Sentence:  Hank Foiles , backed up by Frank House who will be within calling distance in the minors , make up better second line catching than the Birds had all last year , but Gus <WSD>is</WSD> still that big man you need when you start talking pennant . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)