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1. Phil Coorey. Posted: April 28, 2011 at 02:17 AM (#3811483)Of course the cross up could have been his fault.
Right now Varitek seems to be the best option. Studies be damned right now the pitchers are doing a much better job with him behind the plate, may as well get something out of this mess. I wouldn't hate giving McKenry a look. My guess is there isn't much there but really, how much worse than .143 with negative defense can he be?
More useful solutions...Bengie Molina? Ivan Rodriguez? I think there is a reasonable chance that any solution won't be a significant upgrade. I heard Chris Snyder's name mentioned today but Robothal says the Pirates are asking a lot.
Might the Angels finally be ready to give up on Jeff Mathis? He sucks but he sucks with tolerable defense and maybe you get lucky and he gets a little pop from the Monster and hits 10-12 homers.
I'm setting my sights low here because I think that's the only option. Teams just don't give up on good catchers.
What's McHendry like? Something has to be done, these ####### idiots can't even catch a fastball and Salty gets up every time from the crouch like he has just taken a hit from a bong. He has no idea where the ####### ball is.
How many more games are they going to throw away till something gets done?
Salty is toast - Tek should not be allowed to play more than two times a week , pretty simple really.
That bunt tonight by Andino was about 6 feet in front of Varitek. He made no play for it and made Youk come in for it, when he obviously had no shot at throwing Andino out after coming in that far for it.
I have a slightly bigger tolerance for Saltalamacchia's #### ups because the guy is clearly a work in progress, as opposed to Varitek who is simply too far in decline to play in MLB. If the FO and coaching staff think that they can make Salty into a useful player, then I'll give them some slack. But no one is turning back the clock on Varitek; he's done. So at least get us one catcher who can throw.
It still amazes me that none of Taylor Teagarden, Max Ramirez, or Saltalamacchia have thus far turned out to be even a slightly below-average ML catcher.
It seems like just yesterday the Rangers were blessed with three blue-chip can't-miss catching prospects.
THE YANKEES ARE DOOOOMED!
Plus, Mathis is going to outhit Kevin Cash and at least half of all NL pitchers.
All in all, though, they were worth a thousand times more than Mirabelli. The problem was that the Red Sox panicked and traded for someone bad. If they had traded for someone good, it'd have been no big deal.
The Red Sox have run sort of a clinic in recent years on how to have good catchers (and SS) pass through your system without actually helping your team. There was Shoppach in 05, Bard in 06, and Ross in 08. That may not compare to the Renteria-Hanley scenario, but it's impressive.
He called for a FB and Bard threw a breaking pitch. Crossed up.
Of course, Tek has no business catching as much as he has been since physically he won't be able to handle it for long. His value seems to be in getting Beckett and Daisuke pitching decent games again, even if thats all in these pitchers heads.
Looks like sink or swim with Salty, or give up some top prospects for a real catcher after the june draft.
Depends what you mean by "a lot". We'd like actual talent back in return, not just salary relief. You willing to give up an actual prospect to fix this catching problem of yours?
Depends on what you mean by "actual prospect."
Rosenthal's words, not mine. I don't know what he meant by "a lot."
I like Snyder and think he's the type of guy the Sox should be targeting. I just don't want to see the Sox overpay 2006 style for a guy who profiles fairly similarly to Mirabelli.
Looking him up though and it's interesting (to me at least) that the Sox originally acquired Mirabelli when he was the same age as Snyder and for all the snark Dougie was very good for four years.
Ultimately my thing is, as much as I hated going into the year with Saltalamacchia, the Sox obviously saw something that made them think he was ready for prime time. A month of poor play is hardly the time to pull the plug on a still young player.
Let's take this out of the theoretical. What would you offer for him, if you were in the big chair?
MLB Ready - Michael Bowden - RHP - Profiles as a good middle reliever, still just 24 years old. Not great stuff but generally good control and keeps the ball down.
or
Lottery Ticket Type - Derrik Gibson - 2B - High draft pick, hasn't hit much but very good speed and glove. Could improve and become a Luis Castillo type but could bust.
Not really interested in Bowden. Not knowledgable enough about Gibson to make a call there, though the numbers would have me leaning toward a no on him as well.
Would you do it for Gibson if I agreed to have someone shuffle Jim Tracy loose from this mortal coil?
Oh, jeez, I dunno. Will Middlebrooks, maybe, or Oscar Tejeda, or Jeremy Hazelbaker?
(heh-Dee Snyder?)
Seriously, if the Pirates are thinking that type of player (and from my perspective they are all in a reasonable area code with Bowden/Gibson) a deal could get done pretty easily I would think. Rosenthal's piece suggested that the Pirates were thinknig a step up to a bit more certainty in the prospect they got back.
Theres a reason Salty was free.
And pardon me for bringing this up, but I am sick and tired of ANYTHING REMOTELY POSITIVE that Salty does gets highlighted by NESN. It started in the beginning of the season. He got an RBI seeing eye single after starting 1 for 38 or something....NESN plays the highlight for a week. I remember getting shown a highlight of him lining out to center. He sure looks like he's coming around now. Oh boy, just wait until he heats up.
Maybe I'm too cynical, but I dont like being spoon fed reasons to like a guy who was so clearly a mistake. I cant recall someone getting that kind of a treatment before. If you guys dont believe me, start paying attention. The mfer hasnt done much to cause celebration, but when he does, just wait for NESN to roll out the hero music.
The guy belongs in AAA.
At this point, Varitek is a bench coach.
This is a situation that needed addressing this offseason, and it needs addressing even more so now.
Now I didn't buy into Saltalamacchia but I think there were reasons to think he woud be a reasonable backstop.
You're talking about the automotive service, right?
It's possible that they're looking for more than that. There hasn't really been any word on the ground here at all, as far as what they want. All the coverage to date on Snyder has been national, which suggests to me that there haven't been any really serious contacts with interested teams yet.
It's also possible that they're trying to deflect inquiries about Snyder onto Doumit (who has, in fairness, also played pretty well this year - even on D).
Bowden wasn't all that far off on value, I don't think. He's just not a good fit for the organization's needs right now, since we've got a whole gaggle of AA/AAA pitchers who are going to be up by the roster expansion (Lincoln, Owens, Morris, Locke, etc.)
Seems pretty good to me, from what I've seen. Moves fairly well behind the plate, and has a 30% career CS rate (33% so far this year). He does have a history of back problems, which might cut into his defensive value if they flare up again, but at this point I have no reason to expect that they will.
Varitek hasnt hit like an acceptable backup for years. His OPS last year was driven by flukyish spattering of HRs early in the year.
That said, Varitek is ok as a backup if your full time catcher is Victor Martinez and he only ends up with 150 ABs.
I'm not trying to have an "I told you so" moment, but I looked at the projections from MCoA and I laughed. Salty is not a major league hitter. It was wishcasting to think otherwise.
Furthermore, while I'm in angry old scout with a grudge mode, Okajima is no longer a capable major league reliever. I buried him last year, and I dont think there was any reason to dig up those bones. Praying that he'll return to what he was is going to be exactly like the Mike Timlin sunset. He may not have many high leverage innings while we figure this out, but theres no effin reason to have him on the big club.
On Salty, I dunno. His projections were what they were and amateur scouting is usually more harm than good. What surprises me is that he looks pretty poor on defense. I could see the Sox missing on his offense, but I would think they'd have been able to tell if he was going to be bad defensively.
No we get to worry about what's wrong with Beckett and Yooks. And whether we ought to lead
Bobby J. by the weird beard out behind the shed and put him out of his misery.
2-5 in one runs games now.
there were two parts here. the first was that he had some sort of injury that turned him into the catching version of chuck knoblauch meets keith olbermann's mom. apparently he couldn't get it within 10 feet of the target or something absurd like that. the red sox were convinced that this was fixable. however, the epic meltdown defense hid the ordinary terrible defense--although, like you say, it shouldn't have.
what salty shows us is that when you're big (he's 6'4"), you can't be a relatively ordinary athlete. it just takes too long for him to uncoil and get off a throw and he's not quick enough to get down on the ball. there are a few exceptions--joe mauer of course, but sandy alomar jr also comes to mind--but they are/were great athletes ... exceptions that prove the rule so to speak.
1-3 with a BB
aught-seveners, mount up! The winning surge starts now! Beating the unbeaten is the sign...
Just out of curiosity, what do yo think an acceptable back up C hits?
It doesn't usually make sense to not pitch your closer on the road in the 9th or 10th of a tie game even if you are the staunchest proponent of the "proven closer" dogma. If you need the guy with the right mentality to pitch when the game is on the line, then use him when the game is on the line - and there is no more 'game on the line' situation than when a single run by the opponent will instantly lose the game.
That's twice in the past week where Papelbon has been up loosening late in close games, but another pitcher was brought in who gives up runs. They lost both games. It will be great tonight when Papelbon pitches tonight in a 9-4 game to give him some work.
I think the move Tito made that deserves criticism is pinch running for Lowrie in the 8th. In the 9th I would have done it and I liked the move Monday night but to do it in the 8th when there was a fairly decent chance that that spot would bat again was a mistake I thought.
I think because Papelbon was up and was presumably ready, it was a no-brainer to pitch him in the 9th. After he doesn't come in, I understand sending Albers back out for the 10th.
I admit that there definitely are situations in which you don't use your closer in the 9th.
Scutaro + cash + mid-level prospect to Cincinnati for:
Ramon Hernandez + someone who can be a utility infielder?
Doesn't this almost make too much sense for both teams not to happen? Both teams get a short term fix where they need it. The Reds get Scutaro, who's solid both ways, instead of the good field, no hit, Paul Janish. The Sox get a solid starting catcher who's currently only starting for the Reds because Hanigan's hurt. Devin Mesoraco is killing the ball at AAA in the Reds organization. Hanging on to Hernandez doesn't make much sense for them, unless they think he's the piece they need to win a championship this year.
Player B: 227/299/367, 88 OPS+
That's Jarrod Saltalamacchia (A) and the league average for catchers hitting in 2011 (B).
by the way, I sent you an email about the Tito post. No rush, just wanted to confirm you received it?
Also, Hanigan isn't hurt.
Other than that, you nailed that one ;)
??? My perception has always been that Salty wasn't going to be able to catch in the MLB- the Braves didn't think so, and the expectation after the trade to Texas was that his future was 1B...
Well he was never switched, his bat has obviously stalled- although his bat is perfectly acceptable for a back up C- the problem coming in was that he couldn't catch and he can't catch and he's 26
define acceptable, and after you do that, there's still the question of Dee. Salty has a career PS+ of 83, Napoli is at 52...
I'd take Salty over Mathis- but it's a close call
seriously, ignoring defense and pitcher handling- looking at 2008-2010- top 180 catchers (2 per team) by OPS+- #90 has an OPS+ of 85. So in my mind 85 is the line- a catcher hits under 85 and he's NOT an acceptable STARTING catcher- (hitting 85 may make him an "acceptable" starter- but certainly not a good one- he'd still be someone I'd want to replace)
the "back ups"? The median is 67- that's where I'd peg acceptable for a back up (average glove) (also 67 is where catcher #60 on a multi-year basis tends to hit) - Tek is at 77 2008-2011. (2008-2011- Catcher number 45- the median backup hit 83)
Salty's thrown out 10 of 41 attempted base-stealers in 27 games. The problem isn't the rate of success - 75% isn't that far above break-even - it's the overall rate. Everyone thinks that Salty can't throw them out, and he's not doing enough to change their minds.
So, the needle I'm trying to thread here is this - I don't think it was crazy of Red Sox fans to hope that Salty should be an ok catcher. He'd been a catcher for years, and the Red Sox front office committed to Salty as a catcher. The usage of Saltalamacchia in Atlanta was pretty well ancient history by the time the Sox picked him up. However, it appears that the Braves may well have been right - shocking that, Bobby Cox making a correct player evaluation - as Saltalamacchia looks to be a defensive liability for the Red Sox.
But as long as he's throwing them out at a break-even rate, who cares if they steal 25 or 250 bases? They may think they can run on him, but they can't (effectively).
Overall, it's hard to conclude from the data we have that Salty's defense is unacceptable. It might be, and I'm worried about how slow his time from receiving to releasing looks, but the data is inconclusive.
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