dxmachina | The Final Piece of the Puzzle?

Turns out DePo went out an done got hisself another catcher last night. From Dodger Thoughts:

the Dodgers have committed a roster slot to journeyman catcher Paul Bako with a $650,000 contract, plus another $100,000 in possible performance bonuses.

Without going into any detail, Bako cannot hit. Like Brent Mayne did, Bako does his non-hitting from the left side.

ESPN.com's scouting report does go into detail:

Bako is an inside-out hitter who rarely pulls the ball or hits it in the air. He gets most of his base hits by punching balls through the infield, especially to the right side when the first baseman is holding a runner. [In other words, he needs the defense to be out of position to contribute offensively... (DX)] Lefthanders have overmatched him in the limited chances he's had against them. Bako will take an occasional walk, but he strikes out a bit much for a contact-oriented hitter with little extra-base power. He occasionally was used as a pinch-hitter last year, though he didn't perform well, going 1-for-10. He has struggled with men in scoring position during his major league career, batting .181 in those situations.

While Bako is a solid all-around receiver with sound fundamentals, he doesn't excel in any one facet of the game. His arm is reasonably strong and accurate, he blocks balls capably, and his pitch-calling never has been questioned. He has little speed, though, and is a non-factor on the basepaths. He has stolen just three bases in 398 games in the big leagues.

Last season he batted .203 in 49 games with the Cubs. Also, his full name is actually Gabor Paul II Bako.

Damnit, I want a real catcher...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hey, you're getting Dioner Navarro, late of the Yankees farm, right? I mean, just the honor of stripping the very last farmhand of value the Yankees have! I don't know that he's an earthshatteringly good catcher, nor whether he can hit -- but that may be why DePo is going cheap and short-term for that position.

Navarro won't be ready for a couple of years. That's a lot of hapless swings in the meantime.

Which isn't to say I disagree with your reasoning. I just think there have to be better short term solutions than a guy whose first name is Gabor. Perhaps I should start calling him Zsa Zsa.

I'm very curious about the II randomly in the middle of his name. Is he a Steve Jobs product? Are his parents blue-blooded but dyslexic? Or is his second middle name pronounced Aye-Aye like a sailor?

The sad part is, the Sox have a catching prospect at AAA (Shoppach) who sounds like he is a better hitter than this Bako dude. And Shoppach is staying at AAA, probably for 2 more years at least, because he's "not ready yet" -- his hitting isnt' considered good enough for the Sox, who admittedly are hit-crazy -- and because we're all full up of catchers till 2007. He is 25, BTW -- hopefully Dioner develops more quickly.

I figured the II actually goes at the end, as in Gabor Paul Bako II, and upon looking at a couple more references, it turns out that's correct. It's weird, though, because more than one database has it formatted with the II in the middle. I guess it's the result of poor database design. Even worse, baseball-reference.com has Ken Griffey, Jr., listed as "George Kenneth Griffey Jr. Jr."

Do you think that he's done acquiring catchers? As you say, the guys you currently have are more like #2 and #3 guys than starters.

I know that Choi was abysmal after he came over last year, but his numbers at FLA were pretty respectable (.270/.385/.495 in 340 ABs). It isn't unreasonable to expect him to return to around that level. If he doesn't, that's a hole needing patched, for sure.

I would have kept Cora. I have him backing up 2B on one of my sim teams. I think he's worth the money unless you are really scrimping, and there's no reason for that with the Dodgers.

Do you think that he's done acquiring catchers? As you say, the guys you currently have are more like #2 and #3 guys than starters.

The guy I think he could get that I'd be okay with if he could get him (and I don't see why he couldn't) is Brian Schneider of the Nats. He's a great defensive catcher, and he hit well enough last year, with a decent number of walks. And he's only making $350K. When he's able to ask for big money in a couple of years, Navarro should be ready. It seems to me he'd be DePo's wet dream.

I'd certainly have kept Cora, especially since you've essentially replaced him with Valentin, who just isn't as good, and isn't all that much cheaper.

I like Schneider too. He starts at C for me in the DMB league I'm in.
He's no beast offensively, but he can hit, for sure. Good call.

The Final Piece of the Puzzle?

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