House is playing right now on ESPN2

[Hank Scorpio]

As I recall, it has been stated in the press that House's problem is throwing the ball not receiving it. As you know he has had major shoulder problems and the belief is that he will never sufficiently recover from them to effectivily throw runners out.

I watched the game last night and I would chalk House's performance up to one bad night. The annoucers said players were complaining about difficulty seeing the ball because of the shadows.

Maybe they effected House, who knows? They didn't seem to effect the other catchers though.

One game or a few pitches is not a sufficient sample size to conclude anything. Forty plus games is a lot better but hardly the be all and end all.

Bottom line the Orioles think enough of him that they talked him into staying. Apparently House will get his shot at catcher here in the near future.

Right, I can't imagine that last night wasn't an anomaly. It was funny, though. I had the game on but wasn't really watching it, then when I really started to pay attention, things went south.

These things happen.

[osfan83]

Well I didn't see the game, but from what I have read I get the impression that House started the game at C. The fact that he started the AllStar game as a catcher has to say something. If he was awful at that position, then the manager would be a complete moron for starting him there. Are there no AAA catchers who are better than House? It wouldn't appear so....

Bingo! If House is that bad behind the plate, what does it say about the quality of catchers in the International League? He was the starting All-Star catcher! How bad must all the other catchers in the league be?

[rolliefingers]

How does one example of something going right mean anything? Paul Bako had a game in April where he hit a 3 run homer and had two other hits. Should I use that as an example of how Paul must be able to hit.

How does one example of something going wrong mean anything? J.R. House had a game last night in which he made bad plays on three balls in one inning. Should I use that as an example of how House must not be able to catch?

[osfan83]

How does one example of something going wrong mean anything? J.R. House had a game last night in which he made bad plays on three balls in one inning. Should I use that as an example of how House must not be able to catch?

Right. Brian Roberts didn't field the ball cleanly in the 9th inning of his All-Star game and opened the door for a potential National League rally. Guess that means Roberts has no business playing second in the bigs.

[Hank Scorpio]

You guys honestly think that defensive ability had anything at all to do with who was selected as the starter in the All Star game? I do agree that this speaks extremely well of what the league thinks of his hitting, but I don't think it says anything at all about his defensive ability.

I think that's called the "David Ortiz rule."

[NewMarketSean]

Wow. It's not like House couldn't play 1B or DH or anything like that. And when Ramon comes back, having House catch once a week won't kill the team in the middle of a pennant race or anything. Plus we need his bat here ASAP.

[osfan83]

I think that's called the "David Ortiz rule."

I'm sure his offensive abilities arethe main reason he was selected, but he must have some ability to play the position. If he is a complete embarrasement behind the plate he would not have made the team. And no one is advocating House being our next starting catcher. We are talking about maybe 15 starts of 162 game season, with many more PH appearances during the course of the year. This gives him far more PA's than innings behind the plate, Maximizing his strenghts, and minimizing his weaknesses.

[rolliefingers]

It doesn't, no, and I'm not. I've been the one preaching patience until we get more information. See the entire Roch thread and my posts in this thread. I think you're barking up the wrong tree here.

I know, I know. I'm not picking a fight. I'm just saying that right now it's very easy and trite to conclude from last night that House is an awful catcher, and I'm trying to counter that tide however I can.

[Hank Scorpio]

I know, I know. I'm not picking a fight. I'm just saying that right now it's very easy and trite to conclude from last night that House is an awful catcher, and I'm trying to counter that tide however I can.

If he's as bad as he looked last night, then he wouldn't BE a catcher.

That said, there were a myriad of other factors, including being unfamiliar w/ the pitchers he was catching. Maybe he could be Olson's catcher for the O's or something, who knows.

[geschinger]

Wow. It's not like House couldn't play 1B or DH or anything like that. And when Ramon comes back, having House catch once a week won't kill the team in the middle of a pennant race or anything. Plus we need his bat here ASAP.

I could live w/that although I'd start out making him a personal catcher for one of the starters for at least the first month or so. That way if he does indeed struggle mightily defensively his damage is limited to the frustration of only one starter.

[Fan4Life]

You guys honestly think that defensive ability had anything at all to do with who was selected as the starter in the All Star game? I do agree that this speaks extremely well of what the league thinks of his hitting, but I don't think it says anything at all about his defensive ability.

It says enough to move to the Drungo side of the House (Pun intended) where his lack of defensive skills aren't bad enough to negate his offensive skills.

[weams]

My only question to any of you is...

Is J.R. House the offensive player that Jack Cust is and is there a DH job in the majors for him at this time?

[geschinger]

My only question to any of you is...

Is J.R. House the offensive player that Jack Cust is and is there a DH job in the majors for him at this time?

He's not the offensive player that Cust is post wrist surgery. He might be comparable to the pre surgery Cust in which case it is unlikely that there is a DH job for him in the majors.

[crossfadecold]

Did anybody hear one of the announcers say that a guy was "crying his balls off"?

[Flosman]

House looked like a decent catcher until the one inning. In his defense the pitcher had wicked movement and House had trouble with it no doubt. The one thing I noticed (having been moved to 1b during my playing days for the same problem) is he did not move real well laterally. He looked pretty athletic back there other than his feet were glued in place for the most part. He was relying on his hands to much IMO. I think he can be a backup C/DH/1b on a good team, he will likely never be a starting catcher.