Is it time for Doug Mirabelli to go?

Let me clue those still living in the dark on the stat line for Boston's much ballyhooed backup catcher. In 2006 Mirabelli had 12 hits in 161 at bats for a spiffy .193 batting average and a .261 OBP. In 2007 in Mirabelli has improved to 16 hits through 136 at bats and a better .309 OBP. If you compare these stats with the stats of our previous back up catcher Josh Bard you will see that Bard is head and shoulders above Mirabelli statistically. Yet, when we traded for Mirabelli last year his arrival was in a State Police Cruiser and was cheered as if he was the governor of Massachusetts, for all of our sakes I will pass on Mitt Romney jokes.

Now I do understand that Josh Bard had absolutely no ability to catch a knuckleball, and his ineptness led to his eventual departure but let's be serious, is Mirabelli really the only catcher in the whole MLB that can catch a knuckleball as effective as Wakefield's? He is 37 years old and looks fatter than the guy in my softball league who only comes for the beer and is too fat to play a real position so he catches the underhand throws from the pitcher. Yet everybody in Red Sox Nation is in love with the guy because he was so solid in 2003 and 2004 when we won our World Series so he somehow has lucked into a free pass in Boston sports fan's hearts despite the fact that he clearly can't hit his weight and looks totally inept at the plate. There is no other Red Sock who elicits cries of impending doom on an inning the same way Mirabelli does when he waddles to the plate. My suggestion would be to release him and find someone else to take his spot either from Triple A or from the waiver wire. I mean it's not like the guy plays everyday, he plays once a week and the only reason for that is because Tim Wakefield throws a knuckleball.

Professional catchers are paid to catch baseballs. Josh Bard struggled but I feel he would have been fine if the Red Sox management hadn't gotten their panties in a wad and went for the great story of having Mirabelli return to the Red Sox in a blaze of glory only to hit below the Mendoza line. Just get rid of him I am sick of seeing him in the lineup every 5 days