8/5 vs Yankees

[moonslav59]

No. My mistake. For some reason I thought you were in the Central time zone.

 

Is there a sea in the Central Time Zone? (Some big lakes, yes.)

[Youk Of The Nation]

2 collapses out of 4 games is worse than half-bad.

 

2 out of 4 is literally half.

[Youk Of The Nation]

http://riveraveblues.com/ If you want to read.

 

I stopped reading after "Lynnsanity". Leave puns to the professionals, you miserable unfunny bastards.

[moonslav59]

2 out of 4 is literally half.

 

Literally, yes, but when a pen collapses 50% of the time, that is really bad... not half-really bad.

[greenwell]

What data? Catcher ERA? I think that is hogwash. Its the pitcher who throws the ball. How many games will Swihart win with his bat or with his legs that Leon would not? Until I hear guys state that they are "more comfortable" with one guy or the other I am going to believe that IF (big if) Swihart can maintain his production with the bat he should displace Vasquez or Leon on the playoff roster.

 

What halfway decent teammate would ever say that? It's basically saying he doesn't like throwing to other catchers on the team.

[Bellhorn04]

What halfway decent teammate would ever say that? It's basically saying he doesn't like throwing to other catchers on the team.

 

Correct.

 

Eovaldi did, however, rave about Leon's pitch-calling abilities at some length.

[Kimmi]

How often have you heard pitchers raving about Swihart behind the plate?

 

My conjecture is not pure speculation, and the data supports most pitchers do better with Leon.

 

The fact that Cora did not play Swihart behind the plate until he absolutely had to is rather telling, even when both of our other catchers were reeling offensively.

 

I don't think that's necessarily a knock on Swihart, but the confidence and trust that Cora has in the other two. That confidence and trust is being relayed to him by our pitchers.

[Kimmi]

That is a complete disregard for calling pitches, framing, blocking balls.

Pitching + defense = parades. Not catcher hitting. Just look at our last World Series to see how important catcher defense was......

 

+20

[FredLynn]

What halfway decent teammate would ever say that? It's basically saying he doesn't like throwing to other catchers on the team.

 

No pitcher is going to throw his catcher under the bus. Thats my point: we don't know what the pitchers think about Swihart's ability as a catcher, so to judge how well he is doing you have to look at the objective performance measures that are available and watch the games. That is what I have been doing. I see a catcher whose athletic ability is much better than the other two catchers on the team, a guy whose offensive upside is better, a guy whose defense has been maligned without a good reason (I see him blocking pitches in the dirt and throwing out runners)-and yet he isn't given the credit for this on this board to a large extent. IMO he is earning a place on the postseason roster with his performance if he continues to take advantage of the opportunity he has been presented with.

[Kimmi]

What if the catcher can not only play defense but can also hit and win games with his bat and speed? I am not advocating that we keep a catcher who cannot catch defensively. So far Swihart has shown the ability to play defense as well. If he falters in that regard then sure, do not include him on the roster. So far he has actually more than held his own defensively once he was given a chance to play regularly-and has won at least one game with a walk off hit.

Data? Vasquez has a dWAR through when he got hurt of -.2. Swihart has a dWAR for the year of -.1. Not much difference. But since Swihart started playing regularly about June 15 his OPS is over .800. Vasquez is under .600. Who do you want on YOUR team? Leon has a dWAR of 0.6 for the year, but his OPS is just over .600. You can argue that Leon should be the other catcher, but IF Swihart keeps playing well he has earned a spot on the postseason roster.

 

The book on Swihart is too short as of now, but you absolutely have a valid point. I prefer defensive catchers, but you have to go with the best overall catcher. If Swihart plays well enough defensively to be better overall than Vaz or Leon, than you have to go with Swihart.

 

I still really like the idea of keeping all three on the team once Vaz gets back.

[Kimmi]

And oh, I never got a chance to say Woohoo! for the 4 game sweep.

 

Let's go!

[Spudboy]

Based on like a 35 PA sample size with 65 innings caught?

 

No. Based on the idea that Swi continues to play as well as he has played recently. I think that is what he means to say.

[vegasbob]

Vazquez is not ready yet to begin a rehab stint . Figure he hasn't even swung a bat when he begins to get back in baseball shape. To me, that means he will , in effect , be a September callup. All 3 catchers will be on the Sept roster, so watch for how Cora uses them to get a better fix on his thinking. One tendency I expect when Vaz returns is that Leon will get some rest , maybe catching 2 or 3 days a week, including for Eovaldi.

 

There is a good chance that all 3 will be part of the 25 in the ALDS, as the pitching corps gets down to 12 with a 4 man bench. Hamstring injuries are tough propositions for an in season true healing. Devers and Swihart could reinjure themselves on the first play back or on Sept 30th. I thought Brock Holt was grabbing at his in the Saturday Yankee game, but apparently not.

 

Bogaerts hand, and Vazquez's finger are also a concern since hand quickness, stress and strength are critical to effective hitting.