Moeller’s defense keeps career afloat

If not for his stellar defense, 51s catcher Chad Moeller probably would be out of baseball, not awaiting a September call-up to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"Offense is something I constantly work on, but if my defense isn't there, they won't give me a chance to play anymore," the 32-year-old Moeller said. "Plain and simple, if that disappears, then it's time to go home."

The Dodgers acquired Moeller, who has played parts of the past eight seasons with the Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds, in a trade with the Reds for cash on Aug. 11.

Moeller, who was dealt by Cincinnati after hitting .167 with two RBIs in 30 games, joined Las Vegas on Aug. 14 and is batting .313 (5-for-16) with two RBIs in six games with the 51s, who released catcher Ben Davis to make room for him.

"We had to make some adjustments here for insurance at the major league level for September, and he's been very good for us so far," Las Vegas manager Lorenzo Bundy said. "He can throw, he's done a nice job behind the plate, and he handles the pitching staff very well."

Bundy said the Dodgers probably will promote Moeller over fellow 51s catcher Ken Huckaby, 36, based solely on their age.

"I hate to bring up age in a situation like this, but one guy is a lot younger than the other guy," Bundy said.

Moeller, who said "I'll throw out the guys I'm supposed to" and "no balls are going to get by me," was the personal catcher for Randy Johnson in Arizona and for Ben Sheets in Milwaukee.

He said his rapport with pitchers always has been his strong suit.

"There's a total trust factor where they didn't have to think about what was being done," Moeller said of his experience with Johnson and Sheets. "I was spending the time and doing the thinking for them."

The 6-foot-3-inch Moeller, a career .224 hitter in 414 games in the majors, hit .286 in 37 games with Arizona in 2002 and hit .268 for the Diamondbacks in 2003 before getting traded to the Brewers, where his average dipped to .206 and .208 in the next two seasons.

He became the fifth Brewer to hit for the cycle and placed second among National League catchers in fielding percentage (.999, one error in 765 total chances) in 2004. But Milwaukee designated Moeller for assignment last year after he hit .184 in 29 games.

"This whole game is humbling," he said. "If you ever think you figured something out, this game has a way of humbling you and bringing you down a level or six."

• NOTES -- The 51s made other roster moves during their recent nine-game road trip: Larry Barnes was released, Octavio Martinez was activated from the disabled list, Matt Riley was placed on the DL, and Brian Akin was promoted to Las Vegas from Double-A Jacksonville. Also, Eric Stults was promoted to Los Angeles, Delwyn Young was optioned from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, and Hull was promoted to the Dodgers and then optioned back to the 51s. ... Former Arizona and Olympic softball pitcher Jennie Finch, who is married to Tucson right-hander Casey Daigle, attended Wednesday's game at Cashman Field with the couple's 1-year-old son, Ace. Daigle (9-4, 5.95 ERA) will start for Tucson tonight against Las Vegas.