Boston and catchers in 2011.

by Buzzy on Jul 5, 2011 2:04 PM EDT

One of the biggest concerns we all had coming into this season was at catcher. Having made a half-hearted attempt at Russell Martin in the off-season, the Sox seemed content to trust the catching role to some linear combination of Saltalamacchia and Varitek. Seemed very risky (to put it mildly) and after the first 3 weeks of the season, when the offensive production the Sox were getting from the catcher position was the worst in the league (by a fair bit) these concerns seemed well founded. Lately, there has not been too much discussion of Salty/Tek in a negative way (a good sign). How does the tandem stack up at the half-way point?

Offensively, you might be suprised to know that the Sox have the second best production from the catcher spot in the AL. Here are the top 5 teams:

Tigers (wOBA: 0.377 wRC+:138)

Red Sox(0.335, 107)

Rangers(0.323,99)

Jays(0.322,102)

Indians(0.318,100)

Rather amazingly, the Sox are the second best offensive team in the AL at the position. The Tigers, with Avila's amazing season, are a clear first. The Sox, after a fall off from the #1 spot, are a clear #2 in terms of wRC+ (only 4 teams have production from the position which ranks higher than or equal to position-neutral average).

Defensively no one would be surprised that the Sox are worse at C then they are offensively. However by WAR (something that should be taken with a grain of salt [no pun intended] for catchers), the Sox rank 4th overall, a shade behind the number 2 Indians (2.3 to 1.9). It is fair to assume that while the Sox catcher defense is weak, it is not a disaster and that in fact the Sox catchers have been about as valuable as any in the AL save the Tigers. Remarkable. Given some good fortune down the road (Salty continuing to develope, Lavarnway learning how to play D and Swihart signing) the Sox could go from a team with a paucity of catching talent to a team with a bright future at the position.

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I'm gonna rec this

solely on the fact that you used the word, “paucity”.

by ritz on Jul 5, 2011 2:39 PM EDT reply actions

Interesting.....

by CoachBeckyWittenburg on Jul 5, 2011 3:06 PM EDT reply actions

I would assume that a team with Tim Wakefield as a starting pitcher...

…is behind the 8-ball from the beginning when it comes to catcher-defense metrics. No?

More stolen bases, more passed balls, etc.

by cds7c on Jul 5, 2011 3:13 PM EDT reply actions

and with Tito as manager

who doesn’t like to hold runnners

by BobZupcic on Jul 5, 2011 4:32 PM EDT up reply actions

I will admit that I was firmly in the "irrationally skeptical" camp with Salty

but I have to admit that I have been really happy with his performance so far. Good show.

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by Bloggy on Jul 5, 2011 3:48 PM EDT reply actions

It wasn't irrational

at all-you were right to be skeptical. In fact it is still unclear to me how this experiment ends up but the results so far are good.

by Buzzy on Jul 5, 2011 4:00 PM EDT up reply actions

salty seems okay for right now

OTM's biggest Clutch Carl fan.

by gizmosandy on Jul 5, 2011 6:23 PM EDT reply actions

Keep in mind

Catcher defense in fWAR is based only on throwing out runners and is not meant to get an idea of a catcher’s total defense but only their ability to throw out runners. Therefore, in your last paragraph, it would be more prudent to talk about the Sox’ ability to throw out runners, not their catching defense in general. Unfortunately, evaluating catcher defense is completely subjective at this time.

Hi ho, Duke!

by The Duke of Silver on Jul 5, 2011 6:45 PM EDT reply actions

That means

That Salty & Tek are actually better than most in throwing out runners. Wow! And they appear to be improving. Let’s face it, If Salty can catch Wake effectively he has good hands. He’s over the yips. He has broken through the negativity that followed him like a dark cloud in April and has confidence. His hits are often timely. Theo and his crew were right about him. Tek’s a good mentor and Salty’s a good learner. Is he 26 yet, an age when many catchers finally break out of AAA? Portent: even the mainstream media now call him Salty.

by GerryT on Jul 6, 2011 12:47 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

I remember early dixcussions

hoping for league average defense and offense. It’s clear our wishes were granted in spades. They are better than average, promise 20HR, lots of doubles, and allow Tito to use their switch hitting to lengthen the lineup. All at a price ($3M) that allows Theo to pay Gonzo and CC. We got lucky. Good article.

by GerryT on Jul 6, 2011 12:56 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

No

they are below average here. The entire difference in WAR at the position between the Tribe and the Sox comes from this. Duke’s point is that the defensive component of WAR for catchers is runs saved from caught stealing. Thus, the WAR may well be an underrepresentation of the worth of Tek/Salty-yet they are still high up on the list.

by Buzzy on Jul 6, 2011 1:14 PM EDT up reply actions

This.

Hi ho, Duke!

by The Duke of Silver on Jul 6, 2011 3:09 PM EDT up reply actions

yeah, its so freakin' hard to get a real grasp of catcher defensive value

everything from pitch framing, to throwing out runners, to fielding dribblers and pop-ups to ahem blocking the plate with a leg made of oak tree.

Heck – little things like, sure a passed ball or wild-pitch got by you – how fast did you get to it in order to keep runners from advancing?

We all know that catcher defense is valuable. The problem is how to valuate it! Each thinks a different subset of all these things is more important than the set somebody else thinks is more important!

NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.

by mmmmm on Jul 7, 2011 1:23 PM EDT up reply actions

That's not a portent. It's a coping mechanism.

Nobody wants to have to write out Saltalamacchia all the time.

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by lone1c on Jul 8, 2011 8:48 AM EDT up reply actions

I have to admit... this isn't the black hole of suck I thought it was in April.

I, for one, am pleasantly surprised that we don’t find ourselves screaming at Salty every start (the way we were a certain Mike Cameron’s exploits in the outfield towards the end).

While maybe they aren’t the tandem at the top of the list that these limited numbers suggest, they certainly aren’t the worst pair of catchers in the game either. Perfectly serviceable, in my opinion.

I’m shocked I can say that…

by AlohaSox on Jul 7, 2011 3:15 AM EDT reply actions

Indeed

Thankfully, the Catcher position is not my biggest concern right now with this team. For me, personally, it is starting pitching health & depth. I could handle Dice-K’s injury, but when Wake & Miller become our 2nd and 3rd best starters (IMO) that are healthy, I worry.

by The Name is Dalton on Jul 8, 2011 8:51 AM EDT reply actions

You guys still want Russell Martin?

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by Lord Duggan on Jul 9, 2011 11:33 PM EDT reply actions

I wanted Martin

but I am happy with the way things have worked out. I also have the sense that Martin is grinding down. A good thing about the Sox split is that over the last several years Varitek has shown offensive flashes in the first half before becoming completely useless. By using him only 40% of the time, his corpse-like transformation is delayed. The Sox catching tandem is pretty bad defensively, but if they can continue to be above average offensively I would say the gamble paid off. How bad has Martin’s D been (I have heard complaints from Yankee fans)?

by Buzzy on Jul 10, 2011 8:12 AM EDT up reply actions

You're 100% right

Russell Martin has absolutely worn down as the season has gone on. He is continually playing through injury, day games after night games, etc. He got off to a great start, as he has plenty of times before in his career, but the nagging injuries and grind of being an everyday catcher has really sapped him of his productivity, to the point where since May 1, he has been playing below replacement level.

Why he hasn’t been splitting time 40/60, 50/50, or 60/40 with Jesus Montero is completely beyond me.

Per his defense, he has strengths and weaknesses. He’s quick and agile behind the plate and definitely has the ability to throw runners out, but he has been a little hesitant to go down and block balls in the dirt. I would guess that it is because of his injuries, but he often tries to short-hop or glove balls in the dirt instead of blocking them with his chest, and definitely gets burned doing that from time to time. He has made some errant throws, probably more than he should have, but I think that throwing is probably one of the stronger aspects of his defense. The pitchers all say good things about pitching to him and his game-calling, but I tend to always take that with a grain of salt.

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by Lord Duggan on Jul 10, 2011 3:33 PM EDT up reply actions

What is up with Montero's power this year?

He has a high BABIP but a dramatically lower ISO. Just power-unlucky in a small sample?

by Buzzy on Jul 10, 2011 7:05 PM EDT up reply actions

I follow just about every one of his games

and I’ve seen a ton of doubles off the wall and deep flyouts. He did something very similar last season, where he hit the vast majority of his home runs in the second half. At this point last season he had 7 home runs, just like this season, so I’m not too worried about it. When the weather heats up and the ball starts carrying better, I expect him to really start putting them over the fence.

Oppo bomb off of Scott Atchison :P

(I didn’t mean to hijack your thread into Yankees discussion. Arrogant, self-centered MFY)

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by Lord Duggan on Jul 11, 2011 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions

Nah that's cool. This thread is kind of dead already...

With an ISO of 0.128 doesnt seem like he is hitting anything but singles (only 19 total extra base hits) but I guess 298 PAs is a little low to be worring about it. Is there news about his maturation behind the plate (or lack of it)?

by Buzzy on Jul 11, 2011 2:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Just watched the link.

He has a very amusing home run trot!

by Buzzy on Jul 11, 2011 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions

I've thought for a while that he can stick behind the plate

even if he only plays at Posada-levels. Every scouting report that I have heard has been positive or improved. I don’t think that he’s ever going to be great back there, but after watching him in Spring Training and reading a bunch about him, I’m not too worried, especially if he’s only catching part time.

My guess is that while Teixeira is locking down 1B and A-Rod and Jeter need more and more DH time, Montero will play almost exclusively behind the plate, which, while he’s in his early 20s, I don’t see being too much of an issue. If the Yankees can avoid extending those guys into their 50s, however, I do see a transition to C/1B/DH a la Carlos Santana or what the Twins may do with Mauer.

His greatest value right now is sticking behind the plate and I think that’s what the Yankees will do, but I think he will eventually move to keep him healthy and in the lineup every day and to get a Gary Sanchez or an Austin Romine some time.

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by Lord Duggan on Jul 11, 2011 3:20 PM EDT up reply actions