Is Kendall an asset or a liability?

[Patrick425]

I think Kendall benefited largely from coaches "testing his arm" -- Catchers (or OFs) with known cannons do not get run on, therefore they probably do not get the chances to rack up the CS's (or assists) -- and the basestealers that do run on a good arm, are probably the guys that are high % SB guys as well and harder to convert into outs.

So, because runners underestimated Kendall's arm strength he should not get credit for the runners he threw out? I'm not sure I'm understading the logic.

 

I also think Kendall got the chance do throw out a lot of borderline basestealers laast year, and to his credit, he did well. -- but I don't think that this means Molina has an inferior arm... my guess is that if Molina was in a Brewer's uni last year and had the exact same chances, he would have done as well as Kendall did, if not much better.

We are talking about Yadier Molina..right? He's in the same division as Kendall if I'm not mistaken. How has Kendall faced any weaker runners than Molina has and how would Molina do any better in a Brewer uniform?

[Fatter than Joey]

So, because runners underestimated Kendall's arm strength he should not get credit for the runners he threw out? I'm not sure I'm understading the logic.

 

I clearly said "to his credit he did well".

 

How has Kendall faced any weaker runners than Molina has and how would Molina do any better in a Brewer uniform?

 

Managers are going to send more runners against weaker throwing catchers. Up until 2008, Kendall had struggled throwing out runners, so more runners are going to be sent when Kendall is catching than Molina -- as more runners run, they are most likely to be slower runners.

 

In 2007, Kendall gave up 111 SBs and only threw out 20 dudes. Only 50 guys ran on Molina in 2007. I am certain going into 2008, a number of managers saw Kendall as an opportunity to get some cheap bases. In 2008 Kendall only gave up 51 SBs and threw out 41. Only 52 guys ran on Molina. Going into 2008, Kendall needed to prove that he could throw out runners, and he did. Managers knew that running on Molina (with the exception of elite baserunners) was a bad gamble.

 

That said, if the same 92 guys ran on Molina that did on Kendall, I am certain that Molina would have converted more of them into outs than Kendall did.

 

The same thing goes for OFers... not a lot of coaches are going to run on a guy like Francoeur -- but they are probably going to be willing to test out Hart's arm out quite a bit more, and until Hart starts gunning out runners, he will get more attempts than Francoeur, and probably rack up more assists -- it hardly means though that Hart has the better arm.

[monty57]

I'd have to say that the Kendall signing was a good move by Melvin. He solidified the catching position at a time when the Brewers were very thin to bridge the cap to the time when hopefully they will have good major league talent. The contract was "team-friendly" in that if Kendall had been terrible, he wouldn't have played enough to vest the contract. Since he had a decent year, his option vested, and he will be back in 2009. As others have stated, I hope he gets more rest this year, as Rivera is a capable backup. I also hope that this additional year with Kendall on the MLB roster will allow Salome to sharpen his skills in AAA so that he will be ready to start for the Brewers in 2010.

[rluzinski]

I don't like win shares in general and defensive win shares are very suspect, IMO. Most stat guys ignore win shares completely.

 

And fatter is completely right. As a catcher's CS rate gets higher, there comes a point where it tells you more about the opposing team not choosing good times to try a steal than anything else. Now that managers leaned that Kendal's arm isn't as bad as his 2007 numbers suggested, attampts and CS% will lower.

[rluzinski]

To clarify, all of those CS had tremendous value to the Brewers last year, so there's no question whether Kendall earned his salary, IMO. We cannot us his 2008 CS% to conclude that he has the best arm in the league, however. We should also not assume that his CS% or SB attempts will be anywhere as high as they were in 2008.

[MNBrew]

Common points and a few random thoughts so far:

 

1. Kendall's offense went south badly last year.

2. Kendall's defense was among the best in the league. It wasn't that his arm improved. It was his overall mechanics. If you'll recall...

3. Kendall's serious work on footwork with his dad last winter paid HUGE dividends.

4. #3 proves mechanical refinements can make a bigger difference than age (though nothing is a given either way) IF the rights efforts are made in effective ways

5. Brewers pitchers totally loved pitching to Kendall last year -- a point which to me is highly significant and you just flat out can't quantify no matter how hard you try

6. Mike Rivera's production in so few ABs was amazing but not automatically likely to sustain over a much larger chunk of playing time

7. Mike Rivera is only 2 years younger than Kendall -- both guys are past their chronologically stereotypical primes

 

If Kendall can put some of the same caliber of effective work into his offense this offseason like he did to his defense last winter, even a .020 BA difference & a .030 OBP difference would do wonders. A .030 BA & .040 OBP would be huge. And Kendall's a total pro. I wouldn't put it past him that this could happen, regardless of any age/stats analysis. And even if that doesn't happen, I still really like the Kendall/Rivera catching team the Brewers have.

 

That said, if Pudge would be willing to come to Milwaukee to share PT w/ Kendall (seems highly unlikely unless someone gets hurt, namely Kendall or Rivera), I think that'd be a good thing if the $$ is within reason.

[logan82]

Kendall's offense went south badly last year.

 

It went south badly in 2007. He improved slightly in 2008. He was and is going to continue to be below average with the bat.