Jason Kendall thread

[naivin]

True enough, but you don't think if Braun or Fielder were mired in horrible slumps, Macha wouldn't give them a day off? When was the last time Macha or Yost gave Kendall a day off because he wasn't hitting? All of Kendall's off days are orchestrated well ahead of time regardless of his performance.

Well, may not speak to Macha specifically, but Fielder hit .228 last August and played every game. He DNP in only 3 games last year and has not had a day off yet this year.

 

Braun hit .208 last September and played every game. He is a little bit different situation this year because he did miss two games due to injury...otherwise has played every game.

 

So no, I don't think they would necessarily be given a day off. Kendall does sit 20% of the games this year (with the exception of when Rivera was hurt). I guess I'm not sure whey they are so insistent on him being in there every day, but right or wrong, I assume there is a reason.

[JJHardy7]

No chance Salome will be ready by that point?

 

I'm not sure at this point. I really like Salome and think he'll be fine with the bat long-term, but he didn't make the strides I was hoping he would so far this year at AAA. I'm wondering if there's a lingering injury.

 

I'd be willing to give up the defense and start Salome because he has shown that his bat plays. If we could get Mauer type production (his upside) from the catcher position with average to below average defense, that would yield a lot better than whatever Jason Kendall brings to the table. And yes, I know Salome is struggling this year at the plate, but I'll trust his full body of minor league work over 1.5 months.

 

If you can't hit AAA, you're probably not going to hit MLB. I really like Salome, but I'd be much happier giving him time to work on his defense and offense at AAA. It could be a disaster to have him up if he's struggling with both. I know Mat isn't the best example, but he raked at AAA. Salome has not come close to that. Again, I like Salome, but I'd rather wait to see him start raking until I pencil him in at the beginning of 2010. Rivera and Corporan are ready IMO since they're able to handle the defensive side and also provide enough offense IMO. I'll clarify that by saying I'd start Rivera and have Corporan catch 1 or 2 times a week.

[Invader3K]

Well, I don't think anyone is suggesting calling Salome up yet this year (barring injury or a September call up) but for next year I really hope he's a viable option to make the team. I guess that's what you're getting at, though. Hopefully he'll turn things around this season. He has plenty of time.

[TheCrew07]

Salome needs to hit AAA pitching before we talk about him at all. Or before he gets passed by Lucroy.

Cause Lucroy is tearing it up... there's plenty of season left and Salome is much better the last 3 weeks, when he's actually played. He might still be having back trouble, which would be too bad.

[TooLiveBrew]

Outfielders play little league depth against Kendall and that eliminates bloop hits from his arsenal. They need to get Rivera in there a lot more. If Rivera played more, he's probably no better than a .250-.260 hitter but he can drive the ball. Kendall can't.

 

To me that's exactly where this discussion is right now. While I agree with FtJ's general sentiment that our backups aren't magically going to produce at a high level, when it comes to Kendall there is just no redeeming value in his playing over Rivera at this point.

 

And just because I so strongly agree, I have to repeat what Briggs said -- Rivera can drive the ball. While his OBP skills will probably never be as strong as Kendall's have been, right now Mike gives pitchers a reason to be careful. Jason just does not. I'm sure he's a great teammate, and certainly is one heck of a defender (throwing issues aside), but right now Kendall as our starter is costing this team runs & wins.

[JJHardy7]

Well, I don't think anyone is suggesting calling Salome up yet this year (barring injury or a September call up) but for next year I really hope he's a viable option to make the team. I guess that's what you're getting at, though. Hopefully he'll turn things around this season. He has plenty of time.

 

I wasn't getting at him being called up this year. I just won't pencil him in for next year. I know it's still somewhat early, but the AAA season ends a month earlier than MLB. Salome will have three more months to show what he can do so in other words his season is 2/5 over more or less. There are questions about his defense and until he rakes at AAA I don't see him as a viable option for the beginning of 2010. Again, I really like Salome so I really hope he gets it going.

[strawbossisevil]

Salome isn´t hitting as well as he did in the past because of his back problems. And those who say Lucroy is going to pass up Salome, haven´t been paying attention to Lucroy´s stats at AA.

[JJHardy7]

Salome isn´t hitting as well as he did in the past because of his back problems.

 

I don't think he's having back problems anymore.

[TheCrew07]

Mass posted an update earlier today, he got hit in the hand by a foul ball, that's why Salome hasn't been playing.

[bklynbrewcrew]

So Macha makes the statement "The players make out the lineup" meaning that you will not be in the lineup if you are not producing. Apparently Kendall is somehow producing in the eyes of Macha. Im sorry but this guy has got to be replaced. I think there is a very good chance that his OBP for the season is well below 300. That is just not acceptable. What is it gonna take for Macha and Melvin to see that Kendall is an automatic out and the team cant afford his dead spot in the lineup on an everyday basis.

 

Why was Kendall allowed to hit down a run today with two runners on and two outs. Corey Hart slumps and he sits. JJ Hardy slumped earlier in the season and he sat. Yet somehow Kendall just never sits.

[Invader3K]

Why was Kendall allowed to hit down a run today with two runners on and two outs. Corey Hart slumps and he sits. JJ Hardy slumped earlier in the season and he sat. Yet somehow Kendall just never sits.

 

What was even weirder about that was the fact that Rivera was used as a defensive replacement the very next inning, if I recall correctly.

[Never Outhustled]

What was even weirder about that was the fact that Rivera was used as a defensive replacement the very next inning, if I recall correctly.

Rivera didn't enter the game until Todd Coffey came in, it was a double switch so Coffey could pitch the next inning.

 

With the way our guys have hit as pinch-hitters, or the way all PH's hit, I don't know if we gain much by pinch-hitting for Kendall.

[endaround]

Salome isn´t hitting as well as he did in the past because of his back problems. And those who say Lucroy is going to pass up Salome, haven´t been paying attention to Lucroy´s stats at AA.

 

You mean that Lucroy has a BABIP of .257 but still has an OBP of .342? Nope I'm pretty aware of what Lucroy is doing.

[tyguy20204]

Angel Salome has 102 ABs in Nashville, with a .307 OBP. Given the small sample, it would take what, four of his outs turned into hits/walks in order to get his OBP up to the .342 neighborhood? It's really not worth speaking of.

 

We all know Salome was playing with lingering injuries at the beginning of the year, give him a chance to get into a groove before you judge him. I'm not saying he's going to repeat his numbers from AA - the BABIP for that year suggests he ran into a bit of luck - but I do think he'll improve on his performance from this year.

[Never Outhustled]

Nashville pitcher Sam Narron, a thinking mans pitcher and member of the Narron baseball family, commented last week that Salome has really improved defensively since the 2 played together early last season.

[rluzinski]

With the way our guys have hit as pinch-hitters, or the way all PH's hit, I don't know if we gn much by pinch-hitting for Kendall.

 

The average player performs significantly worse coming in as a PH than if he's playing the whole game but Kendall is SUCH a bad hitter that I think it's worth going to the bench and possibly even gettingt he platoon advantage on a regular basis with him.

[bcf5575]

it is much easier to live with kendalls bat in the lineup when everyone is healthy or hitting well. take away weeks and hardy, along with hart, hall, braun stuck in slumps and Kendall looks terrible in there...

[True CryM]

Lucroy has not passed Salome. When comparing a bad season to an even worse season, there's no reason to adjust either player's stock.

[naivin]

Some thoughts from TH Blog found here.

 

I do agree that if we are getting the production needed from the other spots, RF and 2B in particular, Kendall's production or lack thereof becomes somewhat irrelevant.

 

The SFChron article certainly does seem to shed some additional light as to why Kendall plays so much...

"Kurt came into a really tough situation," A's second baseman Mark Ellis said. "I don't think he even knew how bad it was. Kendall was such a beloved figure, the pitchers loved him. Kurt was the new kid, and he was thrown into the fire, but I've never seen a player get better each day the way he has."

"You could feel it," Suzuki said of the pitchers' reticence toward him. "But I understood. Jason is unbelievable. I didn't take it personally. I just did what I could to try to speed up the process." Suzuki kept his mouth shut and his eyes open, studying everything Kendall did

[JJHardy7]

I saw that article too naivin. How does Kendall compare to other catchers in terms of ERAs? I'm assuming this is more of a mental thing than it actually is a result thing.

[rluzinski]

Unless a team scores 6+ runs a game, they idea bad offensive production at one position doesn't hurt them seems completely illogical to me.

[bklynbrewcrew]

The guy is an automatic out. There is nothing he does defensively to offset that fact.

[JJHardy7]

Unless a team scores 6+ runs a game, they idea bad offensive production at one position doesn't hurt them seems completely illogical to me.

 

I agree. My question is though how does Kendall's pitchers ERA compare to other catchers. I know his offense is bad. His arm hasn't been as good as last year or his luck isn't as good as last year -- either way he's not as good last year throwing guys out. The only thing that would make sense in starting him is that his pitchers just flat out pitch better with him as a catcher...and I don't think that's the case.

[logan82]

Studies on catcher ERA show that catchers matter very little.

[naivin]

rluzinski[/b]]Unless a team scores 6+ runs a game, they idea bad offensive production at one position doesn't hurt them seems completely illogical to me.

 

Who said it doesn't hurt the team? It is just far easier to hide/overcome if your RF isn't hitting .220, and you have a lead off hitter. Certainly, I think it is reasonable to assume that the incremental difference between Kendall and Rivera will be somewhat insignificant, so any way you slice it, we are likely to see bad production out of the catcher spot. Joe Mauer doesn't play in Milwaukee, so it seems to me, the easier way to address it would be to shore up the rest of the lineup. Gonna be a heck of a lot easier to come up with an infielder or outfielder, than a catcher who is good defensively and can hit. That said, I'd like to see Rivera take some of Kendall's AB's. Evidence would seem to suggest that Ken Macha and the Brewer pitching staff probably disagree with me.