ESPN790: "If Brad Ausmus is not back [next year], I'm retiring" - Clemens

they'll both be back.

 

I tend to agree with you

 

I wish Rocket would threaten Drayton a lot more, like "Get us another slugger or I pitch for the Rangers next year."

 

I'd be willing to bet that Ausmus would only catch Clemens and Pettitte. Whomever the other catcher is would take care of Oswalt, Backe, & ______

Hopefully, it will be a more offensive minded catcher.

 

Having a light hitting catcher (and shortstop) wouldn't be such a problem if we got more production out of our outfield.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050825&content_id=1183339&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Ausmus open to returning past 2005
Clemens notes catcher's significance to staff's success
By Alyson Footer / MLB.com

SAN DIEGO -- Brad Ausmus is entering the final stages of his two-year contract with the Houston Astros, but the conclusion of this chapter of his career doesn't necessarily mean retirement is on the horizon.

If the right team wants him, he would play again. The list is short, and the Astros are presumably at the top. They have already expressed interest in working out a deal, but if Ausmus is looking for a bargaining chip, consider what Roger Clemens said on Wednesday, when asked how much Ausmus' presence will affect his decision on whether to keep pitching in Houston beyond 2005.

"He would have to be here," Clemens said. "He would have to. If I was to be here, I would need that man back there. He's that valuable."

Even without Clemens' suggestion of a package deal, the door is open for Ausmus to return to Houston. General manager Tim Purpura favors retaining Ausmus for at least another year, and the two will likely discuss a future contract once the current season is complete.

Next April, Ausmus will turn 37 -- an age few catchers reach as active players. But in Ausmus, Purpura sees one of the smartest catchers in the league who is still able to handle the everyday wear and tear that accompanies the most physically demanding position on the diamond.

"He has the physical ability to keep playing," Purpura said. "There's nothing there that would lead you to believe that he's got to retire. He's still very competitive at this level.

"It's just a matter of, does he want to do it at that point of his life, and that point of his career? Certainly, he's the guy that's been a big part of the organization for a number of years. From my point of view, I'd love to have him back, if that's of interest to him."

Ausmus appears to be interested in playing -- but not just anywhere. His daughters are growing up quickly, and family considerations weigh heavier than his individual wishes to continue his career. The Ausmus family has homes in San Diego, where they live year-round, and Houston, so it's easy to figure out which teams he would consider.

"I'm not committed to retirement," he said. "If I can play in one of the very few cities that I would like to play in, I would probably play. There are at least two. I don't want to close myself off to anything else, but I am not going to drag my family to a faraway city just to continue my baseball career."

Ausmus' oldest daugther, Sophie, is in the second grade. His youngest, Abby, is in kindergarten. His wife, Liz, and the kids fly to Houston for only a week or so in April and May, before school lets out.

They take a couple of road trips per season in an attempt to keep the family unit together and retain some normalcy under the unusual circumstances that surround being a Major League family. For at least seven months a year, the player is gone more than he's home. It's not easy. As players age, they naturally start to wonder if it's all worth it.

"Travel can get tough on my wife, having to take the kids every two weeks, get on a plane, fly to another city," he said. "The plus in Houston is that we have a home there, the city has always treated us well, the organization treated us well. We know people there."

Defensively, Ausmus has made his mark on this club. Fans are vocal with their ongoing criticism of Ausmus' offensive contributions, but from a pitcher's standpoint, there are few, if any, catchers who would rather be seen behind the plate than Ausmus.

"As far as Brad knowing the game and his receiving skills, he would rank right there with Charlie O'Brien," Clemens said, referring to his catcher during his 21-7 season with the Blue Jays in 1997. "If you are a catcher in Little League, high school, college or in the Minor Leagues, if you don't want to ask any questions and you want to learn by watching, I would get a video tape of either one of those guys."

As Andy Pettitte explained, a catcher is not just a statue behind the plate calling balls and strikes. A catcher is a pitcher's best friend and therapist. He has to sense a pitcher's mood the day of his start, and he has to realize he's the secondary figure, considering that wins and losses are pinned on the man on the mound.

"You have to have a lot of patience with us, as far as never knowing what we might say or how our attitude is going to be that night," Pettitte said. "You can't have a chip on your shoulder. He never does. He does a great job of realizing the pressure we're under."

Trust is the single-most important element between a pitcher and his catcher, and in that respect, the pitchers give Ausmus plenty of credit for their individual successes.

"It's important not just to have someone like him, but him," closer Brad Lidge said. "First of all, you have total confidence in the game he's calling. You know he's as studied as anybody there is. You don't have to worry about thinking something different. Whatever [sign] he puts down, you know he knows the hitter."

When Purpura begins building next year's team, power from the catcher position won't be a priority. Very few defensively sound catchers are also great hitters. Mike Piazza may be considered the best hitting catcher of this generation, but his defense was never considered anything more than just so-so. The Jason Variteks of the world are few and far between, and Purpura would gladly take a cerebral catcher over one that hits in the middle of the order. Ausmus, obviously, fits that bill.

"It's not that Brad's just a physically defensive player, he's a mental defensive player," Purpura said. "He's the guy who takes the scouting report and summarizes it for the pitcher and is able to put it into meaningful words that they can out there and hopefully be successful. He brings so much more to the table than just his physical ability behind the plate."

Clemens, the most influential of all Astros pitchers, shares this sentiment. But the Rocket jokingly offered an addendum to his earlier conviction about Ausmus returning in '06.

"If I make the decision to come back, he will be on my offseason workout program," Clemens said. "So he can hit the ball a little farther."

 

Hopefully next year we won't have automatic outs in the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th hole like we do this year.

 

Ausmus has been hitting and getting on base at a very nice percentage since the all-star break.

Roger would never say that because, unlike the majority of Astros' fans (at least the vocal ones), he understands that it takes more than the Astros wanting a bat to actually get a bat. If Roger didn't think they were trying to win, he wouldn't even be considering coming back. But I forgot, most Astros fans no more about what's going on inside the organization than the actual organization.

 

I want to know what Brad Ausmus has that makes him so well liked. For a light hitting catcher he's got every pitcher wrapped around his pinky. Anyone remember Mitch Meluskey. The air apparent.

 

Yea... and I remember every pitcher getting bombed in 2000 when we didn't have Ausmus.

Then, Ausmus comes in 2001 and suddenly guys like Dave Mlicki can pitch at MMP (let alone Roy and Wade have probably their best years as a starter... and they were rookies).

He gets the most out of pitchers mainly based on his knowledge of the batters and gaining trust in what guys have to throw.

He's well on his way to following in the footsteps of Dave Duncan (another former catcher who has been the pitching coach for Tony LaRussa for 20 years).

 

or Bako. bring back Eusabio!

 

Yeah, because he has the protection of Roger Clemens in the line-up this year

 

I was speaking of acquiring help for next year through free agency. If Roger can ask Drayton to sign Ausmus, he can ask for others to be signed as well. I hear that Bagwell asked for Alou last winter and Drayton passed, but maybe Roger has a bigger stick.

 

Amen, especially if we have a STRONG bat in that lineup.

 

In 1999, in the Dome, without Ausmus, we did fine with Eusabio handling the catching duties. 3rd best ERA in the league. Imo the catcher's effect on era is overrated (see the Cards this season without Matheny). But, if Clemens wants Ausmus, then by all means keep him around. Give that man whatever he wants.

 

That was also the Dome. Not exactly Enron/MMP.

 

For someone who has called me out for being critical of the subject matter of your posts, this act is getting pretty damn tired

this post not approved by RM95

 

So, I can't attempt to refute what I believe are preposterous allegations against the Astros management because it's getting pretty damn tired to you? Well, boohoo for pgabriel. Could you please e-mail me a pgabriel approved list of posts so I don't offend you anymore. Thanks.