I think Thole is another one of the players the coaching staff has failed when it come to hitting. He made it as a slap hitter, but then in ST two years ago he pulled a few bombs and his approach got all messed up and it didn’t seem like anyone was able to successfully work with him and get him to stick with an approach that fits him, not the approach that the team wants everyone to follow.

But seeing the lack of good catching and Tholes work ethic and ability to catch RAD (who RAD gave him a ton of credit behind the plate) and the fact that Thole was catching for a lot of great pitching performances thins year (the no hitter being one) I think he has a role on the roster, I just wish we could find a suitable platoon partner for him.

The ump must have agreed b/c he didn’t call one again the rest of the night.

Unfortunately, I agree with you about the slim pickings with catchers across the league. I don’t think Thole is going anywhere this year. Reading the off season series over on MLBTR on what each team has, needs – there’s quite a few that will be looking for catching.

That’s why I mentioned at this point Thole is the starter out of default – not many good catchers out there and certainly none that the Mets can afford to get one way or the other at this point.

I still think if he can hit about .265 and get a few more extra base hits it will be enough as long as he gets rid of what appeared at times to be a fear factor covering home plate.

and in general, catching is weak in MLB. Just not that easy to find a real good one, unless you can develop your own, and that sadly takes time.

so while THole had a pretty crappy year, it is not that simple to get a vastly better one.

Sorry about the typo.

A big mistake he made was removing his mask on what was that hard but clean slide. Who knows what long-term damage, psychologically, that concussion will have on his psyche. That’s a concern because on certain plays he seemed intimidated by the runner coming in hard. Perhaps word has gotten around the league as well.

Though we don’t know if his nosedive the last two months of the season is reflective of diminishing batting skills (he did hit for average his first 2-1/2 seasons) we all agree a strictly singles hitter with no speed is an asset without that higher batting average and the ability to hit in clutch situations.

In limited play he threw out 44 percent of potential base stealers two years ago only to see his percentage drop below the league average since. Only so much could be attributed to R.A. Dickey on the mound.

There is not one aspect of his game that is outstanding enough to compensate for the weakness of his others that merits him being more than a back up at this stage of his career.

Again, he is a good kid so we’re all rooting for him. Perhaps as Tommy has alluded to , if he can get to hit more line drives accounting for more extra base hits along with his .260 – .270 batting range he can hold down the number one spot on his own.

Right now, Josh Thole is a serviceable back up catcher who has learned to cope with catching RA Dickey. And he’s a good kid.

Come to think of it, Thole should probably get a slightly longer bat with a more balanced barrel to increase his bat speed. He’s a good contact hitter when he’s on, and if he could hit more line-drives, his overall production would increase substantially.

Not ready to give up on him, but to date his production has been unacceptable for a starting catcher. I’m sure he would agree, which is why I am sure he’ll try to do something about it. Let’s hope he does, and let’s hope that SA doesn’t rest on his laurels.