Kelly Shoppach

[CrespoBlows]

Got a question for Zenny. Do you think Shoppach will get called up at all this year? If so, when?

[Zenny]

Originally posted by CrespoBlows@Jul 7 2004, 10:57 AM

Got a question for Zenny. Do you think Shoppach will get called up at all this year? If so, when?

September call-up when the roster expands, most likely. I think they'll let him get regular work in, catching every day in Pawtucket until then. If the Sox have a comfortable lead in the WC (unlikely) he could get 2/5 of the starts in September to keep Tek fresh while Doug catches Wake.

[Zenny]

Shoppach went 1-3 with a 2B and 2 K's tonight. The entire PawSox lineup only had 5 hits (3 belonged to Henri Stanley) so the fact that Shoppach could even hit the suddenly unhittable MudHens pitching staff is great. Go ahead, folks, take a look at the OPS.

 

Season Line: .249/.339/.461/.800; .38 (31/82) BB/K ratio; 15 2B, 12 HR, 41 RBI, 39 R

[Zenny]

Tough game for Shopp and the PawSox. He went 0-4 with a K and Mark Malaska gave up the game winning homerun in the ninth inning to lose 3-2. Another night in which nobody on the PawSox could really hit.

 

How dare Shoppach not get an extra-base hit for one of the few games this month! He sucks! We need Varitek and his declining bat speed and wonderful intangibles back for $30 million dollars over the next 3 years! Trade Shoppach for Ryan Langerhans!

 

Season Line: .245/.335/.453/.788; .37 (31/83) BB/K ratio; 15 2B, 12 HR, 41 RBI, 39 R

[Tek04]

Originally posted by Zenny@Jul 8 2004, 09:57 PM

Tough game for Shopp and the PawSox. He went 0-4 with a K and Mark Malaska gave up the game winning homerun in the ninth inning to lose 3-2. Another night in which nobody on the PawSox could really hit.

 

How dare Shoppach not get an extra-base hit for one of the few games this month! He sucks! We need Varitek and his declining bat speed and wonderful intangibles back for $30 million dollars over the next 3 years! Trade Shoppach for Ryan Langerhans!

 

Season Line: .245/.335/.453/.788; .37 (31/83) BB/K ratio; 15 2B, 12 HR, 41 RBI, 39 R

geeze already giving up on Shoppach?

[Zenny]

I was just kidding.

 

By the way, Jason Varitek and his intangibles had an 0-4 with 3 K's game. Blazing bat speed he had tonight being 10 feet late on those fastballs.

[Zenny]

I'm convinced, the PawSox cannot hit anymore. Another poor offensive outing from that team and a 1-4, RBI, K night for Shoppach. Richmond has absolutely owned Pawtucket recently.

 

Season Line: .245/.333/.450/.783; .37 (31/84) BB/K ratio; 15 2B, 12 HR, 42 RBI, 39 R

[Zenny]

Shopp got the day off for the most part, but came in as a defensive replacement in the ninth and flew out to LF in his extra-innings AB.

 

Season Line: Season Line: .244/.332/.448/.780; .37 (31/84) BB/K ratio; 15 2B, 12 HR, 42 RBI, 39 R

[Zenny]

Article on Shoppach from the July 2004 edition of Boston Baseball:

 

A Hole in the Bucket?

Shoppach offer power and defense, but his whiffs are worrisome

By Mike Scandura

 

PAWTUCKET, RI- William Shakespeare couldn’t tell the difference between a curveball and a football. But if he was able to, he might have asked this about Pawtucket Red Sox catcher Kelly Shoppach:

 

“To be concerned about Shoppach’s strikeouts or not to be concerned- that is the question.”

 

The answers vary depending upon whom you ask, but the numbers have been consistent for Boston’s second-round pick in the 2001 draft. During his first two seasons, Shoppach fanned 195 times in 754 at-bats. Through games of June 24, Shoppach had struck out 74 times and was batting only .237.

 

A National League scout whose territory includes the Eastern League and the International League is concerned.

 

“Most of the pitches that I’ve seen him miss have been on the outside and breaking pitches that break toward the outside and out of the strike zone,” said the scout. “I haven’t seen him being handled so much on the inside as I have on pitches away from him. He just hasn’t been able to control that. Those are pitches that are just killing him.

 

“Every once in a while, I don’t know if he’s trying to guess, but he’ll take a called third strike. People don’t get concerned with strikeouts these days, but his strikeout numbers are extraordinary. If he was hitting about .285 with a little more juice, you probably could accept them. But he’s got to cut down on those strikeouts.”

 

At face value, the Boston Red Sox could be concerned about this aspect of Shoppach’s game, a game that includes defensive skills to die for. After all, Jason Varitek is in the last year of his contract. Any negotiations have taken place well below the radar screen (as opposed to the high-profile contract flaps involving Nomar Garciaparra and Pedro Martinez). Varitek’s agent is Scott Boras. The mere mention of his name is enough to send most general managers running to the nearest drugstore looking for a headache remedy.

 

“I think it was generally felt that if you go back about two years, and looked at Varitek’s contract duration, and if you looked at his progress, it seemed that one’s (contract) was going to end and the other guy (Shoppach) would be coming up to replace him,” said the scout. “But I think Varitek’s playing much better than what they thought. Now, you have to give real serious consideration to meeting salary demands there.

 

“Shoppach hasn’t progressed this year in Triple-A to the point where you can say he can be (Boston’s) catcher next year.”

 

PawSox manager Buddy Bailey zips his lips when asked about Shoppach’s chances of next year jumping to the major leagues. But he doesn’t jump all over Shoppach’s difficulty making contact.

 

“He’s struck out quite a bit, but he’s had so few professional at-bats that he’s still got a lot more to see,” Bailey said. “He’s still pushing 1,000 (career) at-bats. That’s two full seasons. most kids [his age] are just going to Double-A. Here he is competing at the Triple-A level, at midseason against ex-major league pitchers and a lot of guys that are on the verge of going to the big leagues.

 

“It all starts with making mental adjustments, seeing things and realizing ‘I’ve got to do this’ or ‘I’ve got to do that.’ Your mental approach becomes somewhat different, and that comes through experience as far as getting those at-bats and plate appearances.

 

“He’s going through that now whereas some guys have been doing it since rookie ball,” Bailey said. “He’s a year-and-a-half ahead of where most guys would be in their pro career as far as the number of plate appearances and pro at-bats he’s got. That’s a huge difference. It’s another 700 to 750 plate appearances.”

 

Shoppach is take an honest approach to his offensive woes.

 

“This is the first time in a while that I’ve failed offensively,” he said. “I didn’t expect to come in here and be a world-beater. But at the same time, I didn’t expect to struggle.

 

“Obviously, at Triple-A there are guys that have been in the big leagues and know how to get guys out. That’s been the toughest thing, making adjustments faster than I’ve had to in the past… making them pitch to pitch rather than at-bat to at-bat. I feel like I’m not overmatched, but the adjustments have to be made quicker. That’s what we’ve been focusing on the most.”

 

When Bailey focuses on Shoppach’s power, his eyes light up like Manny Ramirez’s do when he pounces on a hanging curveball.

 

“He’s got very good power and power to all fields,” said Bailey. “He hit one of the longest homeruns I’ve ever seen in my life at Louisville (a 460-foot blast on May 30 that was fifth-longest in Slugger Field history).

 

“(Through June 24) he has 10 homers and 36 RBI. That’s pretty good for a guy that hasn’t played much pro ball and has had minimal pro at-bats. At this rate, he’s got a chance to hit around 20-25 homers and drive in 80-90 runs, depending upon how hot he gets.”

 

Bailey doubts Shoppach will be a .300-plus hitter. Being a power hitter is more like it. In this regard, he sees Shoppach being a catcher who hits 25-30 homers and drives in around 100 runs.

 

“That’s a very productive year out of a catcher,” he said.

 

That Shoppach is productive behind the plate is beyond question, especially when it comes to throwing out basestealers. Through his first 59 games, Shoppach had thrown out 38 percent (19 of 50). That number would be higher if a few throws had not been dropped.

 

“He has a plus release, as far as transfer and release are concerned,” said Bailey. “His times to second are always good. The major league average is 2.0. He’s been in the 1.8 range, which is well above average.

 

“Defensively, he blocks the ball real well. He doesn’t run fast but he’s got quick feet which make him a good catcher.”

 

Shoppach has had to make like a sponge because his position requires him to absorb so much information.

 

“It’s been a learning process on both sides,” he said. “I feel like I’m making some great strides offensively. Defensively, it’s been a game of adjustments, too, learning how to read hitters and read pitchers and understand the situations in a game.

 

“Nothing’s been really disappointing because this is an opportunity for me to learn to play the game. As long as I’m doing that and getting better every day, I think I’m making strides as a ballplayer.”

 

In Bailey’s opinion, Shoppach has made more strides than the average fan realizes.

 

“To me, he’s learned more baseball here in two, three months than he has in previous years,” he said. “That tells me a lot of things are clicking in his head, and that he’s analyzing and evaluating. The next step is making adjustments.”

 

Adjustments could lift Kelly Shoppach to the next level – and make Jason Varitek expendable.

[Zenny]

Poor game for Shoppach who went 0-4 with 2 K's in the PawSox loss. They are now 1-7 against the Richmond Braves this season and cannot seem to score at all against that pitching staff. At least the AAA All-Star Break is coming up so they can rest, regroup and hopefully play better.

 

Shoppach's Complete 1st Half Stats: 72 G, 254 AB's, .240/.328/.441/.769; .36 (31/86) BB/K ratio; 61 H, 15 2B, 12 HR, 112 TB

 

This way, we will have a reference point to see how he does in the second half of the season.

[schillingouttheks]

seriously, i dont think we will have use for shoppach next year. the two guys we are resigning for next year, i strongly bet, are v-tek, and pedro. thats it. no nomar, and obviously not lowe. if the d-backs want young talented prospects, then they can get them from here. example: kelly shoppach. talented young kid who will make impacts later in his career. if we want randy johnson, than the d-backs are gunna look for major prospects like shoppach. and if v-tek is insured to stay...then well, trade shoppach for someone worthwhile...hint hint like randy johnson

[Zenny]

You're new so I'll fill you in as well.

 

Theo buys into the Billy Beane theory of catchers declining over 31% from ages 31 to 32. Varitek is 32 now and we are seeing that decline this season. I have noticed that his bat speed is much slower and I am no scout. So if I notice it, I'm positive Theo has noticed it. Spending $7-10 million per season on him, like Varitek is requesting, is not smart business. He will not produce seasons like his 2003 and even then he was not worth the money he's asking. Shoppach is the solution to that problem.

 

I understand you want to trade for RJ, and I'd love him here too, but he doesn't want to be here. Even if he did, the Sox have enough other talented prospects and youngsters that the Sox do not have to part with next season's starting catcher.

[schillingouttheks]

o now i get it, thanks for the fill in , but i still think mirabelli is a decent, if not better, catcher

[Ortiz34]

Are you saying Mirabelli is a better catcher than Tek? How dare you! Belli is a backup catcher, and that is all he will ever be. I believe Tek will break out in after the all star break and have a 2nd half similar to Ortiz' last year.

[schillingouttheks]

im starting to go with zenny and the billy bean theory...unfortunately for tek

[Ortiz34]

sure sure

[schillingouttheks]

ok u gimme some proof about how teks slower swing is gunna help him, id love to hear it.

[Ortiz34]

calm down man. Lets just wait till after the all star break, and then we will see who is better.

[Zenny]

Mirabelli will not be this team's starting catcher, ever. It will be Varitek to round out the year, then they will shake his hand, thank him for the years of service and let him walk off to some other dopey team to pay him $10 million dollars a year while we collect the draft picks. Varitek has two homeruns since the end of May; one came at Coors Field (we all know about that place) and the other was the luckiest homer I've ever seen (it would've been a foul ball in any other ballpark, even Tek thought it was foul). That's not a slump, that's a decline. Slumps do not last two months like that without at least something going right. I won't even bring up his sub-.700 road OPS.

 

Next season, they'll greet Shoppach with open arms and give him every opportunity to step up and make a name for himself and I think he'll flourish. He's going to have his share of strikeouts, but he's going to be lacing balls off and over the Monster for years to come.

[elsrbueno]

I seriously doubt the Red Sox are gunna part with Shoppach. If they were willing to, I think they would have in the deal for either Beltran or Garcia.

[CrespoBlows]

I agree with Zenny as well, Varitek can't seem to catch up on any pitch. He isn't worth at all what he is asking for.

[elsrbueno]

Red Sox fans:

 

We've got to have faith in a 'Tek turnaround....The team needs his bat to be like last year!

 

Although don't be too surprised if he leaves after this year

[Zenny]

OK, so I scrolled through the game logs on http://www.sportsnetwork.com and I created a database of Shoppach's AB's, H's and TB's from every game this season. I split them by month and got his BA/SLG% for each one. I didn't do OBP, because that's not a category anyone is worried about and calculating it is a pain in the ass and I'm not that motivated.

 

April- .210/.371

May- .238/.413

June- .269/.436

July- .235/.500

 

You know how everyone is waiting for him to hit in the .260-.280 range? It's coming and was already here in June. Don't fret, folks. As far as the July numbers, it's just a small sample size at this point (34 AB's) and the team mostly played the very good Richmond Braves' pitching staff. That will be up in time.

[elsrbueno]

Zenny,

With the RJ rumors swirling...I really hope the Sox keep Shoppach...

[Zenny]

I did the AB/K (1st #) and PA/BB (2nd #) for Shopp by month too:

 

April- 2.95, 13.4

May- 2.76, 12.43

June- 2.89, 5.3

July- 3.78, 35

 

We want the first number to get bigger and the second number to get smaller. Again, take the July numbers with a grain of salt, it was only 34 AB's.

[Zenny]

0-5 and Golden Sombrero (3 K's) for Shoppach. No biggie yet, it is the first game back after three days off and he probably just didn't have his timing down. I'll be pissed if he keeps it up, though.

 

Season Line: .236/.322/.432/.754; .35 (31/89) BB/K ratio; 15 2B, 12 HR, 42 RBI, 39 R

 

Damn, that OPS was at .800 like 5 games ago. That sucks.

[Zenny]

Shopp went 1-4 with a homer and K yesterday. The homer came off of Shopp's former battery mate, former Sox prospect and a key part of the Schilling deal, lefthanded Jorge de la Rosa. Shopp blasted an outside fastball the other-way to right-center. Sweet bomb.

 

Season Line: .236/.321/.441/.762; .34 (31/90) BB/K ratio; 15 2B, 13 HR, 43 RBI, 40 R

[Zenny]

Shopp had an 0-4 with a K game today. He's 1-13 since the break with a homerun and 5 K's.

 

The defense is there because he's still gunning down runners and blocking the plate extremely well from what I've heard on 790 when I get to listen to games. His inability to make consistent contract is frustrating, though. When he connects, he hits the ball wicked hard. There in lies the problem, when he connects and that hasn't been often enough at this point.

 

Something needs to click and he needs to begin to make those adjustments on curves low and away. Just don't swing at 'em. 95% of the time, they won't be called strikes.

 

Season Line: 232/.317/.434/.751; .34 (31/91) BB/K ratio; 15 2B, 13 HR, 43 RBI, 40 R

[Zenny]

Shopp went 1-4 with a 2B, RBI and K. He's struck out at least once in every game since the return from the break.

 

I am not as confident as I was on July 7th.

 

Season Line: .232/.316/.435/.751; .34 (31/92) BB/K ratio; 16 2B, 13 HR, 44 RBI, 40 R

[Zenny]

OK, here it is. Mark it down, write it up and stop the presses, because I am going to say it: Kelly Shoppach is not ready to be this team's starting catcher next season unless something drastic happens quickly. He had another 0-4 game with 2 K's against the rehabbing Kevin Brown and continues his consecutive games with a K streak. He has 6 total bases (double, homer) in 17 AB's since the Break with 7 K's. That's a .471 OPS in that stretch.

 

Season Line: .229/.312/.429/.741; .33 (31/94) BB/K ratio; 16 2B, 13 HR, 44 RBI, 40 R