Kelly Shoppach prolific at the plate since being traded to New York Mets from Boston Red Sox - MLB
Kelly Shoppach fixes the worry that triggered the New York Mets to call him in place of Josh Thole right away.
He has stepped up in most of the occasions when he was sent on the plate. He is producing hits and slamming home-runs for the team. In light of the fact Josh Thole has been struggling in the season, his sudden emergence as a quality hitter in the line-up
will be satisfying for the team officials that were concerned about production from their catcher earlier.
Shoppach currently is one of the few batters in the team's line-up that are connecting properly. The fact New York’s offence has taken a nosedive since the beginning of the second half makes his contribution even more noticeable.
As far as his catching prowess are concerned other than R.A. Dickey he is fairly comfortable against any pitcher in the team.
The mystery of Dickey’s knucklers renders the job of catching them extremely difficult. Not all the catchers present in baseball can judge and conveniently grab his throws.
Shoppach was acquired by the Mets through a trade with the Boston Red Sox and thus he has hardly experienced catching knucklers. Due to this he will take some time before he gets used to the throws by Dickey.
For as long as Shoppach has not mastered the art of catching knucklers, Thole will be doing the job whenever Dickey starts for the team.
The extent of the damage that an inability to grab knucklers can be gauged from the fact Dickey was not allowed to start the All-Star Game because catcher Buster Posey was not good at judging his throws. He was brought on the mound only when Carlos Ruiz
assumed the position behind the plate.
One of the reasons behind Shoppach’s present success is the way he has adapted to the situation.
"You have to adapt quick," Shoppach said. "It's most important for me to get to know their personalities and how they tick. They all have good stuff, or they wouldn't be here. I'm trying to figure out what they need from me in competition to kind of get
them back on track and learning their pitches as you catch them and get in game experiences with them."
Shoppach will be looking to continue producing hits and sustain the slumping offence of the team at the moment.
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