Establishing a starting catcher has to be the most underrated position need in the game.  A solid catcher is integral to a team's success, look at the Yankees with Posada and the Red Sox with Varitek.  Those guys have been with their respected clubs for a long time, they also know the 'ins and outs' of the system and the coach under which they play.

Probably one of the greatest catchers of our time, Yogi Berra (who helmed the plate for the Yankees from 1946 to 1965), is an excellent example of the importance of a catcher.  Yogi, when he first came up with the Yankees, was awkward, unsure of himself and didn't know precisely how to command the position.  Pitchers constantly teased him and got outright violent with him sometimes, if he would ignore them and relay pitches from the manager in the dugout.  He didn't know how to comprimise between the players and the managers, who both had their own agendas.  Yogi would eventually catch on and become more confident handling the position, but for a time, he demonstrated the crucial need for confidence and leadership in a starting catcher.  

A catcher has many responsibilities and many of them are imporant to being successful in any ballgame, here is an 11 point list of many important ones: 

1.  They are involved on every pitch and every at-bat.

2.  They prevent passed balls and wild pitches.

3.  Field bunts.

4.  Prevent stolen bases.

5.  Pick off runners.

6.  Must be able to accurately throw to all positions.

7.  They block to plate from runners.

8.  Takes hits and hold onto the ball.   

9.  Direct and lead defensive alignments.

10.  Call pitches and memorize signals.

11.  Have great awareness of pitcher's strengths and batter's weaknesses.

The position requires a great understanding of the game and all it's strategic elements.  Jason Varitek wears a C on his jersey and understandably so.  The catcher is often looked upon for this kind of leadership. 

The backbone of a solid club, is a strong catcher that will stay with their team for many years.  Look what happened to Braves pitching after Javy Lopez or the Marlins after Pudge left.  

There are exceptions, but teams that have high turnover, at catcher, often fail.  The Jays, right now, are admist a catching dilemma between Gregg Zaun and Rod Barajas.  These guys are very similar, except Barajas packs more of a punch with his bat and Zaun will hit for a higher average.  Since Zaun came to the Jays in 2004, he has been an outstanding fill in; however, you never really got the feeling that he was our main guy.  Barajas needs more time with the team, but I really like his bat, considering the Jay's recent power outage.  I think that he is due for some more playing time Gibby!  I'm still hoping that our 'catcher of the future' is in the minors Jeroloman, Arencibia, Diaz, Thigpen?????????

With that, I will end with my favorite Yogism.  "I didn't say everything I said".  Surprisingly, this can get you out of a lot bad comments you make to your girlfriend.  For that, I am forever greatful to you Yogi.  Got any other Yogism's?  I would be delighted to hear more, if you want to share.

 Yes!  This is the greatest baseball game that I have ever played, above MVP, above 2K, far, far above all the rest.  There have been some other great games, but this one takes the cake for me.

Here is my list of top baseball video games past and present (you are welcome to include any if you wish).

1.  MLB 08 'The Show'

2.  RBI baseball (on original Nintendo was soo much fun)

3.  MVP baseball (I fell in love with the franchise feature)

4.  Ken Griffey's MLB

5.  Harball (Sega Genesis)

Everyone tells me, High Heat for Playstation One, was the greatest game, I did not have this game unfortunately, but I've seen how good it looked.

Most of what makes MLB 08 'the show' so good is, of course, the technology of PS3. 

The constant wireless roster updates are a huge benefit, this keeps you from having to juggle players around and create rookies.  When I saw Robinson Diaz (Jays AAA rookie catcher) on the Jays roster, the day he was called up, I knew this game was for real.   

The 'road to the show' option allows you to create a player and take him through the minors, while focusing just on the individual performance of the player that you created.  This is fun because entire seasons can move along quickly this way.  It is also cool to see your guy get better, as he learns in the minors.

This game has given me a new addiction however, and that is wireless online gaming.  With MLB 08 'The Show', you can find a game whenever you want to and they are generally very competitve.  I'm yet to join an online league, but they look very cool and I'm looking forward to doing that in the future.  The connection can get fuzzy at times, but you'll find that with any game.

Other than that, what else can I say about this game?  Well, virtually every player has a replicated batting stance and pitching delivery, MLB sponsors and updates live MLB scores for you while you play, the graphics are amazing on PS3 and I've never played a game with that much realism.  It is really unbelievable.  "MLB 08 The Show, the most realistic baseball game ever created" - ESPN Magazine.  They are right!

Now that you have read this and you think you have the guts to take me on, my user name is MERGIHEAD.   Bring it!  lol all in good fun.

Gone!  Stranded!  Destitute!  Munsoned up a creek, without a paddle.  Like a tree without its rich and succulant sap.  Like a ballplayer, without his mitt, or like Frank Thomas without his at-bats.  

That was me, for the past 3 weeks I've been without my laptop and frequenting public computer labs.  Upon graduating from a College course in Public Relations, they stole my computer rental and took away some key programs, like Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Office.  I was able to get them back, however, and now I'm good to go, so you can expecting some more fancy designing (i.e. The Carmona/Corona label below).

So, now that I have my laptop back, it is time for the Blue Jays to win again.  Pleeeeease!  Man, Wha happend when I was gone!  Murphy!  Six game losing streak and we fall into last place in the AL east?  It is definately a sign that I need to keep up with this blog, in order for the Blue Jays to win. 

To me, it is now becoming obvious that the Blue Jays need to shake things up a bit.  John Gibbons, wow, you are definately on the hot seat.  The way Frank Thomas was handled, in Toronto, was despicable.  I solely blame this on management.  Thomas was a clubhouse leader, proven to produce, and committed to making the Blue Jays a winning club this season.  The Jays need guys like that, we definately don't need to be getting rid of them.  No doubt, he will have a big year with Oakland now, and that may come back to bite the Jays in the future.  It is obvious what the Jays are, all pitching and limited offense!  Soon, we will be crying for a big hitter and this whole situation will haunt the team. 

On the flip side of that coin, the Jays are deep enough, this season, that we will be okay.  Matt ('the lumberjack') Stairs (I call him the lumberjack because he looks like one and swings a bat like one) will be inserted into the lineup more often, and the Jays will also see what they can get from Adam Lind (not much recently!). 

The big question here is:

Does this make the Jays a better team?

No, definatly not in the long run.  I'm sure that Thomas would have had a huge year for us, in and towards the second half, following his usual trend of being a second half star. 

Are the Jays still okay without Thomas?

Yes.  The big additions to our team, this season, were Rolen and Eckstein.  They bring the winning attitudes, and Rolen looks, in my estimation, to be poised for a great year.  They, are what will really make the difference for this team.  My prediction that the Troy Glaus for Scott Rolen deal, would be the best move J.P. has ever made as Blue Jay's GM, is starting to come true in it's initial stages.  Stairs will hit for a higher average but will have less homerun pop, and we are all waiting on ('the heartbreak kid') to come around.  It that those things happen, the Jays will be good, if not great this season.  Here is hoping Blue Jay fans.

With Thomas, I don't buy into the conspiracy.  Benching Thomas was a management decision and a very bad one.  J.P., sticking to his strategy of making players happy, released Thomas because the position Gibbons put him in.  What do you think about the conspiracy?  Was it management or front office?  Really, if you know, I would also like to know.