Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad

There were three guys I wanted gone. Sad that our winter checklists these days include who we want gone instead of who we want to arrive. Angel Pagan was one. The other was non-tendered tonight. Now when I hear non-tender I get all tingly thinking it’s going to be Mike Pelfrey. Instead, it was the third player on the list: back-up catcher Ronny Paulino. I know for some of you, you’re thinking it’s pretty useless to worry about who the backup catcher is. And for others, you’re worried about the prospects of Mike Nickeas and his existential stick (it only exists to die) behind the plate. But at least Nickeas is good defensively, and Paulino is not only useless defensively, but players who are 250 lbs. officially (275 in the world of common sense) should hit more than two home runs.

So Paulino and Mike Baxter are gone, but Pelfrey stays. This means that Nickeas’ defensive wizardry will be useless every fifth night as there will be no pitches that land in his glove.