When the Cubs let the New York Mets snatch Mike Piazza from Florida for three unproven prospects, the spin from the executive offices of Wrigley Field was the price wasn’t right to pull off a deal.
Now July is just around the corner, and the Cubs’ catching situation is still as muddled as it was at the end of the 1997 season.
Having finally had enough of Scott Servais’ .200 average, manager Jim Riggleman is gradually moving to “Option C”–Tyler Houston–who just came off the disabled list with a bad right hamstring.
If Houston cannot provide the Cubs with some much-needed offense at the bottom of the order, the day the Cubs let Piazza go to the Mets may be looked upon as the day Cubs management let the season slip away.
Houston has started four of the last five games behind the plate and is 6 for 12 since being activated from the disabled list for the first time since May 26. He had made only eight starts at catcher previous to this week because of his injury and Riggleman’s impatience with Servais’ lack of offense.
Now it’s Houston’s time to prove what he can do as the primary catcher, after spending the last two years here being a backup catcher and third baseman.
This is a chance for which Houston has waited his entire career. Whether or not he takes it and runs with it could have a huge impact on the Cubs’ season.
“I’ve been labeled in that utility role the last couple of years, and I’ve never really gotten a chance to concentrate on one position, where I’d be good at one position,” he said. “Now if I get that opportunity, I’ll do my best to take advantage of it.”
Catching was a sore spot with the Cubs last year, when Servais and Houston both hit .260 and combined for only eight home runs. Both were unprotected in the expansion draft last winter, but neither was chosen. General Manager Ed Lynch then traded minor-league pitcher Trevor Schaffer to Toronto for left-handed-hitting Sandy Martinez as insurance behind the plate. Though Martinez has hit .265 and has proven he can call a good game, Riggleman has been hesitant to entrust the inexperienced catcher with more playing time. Scratch “Option B.”
The need to give Servais a rest is obvious. He’s hitting .197 with three home runs and 17 RBIs. His .154 average with runners in scoring position is third worst in the National League. If the Cubs had enough hitting to allow Servais to hit around .200 and concentrate solely on his defense, they probably would.
But because Jeff Blauser, Henry Rodriguez and Kevin Orie also are struggling to get hits, the Cubs simply cannot afford four Mr. Freezes in the lineup at the same time, not with Lynch and Riggleman’s careers hanging in the balance.
There aren’t any top-of-the-line catchers out there now that Piazza and Charles Johnson both have been traded. Cincinnati’s Eddie Taubensee could be had in the next month, but his average has been slipping slowly since May and his defense is questionable. Atlanta backup Eddie Perez is hitting better than .300 while subbing for Javy Lopez. The Braves are looking for a closer, but the Cubs don’t want to trade Terry Adams in case Rod Beck has a second half like he did in ’97.
Several veteran catchers may become available by the July 31 trading deadline, including former Cub Joe Girardi of the Yankees, the White Sox’s Chad Kreuter and Baltimore’s Chris Hoiles. But the Cubs likely will see whether Houston can handle the job on a regular basis before resorting to a stopgap move like acquiring a middle-range veteran for the stretch.
Whether Houston can hold up in the coming hot days of July and August remains to be seen. His hamstring injury isn’t healed fully, and Riggleman has been lifting him late in games thus far.
“It’s not really bothering me, but my legs aren’t 100 percent,” Houston said. “They’re worried about all this heat, and (the leg) gets real tired and then I can reaggravate it. That’s when hamstring (pulls) happen.
“I’ve been asking (Riggleman) if I can stay in a little bit more, but at the same point, I know I just can’t come back in four days and then go right back on. They’re babying it a little bit, and that’s probably smart, because I didn’t do that all season. I should have done it earlier in the season.”
Is Houston the answer to the Cubs’ catching woes?
If not, the Cubs can always go to “Option D”: Cross your fingers and pray.
