The .203-hitting catcher is getting some notice for his defense, which apparently is rare:
"One of the most underrated things in catching is a guy having good hands. It's always been amazing to me that when they judge defensive catchers, they always talk about a guy's arm strength, which rarely ever comes into play in the game. When you catch a ball 100 times a game, the actual catching of the ball should be the most important thing, and no one ever says that. If a pitch is outside and the catcher is stabbing at the ball, it makes the pitcher look like he's wild and the umpire is less likely to give him future pitches...
...For my whole career, it's for the most part gone unnoticed. I've always had decent hands. The pitchers in Philly noticed, but it never got brought up to the media and the coaching staff. As many times as I've had pitchers talk to me about it the last 10 years, since I've come here it's the first organization they've talked about it. Hopefully that means something...
...This is a much better opportunity than I could have ever foreseen, coming over here and getting to catch two out of three games and three out of five games. I get to catch Roy, Moehler, and Bud. I just need to take better advantage of it."
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
