Yardbarker: Cla Meredith

If they want more offense from catcher......

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:36:39 -0500

I think the Mets have bigger issues to address this offense then catcher but I keep hearing grumblings that they may look into upgrading offensively at catcher. If they did I would keep Schneider and move on from Castro. Schneider had an unusually interrupted season due to nagging injuries but Castro is consistently out do to injuries, in fact he never misses a trip to the DL in August. If I had my pick I would trade for Bengie Molina and platoon him with Schneider based on pitching match-ups, which would also keep both veterans healthy.

But here is another alternative to back-up Schneider, Josh Bard has elected for free agency. The 30 y/o switch hitting catcher missed most of last year with an ankle injury after a collision at the plate. Bard when healthy is an offensive catcher, he is a lifetime .265 hitter and that's playing his home games in Petco Park. In his first two full time seasons he hit .338 and .285 respectively (2006-2007). If he has a clean bill of health he would be the solid hitting catcher they maybe looking for. Bard may welcome the move as he's a native of Ithaca, NY.....

Bard, acquired with relief pitcher Cla Meredith from the Red Sox in 2006, hit .339 in 93 games after joining the team. Bard hit .285 with five home runs and 51 RBIs in 2007. source MLB.com

Memo To MLB Teams: Do Not Trade With Kevin Towers

Wed, 02 May 2007 21:27:47 -0500

We were looking at the N.L.'s leader board today and one category jumped out as us, San Diego Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is leading the league in RBI with 26. Gonzalez set the franchise record with 25 for the month of April and at just 24-years-old looks to be a cornerstone of the franchise for years to come. That got us wondering: why on earth did the Rangers get rid of him? To be fair, the Rangers have Mark Teixeira at first base, and he's a perennial All-Star, but still you figure they could have found a place for Gonzalez, a former No. 1 overall pick in the Draft. Instead they sent him to the Padres in one of the more lopsided deals in recent memory. And it was one of the many times Padres general manager Kevin Towers has absolutely raped another team ...

The Padres Have a Pretty Good Bullpen

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 18:46:29 -0500

Here's a story you probably haven't heard about, and it involves the bullpen of the San Diego Padres, which would be the reason you haven't heard of it. The Padres bullpen has started the year off with 28 1/3 scoreless innings.