Ramos banged out seven hits in his first two games, and he immediately won thousands of fans around Twins Territory. Even the guy whose job he was competing for, Drew Butera, became a Ramos supporter (at least I think he is… Butera always wears Ramos’ first name on his chest protector). Around that time, some online writers started floating the idea that Ramos and Joe Mauer should share time behind the plate. The idea was that Mauer would catch 100 or so games and Ramos would catch most of the rest. While Ramos was catching, Mauer would DH or play in the outfield, and vice-versa. It was a win-win situation. Joe Mauer‘s legendary bat would stay in the lineup while he avoided the wear and tear of everyday catching, while Ramos added punch from the backup catcher position on an everyday basis.

But for some reason, people seemed to lose interest in that plan after Ramos was traded to the Nationals. That’s really too bad, because it might have saved a lot of wear and tear on Mauer last year.

Good news: the plan doesn’t have to stay dead! Ryan Doumit just strolled into town, and he’s as ideally suited for the catcher platoon as Ramos. Not only that, but the Twins roster is better suited to the catcher platoon idea than it was two years ago.

Doumit is coming of a .303/.353/.477 performance. He hits from both sides of the plate, and he has enough power to make a manager want to keep him in the lineup on a regular basis. Sure, he’s not a wizard behind the plate, but he’s no Rube Baker, either. We heard over and over last year that some Twins pitchers preferred Drew Butera’s “low target” over Mauer behind the plate. Well, Doumit is about five inches shorter than Mauer, so his target should be plenty low. (more…)

As Paul mentioned yesterday, we at Puckett’s Pond sincerely hope that Ramos will return safely home as soon as possible. I know that every baseball fan who has heard this story feels the same way. I would also like to add my sincere hope that the thugs who kidnapped this young man get caught and punished to the severest extent that Venezuelan law allows.

Whether Venezuelan law is up to the task remains to be seen. It is becoming increasingly clear that MLB needs to do something about its policy toward the South American country.

This kidnapping would be scary enough if it were an isolated incident, but it is just the latest in a long line of unacceptable occurrences involving MLB players in Venezuela. (more…)

Our hearts and prayers go out to the Ramos family. We here at the pond are hoping for a safe and speedy return for the Nationals catcher.