John Buck KC (C) (1 Viewer)

[Angry Beavers]

Have three catchers, you start two, limited bench space. My other 2 Catchers are Bard and I-Rod. I picked up Buck cause' Bard was hurt. I sent a message to a few owners who need the catching help suggesting that I would part with Buck for next to nothing, including late round draft picks for next year (keeper league). I was just offered ERVIN SANTANA straight up!

 

[The Houston Stallions]

Have three catchers, you start two, limited bench space. My other 2 Catchers are Bard and I-Rod. I picked up Buck cause' Bard was hurt. I sent a message to a few owners who need the catching help suggesting that I would part with Buck for next to nothing, including late round draft picks for next year (keeper league). I was just offered ERVIN SANTANA straight up!

Wow! Trade him! Buck is certainly hot and needs to be playing the majority of the time (I think he is now). But you gotta expect him to level off and get back closer to his normal BA of around .250

 

[shuke]

Why does LaRue continue to get starts? He sucks.

Is Bucks defense questionable or something?

 

[Kevin Ashcraft]

Why does LaRue continue to get starts? He sucks. Is Bucks defense questionable or something?

No.....it is Buddy Bell has never met a veteran he did not like.They traded for Larue SPECIFICALLY to push John Buck. Well, it worked. Buck's offense has improved a LOT and his defense was always decent. His problem was an overall team issue:How is the man supposed to build rapport with a pitching staff that is full of 21 and 22-year olds who should be in AA ball....and the other 1/2 is full of mostly AAAA-type pitchers.There is a reason that of the pitchers on the staff right now, only TWO (Greinke and Jimmy Gobble) had pitched in a game for KC prior to the start of the '06 season. That is so sickening. TWO GUYS! And one of them missed an entire season in that time frame!Offensively, there is more talent around him. Even though they have started slow, guys like Gordon, Shealy, Gload, etc. mean that Buck can hit 8-9 every night instead of 5-6 with pressure to be a RBI bat.But making the pitching, esp. starting pitching, more stable is what has and will help Buck.I would not write him off based on past seasons for the reasons I outlined above.

 

[The Houston Stallions]

Why does LaRue continue to get starts? He sucks. Is Bucks defense questionable or something?

No.....it is Buddy Bell has never met a veteran he did not like.They traded for Larue SPECIFICALLY to push John Buck. Well, it worked. Buck's offense has improved a LOT and his defense was always decent. His problem was an overall team issue:How is the man supposed to build rapport with a pitching staff that is full of 21 and 22-year olds who should be in AA ball....and the other 1/2 is full of mostly AAAA-type pitchers.There is a reason that of the pitchers on the staff right now, only TWO (Greinke and Jimmy Gobble) had pitched in a game for KC prior to the start of the '06 season. That is so sickening. TWO GUYS! And one of them missed an entire season in that time frame!Offensively, there is more talent around him. Even though they have started slow, guys like Gordon, Shealy, Gload, etc. mean that Buck can hit 8-9 every night instead of 5-6 with pressure to be a RBI bat.But making the pitching, esp. starting pitching, more stable is what has and will help Buck.I would not write him off based on past seasons for the reasons I outlined above.

All I'm saying, is trade him while his value is high. He's not gonna finish the season as one of the top 10 catchers in the league. And you can likely get that kind of value for him right now.

 

[Angry Beavers]

Clearly Buck is hitting out of his mind or was, his average is .222 over the last 7 days. He is career 250 ish ( I would have to look for an exact number) hitter with some pop, but has been known to go on these hot streaks. When he does, ride him or trade him, otherwise he is nothing more than a stopgap fantasy catcher at best

Just my .02