Is Benjito Calling a Good Game?

Seeing as how the Giants have a pitching staff full of youngsters, one would have to say that the catcher's ability, one Benjito Molina, to call a good game is paramount to the success of the Giants.

Because it is highly unlikely one of the youngsters (Lincecum, Cain, Lowry) would ever feel comfortable shaking off one of the veteran Benjie Molina' s signals, I'm wondering if he is resposible for calling a game that is not in the best interests of the pitcher.

Throughout the year the Giants' pitching staff has surrendered an unusual amount of 0-2 base hits, regardless if it's at the top, heart or bottom of the order. A "no balls" "two strike" count is to the pitcher's advantage and to throw anything that catches too much plate is inexcusable.

Recently I have noticed that Molina doesn't really set up outside of the strike zone when his pitcher has the advantage, therefore the pitcher is not throwing a pitch that the batter has to chase after as much as he should be. They are doing the batter a favor when their 0-2, or 1-2 pitches catch TOO MUCH of the plate and I blame Benjie Molina for allowing this to happen.

Hey, we all know pitchers make mistakes and maybe miss the target, but if you're giving a target without much room for error, is it the person giving the target who is at fault or the person trying to hit the target? I'm going with the guy giving the target, because he's a veteran and he should be doing everything possible to protect his young pitcher from being hit if he misses the target.

It's just that it has happened all too often this year and I have not heard one person mention Molina's ability to call "or not" call a game as a possible reason for the blown 0-2 pitches.


kevin marquez