Re: *** Official St Louis Cardinals to the 2006 World Series Thread **
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2. I'm not a huge believer in the importance of catcher defense in today's game, mainly because the running game is so de-emphasized. And the studies we've done suggest that there's little if any effect from a catcher's game-calling skills.
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Have you seen Mike Piazza catch? Seriously, his inept catching skills far outweigh what he can bring offensively. I think that there are a lot of ways a good defensive catcher can contribute -- by de-emphisizing a running game even more, picking off runners, blocking balls in the dirt, knowing his pitching staff and calling a good game -- I know you think that is overated but I would disagree.
Finally, with a lineup like the Cards they do not need a ton of production from the catchers spot, but I do think Molina will be much more productive this year, as he will likely not start with 2 horrible months like he did last year.
B.
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