Defense

Pitchers and catchers are the first players to report to spring training camp, so Brian Schneider has been in the Mets camp for a while. The catcher enjoys hitting but is willing to sacrifice hitting to improve his fielding, or in his words, to make their pitchers better.

The Mets have said, unlike Paul LoDucca (or Mike Piazza) they wanted a catcher who could hit, not a hitter who could catch. I wrote about this earlier in terms of my feelings about LoDucca. When they brought him in from the Marlins, the Mets said just that. Instead of a hitter who could catch (Piazza) they had a catcher who could hit (LoDucca).

All of that aside, while we tend to be focused on the offensive attack, defense plays a major part of the game. Whitey Herzog used to say of Ozzie Smith, a player who can save 100 runs a season is just as effective as one who can drive in 100 runs.

This is all well and good, and I even agree with it. Still, the bottom line is, very few players are removed from the lineup if they are in a fielding slump but are hitting the ball well. On the other hand, a player who is in a hitting slump but is fielding well could well find himself being benched.

In addition, we live in an age when fans are more interested in seeing a slugfest than anything else. A 10-9 game, even if it is played sloppily excites the fans. A 1-0 game that is well pitched and has nice fielding plays, by many, is considered boring.

I have always enjoyed those low scoring games and find them to be exciting. I am okay with Schneider not tearing up the ball if he is truly making the pitchers better, throwing out runners, and fielding well. Lets see if the Met management and ownership truly is as well.