Thinking Outside The (Batter's) Box

by BacktimeTV on Apr 28, 2009 4:15 PM EDT

In a tough game, in a rough series, there's just one guy who can crack a smile out of the Majors' tighest skipper.

Let's flash back to the 1996 season. The Yankees didn't start winning championships until they replaced bona fide slugging catcher Mike Stanley with the less productive, more cerebral, more intense Girardi.

Now let's flash back to 2008. With Posada on the shelf for the season, Jose Molina had become a fixture in the lineup. Though he was often a hole in the order, he handled the pitchers superbly and gunned down a ton of runners. And the 3rd place Yanks began a second-half surge.

Then they made the MLB GM 101 move of picking up Pudge Rodriguez before the trade deadline. The pitching staff lost its cohesion, and the team lost momentum. And Pudge didn't even produce with the stick.

I think to shake things up a little in this losing streak, to right the pitching staff, I want Jose Molina as the "A" catcher and to make Jorge Posada the "B" catcher, and the "A" DH.

BacktimeTV

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Molina's bat in the lineup will cost us

more than what he can bring behind the plate. Can you really just push aside Matsui and leave him on the bench when he’s currently hitting in line with his career averages?

by BigSlim on Apr 28, 2009 4:28 PM EDT reply actions

Hilarious

Molina’s thrown out around 41% of baserunners attempting to steal for his career. Posada’s thrown out 29%.

Molina has a career 61 OPS+. Posada’s is 124.

So, you’re telling me that because Molina would probably throw out 15 more baserunners than Posada over the course of a season, we should put his .216/.263/.313 bat into the lineup, and bump Matsui’s .294/.371/.478 bat out of it?

This is idiotic. It sounds like you’re trying to become the Astros’ next GM.

by 3460kuri on Apr 28, 2009 4:42 PM EDT reply actions