Don't worry Gerry, we still love you (well, I don't, but the Rangers sure seem to)

Anybody remember earlier this spring? When Gerald Laird was whining about how he shouldn't have to compete with Jarrod Saltalamacchia for the catching job?

Well, it looks like Gerald needn't have worried. The Rangers are now loudly trumpeting that he will indeed be their opening day catcher, over the young offensive phenom Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Laird, 28, is coming off the worst offensive season of his career last year, when he hit .224/.278/.349, and posted an OPS of 627. This came after his best offensive season in 2006, in which he hit .296/.332/.473 and posted an 805 OPS, platooning with Rod Barajas. Those numbers, however, where largely skewed by the fact that he hit .400/.414/.600 against left-handers - an impressive line to be sure, but his .241/.291/.405 line against righties that year was far more indicitive of what Gerald's limits are.

He's a career .221/.277/.339 hitter against right-handed pitching with a 616 OPS. He may be able to mash the lefties (.307/.348/.467 career, 815 OPS)but unless he has a platoon partner to protect him against the right-handers (like Barajas in '06) offensive years like 2007 are going to be a recurring theme for Gerald.

The Rangers, however, despite the fact that they now have one of their weakest offensive clubs in years, don't seem to care. Instead, they sing the praises of his defense, and his 40.2% success rate at throwing out baserunners:

"He's got a great arm, quick release, and athleticism behind the plate" says former Major League catcher and now third base coach Matt Walbeck. He's able to pick up balls, make sidearm throws, throw behind the runner - stuff you can't teach."

That's great. No, seriously, that is. Gerald is a fine defensive catcher. But the Rangers seem to be forgetting what's at stake here - and it's a heckuva lot more important that Gerald Laird's throwing abilities. It's called development. The Rangers have a farm system loaded to the gills with catching prospects (Mike Hindman can tell you all about that better than I can) - plus Jarrod Saltalamacchia, the offensively lauded, but defensively decried catcher accquired in the Mark Teixeira trade last year.

Salty 's bat is defintely projected to be elite among catchers - Baseball America ranked him as the Braves top prospect in 2007 and the second-best in 2006, while ranking him as the organization's best hitter for average in both years. In his time in the big leagues last year, he hit .266/.310/.422, with 11 HR and 33 RBI, stats that probably would have been much better if he hadn't been made to play the unfamiliar position of first base by the Rangers, where he hit a miserable .203/.236/.346 at, while also commiting 10 errors (in 38 games). When playing as a backstop, however, Salty flashed his offensive potential, ripping .325/.373/.503. Taking that into consideration, one would only expect a player of his talent to improve those overall numbers this time around, if allowed to remain behind the plate.

But that's what Texas needs to find out: will Saltalamacchia's bat and be enough to keep him behind the plate at the major league level? Within a year or so, Taylor Teagarden, who could turn out to be a fine offensive catcher in his own right, with better defensive capabilites than Saltalamacchia, should be knocking at Arlington's doorstep. That means now is the time for the Rangers to let Salty get consistent, full time at-bats behind the plate, at the Major League level, and evaluate whether or not his offense will be enough to outweigh any defensive shortcomings. He's never going to be the strongest defender wherever he plays, although his defense should become servicable in time - but it's his bat that needs to be evaluated, and allowed to develop on the Major League level. Offensively, he's already proven he can hold his own with the big boys - now the Rangers need to find out if he's good enough to carve himself a niche.

Because come 2009, there's going to be another battle behind the plate in Texas - one that won't involve a certain 28 year-old catcher who is all but expendable to the organization in the grand scheme of things. It'll be the two young catchers, Salty and Teagarden, slugging it out for playing time - and Texas is going to have a decision to make. One will have to move to make room for the other - and with the Rangers now commited to developing the powerful Chris Davis as their future at first base, that could mean that one will be departing the organization. But the Rangers aren't making that decision any easier on themselves by insisting that they somehow "need" Gerald Laird and his throwing arm.

With his offensive limitations, Laird is on the fast track to nowhere - especially considering the depth the Rangers have behind him. But why the front office continues to cling to this guy like he's some kind of key defensive catylist in their plans is beyond me. They should be entertaining the offers they are getting from other teams right now, not rebuffing them. Because sooner or later, the Rangers are going to have to break down, and throw Laird aside for the younger player, be it Teagarden or Salty. Why not do it now, and allow Salty to get a jump on his development? A move like that would not only be the better path for Salty, but for the organization - so what's the holdup? Oh wait, that's right - the throwing arm. Gotcha.