Tag: Paul LoDuca

John Buck Continues Torrid Power Hitting

Mets catcher John Buck continued his assault on National League pitching yesterday by blasting a garbage time home run to left-center in the ninth inning of a blowout loss. Yesterday the victim was Phillies pitcher Jeremy Horst. But Buck has been taking advantage of NL pitchers all month.

Buck started to tail off a bit over the last week, so I thought his storybook month might have come to an end. But he lit up Horst for a garbage time homer to keep the fairytale alive for one more day.

Buck’s now third in the NL in home runs and first in RBI’s. The Mets haven’t had a catcher with this kind of pop since Mike Piazza left. Sure, Paul LoDuca had some solid seasons. But what Buck is doing right now is amazin’. Continue reading “John Buck Continues Torrid Power Hitting”

Nats Take Out The Trash- Release LoDuca and Lopez

Multiple media sources are reporting that last night the Washington Nationals released Paul LoDuca and Felipe Lopez. The Nats needed to make room on their active roster for Elijah Dukes and Emilio Bonifacio.

LoDuca is making $5M this season and Lopez is making $4.9M. Both are having horrible offensive seasons. And LoDuca has been hurt this season as well. The Nats recently released another free agent catcher Johnny Estrada.

Neither player is a fit for the Mets needs.

On Deck: April 15, 2008

Jackie Robinson Day – Washington Nationals (4-9) at New York Mets (5-6)   7:10pm  TV: SNY Radio: WFAN

Odalis Perez (0-2) vs. Mike Pelfrey (1-0)

What to watch: The entire Mets team will be wearing Jackie’s number 42. Mike Pelfrey gets his second start and chance to prove that he belongs on the major league roster. Paul LoDuca and Lastings Milledge make their return to Shea Stadium. Brian Schneider and Ryan Church get to see some old friends on the Nationals.

 

Jackie Robinson
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Paul LoDuca Won’t Catch Prez

Source: WikipediaNews outlets are reporting the the Washington Nationals have chosen manager Manny Acta to catch the first ceremonial pitch from President Bush on Sunday night. Nationals team president Stan Kasten said the choice was between Acta and third baseman Ryan Zimmerman.

The obvious conspiracy theory is that because LoDuca was in the Mitchell Report that the Nationals didn’t want him doing the ceremonial pitch. My take is that they don’t want a journeyman catcher on a one year contract to do it. They want the face of their franchise out there. It’s as simple as that. I’m glad former Met coach Manny Acta gets the assignment. By all accounts he’s a great guy.

Paul LoDuca Sounds Off, Again

David Lennon of Newsday reports that Paul LoDuca is unhappy with his treatment by the Mets… after his contract ended!

When told that the Mets suggested that they couldn’t accommodate his demands for a three-year deal, Lo Duca flashed some temper.

“Are you kidding me with that?” Lo Duca said. “Seriously. There was never a phone call. The man [Omar Minaya] called my agent and said he was interested in me after they had signed [Yorvit] Torrealba. They had signed Torrealba an hour before that. I don’t want to throw stones and I don’t want to get mixed up in any of this stuff, but it’s ridiculous.That’s the bottom line.”

I am so glad that he’s not around this year for a variety of reasons. His off-field behavior was questionable at best.  The story of his teenage girlfriend that went public was a distraction.

Frankly, his play on the field wasn’t that great. His mouth was bigger than his bat. Last season he hit .272 with 9 HR and 54 RBI.  The Mets won’t miss him at all. How can a player that’s not even under contract anymore be upset about how he’s being treated? Stop you’re whining Paul, and enjoy your one year deal with the Nats.