Gerald Laird
by Adam J. Morris on Apr 6, 2008 8:01 PM CDT
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yeah
striking out the side and making Vlad look foolish is pretty damn beastly
" Winning doesn't always mean being first,
winning means you are doing better than you have done before"
McCarthy fanned Vladi twice last year...
...on some wicked junk.
by oc on Apr 6, 2008 8:22 PM CDT up reply actions
I remember that game
That was when I really first sat up and realized McCarthy was a good pitcher.
by LSJ on Apr 6, 2008 8:34 PM CDT up reply actions
Starting rotation = Beastly
"My death certificate will probably say: 'Cause of Death: World Series.'" Jamey Newberg
Texas Rangers = Beastly
The Texas Rangers rounded the bases at a dizzying pace
Adam you do love you some Lard
The Murph showing why he isnt a fourth outfielder, Brousard showing decent pop in the bat, the pitching holding their ground. I like what I see so far.
Adam loves him some Lard
And . . .
he threw out Figgins at 2nd. He's caught 3 of 6 so far this year.
by Randy Richardson on Apr 6, 2008 9:00 PM CDT reply actions
Yep.
I feel better watching these games knowing that this is definitely a playoff team THIS year....
the truth.
My hell...
Laird went ape-shit today. Great day for him to do it at home as well. BB also with another bomb. I love eating my words, heres to hoping these two continue to prove me wrong.
Padilla looked pretty good also. The pitching (minus anyone whose last name starts with a N and ends with a T) was just great in this first road trip. 5 of 6 quality starts and a decent pen. Jack was filthy today.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
true/false
Salty/Laird combo would be overall superior to Laird/Melhuse right now.
In all seriousness and not merely bashing the guy sarcastically, I still dont think lairds throwing makes him more valuable than salty right now and I dont think catching at the mlb level with the mlb staff would harm salt's development. Salty cant be sitting 5 days a week, but playing 4 times a week and maybe DHing one more would be fine. Even if he focused on D his offense is unlikely to just tank.
Who wouldnt like this lineup?
1. Kins - 2b
2. Young - ss
3. Hammy - cf
4. Bradley - rf
5. Blalock - 3b
6. Salty - catcher
7. Broussard/Botts - 1b
8. Murphy - LF
9. Cat/Botts - DH
Salty allows you to break up the lefties even further and is just deepens the lineup. And i still dont think laird playing every day and likely still struggling v righties is going to increase his value notably more than mashing lefties as a backup would.
Laird was a beast today though.
Gerald Laird is my hero.
i think you're overthinking this...
Jarrod will get his time. but, not now.
by oc on Apr 6, 2008 9:32 PM CDT up reply actions
i agree.
Laird is the best catcher the Rangers have right now. Salty needs to improve his defense and I think he will. He has every chance to be the catcher of the future but he is not ready yet no matter how much we may wish it were so.
Going into the offseason
90% of this board seemed to think he would be our starter. And now half of it thinks salty starting would be crazy even after a spring where wash said he did everything they wanted him to. Doesnt make sense to me.
Anyone really think that if a good offer had been made for laird that Salty wouldnt be starting because hes not ready?
Did anyone that watched him the final 2 years think he wasnt close to ready? He wasnt overmatched offensively and the pitchers seemed to do just fine with him behind the plate. His biggest problem was his horrible 1b defense and his poor throwing. 1b defense should be a non-issue and throwing isn't all that important.
Gerald Laird is my hero.
don't know what to say man...
...Salt is still very young. wouldn't hurt to season him a bit more.
i've been a Gerry supporter since day 1, and i continue to be. his intangibles are valuable. fool can drop a bunt, leg it out.... his track record of throwing out basestealers is undisputable.
but this is not a "lost" season. no one will admit that... so, in the meantime, you put your best players out there. and Laird is the best catcher right now.
if anything... i just want him to succeed for Wash... especially after their much publicized headbutting last year.
by oc on Apr 6, 2008 10:14 PM CDT up reply actions
2008
I thought they should platoon Salty and Laird, but I'm going with the current plan. My main concern is that there could very soon be a 3 person logjam at C. Decisions are going to need to be made in the very near future.
by Randy Richardson on Apr 6, 2008 10:18 PM CDT up reply actions
I'm still with ya Drew
The thing that I disagree with most people about is the development of Salty. If he is really a premium hitting prospect, then the best way to develop him is to give him regular ML at bats as soon as possible. The really good ones develop best when they get ML experience at as young an age as possible IMO. Look around the league at the best young hitters - most of them don't spend much time at AAA, especially on rebuilding teams.
Pedro: "I wasn't cockfighting, I just have a wide stance."
Concur...
I've accepted that Laird is here and I hope he does well, but I still feel Salty should have been the starter out of ST and Laird his backup.
I'm really looking forward to the lineup Drew has above. Salty really will extend this lineup and seperate the lefties more. I really hope Laird does well (like with all Rangers) but I have my doubts, and think Salty will be best for the team in the long-run.
I think Laird has some value, but I can't see the next couple months increasing it that much. I think Salty's development over that time may be just as important.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
part of rebuilding
should be letting a guy properly develop. for a catcher, that could mean catching every day in OKC, not catching sparingly in Texas just to be part of a productive platoon.
I didnt suggest sparringly.
a righty sharing a platoon with a lefty is used sparingly.
proposing a switch hitter play against almost all righties and DH a game a week is not suggesting he be used sparingly.
Gerald Laird is my hero.
think about it
Im suggesting v lefties when laird is catching occasionally.
DH guys v lefties
Cat- benched
Bradley - hopefully in RF most of the time
Botts - should be at 1b for broussard.
Suddenly there arnt that many DHs on those days.
Gerald Laird is my hero.
Shep nails it...
A 75/25 split with Laird would be the way to go for now, with him taking over full-time once Laird gets traded. That way, Laird is protected from RHP, and inflates his value, just like 2006, and Salty's bat gets the MLB AB's it should get.
Yeah...
playing Laird only against LHP will really inflate his value.
"I know you're a bit dense but no, it doesn't. Obviously lying isn't a problem for me."
It can't hurt
Laird has platoon limitations. His best year came when Rod Barajas protected him from the tough righties.
So your choices are: play him full time, expose his weakness, deflate his value, or play him part time, protect him, and maintain his value as a backup catcher.
Either way, according to history and stats, everything suggests Laird's value is as high is it will ever get. Might as well put him in the best situation to maintain that value, and hope a playoff team loses it's catcher.
You can't deflate his value.
He hit .225 last year.
Everyone already knows his limitations. These GM's didn't just fall off the turnip wagon. If you play him full time, and he hits well, you've just inflated his value. If you play him full time, and he doesn't hit RHP, well, everyone already knew that was his problem, no problem.
Saying that after a .225 season Laird's value is as high as it will ever get is insane.
"I know you're a bit dense but no, it doesn't. Obviously lying isn't a problem for me."
We had four teams asking about him this spring
After a strong spring, people expect him to rebound this season. But, if he does not rebound, then that value will drop back to what it was this offseason, before spring training, which was practically zero.
However, if Salty where up here, platooning with Laird, and Laird was his usual self, raking the lefties, inflating his average, you might get a team to think that Laird had rebounded, and was just stuck behind Salty.
I know we'll never get a boatload of talent for Laird, but I do disagree with your statement that Laird's value is still at an all-time low. It's not. If it was, we wouldn't have had four teams asking about him this spring.
by LSJ on Apr 7, 2008 1:02 AM CDT up reply actions
Whatever, dude...
You're behaving irrationally about this. It makes no sense to platoon him now, it wouldn't inflate his value. Playing him full time, even if he sucks against RHP again, is not going to deflate his value. Platooning Salty does not help Salty. If you want to watch Salty, watch AAA games.
"you might get a team to think Laird had rebounded."
No you wouldn't.
"I know you're a bit dense but no, it doesn't. Obviously lying isn't a problem for me."
+1
"You are this month's NYTXFAN." - t ball
by inactive lsb user on Apr 7, 2008 1:50 AM CDT up reply actions
There are many people who still look at his stats and see 2006
as a reason he has offensive potential. id say many laird supporters fall under this category. repeat that year in 2008 and it might give more people hope he could put together a full year.
have him fail offensively against righties, as he has done his entire major league career, only confirms he will never be decent offensively for a full season.
the chances of laird having a good offensive season against righties and inflating his value is very very slim.
however, thats all fairly pointless. the starting catcher of the texas rangers should not be decided by how you think you can slightly improve the trade value of a defensive catcher.
if you and the rangers truly think salty really needs more time in AAA and it would improve his defense more so than being the starter at the mlb team, and that laird is the best catcher on the rangers roster, thats a logical position that i just disagree with.
as for platooning salty, id repeat that being the left handed portion of a platoon who can DH additionally is pretty much starting. noone is suggesting salty come up and perform botts's role.
Gerald Laird is my hero.
If Salty is ready...
and nobody wants to trade for Laird after 2007, then you either cut bait with Laird, or, if trading Salty creates better value, you do that. It makes no sense for Salty to be up on the big league club right now getting partial work if the club really thinks he needs to be working on his defense everyday.
"I know you're a bit dense but no, it doesn't. Obviously lying isn't a problem for me."
I just question
How catching millwood, padilla & co 5 days a week and working on defense before games the other 2 days (plus DHing one of them) is going to hurt his defensive development vs catching the AAA staff 6 days a week. Noones proposing catching twice a week and then sitting on the bench.
If our MLB coaching/training staff is so awful we should probably fire them.
Or that is defense is that bad anyway. Everyone last year seemed to think he was average but adequate aside from his throwing struggles and his errors at 1b. Now he sucks and apparently needs at least 3 months in AAA to miraculously become awesome.
But again, if the JD's motivation is simply that salty really really does need that development, then ok. Still now sure I agree and Im puzzled how noone thought this 4 months ago and now acts as if anyone who disagrees now is irrational, but ok at least theres logic to that.
But much of the conversation is that laird needs to start to increase his trade value which i find strange both on that its questionably if it will increase his value and that his trade value should not be of major concern.
Gerald Laird is my hero.
and for the record
yes, indeed I shall be arguing this until everyone else gives up due to exhaustion.
Gerald Laird is my hero.
Well...
DH'ing Salty doesn't make any sense. We already have too many DH's on the roster as it is. Secondly, it doesn't make any sense to have the second catcher on your roster DH'ing.
Nobody is saying that Salty sucks.
As for no one saying this four months ago, I was saying it four months ago.
As for Laird starting solely to increase his trade value, that's not what I'm saying. If he can increase his trade value in a year in which we've already tendered him a contract, grand. if not, we have a decision to make at the end of the yar.
"I know you're a bit dense but no, it doesn't. Obviously lying isn't a problem for me."
no DH room
as previously addressed, DHing once or so a week would be against a lefty while laird plays.
cat: always benched vs lefties anyway
botts: should and hopefully will be playing 1b against lefties
bradley: in right field most days, and certainly could be worked out that his occasional DH day is another day.
Salty sliding into that spot seems to slide in pretty well to me.
Gerald Laird is my hero.
Okay...
OF: Bradley, Cat, Murphy, Hamilton, Byrd, Botts
of those, Botts and Cat should primarily DH (as they have reputations for being bad in the field).
That's 6 guys and 4 spots.
"I know you're a bit dense but no, it doesn't. Obviously lying isn't a problem for me."
*missed one
whats wrong with the second catcher DH'ing? you can move him from DH to catcher if laird goes down, can you not?
it would be a long shot that laird would go down in a day salty is dh'ing, and if so.. you simply move him to catcher right? I think you would lose your DH spot, but losing your DH slot for part of one game in an unlikely circumstance seems pretty meaningless to me.
and ill take your word on that you happened to think this 4 months ago, but you cant tell me thats what the organization or the great majority of this site was saying.
Gerald Laird is my hero.
No...
if the catcher goes down and the DH has to play in the field, the pitcher hits. That's why you don't see teams DH'ing their catchers.
"I know you're a bit dense but no, it doesn't. Obviously lying isn't a problem for me."
no offense
but read my post next time. that would be what i meant by "lose your dh spot". which i deemed inconsequential.
Gerald Laird is my hero.
I don't agree...
that it's inconsequential.
"I know you're a bit dense but no, it doesn't. Obviously lying isn't a problem for me."
well thats irrational
2-3 at bats in one game in the very unlikely scenario laird goes down mid game in the ~1 game a week salty is DHing?
meaningless. completely and utterly meaningless.
and the reason most teams wouldnt DH a catcher is because most catchers cant hit. if you substituted melhuse for salty in this lineup, id like to see you tell me a lineup against lefties than laird catching, salty dhing, and botts at 1b. The two players eliminated by such a move are cat and broussard, who cant hit lefties.
Gerald Laird is my hero.
You're being irrational...
the 3 or 4 at bats that Salty would get per month as the 3rd or 4th DH option are meaningless. I understand you want to watch Salty play. I suggest going to Oklahoma or being patient. Take your pick.
"I know you're a bit dense but no, it doesn't. Obviously lying isn't a problem for me."
is that the fifth grader defense?
No, you're being irrational?
None of that tells me why the 2-3 at bats of a pitcher v salty in some bizarro situation that would likely never happen are meaningful. Seriously, im not just throwing it out there because I disagree with you, I think its irrational to care about such a minor issue.
As for 3-4 DH at bats, if you didnt notice the only reason Im arguing DH at bats is because you said it was stupid (essentially) to suggest he DH around once a week.
So of course Im going to defend that, especially when the counter argument is a miniscule chance of having a pitcher bat twice and benching one of murphy or byrd once in a while. The DH clogging is botts/catt, which do not collide with salty in a proper lineup vs lefties. The only collision is the 4 outfielders for 3 spots. Sitting whoever is cold between byrd/murphy is no tragedy. Byrd may be a righty but he didnt mash lefties last year or anything.
And as a bonus, i said about once a week a dozen times. Since when do DHs gets one at bat a game?
Alright, now im getting defensive and starting to rant, but at the very least in this DH line of the argument i freakin know im making sense.
Gerald Laird is my hero.
Uh...
"but at the very least in this DH line of the argument i freakin know im making sense"
No, you're not.
There's no reason to play Salty at DH.
There's no reason to bring up Salty to back up Laird, he needs to play every day.
"I know you're a bit dense but no, it doesn't. Obviously lying isn't a problem for me."
alright, now im concerned
please god dont tell me you think ive been saying i want salty to BACK UP laird and DH most of the time.
lets clarify. in a hypothetical week vs 5 righties and 2 lefties I want to play salty...
at CATCHER vs the 5 righties
at DH vs one of the lefties
and sitting the last day.
Gerald Laird is my hero.
That isn't going to happen...
you're going to have to get used to that. The fact of the matter is that Laird is likely the superior catcher right now, taking all factors into consideration.
"I know you're a bit dense but no, it doesn't. Obviously lying isn't a problem for me."
Salty needs to refine his game...
Laird is the starting catcher, at least right now. Thus, Salty needs to refine his game in AAA. That's really all there is to it.
"I know you're a bit dense but no, it doesn't. Obviously lying isn't a problem for me."
Well you updated before i could even close the browser.
So ill just say.. search this thread for "noone". I believe something about salty and being a bench player will come up.
As for laird being the starter and so I should just accept it... I dont know, so many things come to mind. Sammy Sosa? Phil Nevin? Rod Barajas?
Baseball blogs are built on such discussion.
And now, at long last, I really am leaving. Instantly.
Gerald Laird is my hero.
Incidentally...
I'm kind of baffled by this. Why would you want to put a guy who's projected for a .750 OPS this year at DH for any games at all, especially when he had no games above AA before last year?
"I know you're a bit dense but no, it doesn't. Obviously lying isn't a problem for me."
Baffling?
And as I said in the post I made above (after you posted), it would be byrd bumped against lefties.
Are you telling me its baffling to want salty in a lineup over marlon byrd?
Why would I care where he played in 2006? I think he is a mlb ready hitter.
If you think DHing him once in a while is baffling, what did you say to those that supported making him the starting 1b?
Gerald Laird is my hero.
Wanting...
to start him at 1b is also stupid, but probably not as stupid as wanting to DH him.
He didn't look like a major league ready hitter to me last year, particularly not if he's not behind the plate.
"I know you're a bit dense but no, it doesn't. Obviously lying isn't a problem for me."
Yeah...
I'm sure I said that.
Anyway, you're having a gut reaction. I have no problem with Salty playing in AAA every day. He's never played there. He's still young. We have Laird on the roster, we may as well use him while Salty refines his game.
"I know you're a bit dense but no, it doesn't. Obviously lying isn't a problem for me."
Melhuse
I like him right now because he can play third. If something happened to Young ann Hank then you put Melhuse at third and Vazquez at short.
plus Salty is
not going to get regular AB's.
" Winning doesn't always mean being first,
winning means you are doing better than you have done before"
Well
Cat came up as a 2b, so he could presumably play 2nd, with Kinsler at SS and Vasquez at 3b.
But what are the odds something happens to both Hankles and Franchise Face at the same time?
"Sabean did a good job on selling high on Liriano." Excel Hearts Choi
by thedirkatron on Apr 7, 2008 12:35 AM CDT up reply actions
sell high
JD, it is time to trade Laird NOW. His value may never be higher. You played oyur hand way too long with Byrd. Now you are stuck with him. Trade LAird now while he has some value.
I don't want to play golf. When I hit a ball, I want someone else to go chase it. ~Rogers Hornsby
I don't think he has a choice but to wait
until June-ish. He apparently found Laird's offseason value to be unacceptable, and a short period of success probably isn't going to change that. I don't know how much 2-3 months of it will, but it at least gives hope for a better return.
by Brett Perryman on Apr 6, 2008 9:46 PM CDT up reply actions
+ 1
Any potential suitor isn't going to fall for that. He needs a much longer track record of success than one game. Let's not forget he was hitting .091 before this game and was one of the worst hitters in baseball last year. I'm all for Gerry getting hot and being the regular for a couple months. We'll get a nice nugget for him, but it's going to take a lot more than one game.
Fukudome is hitting .500. I sure hope we didn't get the shit end of the Fuk
stick. (again)
how Whitney Houston of you..
Crack is whack!!
Fukudome is hitting .500. I sure hope we didn't get the shit end of the Fuk
stick. (again)
For us to get a good return for Laird
A lot of different things are going to have to happen. Like a starting catcher getting injured on a contender. And no other catchers on the market. And Laird hitting at an acceptable rate. Seems like pretty slim odds that all the stars would align for all that to happen.
Pedro: "I wasn't cockfighting, I just have a wide stance."
Catchers
get hurt at a pretty high rate. Yadier Molina and Varitek were major injuries that hurt their clubs in recent years. Laird has the added bonus of being inexpensive (salary) - so even the cost-conscious teams could be interested.
by Randy Richardson on Apr 6, 2008 11:00 PM CDT up reply actions
Salary...
is a good point. A team interested in Laird could still take a shot at him because he is relatively cheap, still fairly young, a good defensive CA, and did hit in the past (even if it was a part-time role). It's not just contenders that could be interested in him.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
Anyone know a good orthopedic surgeon?
This kneejerking blew out my knee.
I don't want to play golf. When I hit a ball, I want someone else to go chase it. ~Rogers Hornsby
Congrats Arlington!!!
Where you gonna be in September I'm wondering?
YOU DON'T KNOW THE POWER OF THE DARKSIDE.....
Bitter much?
Trust me, I know the power of the troll. [Case in point]
"You are this month's NYTXFAN." - t ball
by inactive lsb user on Apr 7, 2008 3:36 AM CDT up reply actions
Probably in first
when the Angels fall apart due to old age and injuries.
"Before I leave, I once again condemn the despicable buffoonery of D.J. Cahill." - Huck
Did anyone notice?
In each of Laird's at-bats he kept looking towards right field before the pitcher would throw. I'm not sure where the scoreboard is in Anaheim, but if they were showing a live feed, I figured he was looking where the catcher was setting up. He did have a lot of family and friends there, maybe he was looking at them.
Maybe we started
installing blinking lights in road parks too.
That would be awesome.
"Before I leave, I once again condemn the despicable buffoonery of D.J. Cahill." - Huck
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