runners in scoring position or the .164 batting average when leading off an inning. Heck, you may enjoy the daily buzz kill of those two old catchers. But cry as you might, the Matt Wieters era begins today.
If that first paragraph seems overly sarcastic, well...it probably was. To the Fan, a team is selling a product and is asking fans to buy ticket at market prices and watch the team on television. As such, each team has the responsibility to put the best product they can on the field. The Orioles' decision to start Wieters in the minors this spring was completely an economic decision to buy one more year before Wieters can go to arbitration and later become a free agent. It was a cynical and calculated decision not based on the best needs of the team or the fans and it stunk like rotten tomatoes.
Who knows, the kid could bomb and become another Felix Pie. Life does that some times. But the fans at least deserved a chance to dream and to root for a kid that brings a lot of hope to the franchise. Now that the Orioles are hopelessly out of contention, at least the fans will have something new to cheer for.
Good luck, Matt Wieters. We'll be rooting for you.
If that first paragraph seems overly sarcastic, well...it probably was. To the Fan, a team is selling a product and is asking fans to buy ticket at market prices and watch the team on television. As such, each team has the responsibility to put the best product they can on the field. The Orioles' decision to start Wieters in the minors this spring was completely an economic decision to buy one more year before Wieters can go to arbitration and later become a free agent. It was a cynical and calculated decision not based on the best needs of the team or the fans and it stunk like rotten tomatoes.
Who knows, the kid could bomb and become another Felix Pie. Life does that some times. But the fans at least deserved a chance to dream and to root for a kid that brings a lot of hope to the franchise. Now that the Orioles are hopelessly out of contention, at least the fans will have something new to cheer for.
Good luck, Matt Wieters. We'll be rooting for you.
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