Hot Stove League Starting Early
By: Big Rygg
The Milwaukee Brewers have claimed Eric Munson off waivers from the Houston Astros.
Munson, who is 30 years old, was once a first-round draft pick in the 1999 First Year Player Draft. The Detroit Tigers drafted Munson as a 1st Baseman. Munson batted .235 in 50 games for the the Astros in 2007, piling up 26 stolen bases against and only 3 caught stealings in 309.1 innings behind the dish.
...I'm at a loss as to why we would've picked this guy up, unless he is decent at developing young pitching and he'll be in the minors. Yes, Damian Miller is already up there in years, but if the Crew needs a backup catcher from the current roster's makeup other than the La Crosse, Wisconsin native, we can rest fairly assured that it will be Mike Rivera as opposed to Eric Munson.
In order to clear room on the 40-man roster, the Brewers designated perenially-injured pitcher Mike Jones for assignment. I don't think he's likely to be claim by any other teams, especially since he just had Tommy John surgery.
I.M.W.T. - The spin on this is that it almost certainly has a point. I don't know much about Munson, but he has never been a very good offensive player. I would think his defensive numbers would've been better if we bothered to claim him. For comparison's sake, future Hall of Famer Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez caught 1,052.2 innings over 127 games this season. He allowed 47 stolen bases, for an average of 1/22.1 innings (roughly). Based on Munson's own pace, over the same number of innings, he would've allowed a little over 80 stolen bases. Munson's average is 1/12 innings (actually just under 12). That doesn't sound very good to me, but then...it's not like I've looked at many catchers' numbers.
Oh, another comparison for you while I'm thinking about it? 73 steals allowed in 961.0 innings caught. That's an average of one steal per 13 innings. The catcher? Noodle-armed Johnny Estrada.
Anybody got any thoughts on this signing as to how it might possibly impace the parent club? I'm willing to listen.
Anytime you pick up a catcher, it usually means something else is about to happen. I heard about a blockbuster "rumor" tonight at bowling. I'll post it sometime this week for a reaction. It has Billy Hall and Ben Sheets leaving the Brewers.
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I desperately want your bowling rumor to be true. But I heard the "Adam Dunn" deal from a high-ish level Brewers employee, so too much stock in rumors is an inexact science, at best.
The Munson thing is a head scratcher though.
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Actually Todd, the Adam Dunn thing was reported by WSSP 1250AM radio out of Milwaukee. They are the one's that leaked that story. I trusted them and would up looking foolish. Later, they recanted their report stating that it was coming from a Cincinnati morning radio station. What's funny is two hours later, it popped up on ESPN.com.
My rumor is just that, a rumor. My source is actually close to the Milwaukee Bucks organization as opposed to the Milwaukee Brewers. None the less, what he told me was very interesting at least to talk about...
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You probably aren't that great of a fan yourself sonny
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Munson is a great signing actually. He's only been catching for two seasons and has improved tremendously. Solid defensively. Don't get caught up in "CS" numbers. He caught injured Jennings and Sampson most of the season. They were 1.8 to the plate (1.3 stealable). Pudge wouldn't have thrown them out. He caught 8 and allowed 15 the year before. Caught 16 the first two months in AAA. He has the arm. Very few passed balls, good blocking. He also plays other positions. 1st, 3rd, LF. Bonus. His only issue has been lack of consistent playing time. Hard to hit that way...for anyone. I think this is a fabulous pickup. He hit 18 and 19 hrs with just 300 abs twice in Detroit. Always had the power and rbis in the minors. Solid backup if not better. IMO.
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