I'm not dead yet.
about 1 year ago
Sky Kalkman
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a bit early
for that claim no? didn’t he start a epic suck in the middle of the season last year?
A good example of why not to be stubborn
I get why the Red Sox signed him. He’s the “heart and soul” of that team. The fans love him. He’s a folk hero. He’s also a backup catcher waiting to happen.
http://statspeak.net
This year? Immediately?
In simplistic catcher defense metrics, he comes out above average. His AVG sucks, meaning his OBP will be below average, but not Jose Molina territory, and while 2008 was bad in the power department, are there specific scouting pieces of information that convince us a Marcel projection (with aging) isn’t a good assumption? Good defensive catchers don’t have to hit all that well to deserve starting jobs.
Beyond the Boxscore // Calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy.
is he a good defensive catcher?
seems like more guys are running on him. or maybe their pitchers.
White Sox Minor League Updates: http://twitter.com/SouthSidelarry
Sean has him at 0, +6, and +3 runs the past three years. www.baseballprojection.com
Brian Cartwright has him projected at +1.5 over a full season at fangraphs. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/more-on-catchers-fieldingwppb/
Beyond the Boxscore // Calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy.
weird, I just looked up that stuff today for another reason
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on May 17, 2009 9:09 PM EDT up reply actions
right.
it’s mid-may. what’s he doing now? i see the CS% is down some and more guys are running.
White Sox Minor League Updates: http://twitter.com/SouthSidelarry
Willie Bloomquist, Craig Counsel, and Jose Guillen also have OBPs over .400 at the moment
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on May 17, 2009 9:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Just what are you implying about Craig Counsell?
"I didn't realize his velocity was that high," said Macha, noting that radar readings aren't flashed during exhibition games.
What do you think his OBP will be in September?
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on May 18, 2009 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions
There's more to catcher's defense than throwing.
Controlling bad pitches, getting to short grounders, etc. – most of which isn’t easily measurable in stats available now.
certainly.
so how about we then focus on things that are rather easily observable, such as how teams are now making the tactical decision to attempt to steal at a rate of about 1.6 attempts per game when varitek is behind the plate? this is quite a bit higher than the rate in recent years against him and i find it unlikely – though not inconceivable – that random variance caused by craig counsell’s OBP is what is causing teams to run more when varitek is behind the plate.
White Sox Minor League Updates: http://twitter.com/SouthSidelarry
by larry on May 18, 2009 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
hee hee
tremendous last line, rec’d
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on May 18, 2009 1:58 PM EDT up reply actions
Could also be the pitchers' fault.
They have to get the ball to Tek fast enough for him to have a chance – Penny was taking forever the day that Crawford was tearing up the basepaths.
that was one of the things i pointed out above.
i think i’ve seen one red sox game all year and i certainly wasn’t watching varitek or how fast the pitchers were getting to the plate (or would be able to compare to previous years). i figure with the heavy AL east presence on here someone might know.
White Sox Minor League Updates: http://twitter.com/SouthSidelarry
What has the SB+CS / G rate been for Varitek in prior years? What's a league-average rate?
What’s that rate for teams the Sox have played so far? What’s it look like when other Sox have caught? What’s it like for Sox starters with and without Varitek behind the plate.
I’m not asking Larry to answer all those, just thinking out loud as to what questions we want answers to to put it all in context.
Beyond the Boxscore // Calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy.
thank you for breaking out the implicit questions in my query.
and, to answer your first question, the last few years for varitek it’s been about .60-.65 or so (iirc from last night).
White Sox Minor League Updates: http://twitter.com/SouthSidelarry
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