Sullivan: Jose Molina Takes Jesus Montero To School

Pretty [Mike] Fast turnaround for those animated pitch-framing GIFs!

... Overnight, Jose Molina went from being a nothing to being a something, and you have to figure that the Rays had Molina’s framing in mind when they signed him to a free-agent contract last offseason. Molina is 37 years old. He’s on pace for the second-highest plate-appearance total of his career, and his previous high came in a season in which Jorge Posada got injured.

Thanks to Fast’s research, we pay more attention to good pitch-framing, and more attention to Jose Molina. We also pay more attention to bad pitch-framing, as we try to round out our evaluations of starting and backup catchers. Last night, the Mariners batted against the Rays, which means the Mariners kind of batted against Jose Molina. Starting behind the plate for the Mariners was Jesus Montero, whose defensive reputation is far from stellar. It just so happened that there were a few pitches where framing might’ve made all the difference.