Who is set to be our catcher next year? Is it Marson or Shoppach? Also, do you guys think we can see anymore financial dump trades this year like Peralta (hopefully).

Shoppach will be what some may call a financial dump because he might get as much as $3M or more in arbitration. I think the situation at 3rd says they have to hang on to Peralta at least for another year but if he has a good first half and guys like Hodges and maybe a guy like Chisenhall look like they are the future then maybe they will dump Peralta in July as I think they will do with Westbrook, if he shows he is healthy and could help a contending team and Wood.

Marson, looks to be the best defensive catcher we've had in a long time. Hopefully an experienced backup like Fasano is signed. ... After watching Marson catch the last part of the season I thought more would be high on him.

Thanks you guys!

Anyways, I really dont like Peralta. It just does not seem that he ever really cares. You will never find guys like this on real teams. Not one team in the playoffs this year had a player like Peralta. He always stacks up hits/RBIs that are inconsequential to every single game he plays.

"After watching Marson catch the last part of the season I thought more would be high on him."

i think a lot of people stopped paying attention after a certain point and frankly didn't see marson. but i'm with you...marson was especially impressive throwing the ball. he came close to beating out ruiz in spring training last season - the phillies decided to send him down to get him regular playing time.

to me he's definitely the starter in 2010, toregas the backup, shoppach (hopefully!) gone. what will be interesting is to see how quickly the tribe brings along santana and what they decide to do with marson once carlos is here.

I'm really not that high on Toregas as a backup. I know he's good defensively but I think we may sign a cheap vet for some experience with the pitching staff. Fasano has been mentioned and I wouldn't mind him, but a lefty would be useful to spell Marson against some RHP's. Josh Bard actually comes to mind. He's an FA and he'd be cheap. Probably within a few hundred thousand of the minimum.

After watching Shoppach and VMart throw out from 10 - 15% of runners, the passed balls by shoppach, so many times VMart not even throwing, the many wild throws by Shoppach. ... How could anyone miss the big diff when Marson was catching. We couldn't be the only ones.

Would be fine with Toregas as backup but with the young pitching staff and rookie Marson it might be better to have an experienced catcher that knows how to call a good game. ... Believe Marson and Toregas would supply much better D at the backstop position than in 09, to say the least.

I don't think a catcher calling the game is that did a deal. MANY teams, even those with with veteran catchers, call the pitches from the dugout. I don't see the problem with that. It's not like the manager and or the pitching coach go out for coffee during the game. If the catcher needs help, give it to him.

for all of the talk on this forum about "i've been an indians fans for X number of years" and so-called "small ball" and "little things", i'm beginning to think that there really aren't all that many BASEBALL fans on this forum at all.

shocking statement, i know. (he said sarcastically)

defense is CONSISTENTLY overlooked here. for a long time, shoppach was a forum favorite and his defenders cited his "skills" behind the dish. excuse me but all i saw was a guy who had a horrendous passed ball ratio and barely threw anybody out. victor was actually very good at blocking balls and for awhile his throwing mechanics improved to the point that he was throwing out around 35% of all basestealers.

but marson looked VERY polished the first day i saw him. he threw extremely well and he looked pretty agile behind the plate. so i'm definitely in his camp as the starter in '10.

you and clemson make a good point about a vet catcher and fasano would fit the bill nicely, just as he did in '08.

This is by and large false.

Not only at the big league level, but at the minor league level as well.

There is always a gameplan devised by the pitching coach and catcher on how they want to attack hitters, and there ARE times where the dugout will call pitches...but the catcher calls the majority of the pitches.

If you have a good catcher that has good defensive skills and hits pretty well, but needs help calling a game, I don't see a problem with the coaches calling EVERY pitch. There is no clock in baseball so they wouldn't be holding up the game. He he less of a catcher is he doesn't call the pitches?

Bingo! Victor improved vastly defensively as a catcher, but, ask a lot of people on this forum, and you'd still get that he was terrible. It made me wonder if they had stopped watching Victor all together after his first year in the bigs. People saw Shoppach's gun for an arm, and they equated that to this "great" defense.

I'm not bashing Shoppach though. I was expecting him to be traded last offseason, and I wouldn't have been upset. But I was happy to see him stay with the team too. He filled in for Victor admirably, and I think he still has the makings of a starting catcher if things go right for him. He just won't be the best starting catcher in baseball, that's for sure.

Marson looks pretty good. He's the best option the Indians have behind the plate, and I think he's going to do all right in the majors. Let him start, and, I'm with you, bring in a Fasano-type guy to give a little veteran presence to the young catcher and pitchers.

the credit for the fasano suggestion goes to rmac and clemson...

"MANY teams, even those with with veteran catchers, call the pitches from the dugout."

Clearly you do not know much about baseball, let alone watch the game...

A catcher that can call a good game is a big deal. He notices how a batter sets up, how he swings and other little things that go into pitch selection and location. ... Some catchers can lower the era of a staff a 1/2 er or better.

i saw something that showed the yankees ERA was a full run lower w/ molina catching as opposed to posada.

Many on the board base their opinion of a player on the first few games they play. Shoppach started off throwing a No. of runners out so good arm and defense. I thought the same. Later it became obvious his receiving was below ave and not up to VMart.

Victor really did work on his game. The big drop off in throwing out runners, something like 12%, in 09 I believe a physical problem. Did not want him catching but the other choice was worse.

Marson was like night and day. Hard to believe his % throwing out runners could stay what it is. Teams will be very cautious, letting only they're best try running on him.

I'd take any of the Molina brothers to go with Marson.

ahhh yes, the return of one of the most maddening conversations in recent forum history...that most teams and certainly the indians call the majority of pitches from the dugout.

i provided multiple examples of broadcasters (indians broadcasters, too!) clearly referring to CATCHERS calling a good game. i even linked some websites as well.

but did that stop the nonsense?

of course not...

even in the postseason this year i recall tim mccarver referring to signals coming from the dugout being signs to throw over to 1B or not and that these were definitely NOT pitch calls.

most of these yahoos must have either never played baseball themselves or perhaps played so long ago that their memories are now cloudy. CATCHERS call pitches or at least a huge majority of them. the catcher is literally a foot away from the batter - he sees exactly how the hitter reacts to certain pitchers, notices if the moves a couple of inches one way or another.

in other words, a catcher can see things that the dugout can't possibly see. that's why THEY call the pitches, not the manager or pitching coach.

for crissakes, i even remember pitching in legion ball (13-14 years old) and my catcher calling pitches!

can these guys really be this dense?!?

I totally agree with everything you and clemson and rmacd have posted.Shoppach was great behind the plate and then he said he was going to working on his offense.That's when he started to stink up the place behind the plate and he needs to hit the road.Seems like when shoppach started to stink is when vmart actually got better at gunning down the base thieves.I liked what i saw in marson with his defense and his arm but i also didn't see all of the games at the end of the season.I hope he starts there next season.Shoppach needs to go back to the drawing board and work out a ton of problems.Maybe wedge helped kelly out with some of his wisdom because he's gone downhill really fast.

Do you even watch baseball??
Seriously it's like you troll antics are getting worse by the days......