IS GLAD SPRING TRAINING IS FINALLY HERE
The Inquirer's countdown to Opening Day continues.
It's down to 2.
Two as in ... two days before the season opener.
Two as in ... catcher.
Carlos Ruiz enters his second full season with the Phillies, and that could mean a nice bump in offensive production.
Because every time Ruiz has repeated a level in his professional career, his offense have spiked.
"I see a real assuredness to his body language," Jamie Moyer said. "He's not cocky or brash. He just seems very confident in what's going on."
But offense isn't the catcher's top priority.
It's running the game.
"I've never heard one complaint about this guy," bullpen coach Ramon Henderson said. "Guys really like throwing to him."
"A lot of people here have worked with him," Moyer said. "It's like he's been attacked from all sides. The reason it's worked is because he's receptive. He's not stubborn. I've really enjoyed watching him grow and mature. The position he plays is not an easy one. We went through 28 pitchers last year. As a catcher, you have to handle each one of them. You have to know their strengths, weaknesses and personalities. You have to take charge of them. He does a very good job at a position that has a lot of responsibility."
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Bob Brookover and Matt Gelb team up for their third straight season covering the Phillies for the Inquirer and philly.com.
This is Brookover’s second stint writing about the Phillies, having joined the coverage team after seven years as an Eagles beat writer. Brookover was hired by The Inquirer in 2000 as the Phillies beat writer after spending 13 years writing about the team for two suburban newspapers. While on the Eagles beat, Brookover, who had covered just two winning Phillies teams in 15 seasons, saw the Phillies move into a cash-cow new ballpark and begin playing a brand of the game he found unrecognizable. Follow him on Twitter here.
Gelb is in his third season covering the Phillies. He was hired by The Inquirer in August 2009 after graduating from Syracuse University. He has also covered baseball at The Star-Ledger and Cape Cod Times. Born and raised in Bucks County, he attended Central Bucks High School West. Follow him on Twitter here.
To submit a question for Matt Gelb's Phillies mailbag, click here.
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