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Friday, August 03, 2012

Kilgore: Nationals trade for Athletics catcher Kurt Suzuki

It’s always fun when two teams fighting for playoff spots make a trade with each other.

The Nationals aquired catcher Kurt Suzuki from the Oakland Athletics in a trade for minor league catcher David Freitas on Friday.

Matt Clement of Alexandria Posted: August 03, 2012 at 02:56 PM | 31 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
  Tags: athletics, nationals, trades, transactions

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   1. Danny Posted: August 03, 2012 at 03:19 PM (#4199934)
Looks like a Norris/Kottaras platoon for the rest of the year. Norris was sent doen just a few days ago, but it sounds like Seth Smith will go to the DL so Norris can be recalled.

Freitas has put up some great OBPs as a pro, but he's been old for his leagues and apparently isn't much defensively. I hope he's more Jerry Blevins than Rob Bowen.

Suzuki's tumble into sub-mediocrity this year has been painful to watch. Hopefully it's just the hand injury he's been playing through that's been holding him back. I'll miss him.
   2. Squash Posted: August 03, 2012 at 03:27 PM (#4199937)
Suzuki's tumble into sub-mediocrity this year has been painful to watch. Hopefully it's just been the hand injury he's been playing through that's been holding him back. I'll miss him.

Yeah it seems like he's been in the organization forever. He's pretty slight for a catcher, it's possible that he's just beat up after so many years behind the plate.
   3. A triple short of the cycle Posted: August 03, 2012 at 03:27 PM (#4199939)
Wow. Thanks for all the hard work Kurt. Best of luck and say hi to Gio for us.
   4. Squash Posted: August 03, 2012 at 03:29 PM (#4199941)
Also note that Freitas went to college in Hawaii, where Suzuki is from. Fretias's first assignment in the Nats organization was then to Vermont. That's quite a switch in surroundings.
   5. Harveys Wallbangers Posted: August 03, 2012 at 03:34 PM (#4199946)
a's fans

be wary of georgie's defense. he was the personal catcher of randy wolf and despite catching a lefty teams still ran wild on him
   6. Der_K Posted: August 03, 2012 at 03:43 PM (#4199959)
Frietas posted really good defensive numbers in college ... for what incredibly little that means. His minor league figures don't look that bad to me - though improving his times to second would help a lot.
   7. Willie Mayspedes Posted: August 03, 2012 at 03:43 PM (#4199960)
Wow didn't see this one coming. #1 is spot on.
   8. Ivan Grushenko of Hong Kong Posted: August 03, 2012 at 03:57 PM (#4199970)
Addition by subtraction. Awesome.
   9. Willie Mayspedes Posted: August 03, 2012 at 04:00 PM (#4199973)
Think Rollins could get to the A's on waivers? Another Phillies salary dump would be nice for the A's.
   10. Non-Youkilidian Geometry Posted: August 03, 2012 at 04:00 PM (#4199974)
I just want Kilgore to write an article about Mike Trout.
   11. DA Baracus is gritty and hits with RISP Posted: August 03, 2012 at 04:05 PM (#4199978)
be wary of georgie's defense. he was the personal catcher of randy wolf and despite catching a lefty teams still ran wild on him


A's catchers have been so bad offensively that they're obviously willing to live with the loss at defense. Suzuki has hit 218/250/286 this year. How much defense would you be willing to give up for about a 200 point OPS improvement?
   12. BourbonSamurai, vassal of the Harpsburg Empire Posted: August 03, 2012 at 04:06 PM (#4199981)
It seems like they shouldn't be, but Sandy Leon and Jhonathan Solteawhatever haven't been too bad. Flores has been awful but so has Suzuki
   13. Harveys Wallbangers Posted: August 03, 2012 at 04:13 PM (#4199988)
da

the thing with georgie is that if he doesn't play enough you won't see any pop because he can't pull the trigger. you will always get the walks though.
   14. Willie Mayspedes Posted: August 03, 2012 at 04:15 PM (#4199990)
I saw one AB from Kottorass and I think he just took every pitch. I couldn't find a pitch by pitch to verify afterwards but he looked super passive up there.

My first thought was "who is this guy, maybe the new catcher?" Second thought "why not just throw a fastball down the middle?"
   15. DA Baracus is gritty and hits with RISP Posted: August 03, 2012 at 04:22 PM (#4199997)
the thing with georgie is that if he doesn't play enough you won't see any pop because he can't pull the trigger. you will always get the walks though.


I'm sure the A's are aware of things like this and plan to use him accordingly.
   16. Harveys Wallbangers Posted: August 03, 2012 at 04:23 PM (#4199999)
willie

he needs to play more than every fifth day or yes, he will be more statue than anything.

george is a poor man's mickey tettleton and mickey would get in those funks where he seemed to be incapable of swinging decisively at a pitch

   17. McCoy Posted: August 03, 2012 at 04:28 PM (#4200002)
The A's should have just traded for Soto. It would have solved their problems behind the plate nicely.
   18. Harveys Wallbangers Posted: August 03, 2012 at 04:31 PM (#4200005)
17

that makes sense. soto can be better at both parts of the game when healthy
   19. dr. scott Posted: August 03, 2012 at 04:32 PM (#4200008)
Didn't someone write yesterday that Zuk's defense was the second coming of Jesus or soemthing?

Im not sure it will be sad to see him go, but he seemed like a good guy, and I cant think of any other club letting him play this much.

Oh, and nice Vonnegut ref #10.
   20. Steve Treder Posted: August 03, 2012 at 04:34 PM (#4200010)
george is a poor man's mickey tettleton and mickey would get in those funks where he seemed to be incapable of swinging decisively at a pitch

Bill James once mused that, though he didn't have any data to test it, it just seemed to him that a weakness typical in high-walk, ultra-patient hitters is that they're unusually slump-prone, that they can just lose the swing groove. Darrell Evans could do that.

Again, don't know if it's valid or not, but it seems logical that a hitter with particularly strong skills in pitch recognition learns to spot each pitch's flaw, why that pitch is less than optimal to hit squarely. And that might lead to a mode of becoming so critical, so hard to please, that you can't commit to anything but a batting-practice meatball down the middle. Which is all too rarely thrown by a real pitcher in a live game.
   21. Danny Posted: August 03, 2012 at 04:42 PM (#4200015)
The A's just picked up Pat Neshek. I can't believe it's already been 5 years since he was awesome. He looks like he's recovered a bit in AAA this year.
   22. Harveys Wallbangers Posted: August 03, 2012 at 04:50 PM (#4200030)
danny

i have this image of billy searching for players on e bay

   23. Fred Lynn Nolan Ryan Sweeney Agonistes Posted: August 03, 2012 at 04:51 PM (#4200033)
you can't commit to anything but a batting-practice meatball down the middle. Which is all too rarely thrown by a real pitcher in a live game.

If you watched the A's at bat from 2007 to early 2012, you kind of saw this a lot, actually.
   24. Shooty is in the Trust Tree Posted: August 03, 2012 at 04:51 PM (#4200034)
Hmm. I'd feel a lot better about this if Kottaras had been Soto. Ah well. See you at the World Series Kurt!
   25. Jose Canusee Posted: August 03, 2012 at 04:59 PM (#4200045)
Since the A's also got Norris from the Nats, do the Nats have a large stock of MiLB catchers?
   26. Swedish Chef Posted: August 03, 2012 at 04:59 PM (#4200046)
Dodgers get Blanton for a PTBNL and cash.
   27. Ivan Grushenko of Hong Kong Posted: August 03, 2012 at 05:59 PM (#4200127)
i have this image of billy searching for players on e bay

A used pink bathrobe
   28. JE (Jason Epstein) Posted: August 03, 2012 at 06:17 PM (#4200144)
So the Nats are replacing a starting catcher with a .258 OBP -- Flores is 0-for-3 this afternoon -- with one at .250? Yup, Suzuki wasn't brought here to rake.
   29. Petunia inquires about ponies Posted: August 03, 2012 at 09:23 PM (#4200296)
He's pretty slight for a catcher, it's possible that he's just beat up after so many years behind the plate.

I dunno, he can jump out of a swimming pool like nobody's business. Could a beat-up guy do that?
   30. boteman Posted: August 03, 2012 at 11:03 PM (#4200338)
Since the A's also got Norris from the Nats, do the Nats have a large stock of MiLB catchers?

I wonder how drunk Rizzo would have to get Beane to get Norris back to the Nats? That was the The One That Got Away.
   31. Nats-Homer-in-DC Posted: August 04, 2012 at 03:23 PM (#4200569)
Just Solano (added to 40-man in the offseason) and Leon (on Sickels' preliminary list) left although they did pick up Spencer Kieboom in the 5th round and former 5th round pick Adrian Nieto made some Nats prospects watch list.

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