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2008 Now that Mike Matheny's out of the game, Schneider's name comes up in the discussion of the game's toughest catchers. This might be a corollary of Nichols' Law of Catcher Defense (a catcher's defensive rep is inversely related to his ability to hit). Not that Schneider doesn't deserve credit for handling the hammering that catching entails, but it's not like Mike Piazza didn't take his lumps catching more than 1,600 games. Shipped to the Mets with Church for Lastings Milledge, Schneider is expected to split the catching chores with Ramon Castro. The Mets are talking up his valuable intangibles, but they'll reap what they sow: intangible value. 2007 Schneider endured a street-pizza season at the plate, but at least he retained his defensive value, doing a particularly good job of deterring and controlling the running game. As far as his hitting, it wasn`t a platoon thing or an RFK thing; Schneider slugged a feeble .333 against right-handers and .313 on the road. Nor was it a matter of playing him too much; Schneider handled just under 70 percent of the team`s playing time behind the plate. Instead, the Nats are confronted with the very real likelihood that they got Schneider`s peak performance within the normal range of a player`s best seasons, and, now that he`s left his age-26, 27 and 28 seasons behind him, they`re on the hook for $13.3 million for three years of this sort of production. Consider this another Jim Bowden gamble that turned out exceptionally badly. 2006 Schneider might be particularly hurt by RFK`s boggy grounds and heavy air--he hit .306/.354/.464 on the road last year--given his line-drive stroke, you might have expected him to be park-proof. Settle for counting him among the ranks of the good, not great. He`s an outstanding receiver and plate blocker, and an offensive asset if he`s hitting in the bottom third of a lineup. In need of a quality backup to handle the tougher lefties, the Nationals inexplicably signed Alberto Castillo and Mike DiFelice to see who can most closely resemble the departed Gary Bennett. At least Schneider won`t have to worry about a rival, and he can no doubt enjoy the compensations that come with being signed to a four-year, $16 million contract in January. 2005 For the second season in a row, Schneider almost eliminated the stolen base from other teams' offensive games. He threw out half the base runners who dared take off against him. He committed only four passed balls, so it's not as if they were able to make up for it by advancing on his poor defense catching the ball, either. Few other catchers can match Schneider's +38 fielding rating over the last three years. Combined with some decent power and patience, and you have a bargain at $2 million for 2005 who's flat-out fun to watch. 2003 A better option than all the Brad Ausmii out there, with or without accounting for salary. For the Expos’ purposes, Schneider’s a better-fielding catcher than Michael Barrett, with a bat that at least looked comparable in limited playing time. With payroll concerns all over the roster, Barrett may get shipped out, opening the starting job for Schneider. Paired with a veteran righty hitter, catcher could remain a plus position for the Expos, especially if Schneider converts a few of those ample doubles into homers. 2002 Schneider impressed former second-string backstop Torborg with his work behind the plate in September, putting a hammerlock on the backup-catcher job. The power he showed a couple of years ago in Harrisburg raises concerns about temporary genetic mutation occurring on tours of Three Mile Island, but even without that sock, Schneider's left-handed bat still makes him handy off the bench. He is embarking on what should be a nice little career, logging a few seasons as a starter before it’s over. 2001 A decent backup catcher in the making, Brian Schneider compensates for his lack of arm strength behind the plate with quick footwork. It’s a treat to watch; we’re so used to rockets getting launched by the Ivan Rodriguezs and the Henry Blancos that we forget the difference that anticipation and quickness can make. Schneider’s shot at backing up Barrett is endangered by the signing of Sandy Martinez. Laugh away, monkey boy, but this is serious as far as Schneider is concerned. 2000 The new Darrin Fletcher? He’s a good receiver and game-caller, with an accurate arm that isn’t very strong. Catchers who hit left-handed have better job guarantees than mailmen, and they’re less likely to go postal. If Henley scuffles, Schneider could be up before September, adding another wrinkle to the choice of where to put Barrett. 1999 An unusual developmental strategy the Expos have is the midseason promotion, followed by a non-promotion the next spring. Schneider began '98 where he ended '97, in Cape Fear, and he crushed the ball for about a month before he was promoted to Jupiter, where he struggled across the board. Karl Chatman and Carlos Adolfo had similar seasons, and I just don't see any evidence that this is helping anyone's development.
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