Friday's Physical-Catcher

So this will be how we will handle this on Friday...

I will have a position that we will look at. First will be review of the previous season. Then, what is likely to happen this offseason and next year. And finally, I'll spout off about what I think the Cubs should do and what the likely results will be.

So today we talk about what I consider is the easiest position to analyze...Catcher.

2009:

Ugh. Not pretty. The Cubs made a good move by keeping Koyie "Toe Thumbs" Hill after spring training. Overall, Hill was an improvement over Hank White (AKA Henry Blanco). Neither of those catchers were ever a huge offensive plus, but Hill was slightly better than Blanco was the in 2008. Defensively, both are good catchers, but again Hill appears to be better than Blanco was...and Hill has handled the pitching staff extremely well, and has been praised for that during his entire career in the big leagues.

He not only can throw out base runners, he's got a cool chest protector.

But the problem here is that we are only talking about the backup catcher, because the starting catcher, Geovany Soto, was really a disaster this past season. It started off bad in spring training was Soto tested positive for marijuana during the WBC. He also reported to camp overweight. And he played like he was fat and stoned all season. I didn't see anything significant wrong with his mechanics at the plate or behind it outside of the fact that he looked slow. The biggest down side of having Hill as the backup catcher this year was that I felt Soto lost a mentor in Blanco. Could Blanco have helped Soto get back on track during the 2009 season? Maybe.

Soto showing us how many drug tests he flunked last year.

This position was to be a 100% solid and taken care of for years to come after Soto's Rookie of the Year season back in 2008.


2010-What is likely to happen:

Well, simply, don't expect any changes this coming year at catcher. Soto is doing a rather strict off-season program with Ryan Dempster. Look for him to come to camp in February a bit thinner and in better shape. Hopefully that will translate into numbers approaching his rookie year stats. The Cubs are going to need it. Soto's defense suffered last year as well. It would be important for Jody Davis to work with him during spring training. Soto showed good defense and a really good bat 2008. Soto was even, in my opinion, someone who should have been considered for the MVP that year with the way he handled the pitching staff.

Let's see that ass get a little smaller before spring training this year.

At backup, Koyie Hill will likely return, which I believe is a good thing. He is an excellent defensive catcher which is the most important thing to look for in a backup at that position.


Doc's comments:

Soto's defense must improve. And he needs to regain the trust of the pitching staff. The Cubs will struggle again if he struggles like he did in 2009 and, honestly, Koyie should probably take over the primary duties behind the plate like he did at the end of 2009 if that happens. Everyone knows, I'm a huge fan of Koyie Hill's...and the Cubs just seem to win when he starts. He's a switch hitter, but is equally shitty from both sides of the plate. But he is rock solid behind the plate.

Soto has about 2 months to prove he can make the adjustments needed to be successful again behind the plate. Otherwise, Soto and Hill need to switch. Lou can't wait on that either.

And as an emergency catcher, Jake Fox will do, assuming he makes the team next year.

But, that aside, I believe Soto will make a dramatic improvement in 2010. Look for the power numbers to improve and the average to approach .270. Last season was probably a wake up call for him. Jody Davis will likely work with him on his defense and really work on throwing runners out. With an improved Soto, and Koyie Hill backing him up, catcher will be that solid position on the field that we saw in 2008.