Josh Thole Could Begin Season At Triple-A

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• TruthsaboutMMO January 19, 2013 at 10:02 pm

  Can we forget about Thole now? Toronto has a pretty good team. You’d think Thole couldn’t be a piece on that roster. He normally wouldn’t be on most good teams. Usually, the backup is great defensively. Thole sucks at everything other then catching a knuckleball.
• Roxio January 19, 2013 at 10:14 pm

  Thole and Nickeas exemplify how awful the major league squad was and is. What we call starters or everyday players would never even be bench players for other teams. Cowgill, Kirk, Duda, Baxter, etc. Any star caliber player save Wright have no place on the Mets and are quickly deemed unnecessary and traded or cut.
• Jack Nator January 19, 2013 at 10:42 pm

  Well I hope they get Josh’s bat going. And I hope they get him a good mentor.
• Metsie January 19, 2013 at 11:09 pm

  This is actually a smart move by Toronto to get Blanco and keep Thole playing in AAA instead of on the bench where his bat will hardly improve….

  Blanco actually has experience catching Dickey before which was probably the only reason they took Thole in the first place….
  • Hank January 19, 2013 at 11:42 pm

    This is why I hoped we could’ve signed or traded for two MLB capable starters in the OF. I get the argument that Kirk can learn more in the majors. Until you look and see that Kirk has had something like 319 ABs in AAA. That’s the equivalent of half a season. To me, there’s no way another half season in AAA hurts his bat, value, and development. As for Baxter, Cowgill, they should not be starters, much less guaranteed spots on the MLB roster and playing time. ‘Spin just started playing the OF what, yesterday?? Seriously he needs reps in the OF and to up his 258 ABs in AAA.

    To me the most annoying thing about the Mets is that steps could’ve been taken this offseason to really get this team back on track. You trade Wright and you can land at the very least…a great young OF bat that’s close to MLB ready. That means only one MLB started would’ve needed to be signed. And yes I like Flores to come up in July (in this plan) along with Wheeler, d’Arnaud (yes I wanted Dickey traded too), Kirk, ‘Spin….this would be rebuilding and a youth movement fans could get behind. Is this putting too much pressure on Flores to follow Wright…no. Flores added to THIS young core would be part of a team fans would fall in love with and get behind. Instead, we are left to a team that is regressing and with hope that is forever around the corner…around the corner but not getting here until 2020.
    • Metsie January 20, 2013 at 12:37 am

      Well first off I agree with your feelings on getting OF…

      But Thole & Kirk are really two different situations entirely….

      Yes Kirk probably could use more time in AAA, Maybe it helps maybe it doesn’t.

      I don’t see Thole in AAA helping Thole at all…

      In Thole’s case it is about playing time (Not true for Kirk)

      Arenciba is going to be thier starter, no platoon and at best Thole would Catch Dickey…..
      Very few Abs, And very few games played. Better to send him down where he can play everyday and maybe find what he needs with thier help…May never be more than what he has been but you don’t let a young guy like Thole sit on the bench with his BA just to catch Dickey….

      In Kirks case he’s GOING to get the playing time…EVen in a Platoon he will be the lefty side of that platoon and there are more RHPs than LHPs s he is going to see more significant time, certainly than Thole and possibly more than his Platoon partner.

      Also in Kirk’s favor of staying in MLB, There really is no problem with his swing he has what he needs he just needs to adjust to MLB pitching…Can’t do that in AAA.

      As it stands there are NO STARTERS in the OF…Some will play more than others but most will be a part of some platoon.

      Your right we needed to get some regular starters for the OF but even if we got one Kirk is likely one half of a platoon with his only real competition there is Baxter who really has no future here….They owe it to themselves to play Thole over Baxter and get him used to MLB Pitching (most notably high inside FB) otherwise he is a wasted pick…

      However if he struggles most of the first half then they should send him to Vegas, Hope the park makes his numbers gaudy and trade him for that OF we didn’t get this year.
      • LongTimeFan January 20, 2013 at 6:48 am

        There’s plenty wrong with Kirk’s swing. And his approach. This is the major leagues and his swing is much too long and his approach is to swing at anything. He has serious problem making contact, hitting lefties, and needs more time in AAA. 98 K’s in 282 AB’s is outrageous.
        • Metsie January 20, 2013 at 12:29 pm

          He was doing just fine until the MLB Pitchers found a hole in his swing….
          (that High Inside pitch I mentioned)

          People say the same thing about Ike’s swing too but 32 HRs says it’s not as big a problem as some would suggest.

          Could he fix his swing in the Minors? Sure…But it won’t matter if he doesn’t learn how to adjust to what an MLB pitcher does to him and no amount of time in AAA is going toteach him that….
  • Hotstreak January 20, 2013 at 12:48 am

    They took Thole’s cheap salary for John Buck’s albatross type contract. You missed another Sandy bad move.
    • Metsie January 20, 2013 at 1:01 am

      Oh I didn’t miss it….LOL

      I was just talking about how Toronto is handling it….

      I’m on record not liking that deal at all…
      SNydergaard may be thought of as the better prospect but I would have preferred they got Gose instead….

      Then we get two MLB ready players to fill holes that makes up for losing a Cy Young enough to say even if Dickey repeats we did get a lot done in that deal…..

      As it stands we traded Dickey for an Upgrade of Thole and a Lottery ticket to a guy who maybe 8 years from now could be thought of as a potential Cy Young type guy….
    • Donal January 20, 2013 at 9:00 am

      Buck is making $6 million for one more year. Hardly an albatross for an experienced catcher.
• Mikieboy's Blue January 20, 2013 at 7:40 am

  Thats where he belongs,,,and so does the Mets outfield
• DrDooby January 20, 2013 at 8:04 am

  Buck is making the same 2013 salary as Dickey & Thole combined.
  Including him made perfect sense to turn it into a talent for talent exchange and not a salary dump. Without Buck’s salary, at least Becerra doesn’t get included in the package. You can’t isolate this from the rest of this trade – which pretty much everyone in Baseball considers a Homerun for the Mets.

  That said, Sandy Alderson’s constant jokes on his outfield are getting a bit tiresome. If you’re unhappy with that alignment, do something about it. Or, if you’re viewing it as a stopgap during the current rebuilding until some better players are acquired or developed, don’t throw them under the bus. I fail to understand how making fun of the current outfield group is going to make them any better.