Could Not Agree More With This....

JOSH BROWN COLUMN: Gattis needs to stay behind the plate

Josh Brown

Josh Brown is a rabid Braves’ fan and will be sharing his insights along with his wit and witticism about the Braves and Major League Baseball this season.

Posted: Tuesday, November 18, 2014 12:07 am

When I read last week that John Hart is planning on moving Evan Gattis to left field and making Christian Bethancourt the Braves starting catcher, I about had a heart attack.

I was under the impression that Hart was an intelligent man. Now I’m completely confused.

First of all, Gattis does not belong in left field. My friend Glover says that if Yogi Berra could play outfield then anybody can, but I just don’t know about Gattis.

He’s certainly not the worst I’ve seen out there, but I’m still sticking to my guns and shouting from the mountaintops that Gattis belongs behind the plate, while Christian Bethancourt belongs in AAA.

I don’t like Bethancourt. I haven’t liked him as a full-time catching prospect for the past few years, and I still don’t like him.

To be completely frank with y’all, I think he’s the Tyler Pastornicky of catchers.

If you can’t hit .300 in the minors, then I’m not going to be excited about you taking over the catching position in Atlanta. Especially when it means taking over Gattis’ much-deserved spot.

The Braves front office has an obsession with Bethancourt’s defensive abilities, and that seems to be the driving factor in making him their heir to the backstop throne.

Sure Bethancourt’s arm is more accurate than Gattis’, but big deal. Brian McCann couldn’t throw out Sid Bream on crutches.

Let me drop some common sense on everyone.

Bethancourt is going to be about a .240 hitter in the majors, and he has zero power.

Gattis on the other hand is, well, Gattis.

He’s got power, can hit for average, and while his defense isn’t as good as Bethancourt’s, he can call games and cannot play left field. So, leave him behind the plate.

Settling for Bethancourt as your starting catcher is weak, and leaves your lineup with a hole in it.

Keeping Gattis behind the plate, while strengthening your outfield another way is a much better idea.

I’ve heard some writers and fans question Gattis’ year last year and blast him for missing games. I would like to kindly remind all of you, while shouting from this mountaintop, that many of those games missed were because Fredi Gonzalez wanted the .204 hitting Gerald Laird to get some starts.

Remember Gattis’ 15-game hitting streak last year? Fredi benched him after that 15th game for literally no reason.

What I’m saying is this — Gattis hit .263 last year. In my always right opinionated opinion, he could have ended up hitting for a higher average had he played more games.

He could have played more games had Fredi Gonzalez not had an inexplicable man-crush on Laird.

If the Braves continue with this plan in making overrated Bethancourt their starting catcher, they are doing Gattis a disservice.

What will happen is this — Gattis will struggle in the outfield, then Fredi will panic and bench Gattis, not giving Gattis the at-bats that he most certainly deserves. That will leave us with a promising career ruined by Hart.

That’s a depressing hypothesis, but someone needs to shout some common sense around here.

If the Braves are going back to the Braves’ way of doing things, turning their back on the best thing to come out of the farm system in years is going in the opposite direction. And starting Bethancourt behind the plate means that they let McCann go for no reason.

Nicely said, Mr. Brown!

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