Emergency Catcher
Not sure if anyone else “caught” this tidbit during the SNY broadcast of last night’s spring training game, but the Mets have an emergency catcher.
Brady Clark.
Clark claims to have been the “emergency catcher” while with the Cincinnati Reds — which was six years ago. He’s never appeared in a Major League game behind the plate, and to my knowledge has never caught a professional inning.
By the way, anyone remember the ten games he played with the Mets back in 2002? He — along with Pedro Feliciano — was part of the deal that sent Shawn Estes to the Reds. Clark spent the last month of the season with the Mets, hit .417, but was DFA’d the following January and the Brewers picked him up on waivers. BTW, only a week before acquiring Clark, the Mets traded Jason Bay to the Padres in a package that brought Steve Reed and Jason Middlebrook eastward. Bay was eventually traded by San Diego along with Oliver Perez to Pittsburgh for Brian Giles. But I digress …
So Brady Clark might be considered an emergency catcher, and if that’s so, I wonder why he hasn’t spent at least an inning or two behind the dish during ST. If he proves he can handle the position, it would immensely help his chances to make the 25-man roster.
The “emergency catcher” angle last night struck me as odd. Burkhardt did bring it up, and as Mr. Isuzu stated, it didn’t hint to me that Brady was all that enthused about it.
I just fear that if the Mets don’t have something lined up: waiver-wire, trade, etc. — that they’ll have a handful of players who are essentially the “same guy” on the bench, and filling in for guys like Delgado and Alou — provided they go down.
It’d be nice to pick up a more bonafide option to start in those cases.
He was pretty evasive about the idea …. though not as negative as Carlos Delgado — who actually came up to MLB as a backstop!
It was an orange job, with Bozo The Clown’s face on the front — and “ENOUGH” written underneath.
I loved it, and while I know it’s very likely a player’s only issue….want one for myself. It’s time to stop clownin’ around and do the damn thing in ’08.
Can’t wait for Opening Day.