Sox Release Mirabelli

[Mike D.]

The Sox have released Doug Mirabelli. It is assumed that likely Kevin Cash, or perhaps Dusty Brown, will back up Varitek.

http://www.boston.com/sports/basebal...ke_mirabe.html

[Williamsburg2599]

A mistake. He's barely a blimp on the radar salary wise and Cash hasn't proved he can catch the knuckler and hit .230. Who are we going to have to give up to get him back this time? Unless they know something about Wake that we don't, I just don't see the logic in it. As a level headed fan, it doesn't make sense. As a homer, this is an outrage. Anyways, thanks for the memories, Dougie, If we don't see you back.:

[JerseySoxFan19]

Ahh, we got rid of Dougie. That's too bad I liked him.
Goddbye Dougie we'll miss you, good luck!

[DoubleX]

Maybe the team is just waiting for him to sign with someone else so they can trade the equivalent of Cla Meredith and Josh Bard to bring him back.

[Williamsburg2599]

Maybe the team is just waiting for him to sign with someone else so they can trade the equivalent of Cla Meredith and Josh Bard to bring him back.

"Red Sox trade Buchholz, Ellsbury, Fenway Park to Giants, Mirabelli returns"

[YOUgodofwalks]

It's about time. I know a lot of people like him, and he caught the knuckleball, but I have been waiting for him to be shown the door. Another catcher can learn to catch to knuckler, it's not a talent only possesed by Mirabelli.

[Urbanshocker13]

Oh No! Does this mean another police escort in May or June?

[DoubleX]

And the strange thing is that I expect lots of Sox fans will welcome him back in that trade. Mirabelli may be the most beloved backup catcher ever. But, it's time the Sox moved on, he really doesn't bring much to the table. When your sole justification for being on the team is to catch your 4th or 5th starter, that's not saying a whole lot.

[VTSoxFan]

This seems rather sudden. Cash did a decent job catching Wake, and though he didn't impress offensively, well... if he hits at .210 it'll be better than what Dougie hit last season.

I know players come and go. It's just kinda sad to see another piece of the beloved '04 team falling away. But oh well, it was bound to happen sometime.

[NightHawks2007]

This is one of those moves that will look genius if Cash does a good job catching Wake, but if he is terrible a police escort for Dougie may be in order. I understand it seems kind of pointless to hang on to the guy just so he can catch the back end of the rotation, but it was working. He was the best, and safest, option available. I personally think it is too much risk getting rid of him.

[Evangelion]

I hope the team doesn't over-react when a catcher struggling to catch Wakefield during the season like Bard did before making such a foolish trade. At the moment, I'm glad Mirabelli gone. He's been awful at every thing except catching Wakefield. A person could catch Wakefield if trained long enough to catch him. Also, Wakefield a number four to five starter. He shouldn't have had a personal catcher ever.

[Jager]

This seems rather sudden. Cash did a decent job catching Wake, and though he didn't impress offensively, well... if he hits at .210 it'll be better than what Dougie hit last season.

I know players come and go. It's just kinda sad to see another piece of the beloved '04 team falling away. But oh well, it was bound to happen sometime.

The problem is that Cash's career ML Avg. is something like .138 That's worse than Miribelli, which is why this surprises me quite a bit. It would be different if we had a decent catcher coming up, but we don't. lol. Kottaras needs more time. Part of me thinks that something must be in the works with a Crisp trade for a young catcher, but then again, who would really want Coco now? The phone already wasn't ringing off the hook for him, and he's been out over a week now. He seems prone to injuries at this point. I don't see anyone wanting him no matter how much he cries because he wants to start. How can he expect to start if he can't stay on the field?

[Williamsburg2599]

The problem is that Cash's career ML Avg. is something like .138 That's worse than Miribelli, which is why this surprises me quite a bit. It would be different if we had a decent catcher coming up, but we don't. lol. Kottaras needs more time. Part of me thinks that something must be in the works with a Crisp trade for a young catcher, but then again, who would really want Coco now? The phone already wasn't ringing off the hook for him, and he's been out over a week now. He seems prone to injuries at this point. I don't see anyone wanting him no matter how much he cries because he wants to start. How can he expect to start if he can't stay on the field?

My thoughts exactly. If we had a decent back-up, I would put my homerism aside and watch Dougie ride off into the sunset. But now, it just seems like a disrespectful move to a veteran considering neither options have proved they can outperform him. Unless a deal for a nice Catching prospect who is ready to be a MLB level back up is on the horizon, I don't get this move.

[runningshoes]

Good move.

The team obviously has confidence in Cash's ability and how worse can his bat possibly be?

[Sean Casey]

It doesn't make sense to me - it's not like Cash is any better offensively. Mirabelli was hitting better in the majors last year than Cash was in AAA. I wouldn't mind seeing Dusty Brown take over though - I think he has some potential, whereas with Cash I think he's reached his ceiling (not a very high one, either).