Laird lands backstop job over Salty

[love_that_reefer]

Salty could have played first with McCann catching and saved a shit load of money to..... I don't know, get a closer. Teixeira is worth the money don't get me wrong.

[brewersfan19]

ah, good point, reefer. I guess the Braves truly believed they had a shot, but I agree, they need more pitching. Then again, what team doesn't.

[Kingdom_of_Zito]

I'm sure they could have, but a gold glover has more appeal.

But this doesn't matter. Aside from injuries, does anyone think Laird or whoever honestly stays ahead of Salt the entire year? Texas won't be very good and he's going to have the potential to be a cornerstone of the offense... Laird/Botts/whatever they play at 1B or DH won't keep him down long.

^ I agree, he is the cornerstone of there rebuilding offense. They do have some aging productive offensive players in Young & Blalock, but they need to get younger and I believe that is there focus now. That and trying to get there pitching together which is really not that great.

[Doppelgänger]

I love Salty. He has the best name in the business. I'm sure they will find a spot for him in the line up sometime shortly. They would be crazy not to.

[love_that_reefer]

I feel the "Saltalamacchia" will be the new $9 drink in Arlington.

[brewersfan19]

They will let him be the #2 catcher so he can gain some experience calling a game and honing his craft as a catcher. In the mean time, he will DH and play 1B on his non-catching days. He will do his part to help the Rangers offensively.

[Molina00]

Originally Posted by Turn 2 ^ I agree, he is the cornerstone of there rebuilding offense. They do have some aging productive offensive players in Young & Blalock, but they need to get younger and I believe that is there focus now. That and trying to get there pitching together which is really not that great.

I guess Young is getting up there a bit (I think he is 31 now?), but you can hardly call Blalock an aging player. He is only like 27 or so. Still a pretty young player considering how many years he has been around now.

I kind of like Laird getting the catching job. Laird and Salty both put up similar defensive numbers behind the plate last year, but Laird is much more experienced and with a young pitching staff and experienced catcher is important imo. With his potential Texas will work something out to get Jarrod in the lineup. I guess he'll be bounced around for right now, but I expect the catching job to be his down the road once he gets some more experience there backing up Laird.

[catman]

Originally Posted by love_that_reefer I feel the "Saltalamacchia" will be the new $9 drink in Arlington.

I have a sister that lives in Arlington. I'll ask her to check this one out.
I see Salty playing about 6 games a week, catching 2, playing at 1B a couple of games and DHing the other 2. He should contribute pretty well to the offense.

[love_that_reefer]

Rangers optioned C Jarrod Saltalamacchia and RHP Kameron Loe to Triple-A Oklahoma. The Rangers have long insisted that Saltalamacchia wouldn't be kept in the majors as a part-time catcher and with Gerald Laird still around he'll head back to the minors. Adam Melhuse will serve as Laird's backup. Loe posted a 6.59 ERA in 13 2/3 innings this spring, but as a 26-year-old with 313 major league innings under his belt probably doesn't have a whole lot left to prove at Triple-A. When the Rangers recall him, it'll likely be as a reliever.

OK so **** Salty altogether now!! What the hell are they doing? Salty has nothing to prove at AAA and needs to get used to this pitching staff.

[brewersfan19]

Totally agree with you on this one here reefer. Maybe they will just keep him down for a month or so to get more games at catching and learn how to call a better game behind the plate.

I don't understand this move at all. He needs to move forward and to continue to develop his talent in the majors. He is for sure a Major League quality player.

[Providence A's]

I don't see this as a big deal...Salty will still be playing and gives them some versatility for C, 1B, and DH.