ESPN has a piece on the recent explosion of young catchers. Why do some positions get hot? In the 90s, shortstop suddenly became a superstar position in the AL - Nomar, A-Rod, Jeter - and, assuming those highlighted by the article (Gerald Laird, Johnny Estrada, Miguel Olivo, Victor Martinez, Joe Mauer) do blossom, it seems another defence-oriented position may be in for a power upgrade. As an economics graduate, one wonders whether it’s a supply-and-demand thing…
Random notes: Speaking of catchers, as a Sox fan, I hope the Sox re-sign Tek, but I’m also excited about Shoppach…. James (okay, Jamie) Brown’s now a member of our pitching staff. I can see the nicknames coming in now: James “Get Up (I Feel Like Being An) Out Machine” Brown… now that Brooks Kieschnick has made the retro concept of a pitcher/position player palatable, what I want to see is a switch-hitting switch-pitching utility player…