Russell Martin was ranked 101 out of 114 MLB catchers for defense.
Not too many surprises. Yadier Molina is way up at the top with Gerald Laird at the tippy top and Mike Napoli is at the very bottom. Who could be lower than Russell Martin? Some notable names, Jorge Posada, Bengie Molina, Jason Varitek, Jason Kendall and AJ Pierzynski.
http://www.drivelinemechanics.com/2009/10/13/1082419/2009-catcher-defense-filling-in
Pitch blocking: As for the actual "catching" part of catching, the best in baseball this season was the Phillies' Carlos Ruiz, at +5.6 runs. Jason Varitek gains some of his cred back here at +5.1 runs (I wonder what it would be if he had to catch Wakefield). The Man, the Myth, the Legend, Matt Wieters may not have quite cemented his Hall of Fame credentials, but he can block a pitch decently at +3.9 runs. The players are grouped by their performance for separate teams, so I just noticed that one of my favorites, Gregg Zaun, was +2.9 for the Orioles, and +1.4 for the Rays, which puts him at +4.3, or the real number 3. Maybe Baltimore let him go to soon -- he definite brings his Z-Game when he's blocking pitches. At the bottom of the rankings, Jorge Posada, Josh Bard, and and Rob Johnson (why did he get so much playing time?) are all tied at -3.8, Russell Martin (?!) is at -5.1 (although he saw more PA than just about any other catcher on the list). And bringing up the rear... this is going to be a shock, prepare yourself... Miguel Olivo, at -7.8. Think about that -- it's only -0.28 runs per WP/PB. Sure, he's "only" -2.7 runs worse thatn Martin, but Martin saw almost 1400 more PA than Olivo this season. This shows we're on the right track, as Brian Cartwright's WOWY studydone previous to this season showed Olivo to be historically terrible at blocking the plate. Another great job of scouting by Dayton Moore and the Process Servers.
and also,
Fielding errors: Jason Kendall justifies his major league status with a +1.0 here, as does Russell Martin. Rod Barajas shows he's Joe Mauer's equal, as they both have +0.8. Mike Napoli is -1.6, the traitorous Paul Bako is at -2.0, and Brian McCann, who's decent at everything else, has an anomalous -3.6.
3 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
although [Russell Martin] saw more PA than just about any other catcher on the list
This has got to decrease in 2010.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
No kidding.
Also I seem to remember Hiroki had 5 wild pitches in 117 innings, and Kershaw had 11 (!). Hopefully with Kuroda being healthy and Kershaw being a year older those numbers will plummet.
by Seanny Rotten on Nov 22, 2009 9:14 AM PST up reply actions
Heh
I didn’t remember that, I looked it up. hahaha
by Seanny Rotten on Nov 22, 2009 9:15 AM PST up reply actions

by 














