Is Rod Barajas a Better Option than Molina Was?

According to Matt Cerrone of Metsblog.com, it seems as though the Mets are still interested in signing Rod Barajas.  In his post Cerrone throws out the idea of the Mets getting him on a one-year $3million deal, and also says the Mets have been in touch with Barajas all offseason but talks haven't really been "substantive" until now.

Here's my beef with this one, the people who want Barajas and were pissed about Molina being discussed.  Here's why...

1) Rod Barajas is a horrendous OBP guy.  Last season he got on at a staggering clip of .258.  That's .007 less than Bengie Molina's batting average.  Now, I'm not big on OBP, but where are those people who were killing Molina for his .298 OBP, now?  Barajas has a career OBP of .284, and that includes 2007 where his OBP was .352.  Molina on the otherhand has a career OBP of .308, not great but better than Barajas'.

2) Rod Barajas is bigger than Molina.  Ok, now I'm not sure on how up to date these numbers are but BOTH espn.com (here and here), and baseballreference.com (here and here) list Barajas as heavier than Molina (granted he is taller).  ESPN.com has Molina listed as 25 pounds lighter, while Baseballreference has him listed as 19 pounds lighter, so let's say neither has the weight exact, but the general difference is at least 10-15 pounds.  I know that doesn't necessary mean slower but I'm sure Barajas is no speed demon.  So, the argument that Molina would have clogged the bases, probably should still apply to Barajas, right?

3) Barajas (34) is one year younger than Molina (35), that's it.  So, if the Mets DO end up signing Barajas it sure-as-hell better be a one year deal, because then the two year deal for an old catcher argument should be brought up again.

4) Molina has just as much power at the plate as Barajas, if not more.  Molina's career slugging is .418, while Barajas' is .408.  Beyond that, Molina has hit 14 homers or more in 7 of his 12 major league seasons, and hit double digit homers in 8 of 12.  Barajas, however, has only hit 14 homers or more in 3 of his 11 major league seasons, and his career high was 21 in 2005 (Molina's career high was 20 last season).

Overall, if you're comparing Barajas and Molina, offensively, it definitely falls in favor of Molina.  Defensively, I'll plead ignorance and go with the idea that Barajas is a superior defensive catcher to Molina, but regardless, the guy will still be slotted in the line-up.  I guess, what I'm trying to say here, is that I don't understand how fans can be so supportive of a potential Barajas signing, and were so down on a Molina signing, when offensively speaking, Molina seemed like a better choice.

HOWEVER, AT THIS POINT MOLINA IS GONE...SO....

I'm ok with Barajas, because at the end of the day, I think he'll be better than Santos.  Barajas is probably a defensive upgrade over Santos, and definitely is capable of hitting for more power than Omir.  Also, I consider Barajas a major league player, where Santos still strikes me as a Quad-A type guy.  But if the Mets sign Barajas for more than a one-year deal, I think there would be a reason for legitimate anger among the fanbase, because Molina for two would PROBABLY have been a better idea, based on the above arguments.  If Barajas comes on a one-year, I guess I'm ok with that...