After a first inning in which the throw on John Buck's attempt at catching Brett Gardner stealing second came in high and to the third base side of the bag and Buck is unable to handle a ball in the dirt allowing Brett Gardner to score from third, I cannot help but ask, why are they carrying three catchers? And more importantly, why did Buck get offered arbitration in the first place if Olivo (who can at least throw base runners out) was always going to be the starter?
I know I am not a pitcher, so I cannot understand the appeal of having a rapport with a catcher and liking the game he calls, but John Buck is just a lesser version of Miguel Olivo--who at least thus far has looked serviceable defensively, closing on fouled off balls with some pretty impressive speed from the catcher position. Granted, Olivo has zero patience at the plate and seems to care little about just putting balls in play, always swinging exaggeratedly for the fences but is that anything that Buck doesn't do?
The Royals are not scoring runs right now. They cannot afford to give one away in which a player steals second off of the only hit in the inning, steals second, advances to third on a ball in play, and then takes home on a wild pitch that Buck is unable to corral.
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