Catching options

Tigers are in a mess here. If proof were needed of the serial incompetence after Okada resigned (and no I am not implying that he was a good manager just better than the clowns that followed him) look no further. Let's look at the options:

Johjima
Almost certain not to start the season as catcher. His injury issues have not cleared up leading one to ask why did Tigers sign him? He is likely to start the season at first which will lead to problems with Brazell who doesn't want to platoon or possibly left. The latter at least would mean that we didn't see Kanemoto. This is unlikely. One hopes Johjima recovers quickly to take over the catching duties.

Fujii
The likely starting catcher but totally inadequate at the job. Unable to call beyond wasteful and easy to understand patterns. Fujii was a waste of money and continues to be so. His bat is nothing to get excited about but importantly he is an 'experienced catcher' which counts more amongst Tigers management and coaches than an able and intelligent catcher. He was basically replaced by the pair who should be the starting catchers Komiyama and Shimizu. Considered totally worthless by Tigers fans

Komiyama
Showed very good judgment and appreciation of pitchers limits when he started to take over from Fujii late season. He was also imaginative in his calling and should be given more playing time especially as starting catcher. If Tigers policy is to develop youth it would be a good idea to start here. Batting can improve

Shimizu
Was wooden but began to loosen up and call nicely. Once again an improvement on Fujii (who really is bad). Shimizu still has work to do to be fully effective at the highest level but shows promise. He would make a good second catcher.

Okazaki
A poor catcher but given the lack of understanding that masquerades as experience in the Tigers coaching set up he could get some playing time. Totally wooden and should not be used beyond the second team.

Quite simply Tigers management have handled the catcher issue poorly and in an amateur way. Good catchers are not easy to find and when they do come along they should be cherished. Tigers do have a couple of possible prospects but they need playing time: Komiyama needs to be the starting catcher and Shimizu the backup. Fujii needs to be put in the second team and then quietly let go at the end of the year.

No mention of Kannoh here. Has he been banished to 2-gun once again? Or have they given up completely on him as a catcher and will use him only in the outfield?

Despite the excitement at the time over the Johjima signing, I was always a bit skeptical about it. Obviously his experience and leadership is a plus, but his recent injury history before coming back to Japan should have been a warning. Of course first base is a natural move for catchers who can't catch anymore, but as you mentioned Brazell is already there. Both Johjima and Brazell want to play everyday, so not a good sign. Meanwhile, of course left field would be the next option, but Kanemoto refuses to retire and OB managers refuse to bench him.

Kanoh isn't in the frame at all - he's not on the team list for Spring camp and took a big pay cut. He is resisting the attempt to turn him into an outfielder but may well end up playing out this season in ni-gun. The annoying thing was that the situation was avoidable and poorly handled by the Tigers.

Personally, I thought that the Johjima signing was the best move that the Tigers made over the past few seasons. When healthy, he brought stability and leadership to the team. Granted, he didn't stay healthy in the long run, but I still think that he contributed a great deal.

I was also wondering about Kannoh. Thanks for the update on his situation, as bad as it is for him. While I may not go along with everything you say, Christopher, you've got the cluelessness of the Hanshin management right in a large number of ways.

The Johjima signing was a gamble, but so far unfortunately hasn't worked out. He was definitely a big contributor his first year--both with his play and leadership--but I really wonder if he can come back from all the injuries. We paid a lot for him for the name and he indeed might have been worth the big contract if he stayed healthy. But now we have kind of a Peyton Manning situation where we were so happy with our first-string guy that we weren't really prepared for if he went down. I still think we have a good chance to finish as high as 2nd this year, but as Christopher has pointed out, if we don't solidify the catching position it could be a long year.

Do you know if Hashimoto is still in the Hanshin organization? He was a catcher for Chiben featured in the Koko Yakyu documentary, so I was eager to follow his career. But it doesn't seem like he's made it too far up the ladder after being drafted by Hanshin.

Hashimoto wears 66 but has not yet made an appearance in the first team on any level. Catchers develop even slower than pitchers in the Tigers organisation.

Fujii is now doubtful for the start of the season. He has strained his left oblique muscle and the injury is proving very stubborn. Fujii was due to catch in the game against DeNA but didn't and in fact sat out the entire camp. Tigers may have to go with Komiyama as starting catcher but are more likely to use Okazaki in that role at the moment.

Even more worrying/ridiculous was talk of the Tigers searching for a trade. Don't we have enough catchers? Are we going to hold Komiyama's age against him? Because he looked pretty impressive towards the end of last season (or at least compared to some of the other useless catchers we had to put up with).

It seems that way and now they are re-aclimatizing Asai to catching just in case he's needed.