Let's Meet (Again)...Javy Lopez!

OMG! It's Javy! Look at that butt! That's a tight butt.

Ugh.

Anyway, in case you were living under a rock with Jimmy Hoffa (tell the bitch he still owes $20 on the Cowboys/Giants game), Javier Torres Lopez signed with the Braves on a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training that was essentially the same kind of deals the Braves have given Julio Franco in the past. Here's an invite but you made the team before you even came to spring training. Shhh, it's a secret.

Javy spent last year sitting on his ass. Well, no, he was working out. Getting slender! Pilates, I bet. Maybe he has an eating disorder. Or maybe the steroids were wearing off. Who knows these things?

Javy had gone to the Rockies spring training, but they saw all they needed of their young one, Chris Ianetta. I think the spelling is right cause I ain't looking it up. They cut Javy, who was not so much in demand. Fancy that. What a fall from grace.

In 2003, Javy's last season with the Braves, he was voted fifth in the MVP running for one of the best offenses the Braves have ever had. He would have ranked in the top five in OPS had he had enough at-bats. He received a start at catcher for the All-Star game and his 43 homers are the best total by a catcher in franchise history.

He parlayed this into a three-year deal with the Orioles and posted a solid 127 OPS+ in his first year with the O's, but slumped the following year to 15 homers with injuries. The Orioles made a move for Ramon Hernandez and Javy spent most of his 2006 time with the Orioles as their DH. After a trade to the Red Sox, he was horrible as he tried to help them replace Jason Varitek, who had been hurt.

There was once a time where Javy was a poor man's Mike Piazza in the NL. But the shelf life of catchers is small and Javy is now in a position where he could backup the current franchise catcher for the Braves, Brian McCann. The chances are good provided he stays healthy because right now his competition is not much to write home about.

Corky Miller did a solid job, but has always and will always be a fringe player. Clint Sammons could use more time and Brayan Pena is a horrible defensive catcher.

Then again, so is Javy. He was never that good of a catcher and knee injuries really took him down. His steroid years saw him gain a little bounce back (kinda expect that), but once he got his contract and MLB testing became more prevalent, we saw his catching detoriate once again. Can't blame the O's for going for a catcher who can actually catch.

Now, where he is now is unknown. He could be a better defensive catcher simply because he is off the roids and has had a year to build up natural strength and agility. However, I don't expect much.