Brandon McCarthy refuses to get into
war of words with the Sox. That's good, because Williams didn't say anything objectionable or out of line.
I've been chewing on this
MLB.com piece on Sox catchers for a day, trying to figure out what to make of it. Basically, it comes down to some quotes from A.J. Pierzynski that could use some context:
"I don't really want to lose at-bats and lose time back there. Nobody has really talked to me about it, but you read some things how they got [Hall] to hit against lefties, and you look at our division and it's all lefties. So, you kind of read between the lines, but there's nothing I can do about it. I just hope he helps us win games and strengthen our team.
"Physically, I was fine and I felt great at the end [of 2006]. You are going to have ups and downs in every season, and I wasn't going to hit .315 the whole year. Basically, I had one bad month and finished up well."
I'm going to take these as typical athlete human quotes, because no competitive person is going to readily admit they need help. But I suppose there always is the lingering threat of red-ass that could break through.
A.J. is right that he didn't completely break down -- rebounded well enough in September (.273/.309/.455)
to make his abysmal August (.228/.265/.402) seem not so scary.
On the other hand, against lefties, he crawled to the finish line. Here's what Pierzynski posted against southpaws by month (ABs in parentheses):
- April: .421/.476/.474 (19)
- May: .154/.241/.154 (26)
- June: .345/.367/.517 (29)
- July: .368/.368/.368 (19)
- August: .158/.158/.158 (19)
- Sept/Oct: .207/.233/.241 (29)
April, June and July support his theory that he can hit lefties; May, August and September beg to differ. Considering he posted OPSes of .626 of .524 against lefties in the two years prior to 2006, I think it's safe to say that occasionally he could use the help.
Speaking of catchers,
here's why it's great to have Hall:
DENVER -- Talks between the Rockies and catchers Javier Lopez and Sal
Fasano have reached a serious stage, as the club attempts to sign a
veteran to provide competition and injury protection in camp...
...The Rockies also have interest in veteran Sandy Alomar Jr., who also
played for Colorado in 2002, but discussions are further along with the
other two. Alomar also has been talking with the Rangers, Mariners and
D-backs, according to agent John Boggs.
While A.J.'s wanting as much playing time as possible, Lopez is a pretty good example of how catchers can fall off a cliff. And should the Rockies sign Alomar, they'll have cut the White Sox's lead in "Times A Team Has Acquired Sandy Alomar Jr." to 3-2.