If there's one thing that can ruin a good Red Sox lineup, it's Kevin Cash.
Batting .148/.233/.167, Kevin Cash has basically been an empty spot in the lineup, coming in above only Lou Montanez amongst players with 50 plate appearances. And it's not like he's really brought much to the table defensively either, throwing out only three baserunners in nineteen opportunities and allowing six passed balls and eight wild pitches in only 153 innings behind the plate.
And then there's the bonehead moves, like when Cash tried a snap-throw to third in Sunday nights game with the bases loaded. A big risk with little chance of success that dropped down to zero when the throw bounced off Robinson Cano's back, allowing Cano to score with ease.
If you're frustrated as a Red Sox fan by the situation, you're not alone. Enter Double-A Portland catcher Luis Exposito.
Sometime Sunday night, Exposito posted on his protected Twitter account: "So hard to watch somethin/stay quiet when you know how much better things can be! Let me out! Let me ball"
Given the circumstances of last night's game, and Exposito's position, it's not hard to connect the dots as to what Exposito is probably talking about.
Exposito isn't exactly known for being shy on Twitter, so seeing this isn't exactly a surprise. The 20th ranked prospect by Soxprospects.com, and ranked 10th by Over The Monster over the offseason, Expo struggled through the beginning of his year in Double-A before turning it on some the last month, resulting in a batting line of .270/.349/.411.
But even if Exposito could outperform Kevin Cash (and how hard can it be?), the Sox are in no position to be giving him such a big bump, so messed up is their catching situation. Their one Triple-A catcher with potential to be an MLB regular, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, isn't about to be promoted any time soon as the Sox try and revitalize the once-elite prospect. Ryan Lavarnway, Exposito's teammate, isn't necessarily even going to be a catcher in the long term. And who even knows what's happening with Adalberto Ibarra other than the folks running the show in Florida.
That leaves Exposito as perhaps the only all-around Red Sox catching prospect not in some sort of limbo. Taking the risk of over-pushing him with a promotion now is just not worth it. Sorry, Expo, but the Sox can't let you ball just yet.