Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Ross' play answers Krivsky's critics

Wayne Krivsky knew what he was doing when he acquired catcher David Ross from the Padres.

"Why trade for another catcher when we already have Jason LaRue and Javier Valentin?" cried the naysayers. "Why carry three catchers?"

Perhaps the Reds' GM knew Ross was capable of supplanting one of the other two?

As it turns out, Ross is the best of the three.

Ross has batted .347 with 9 home runs and 22 RBI in 29 games. He produced his third career two-homer game on Monday night.

LaRue was batting .184 and had a recent 0-for-29 skid. Valentin, while a capable pinch-hitter, isn't an every-day guy.

Ross says the competition has been beneficial for him.

"I think we root for each other," said Ross during an interview for an upcoming Downtowner Newspaper column. "We're all good catchers capable of doing the job for a lot of teams. It has been tough for playing time with three guys. But, I think it's been a bonus."

When Ross became Bronson Arroyo's catcher of choice, it assured him of one start every fifth day.

Ross has started behind the plate in 7 of the past 10 games.

1 comment:

Cathie said...

I don't think there was a person around who didn't criticize this move. After having the most productive catching tandem in baseball, why in the world would we go out and get another catcher, right? But wow, were we all wrong. Guess that's why we aren't in the GM's seat...

I still dream of a LaRue for good reliever trade, especially since he's done so much pouting recently.