Nick Cafardo On Mike Napoli

From his Sunday morning column (h/t Adam):

Mike Napoli, C/1B, Rangers - Napoli feels far more relaxed being out from under the thumb of Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who is tough on his catchers. Napoli was hitting .296 with 18 homers, 44 RBIs, and a 1.011 OPS entering yesterday. He has the lowest ERA (2.37) among active catchers with at least 250 innings. “I always felt like I was looking over my shoulder to see if I was doing things right,’’ Napoli said of his time with the Angels. “I had ‘bad hands.’ I was so worried about my setup and the mechanics all the time. I learned a lot. I learned a lot of what I do there, but playing there just wasn’t much fun.’’

Now, of course, catcher's ERA isn't a good statistic, so I'm more inclined to disregard that part of the conversation, but it is awesome to finally have some details divulged about why Napoli was regarded as such a defensive disaster in Anaheim (and apparently not liked by the Angels' pitching staff), and why he seems to have improved significantly out in Texas.