Catching a break. 487 comments


Bobby Wilson connects for a game-winning RBI double in the sixth inning, putting the Rangers ahead 4-3 for their third win in a row.

Bobby Wilson connects for a game-winning RBI double in the sixth inning, putting the Rangers ahead 4-3 for their third win in a row.

 

Talk about lucking into a situation.

The Rangers depleted their catching depth at the trade deadline. Between trades and injuries, they were left with the cupboard bare.

So, in a desperation move, because somebody had to catch, they got two anybodies. They recalled Chris Gimenez and made a minor deal for Bobby Wilson.

All they were supposed to do was return the pitches back to the pitcher. They were essentially retrievers. But they have turned out to be golden.

Because what actually happened, in one of those cases where it’s better to be lucky than good, is that Gimenez and Wilson are contributing offensively in a big way. The biggest, actually.

Giminez has played fourteen games, Wilson fifteen. Both are sporting identical 12-for-42 .286 batting averages. Combined they have eleven extra base hits. And after Wilson’s clutch RBI double last night to put the Rangers ahead 4-3, the tandem of Rangers desperation catchers has seventeen RBIs in August.

If they were one, and they sort of act that way in the Rangers lineup, they would be leading the club in August RBIs:

Bobby Chris Wilson-Gimenez:  17
Mitch Moreland:  16
Adrian Beltre:  15
Prince Fielder:  12
Shin-Soo Choo:  10

All of a sudden, the huge glaring black hole in the lineup generated by Rangers catchers Robinson Chirinos and Carlos Corporan has turned into a run producing machine.

What a stroke of luck.

When the bottom of the lineup produces, that’s a good thing. When the bottom of the barrel produces, it’s incredible.