Cal Raleigh and Tom Murphy

Right now Raleigh  is the regular

catcher  of the Mariners.  Currently 

Tom Murphy  is his backup.

Murphy  was out for most of last season.

Early  on in the season  Raleigh  was struggling 

at the plate  so he was sent down to triple-A 

to regain his stroke. He wasn't  down long

when he was recalled because Murphy was

injured. Shortly after Raleigh  became the

starter and the rest is history.

Personally  I  thought Raleigh  should have 

been the starter from day one. He actually 

started  the opening game of the season.

The Mariners  were alternating Raleigh,  Murphy 

and Luis Torrens  at catcher.  Otherwords each

was starting every three games. My mind this

was not a good idea for Raleigh  he needed to

be in the lineup  more often. 

After Murphy's injury  for a short period Raleigh 

and Torrens were platooning, however, Torrens 

was struggling at the plate which lasted most 

of the season and Raleigh  started hitting better

and he was the better of the two on defense. 

Torrens was released near the end of the season. 

He signed a minor league contract with the Chicago 

Cubs.

Jerry  Dipoto  president of  baseball  operations 

says both players are healthy headed into spring 

training. Raleigh  who was injured  late in the season 

though he continued played had surgery when the

season wasover. Raleigh  will  be  the primary catcher

with Murphy  being the backup. Expect Murphy to 

catch once a week maybe two sometimes. Murphy 

hits better against lefties  so most likely catch

when the opposition is throwing a lefty.  In those 

instances Raleigh  be on the bench or dh. Most

likely come into the game late facing a righthander.

This all depends whether  the Mariners  carry a third

catcher on the roster. The Mariners  likely  have three

bench players besides Murphy. AJ Pollock  outfielder 

and Dylan Moore utility player will be two of them.

Moore expected to platoon at second base while Pollock

does in left field.

Though I  didn't watch the pro bowl I heard Geno Smith 

had a good game. Not a lot of meaning since they were 

playing flag football instead. You could say flag football

is right  in order for Geno. My opinion since they tried

flag football they  might as well  stop playing the pro bowl 

game. They can still name players to the pro bowl team.

Could  you  imagine the baseball all star team the players 

playing softball or slow pitch. Baseball  still has the best

all star game of all the sports. Nice to know this year's 

all star game will be in Seattle  once again. During the season 

we will have to see what Mariners  besides Julio will be

on the team.