Where there's smoke

If there's one thing I've learned about Spring Training in general from writing this blog for almost three years, it's that headlines like this one in the PG today are rarely meaningless:

Will Paulino remain the No. 1 catcher?

In the past week, we've seen two articles with pictures of Doumit in catcher's gear and one video in which Doumit capably blocks several balls in the dirt, Paulino makes a terrible attempt and blocking one, and Doumit looks into the camera as if to say, "I'm losing to this guy?"(Screengrab from Peter Diana's video at the PG ... Diana has been doing some amazing work this spring)

It certainly seems like the fact that Doumit is catching is being strongly emphasized. If that's the case, the Pirates are very, very serious about starting him over Paulino if he can stay healthy, which I think is a great sign. We've been over this a million times before, but for a catcher, Paulino is average at the plate and doesn't really offer much behind the dish to justify playing him over Doumit, who's a much better hitter. Doumit's problem is staying healthy, but he reportedly got in great shape this winter in an attempt to stay healthy this year, and I think that has to be worth something to guys in charge. From everything I've heard come out of Huntington's mouth this winter, he has to understand that Doumit's bat is by far the most valuable to the Pirates when he's catching and that the offensive difference between Doumit is a big one. It always drives me nuts when teams keep a good hitter on the bench in favor of a poor hitter so that they have a good hitting utility guy available. The best hitters should go on the field when it's possible. The Doumit/Paulino position battle is officially the top thing to watch this spring besides Steve Pearce.