Brewers sign Jason Kendall -- 1 year/$4.25 mil guaranteed, up to 2 years/$10.25 mil possible

[patrickgpe]

id liken it to bringing in miller a few season ago, way past his prime, but still Miller overall was a decent signing. Looking at our young pitchers we really need a veteran catcher out there to call the game and Kendall can do that. Might not be the best defensive one in the world, but really how many good ones are left there. I just hope it no more than a 2 year deal.

[TooLiveBrew]

"Kendall is considered an excellent handler of pitchers."

 

That's from Rosenthal's blurb on the Brewers & Kendall. Seriously, is this required quip-age when writing an article on a C? Torrealba, Estrada, Kendall, Posada... is there an MLB C who doesn't 'call a good game'?

[Tbadder]

This last comment is one that needs to be made constantly. There's a kind of mythology out there that keeps people from understanding the truth about players, etc. That's why I love the stats guys here--because they're trying to break the strangle hold of mythology. I just wish I had a better grasp on the stats.

[brettac1]

It kind of falls under "Nichols Law of Catcher Defense".

[TooLiveBrew]

"All you ever hear is Bench and Munson and Fisk. (Simmons) hits better than any of them, and he calls a great game." - Chuck Tanner on opposing catcher Ted Simmons

 

That's from the BR Bullpen page for Simba. Aye aye aye!

[jwill535]

I am more worried about how he is with blocking then he is with throwing out runners. There may be 3-4 chances to throw out guys in a game, where there are going to be 10-15 balls in the dirt. Plus throwing out runners is only about 50% on the catcher. Ben Sheets couldnt hold me on and i am 6' 245, but sneaky fast.

[Big Reed]

I like kendel. it looks like the brewers have some money to spend. so spend it. he's probably the best FA catcher available. he brings experience, and his bat may find new life in miller park. he's younger than me , so sign him up.

[aracko]

Kendall seems like a good enough athlete that he could possibly play a little OF as well.

 

Wasnt there talk when eh was in PITT of playing him at 2b? I understand he is older now so that wont be happening, but I do not think a little LF is out of the question.

[brettac1]

The guy had an OPS of .610 last year, I think LF is the last place on the diamond he should be.

 

Even though I am sort of for this (if it means Estrada is gone), I do not understand the way of thinking that says "the Brewers have a good offense, so who cares if he can hit?". There is no such thing as scoring too many runs, or hitting too many homers. They need to maximize their offense - there's always the chance that someone gets hurt or has an off year and suddenly when it looked like the team had "enough" offense, they suddenly have a bad one because they thought they didn't need to add any in the offseason.

[TooLiveBrew]

Ben Sheets couldnt hold me on and i am 6' 245, but sneaky fast.

 

I can verify this.

[brewcrew00]

I saw this on Homer's page on espnmilwaukee, and thought it was pretty funny....

 

"If the Brewers get Jason Kendall, it doesn't mean they really want Kendall. It means they really don't want Estrada."

[JJHardy7]

Who is better from a defensive view? Most fans want some defensive improvement and my bet is that Kendall is better than Estrada (albeit maybe not by much). Be careful what you wish for...

[jjfanec]

I don't know if the logic is "it doesn't matter if he can't hit." I would say that the logic is it doesn't matter quite as much if he isn't a big power hitter. We need guys who can get on base for the big hitters, and even in an off year Kendall did a better job of that than Estrada. I feel like getting Kendall helps us focus on finding either a LF (or if they are serious about moving Braun a 3b) who can hit and play some defense. If we find that I feel like our offense improves if not stays the same barring injury. Then we can focus on the bullpen

[adambr2]

I guess this is our "professional hitter". http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/frown.gif

[MoneyballMan]

Does this mean Damian Miller is definitley NOT coming back as a back-up C? I haven't really seen his name mentioned much during these Kendall discussions.

[TooLiveBrew]

Apologies to this poster, but I recall someone here with seemingly reliable 'inside' knowledge saying that Miller is retiring (?). Step forward & identify yourself!

 

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

 

 

It really seems like, at this point, Doug & Co. are going to go with Kendall (& the OBP he brings). Can't reasonably be any worse on D than Johnny was in 2007, and very, very likely to carry an OBP north of .340 at C. It appears our worst-case scenario will be Kendall/Estrada for C in '08. I can dig it. But as mentioned, perhaps Estrada could net us a solid bullpen arm.

[brettac1]

I think it means that Estrada's not coming back.

[JJHardy7]

Miller has told people he is going to retire. He's told those within the Brewers and fans. If he gets an offer that he really likes (I don't know exactly what that would be), he'd play another year (or more if it's a great deal).

 

My guess is still that he retires, but who knows what an deal he likes would be.

[MoneyballMan]

Miller has told people he is going to retire. He's told those within the Brewers and fans. If he gets an offer that he really likes (I don't know exactly what that would be), he'd play another year (or more if it's a great deal).

 

My guess is still that he retires, but who knows what an deal he likes would be.

Thanks for the clarification. Maybe if we trade Estrada (assuming we sign Kendall), Miller would come back on a reasonable one-year deal to back him up (about the same playing time as 2007).

[craigharmann]

What about Captain Lou serving as the backup and Vinny as the 3rd catcher/backing up everything else?

[Tbadder]

Is it out of the realm of possiblities that Kendall has his "Indian Summer" and hits .300 with a .375 OBP? I assume he's done something close to this before. I posit this because the Brewer line up is pretty potent and he's likely to see a lot of good pitches, combined with his selectiveness, viola!

[dadofandrew]

If the first half of 2007 would have never happened for some strange reason, people would be very excited about this seemingly impending signing. Kendall does not hit enough to be anything but an emergency OF/2B, but he can play there, which has benefits, albeit seldom. For a C, he has a nice OBP.

[bklynbrewcrew]

I dont know how anyone can justify the signing of Kendall. The guy is even worse offensively than Estrada, completely punchless in fact and he cant throw out basestealers. Melvin has absolutely lost me with what he is doing.

[jjfanec]

I dont know how you can say he is worse than Estrada offensively. In his time with the Cubs his OBP was over 60 points higher than Estrada. That is a big difference.

[dpapo]

I think what this shows, as someone has mentioned, is that the Brewers are really not happy with Estrada. I don't think it's about money as they will probably end up making around the same amount next year. Maybe Kendall does "call a better game" and is probably better at blocking the ball. However, Kendall is also 33 and had played in 1682 games which is a lot for a catcher. Even though Miller is a few years older, he has played in 989 games. So, I do have concern that his numbers could take quite a drop. Ivan Rodriquez caught about as many games at about the same age and his number have been dropping since he's been around 32 years old, he's currently 35.
Before he was traded Kendall's numbers with Oakland this past season were, Ave. .226, OBP. .261, Slg. .281, OPS .542
He had a really good month of August with the Cubs, but in the month of September his numbers were, .183/.279/.233/.512
So, did Kendall just have a down year or is it a trend that will continue. I'm not saying that signing Kendall and getting rid of Estrada is going to be a major mistake. But, if the move occurs, it'll probably have to do more with off the field/clubhouse issues rather than actual on the field production. If Estrada is a big clubhouse problem and they think he is lazy, then I can understand why they might want to get rid of Estrada period. Even if they don't find someone that may be as productive. I'm sure if they do get rid of Estrada, we'll hear about whatever problems there may have been in greater detail.
If Kendall can have an OBP in the .350 range, then it'll be a good move. Otherwise, Kendall doesn't hit for power, so really it comes down to average to a certain extent and more importantly his OBP. He does take walks, but he's not Ricky Henderson. So, in order for his OBP to be in the .350 range, he needs to hit around .275-.280.
After all of that, I'm not against the move and I can see how Kendall might not only be a better fit in the clubhouse, but also with his on the field production. But, there is a risk that Kendall could really tank this upcoming year. If they do sign him, it might be a good idea to try to find a no. 2 catcher that might be able to step in and play in a large number of games. Maybe someone like a Rod Barajas. Probably better to say someone who could step in and still possible be a somewhat productive catcher.