Chicago Cubs catcher Geovany Soto was the NL rooke of the year last season. But his value to the Cubs goes even beyond awards. He is a catcher, and that position is so critical to a team that any injury, even minor, takes on greater significance.
So when Soto removed himself from Tuesday’s night’s game against the Astros due to what has been termed as “shoulder soreness,” the red flags and alarms shot up like fireworks on the Fourth of July.
To recap, Soto felt discomfort in his right shoulder while attempting to throw out Astros second baseman Kaz Matsui, who was trying to steal second base. After that, Cubs backup catcher Koyie Hill came on to replace him, temporarily befuddling Cubs announcers Len Kasper and Bob Brenly.
For his part, Soto said all the right things, using nebulous terms like “fatigue” instead of saying that it felt like someone was carving their initials into his shoulder.
“I kind of over-exposed my shoulder a little bit,” Soto said. “There was a little discomfort in my shoulder. I felt some weakness in it, and I felt I didn’t have a shot if somebody else [tried to steal].”
Look, “over-exposed” and “weakness” sound like terms used when agents, GMs, and other people advise players on how not to create panic. It’s a lot like when pitchers say they have “tightness in their forearm,” which really means their elbow hurts like hell.
I’m not trying to be an alarmist, perhaps this isn’t such a big deal. But one thing that Soto mentioned made me give pause: he said he needs to keep up on his “exercises”.
“I just have to stay on top of my exercises, and I’ll be all right in a couple days. As long as I stay in good shape and do my exercises, it won’t happen again all year.”
Was he talking about normal exercises they teach catchers to do to prevent injury?
Or, was he given exercises as a result of some previous injury?
After all, Soto did say he experienced the same problem during spring training. A casualty of the WBC perhaps?
Koyie Hill did a nice job replacing Soto and will start tonight in Houston. But let’s face it, we need Geo if we’re going to win the division again this year. He’s a force offensively and behind the plate. He’s no Johnny Bench or Pudge, but pitchers like throwing to him and he blocks balls in the dirt well.
Well, one thing is for certain—we sure can’t afford to have anything happen to Hill tonight.
Consider this: When asked who the emergency third catcher is, Lou Piniella said: “Me.”
I don’t believe that the 65-year old manager would have a lot of mobility, come to think of it.
-Bob Warja
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