Torrealba Versus LoDuca

So the Mets are considering signing free agent Yorvit Torrealba to be the catcher of the future. Honestly, I do not like the move. I am probably in the minority here, but I am a fan of Paul LoDuca. LoDuca grew up a Met fan and seems to play the game with all his soul. I have never questioned that he gives 100%.

I like LoDuca because he does not strike out that much. He is a good contact hitter, as he knows how to put the bat on the ball, and he seems to work very well with the pitchers. He proved to be a good, effective number two hitter but with Luis Castillo being traded to him last year and the Mets hopeful of resigning him, that spot in the lineup was taken away from LoDuca. Still, I say, they should try to keep both players.

Although I do not have the skills or knowledge of what truly is involved in calling a game, LoDuca seems to call a good game. When the Mets picked him up, he was classified as a catcher who can hit as opposed to a hitter who can catch (what they considered Mike Piazza). He was an upgrade defensively. Now, everyone seems to talk about how he is a defensive liability. Torrealba is considered an upgrade, yet last year 80% of would be base stealers were successful against the man the Mets want to bring in, while the National League Average was 70%. Base runners did better against Torrealba than they did against the rest of the league.

I think LoDuca is a gritty, gutsy ballplayer who has earned his stripes with the Mets. Not only did he finish up strong with them at the end of last year, I thought he had a good year overall and his two year tenure in a Met uniform has been successful and warrants a return. I know the Mets are not asking me (and I highly doubt they are checking my blog to see what I think), but I say they should resign what they have.