why I love Paul LoDuca, and you should too

1. he's a clubhouse guy, the kind of guy who helps make a bunch of ballplayers into a team. he didn't play on Wednesday, and during the top of the first, I watched him in the dugout, pouring from the Gatorade tub and then putting the cups on top of the tub. he stopped and went to chat with John Maine when he'd laid out 9 cups of Gatorade-- one for each of the guys on the field, when they came back to the dugout. he's the starting catcher in a dugout-- he doesn't do it to earn points, he does it because he's just a good guy.

2. he loves his mom. he talks a lot about the things she did to help him develop as a baseball player (like throw pinto beans at him to help him hone is batting eye), which I love because it's about a baseball mom, a role in which I can see myself. Paulie's mom died 11 years ago of cancer, and never got to see him play in the big leagues. before each game he catches he draws her initials in the sand, looks to the sky and says "I love you."

3. he loves his dad, now a restaurateur in Sedona, Arizona. Howie Rose talked on the radio last night about how he's really proud of his dad, introduces him around when he comes to a game with excitement. Paul's dad was also on the field with him and others during the post-clinch celebration at Shea last year, celebrating with his son, which could only have happened if Paul wanted him there.

4. he's a catcher, a good one, and catchers are the hardest working men in baseball. he's a master of the pitcher-calming chat on the mound, always seeming to know when the pitcher needs a little vocal encouragement from their catcher.

5. his batting music is "Staying Alive" by the Bee-Gees.

6. he was born in Brooklyn.