Comments on: ALDS Game One Preview: Unhappy about Napoli

By: ineedanap

ineedanap — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 08:44:29 +0000

“Using those lineups as a guide, here’s a probable lineup for tonight’s game”

Why would you use those lineups as a guide when the lineup was announced days before the game?

By: Justin R.

Justin R. — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:48:44 +0000

Jeff Mathis is at 4 Defensive Runs Saved this year. Mike Napoli is at -7.

Mathis is the far superior defensive catcher but Napoli is far better at the plate. They, basically, even out.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:10:42 +0000

I wonder though (and this is complete speculation), if Napoli didn’t tire out from the increased playing time this year. He played more than he ever has before, so Scioscia did recognize Napoli’s value. But last September, Napoli hit his stride and started crushing the ball when he got regular playing time. This September (and even some of August) he was terrible, striking out a ton, not walking as much, and seeing his batting average drop by 30+ points.

Maybe that was just him reverting to career norms, but it might also have had to do with tiring out.

By: Judy

Judy — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:31:41 +0000

Well, this is sort of becoming the issue of the moment, as Girardi has decided to have Molina catch Burnett, while Franconca has chosen Victor Martinez to catch Beckett, even though it’s believed(assumed? guessed? imagined?) he would prefer Varitek.

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:29:01 +0000

so Lackey and his personal catcher throws a shutout…

of course, we have no idea if he’d have done just as well with Napoli or not, but i also don’t understand why, after spending the last few years trying so hard to quantify defense, this part of it has been thrown out the window by the SABR crowd in the last week.

is it b/c we don’t have the numbers for catcher’s defense? because if we did, isn’t it possible that there exists a breakeven point where better d/worse o and worse d/better o crossover? same as for, say, a LFer??

yet all i’ve read about the last week, re: Posada/Napoli is their offensive superiority. yes, we know this.

why are we all of a sudden completely dismissing the effect a catcher might have on a pitcher’s performance? b/c there is no stat for it?

By: JCA

JCA — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:17:27 +0000

“*One bizarre thing: Napoli has registered an assist on only 13 of the 21 caught-stealings that’ve occurred while he’s been catching. Which, that means his CS numbers aren’t as good, but also that a lot of guys are getting picked-off for some reason that probably has to do with the pitcher”

Not sure if the numbers back this up, but if Scioscia thinks Napoli is a worse throwing catcher than Mathis, wouldn’t it make sense that he’d team Napoli up with pitchers who are better picking guys off and controlling base stealers themselves and let Mathis catch pitchers who are less able at that skill? Who knows, maybe he’s thinking he can bait guys into trying to run whenhe starts Napoli. And by “make sense,” all I mean is maybe this is what he’s thinking, not that he’s struck the right balance based on run scoring v run prevention.

By: Jason461

Jason461 — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:30:04 +0000

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By: Bill

Bill — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:26:08 +0000

Yes, but where else can you find some of the information you get here (for free)? If I had a choice between an ad and a subscription fee, I’d choose ads everytime. Try Baseball Prospecticus. They charge a fee so I doubt they have ads.

By: Alireza

Alireza — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:52:27 +0000

I don’t think Napoli is nearly as bad a defensive player as to justify playing Mathis over him. Perhaps let Mathis caddy part time for Lackey and full time for Santana, but nothing else. Then again, Napoli is also prone to being extremely streaky at the plate, so Scioscia may well factor that into the equation.

By: Kevin S.

Kevin S. — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:29:09 +0000

Someone (I think K-Law) speculated the same thing about Girardi – since he was basically an all-defense catcher, he would overly value the all-defense Molina.