Matt Wieters should be the starter, but wait... Dave Littlefield passed on him. Ryan Doumit will start and hopefully, the team can finally get 140 games out of him and truly see what type of player he is. I know we've been down this road before, but hopefully Doumit's poor 2009 was due to injury.
If John Russell intends to bat Doumit in the middle of the order, he has to start swinging the bat. I know I'm very hard on Doumit at times, but it's make or break time for him. I have a feeling he will answer the call and perform well. (That was painful for me to say).
What's more important is for Doumit to handle the young pitching staff and become a leader of this young team. He has it in his personality to do so. If he starts putting up numbers offensively and the pitchers throw well, this could become his team. I look for big things from the soon to be 29 year old backstop. he won't be a big long ball guy, but could become a decent run producer.
Other catchers in camp are last years backup Jason Jaramillio and non-roster invitees: Luke Carlin, Hector Gimenez, Erik Kratz and 2009 first round pick Tony Sanchez. Carlin and Kratz have impressed at times so far. As for Sanchez, he is having a great camp, but don't expect him to come north opening day. What he is doing is showing Doumit that he has to produce, or Sanchez's time will be sooner, rather than later.
As for the backup, look for it to be Jaramillio; although he does have an option left.
Position Grade Compared to the rest of the league- C - Average at best production and I'm probably being kind here.
doumit is still a bum. they will hit him 4th all yr and he will leave a small villiage on base
ReplyDeletegreat another year of no mitt behind the dish. the over under on how many men he strands on opening day is 7.5 i got the over
ReplyDeletei think they are a little better than you give them credit for behind the dish. doumit isnt a bad all around catcher. i think or should i say i hope he will surprise you
ReplyDeleteyeah he will surprise. he will be surprisingly worse than everyone already thinks. .235 12/55 and he will be healthy
ReplyDeletejust bring sanchez up now. what was the point of drafting him then
ReplyDeletethis is why most Pirates fans are ignorant. The guy has yet to see a pitch above Single-A and you want him to be the opening day catcher, much less handle a big league staff. What's the hurry?
ReplyDeletewhats the hurry? 17 straight losing seasons might want some people to speed up the process but i agree with you Sanchez shouldn't even be considered to open 2010 with the team
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