PHOTO: AP (Schneider talking with Johan Santana early in camp)
I wrote about Brian Schneider in today’s paper. I don’t agree the missed time won’t hurt him.
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. _ Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow.
Each passing day is one less opportunity for Brian Schneider to work with his new staff and three or four fewer at-bats.
A tight right hamstring has limited him to five at-bats in three games, but he and the Mets are spinning this into a story where Schneider won’t be too far behind with the season a little less than two weeks away.
“I’ve seen guys have their best years after playing in only three or four games in spring training,’’ manager Willie Randolph said. “He’s gotten a lot of work in the bullpen. I think he’ll be all right.’’
Schneider’s hamstring prevents him from running full speed and he won’t play until he passes that test.
“They want to make sure I can run the bases,’’ Schneider said. “I haven’t run the bases, yet.’’
Schneider caught John Maine and Johan Santana in games, and has caught everybody else but Pedro Martinez in bullpen sessions or simulated games.
Schneider wasn’t in the line-up for last night’s game against Cleveland and is tired of saying “hopefully, soon,’’ about when he’ll play.
Last night he changed that to “the next day or two.’’
The Mets have four long bus trips the final week of the season, two to Fort Lauderdale, and one each to Winter Haven and Orlando, and he could stay back for a minor league game and get up to six at-bats (he would lead off each inning).
However, what that won’t do is give him face time with his pitchers.
Ideally, Schneider said he gets a good read on a pitcher if he catches him twice. There’s a lot to learn, from how the pitches break to what he likes to throw in different situations.
Both Maine and Santana said they enjoyed working with Schneider and liked how he called a game.
“Games are very important,’’ Schneider said. “I talk to the pitchers. I’m getting my work in. I can still miss time and be all right.’’
When the Mets opted not to re-sign Paul Lo Duca, their thinking was to go after a cerebral and defensive-oriented catcher. Schneider is quick to say he’d rather go 0-for-4 and catch a shutout, than to get four hits and have the pitcher raked.
The Mets like that thinking.
“Even though he’s not playing in the games, he’s still talking to the pitchers,’’ Randolph said. “I don’t think this is going to be an issue. He’s a sharp guy and has a feel for what pitchers want to do.’’
When the Yorvit Torrealba signing fell through when the Colorado catcher flunked his physical, and with Lo Duca wanting at least three years and the Mets not willing to go more than two, general manager Omar Minaya knew who he wanted and made the deal with Washington for Schneider and Ryan Church for Lastings Milledge.
Minaya knew all about Schneider when both were with the Montreal Expos.
“He’s a very good defensive catcher and works with pitchers well,’’ Minaya said. “He’ll improve our defense, and that will improve our pitching.’’
That is, when he plays.
11 Comments
Nice article JD, and I agree with you. Working with pitchers in the pen is nice, but you really need to work with them during the game. There are a ton of subtle things catchers need to pick up on to guide their pitcher through a game and the only way to learn these things is by catching them during games.
You need to know when to slow your pitcher down, when to get him the ball back ASAP when he’s settling into a rhythm, what pitches he likes to throw in key situations… stuff like this just doesn’t come out in simulated games or bullpen sessions.
It would have been one thing if he had been on the team for years, but being that he just joined us, he has a lot of catching up to do.
I’m getting the sense that the Mets don’t trust their fans enough to tell them the truth.
They haven’t levelled with the fans who don’t get SNY (3rd year coming up) because the Mets won’t negotiate with cable companies.
They don’t level with the fans when bad weather is approaching Shea and they are afraid to cancel.
And now I’m getting the sense that they don’t tell the truth about the physical condition and health of their players.
With the Mets – it’s always about the money which is not the way to run a Major League Baseball Franchise in the Big City. MLB is awash with funds – have you checked Bud Selig’s salary lately?
So, this is my question – who is doing (or not doing) their Press Releases and Public Relations? Is poor old Jay Horowitz still sent out to take the flak? Are the Press Conferences all emcompassing or restricted? Is there enough access to not only the players, but also the manager, the coaches and the staff?
As someone once said “tell the truth, they find out anyway”.
I like Schneider. He is a calming influence and the pitching staff really likes him.
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Annie: Jay’s still the man…. But you know he is the spokesman, not the decider of what’s released.
If you have been a fan of the Mets, you should know they are not forthcoming with information.
Read b/w the lines and make your own assessments. Complain all you want, it is not going to change. Most teams in most sports do they same.
Enough with this Schneider bum—he’s good at playing catch and that’s pretty much it. This is Ramon Casto’s season to shine.
Annie, I have to strongly disagree with you here. At least in the sense that the Mets are no more overly concerned with the money (relative to their resources) than any other team in MLB.
If you expect them to act like the Yankees and overspend (and misspend) with a $200+ million payroll it’s not going to happen. Nor should it. They not only don’t have the same amount of revenue, but the Wilpons believe in Luxury Taxes and the idea of a level playing field. They will therefore strive to not exceed the threshold, especially the way the Yankees have done. I agree with that.
As a fan, I can’t complain one bit about the amount of money the team has spent on players. I can complain about their hiring and specific player acquisitions, but then that’s another matter.
I like Ramon Castro. But he’s often hurt and the Mets question his ability and/or desire to be an everyday catcher.
Schneider will be fine and I think he will surprise some people with the bat this year. I predict he’ll hit about 8 HRs, 58 RBIs, with a .710 OPS. Not earth shaking, but acceptable for this lineup.
Whatever happened to Yorvit? Will we ever know why they walked away?
I think Scheider’s biggest influence will be on Ollie and Pelf, to a lesser extent Maine. The other guys know what they want to do. He already know the league so that is not an issue.
He seems to be a team player. Trying to understand what the coaches want and trying to get to know his pitchers. I would think trust goes a long way. Knowing the opposition and just finding common ground is a good start.
Annie, many teams across all sports are not forthcoming regarding player injuries or anything else. This is pretty much common practice across all kind of big business. No one wants to pigeon hole themselves into definitive statements.
Did Torrealba really fail his physical? Is this established fact or was this whispered into your ear?