Phillies should reconsider Lieberthal options

By Bill McFarland

The resurgence of catcher Mike Lieberthal has been a pleasant surprise, and I'm hoping that the front office is a little more open-minded about a possible return of the veteran backstop next year.

When healthy, Lieby has produced offensively. He's always been a savvy defensive catcher. The veteran's contract is up at the end of this season, and conventional wisdom seems to be that he is not in the club's plans for 2007. I think he should be.

It is a given that Carlos Ruiz will be the everyday catcher next year. The youngster floundered when given a chance in May when Lieberthal first went on the disabled list, but his predicament was not without precedent.

Ryan Howard did the same thing when he had a two-week call-up last season when former first baseman Jim Thome went on the DL in May. When Thome was lost for the year in July, Howard played every day and all he did was win the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Likewise, Ruiz looks more confident at the plate now, and with nothing left to prove at Triple A, he's ready for the everyday job behind the plate.

We should also remember that when Lieby came up for good in 1996, he served as a backup to starter Benito Santiago for one year. When Lieberthal became the everyday catcher, the Phillies always had a veteran No. 2 receiver not only to spell Lieby here and there, but to nurture the youngster as he learned the pitchers and opposing batters.

Lieberthal has stated that he was open to the idea of returning to the Phillies in a reduced role next year, so why not have him do the same thing for Ruiz? Who knows the Phillies' pitchers better than Lieby?

I've been a Chris Coste fan since spring training, and we were all tickled by the unexpected success of the 33-year-old rookie — a story that could eventually find its way onto the shelves of bookstores and eventually the silver screen, a la Vince Papale and Invincible.

Coste is an adequate backstop, and he found his stroke after beginning his big-league career with an 0-for-13 drought. (After Monday's game, he had a .315 average with 10 doubles, 6 homers and 27 RBI.) I certainly won't complain if he returns to share the catching next year with Ruiz.

But the Phillies owe Lieberthal something. He's been with the club for his entire career, including the last 10 as the regular catcher. He has considered retiring after this season because of his nagging injuries rather than face an uncertain future with another organization.

General manager Pat Gillick told us on July 30 that this club would not contend and then reversed course when he started stocking up for a wild-card run. He could also be wrong about Lieberthal. Maybe he should change his mind again.

As for Coste, he's also an infielder who routinely takes grounders at both first and third base before each game. Manager Charlie Manuel has stated that he wouldn't use him at third because he wouldn't want to give up Abraham Nunez's splendid defense.

Coste played third base every day at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last year. Defensively, Coste is not Nunez, but Nunez will need a break every once in a while if he plays the hot corner every day next season.

Why not consider keeping Lieberthal as the second catcher and Coste as a backup infielder and an emergency backstop? It gives Manuel more options when he is making moves during a game.

That's my opinion. What do you think?

This column was published on Sept. 20, 2006, in the Northeast Times in Philadelphia, which owns the copyright. It may not be reproduced anywhere else without permission.

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