Crush of the Week.

We Think You're Quite The Catch, Geo Soto.

Dear Geovany Soto:

How are you doing this lovely Friday? Pretty well, yeah? We'd hope so, considering that you signed a $3.05 million contract to stay with the Texas Rangers earlier this week.

We here at Central Track are happy for you, too. We've always been fans of your work. From your 2008 Rookie of the Year campaign with the Cubs to your great work with Yu Darvish these last two years, you've always gone about your business with the utmost professionalism — which is more than we can say for some of your teammates. We respect that, so we're glad you’re getting paid.

The faith the Rangers organization is putting in you has got to be heartening, too. Both general manager Jon Daniels and Ron Washington said, in the wake of you signing the deal, that you were going to be the Rangers’ No. 1 catcher next season. That has to be music to your ears, after you've spent the last two seasons languishing as a backup.

That you were stuck behind A.J. Pierzynski last season wasn't really fair, either. By most advanced statistics, you were clearly better than A.J., both offensively and defensively. Yeah, we know that Wash isn't the biggest believer in numbers, but still.

Point is, we're really happy you'll be getting a chance to start again this season — unless the Rangers sign Brian McCann, but that’s another story. We're glad that the team's going to have a catcher who actually, y'know, catches the ball instead of flailing wildly at it with his backhand as it flies to the backstop like Mr. Pierzynski is so wont to do. We also think it's awesome that you draw a walk more than a couple of times each millenia, which is something else we can't say for Mr. Pierzynski.

And we're especially glad that you're sticking around to help all of the Rangers' young pitchers. It'll good for them to have someone they know translating Wash's babblings during mound meetings. Hell, it's just nice to know the team will have at least one catcher around with enough experience listening to Wash to make sense of even half of what he says.

Long story short: Thanks for staying, Geo. And here's to at least a few more moments like this:

Because that ruled.

Yours truly,

Stephen Young and the rest of the Central Track Staff