Comments on: Nationals acquire catcher Kurt Suzuki from A’s

By: wethog66

wethog66 — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 23:50:04 +0000

Morse has no range in the outfield. A couple weeks ago he let two foul balls drop within the field of play in back to back games, and the oposing team got RBI’s soon after. Can’t have that. And considering he was a SS in the Mariners system his less than stellar play in the outfield is even more frustrating.

I also realize he needs to be in the lineup, and with LaRoach at 1st, Morse needs to be in right. Just can’t wait for next year with Morse at 1st fulltime, so long as he gets an extension.

By: recoveringcubsfan

recoveringcubsfan — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 15:15:46 +0000

Morse isn’t that bad in the OF and he can play both corners.

If Suzuki can frame a pitch then he’ll be twice as beloved as Jesus Flores is. I swear, the Nats staff would have 100 more Ks combined if Flores, Leon, Solano, or Ramos knew how to frame a goddamn pitch on the black.

By: recoveringcubsfan

recoveringcubsfan — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 15:13:23 +0000

When Ramos went down, I remember thinking “wow, who would have thought Derek Norris would be in demand in Washington?” and then immediately recalled that they traded him to Oakland.

By: gogigantos

gogigantos — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 13:26:04 +0000

This Giant fan,,
This baseball fan was very fond of Suzuki. For a spell, he was my favorite AL catcher. He doesn’t much fit the East Bay anymore, kinda spendy. As a Nat, like him not so much. He will be missed and remembered fondly. These days of cheap easy A’s tickets will be missed too, one day, when the A’s rule the AL again as they are destined.
Go A’s and
Bay Area ball

By: wethog66

wethog66 — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 07:09:40 +0000

Good move by the Nats. Besides the liability that is Morse in the outfield, catcher was another area of concern. Flores is what he is, a good backup. He needs help and the kids backing him up just aren’t ready yet. Hopefully Suzuki can stabilize that position defensively and a change of scenery can put a little pop in his bat.

By: caliraiderz

caliraiderz — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 23:03:04 +0000

Always liked Kurt he’s been great with all the young pitchers but was killing them at the plate this year , hopefully he turns it around with the change in scenery .

By: APBA Guy

APBA Guy — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 20:38:30 +0000

When an organization trades one of it’s homegrown veterans the first reaction from the fan base tends to the emotional. “Hey, I liked that guy. Who is we got for him. Who?”. And Kurt was certainly a likeable guy, especially from the remove of a fan. Plus, it was obvious that his pitchers, at least the generation of pitchers preceding the current A’s rookie crop, liked and respected him. Guys that are half gone now, like Gio and the White Rabbit.

But the reality is, especially the reality under the Great and Powerful Beane, nobody is safe. And in Kurt’s case, his offense had regressed, and regressed substantially, each year since 2009, from .734 to .536 OPS this year. Defense has been roughly consistent over those 4 years (some metrics down, some up, most the same). And at the kind of money he makes, that’s a lot for a back-up, especially when the owners don’t concern themselves with fan feelings or loyalties, or even winning, really.

Hopefully he’ll prosper in DC. He’s got a big swing and swings off-balance far too often, with no two-strike adjustment. His plate discipline has deteriorated causing him to swing out of control at pitches well outside the zone. As the results show, this is not a good combination. He’s going to have to rebuild his approach at the plate and shorten his swing to improve. Maybe the change of scene will help him do that.

By: butchhuskey

butchhuskey — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 20:15:30 +0000

Suzuki has been absolutely terrible at the plate this year (even for a catcher), but at the very least he has good defensive skills. The move makes a lot of sense for Oakland because the organization seemed pretty frustrated with his inability to hit.

By: kinggw

kinggw — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 19:57:03 +0000

I guess you havent seen Suzuki’s stat line.

By: gustavov8

gustavov8 — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 19:49:29 +0000

Just hoping that Norris can find his groove in the majors.

By: sharksman

sharksman — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 19:15:07 +0000

so it will be kottaras and norris behind the plate. Im ok with that Suzuki just hasnt been consistent this year (not that Norris has) but hopefully kottaras will be a upgrade..

By: tcostant

tcostant — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 19:02:35 +0000

Ironiclly Derek Norris came from the Nationals in the Gio deal, making Suzuki available.

By: magnusmagnolius

magnusmagnolius — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 18:48:54 +0000

Good. Flores is awful. Even Suzuki is an upgrade.