In Buster Olney's blog post today on Promising Players Drawing the Notice of Scouts (but not in a good way, parentheses mine):
4. Ivan Rodriguez, Astros. Houston signed him after the Astros' in-house catching candidates struggled in spring, and after I-Rod had a strong showing early in the WBC. Now he's off to a .185 start, with five hits (two extra-base hits) in 27 at-bats. "He's what, 37-years-old, 38?" asked one scout.
Thirty-seven is right. "He's caught a whole lot of games, and eventually, that takes its toll," said one talent evaluator. "They might be looking for a catcher before the year's over."
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
