Will Kendall be back?

[bklynbrewcrew]

In my opinion if Melvin comes back Kendall will be back next season in the same role he has now. The one constant in the lineup other than Braun and Fielder is that Kendall has continued to play nearly every day. With LuCroy being a year away and the team having no confidence in Rivera I will be shocked if Kendall isnt back playing at least 5 days per week.

[joepepsi]

Hopefully next year he will have even more opportunities to hit in the 8th and 9th innings with the winning run on base.

[sgtcluels]

Please no. Unless he splits time pretty evenly with a backup (PRobably Rivera) and takes a pay cut we can get the same exact performance by a replacement level Catcher. No reason to waste money on the abstract idea he calls a good game.

[bklynbrewcrew]

Melvin loves the guy and he probably doesnt think there are better alternatives (not true but Melvin will feel differently).

[craig712]

This is the biggest problem I have with Ken Macha..... He just can't seem to find a way to keep Kendall out of the lineup. Even when Rivera seems to be getting a little hot, Kendall is right back in there so Rivera can get rusty again. I REALLY hope Melvin finds someone else better than Kendall.

[PeaveyFury]

Melvin loves the guy and he probably doesnt think there are better alternatives (not true but Melvin will feel differently).

 

Melvin has had zero problem getting rid of poor performing catchers late in their career even in the past few seasons (Miller and Moeller) and trying to upgrade the position, so I don't think Kendall will be much different if they find a better alternative.

[JoeHova]

There is no excuse for Kendall to still be on the team, much less playing often. If they bring him back, I may think twice about getting Extra Innings again because I can't stand watching him. The fact that Melvin apparently sees no problem is perplexing in the extreme.

[bklynbrewcrew]

All the proof you need that Kendall is in the plans for next season is that he continues to play every day in September.

[crewcrazy]

Melvin loves the guy and he probably doesnt think there are better alternatives (not true but Melvin will feel differently).

It's not like he walks around wearing a t-shirt that says "I <3 Kendall"...for what he is -- a primarily defensive catcher with a decent walk rate -- he wasn't all that bad last year. This year has been a different story, and while I'm not a huge fan of assuming what the general manager thinks about a certain player, I'd wager that Melvin realizes it and will look to improve if he can.

 

Looking to improve the position and being able to are two completely different things, though. The upcoming crop of free agent catchers is so bad that Kendall will probably find work somewhere else if Melvin decides to move on. Before this year I wouldn't have minded chasing someone like Bengie Molina as a yearlong stopgap, but he's always had a really bad walk rate, is going to be 34 next year, and is seeing his numbers drop dramatically this year. The other free agent options (LaRue, Castro, Schneider, etc.) aren't all that attractive, either, so unless the Brewers get a catcher as as throw-in in a trade for pitching, we might have to sit through another year of Kendall. If anything, the Brewers might be able to chase Kendall away by saying something like "Look, we'd like to have you back, but if you're playing here, it'll be with someone else getting 55% of the starts."

[mletto157]

I'm thinking it's because Melvin & Macha really love the movie Bull Durham and think "Crash" really got a raw deal. Problem is Crash could actually hit the ball with some power and Kendall has no chance to hit a HR anywhere except Minute Maid.

[CheezWizHed]

I would love to have Kendall back next year....as the bullpen catcher. But even that might be too close to being on the bench... :P

[trwi7]

The only way I could get on board with having Kendall back is if he takes a 1 year, $1.5M offer as a backup that plays 30-35% of the time.

[JohnBriggs12]

Make him the player/manager and give him incentives in his contract for not playing himself.

 

Better yet, name him manager of Nashville.

[greeg35]

Problem is Crash could actually hit the ball with some power and Kendall has no chance to hit a HR anywhere except Minute Maid.

Common, you know brewerfan would have HATED Crash! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

While I'm at it, we would have also hated Willie Mays Hayes, maybe Roger Dorn depending on his OBP. Of course we would have loved Roy Hobbs and Pedro Cerano.

[DonMoney4Mgr]

This may be a bit over the top but not knee-jerk. If Kendall does come back I will not renew my 20 pack for next year. Right now that's the only thing I can think of that would keep me from doing it. I'm close to adding a few things to the list but I'm not there yet. Such as; if Melvin is back next year, or if they don't acquire some young arms with upside.

[Gobias Industries]

The only way I could get on board with having Kendall back is if he takes a 1 year, $1.5M offer as a backup that plays 30-35% of the time.

If for some godforsaken reason he is coming back, this better be his role. I still don't see the point in it, as he's not a stud defensively anymore. As X ellence pointed out a few weeks ago, guys with a defensive rep (Blanco) are now better offensively than Kendall as well.

[sheethead]

While I'm at it, we would have also hated Willie Mays Hayes, maybe Roger Dorn depending on his OBP. Of course we would have loved Roy Hobbs and Pedro Cerano.

Pedro Cerano! 3TO - WOOOHOOOO! Gimme some more of that raw power!

[JoeHova]

I think Brewerfan would have been Crash fans. People were fond of Chris Coste when he was with Indianapolis. Also Willie Mays Hayes would have been popular. People loved Scott Podsednik (at first) and I think Willie was clearly better than him, especially defensively.

[Ennder]

Kendall obviously isn't so good at game calling that he makes the pitchers better, they have in general performed below their career norms with him as the C. His offense is just terrible as well. I wouldn't start Kendall every day if he agreed to play for free personally, I think he is below replacement level at this point. We got a bit lucky that his defense was so great last year but seems like it was just a fluke.

[piccione88]

Outside of a trade, the only free agent catcher, who is in my opinion clearly a better option then Kendall is Ramon Hernandez. Personally I would prefer to see the Brewers pick up Bard, or Castro who will be cheap, and have a little more upside than Kendall. However it is not out of the question that he comes back, because of how weak the catching market is.

[PeaveyFury]

All the proof you need that Kendall is in the plans for next season is that he continues to play every day in September.

 

And again, I believe Damian Miller was the regular starting catcher in September in 2007 as well.

[BrewCrewForever]

The only way I want Kendall back on this team is as a backup catcher.

[JoeHova]

All the proof you need that Kendall is in the plans for next season is that he continues to play every day in September.

 

And again, I believe Damian Miller was the regular starting catcher in September in 2007 as well.

Not really. It was 2006 when he lost his job as the starter, and Mike Rivera started the majority of September games that year. In 2007, Miller was the backup to Estrada and took over for the last week once Estrada went down.

[greeg35]

Also Willie Mays Hayes would have been popular.

You have to be joking...Juan Pierre anyone?!? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/eyes.gif

 

http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif