Shoppach

[happybluebird]

I Love Shoppach behind the plate. When he plays you KNOW if they try to run, you have a shot at throwing them out every time. His bat isn't awful either. BUT for Heavens sake why can't he hold on to that bat! He doesn't even play every game and I've seen him lose the bat 5 times now! In two games he lost it TWICE! I love how he always goes and adds some more pine tar after he loses one! MAYBE, just maybe he should add extra tar BEFORE he gets up there. It's embarrassing! Not to mention dangerous! Some poor fan is gonna end up hurt Not only that, but one would have to think that it has to mess his "at bat" up. The tossed bat is a strike and THEN he has to be thinking the rest of the bat about trying not to let it happen again. Can't he just grip the dang thing tighter??? Seems easy enough to fix I realize you want to start loose, but as you start your swing you are suppose to tighten the grip up (naturally I THOUGHT). Like I said at the beginning here I REALLY LIKE this guy. But he really needs to figure this out.

[skatingtripods]

Hegan said something about how he grips the bat deep in his hands. Personally, I think he just gets fooled on lots of pitches, either from not playing or not being a good hitter.

[drewd]

i like Shoppach behind the plate to, and came to a concution how to play all Shoppach, garko, and victor at the same time.


Garko would play 1B
Shoppach would play catcher
Victor would play 3B <---- (played SS in the minors)

thats 3 catchers right there, we wouldn't need to waste a roster spot on a extra one. Just have blake and rouse as ower utility players

[neoleo]

Victor would play 3B <---- (played SS in the minors)

Not gonna happen. He signed as a SS, but if he ever played there at all, it was at the very low level. Its around ten years since he's played the position. Victor's weakness as a catcher is his arm, and his weakness as a 1B is his lack of range. Those aren't exactly the qualities you're looking for in a 3B.

Back to Shoppach, am I the only one that's bothered by the size of his legs? They just look abnormally short to me.

[jfiling]

Not gonna happen. He signed as a SS, but if he ever played there at all, it was at the very low level. Its around ten years since he's played the position. Victor's weakness as a catcher is his arm, and his weakness as a 1B is his lack of range. Those aren't exactly the qualities you're looking for in a 3B.

Then (as crazy fans love to do when coming up with insane ideas on how to improve the team), rotate the entire infield. Garko at first, V-Mart at second, Barfield at SS, and Peralta at third.

Please note: I am not serious at all about this, although I do believe that Peralta will eventually be playing 3B.

[tribetalk]

Kelly will soon learn that he must play his absolute very best each and every time he gets the chance to go out and play; because if he can get his bat going, I think you may be seeing him play much more behind the dish.

One thing I do hate is that we have 2-3 solid first basemen in Blake, Garko, and Victor; and even a halfway descent one in Hafner..... I don't know if Shoppach will ever play as an everyday catcher; right now he needs to continue to do well playing 1-2 times a week.