The Jason Kendall thread

[shtiny]

The upgrade of Kendall over Estrada is huge is many ways. My first thought about it was that Kendall had to have been more selective at the plate, because nobody is less selective than Estrada. It turns out that Kendall over his career sees about 375 more pitches per year than Estrada in the same amount of at bats. That will add up. Kendall has no power, but that is not the issue with this team, and clearly Estrada wasn't a big power threat either. Most importantly is the way Kendall works with the pitching staff. Despite completely struggling at the plate in Oakland, look at what he did with the pitching staff.

First half Second Half

Dan Haren 10-3 2.30 ERA 5-6 4.15 ERA

Joe Blanton 8-5 3.28 ERA 6-5 4.89 ERA

Chad Gaudin 8-3 2.88 ERA 3-10 6.30 ERA

Lenny Dinardo 3-5 2.72 ERA 5-5 5.27 ERA

That is an amazing jump, some of which has to be a product of Kendall leaving. Blanton and Haren both attibute a portion of their success to Kendall.

 

[MillerParkSouth]

I think some of that could probably be attributed to wearing down in the second half, but that's still great to see. I think he'll be a big time asset to guys like Suppan, Bush and Cappy.

[Ennder]

I never know what to think about stats like this but everyone seems to say Kendall is a good game caller, including his ex teammates so hopefully it ends up true.

[nate82]

Plus he isn't a cancer in the clubhouse.

[RobDeer 45]

I like having him on our team because I really do think he will have a positive impact on our staff. I really don't care if he only bats 250 (which I think he will do better than that) if he makes the staff that much better. I'm excited to see him work behind the dish and deal with our pitchers.

[GenoSeligPrieb]

Our catcher is a great clubhouse presence...he calls a good game...he handles a pitching staff well...he blocks balls in the dirt...

 

In 2008, it's Jason Kendall. In past years, when defending a poor-hitting old catcher who doesn't throw out basestealers, all you had to do was substitute the name Keith Osik....Gary Bennett....Eddie Perez...Jesse Levis...

 

I'm not pining for a return to the Johnny Estrada era. But he WAS injured last year. That probably had a lot to do with his failures, especially how damned slow he ran. Estrada was also bad at throwing out runners, which I can't accept from our catcher. So again, Estrada wasn't even good, but I have to say a LOT of the vitriol targeted at Estrada...and the lovefest for Kendall...is based on so many perceptions fans have of them.

 

Think of it this way: If Estrada walked 12, 16 more times last year, and raised that OBP to the .320-ish area, would he still be so reviled around here? Sure, he still couldn't throw out my mother-in-law stealing, but neither can Kendall.

 

Bottom line, for me at least: We replaced a more powerful, switch-hitting catcher who's 2 years younger, for half the salary, and who MAY rebound a bit from injury...with a catcher who, even when healthy, was also below average and old.

 

Hell, given the offense we already have from the rest of the batting order, THIS is the year the Brewers could sustain having a defense-only catcher, one preferably with a cannon arm, batting 8th. The problem was that we'd always play a slob like Blanco or Matheny every day when the rest of the offense was godawful.

 

Overall? Kendall? Estrada? Meh.

[derflotr]

I think it's worth noting that he put up decent numbers with the Cubs with the switch to the NL.

 

.270/.362 seeing 4+ P/PA? That's something this lineup really needs.

[JohnBriggs12]

My problems with Estrada had nothing to do with his handling of pitchers or his clubhouse issues (which I believe were way overblown) or even his lack of walks.

 

My problems with Estrada were that he couldn't throw out base stealers, he couldn't hit in the clutch despited a decent BA, and he was so out of shape he had trouble scoring from 2nd on a double.

 

I think Kendall will be an improvement in 2 of those 3 areas (he runs better, and he's a tough out with runners in scoring position) and he does handle pitchers well but I have big concerns over his arm. He couldn't throw out anybody with the Cubs.

[TooLiveBrew]

Estrada put up a slightly better line with runners on base (.297/.317/.406/.723) than his overall season line in 2007. Yes, his numbers in the 'close & late' situation were not good. However, since it was over 55 AB, I think I'd tend to trust his three-yr. splits a lot more.

 

C & L (192 AB): .286/.325/.427/.752

 

Our catcher is a great clubhouse presence...he calls a good game...he handles a pitching staff well...he blocks balls in the dirt...

 

In 2008, it's Jason Kendall. In past years, when defending a poor-hitting old catcher who doesn't throw out basestealers, all you had to do was substitute the name Keith Osik....Gary Bennett....Eddie Perez...Jesse Levis...

 

I know, GSP... I worry about the same ol' same ol' too, but if absolutely nothing else, Kendall can get on base at a well-above average rate for a C (or #8 hitter). That alone is enough reason to be optimistic about his presence.

[logan82]

Yeah Estrada's year may have been hampered by being hurt, but they said that about his 2006 season as well and the season before that. I didn't think Estrada would be any better offensivley in 2007 than Miller was in 2006 so I wasn't to dissapointed in Estrada on that count. Maybe it was a coaching decision, but it didn't seem like there were as many balls in the dirt and when there were it didn't seem like Estrada could block them. I am not expecting much more out of Kendall this year than we got out of Estrada last year. Maybe a better OBP, but that's about it. I don't think Estrada was a problem for his teammates, but I think that there was a personality conflict with one or more of the coaches(my guess would be Maddux), but again we don't know for sure. Just like with Estrada last year I am taking a wait and see approach with Kendall and his handling of the pitching staff and his defense.

[Glennron]

I still don't think I'll ever understand the "good game caller". I mean is it in some way how he talks to the pitchers? Do pitchers rarely have to shake off his signs? To me it always seems like bad offensive catchers get pegged as this.

[GenoSeligPrieb]

"I still don't think I'll ever understand the "good game caller". I mean is it in some way how he talks to the pitchers? Do pitchers rarely have to shake off his signs? To me it always seems like bad offensive catchers get pegged as this."

 

True dat, Glennron.

 

Jason Kendall: The Brewers 2008 Designated Horse Whisperer.

[MJLiverock]

I think it's worth noting that he put up decent numbers with the Cubs with the switch to the NL.

 

.270/.362 seeing 4+ P/PA? That's something this lineup really needs.

I have seen this pinning of hopes on Kendall's resurgance with the Cubs a few times and need to mention what I found with a little digging into his number with the Cubs. I don't hate Kendall and he may very well be better at blocking balls, he can at least move, but I really don't expect much out of his bat. Catching takes a toll on the body and he has caught a lot of games and just seems old and nearly done at this point of his career. If Ned keeps him in the 8 hole fine but I hope he hasn't deterioated so far that opposing pitchers look at him as an automatic out like the pitcher. He really has no power to fear and if he has declined as much as last year showed team may just not intentially walk him with the pitcher on deck and we back to the days of the Chad Moeller/pitcher combo dead weight at the bottom of the order.

From an earlier post of mine:

I noticed something about the Kendall surge in the second half of 2007. It really was only 83 AB's in August where his OBP was .438 otherwise he was still around .275 for an OBP in the second half. During that August surge he drew 12 walks and it looks like 9 of them were with him batting in front of the pitcher and 2 of them were with him batting in front of Pie. That doesn't bode well for his OBP if they were mostly intentional and the Brewers are hoping to bat him up in the order.

 

I hope the lasik helps. But as one Cub fan teased me, Kendall might be the only catcher in baseball that Estrada could steal second on.

[Thurston Fluff]

Even if the "he calls a good game," mantra is overblown, which I disagree with, someone who gets tagged by two organizatons as calling a bad game has to be telling in some way. I'm not saying Kendall is going to be great at it but if he's even average he's an upgrade in that respect. Maybe poor offensive catchers get the rep as a good game caller because people think he must be good at something. That doesn't explain why Estrada, a poor offensive player, was dubbed as a bad game calling catcher. Quite frankly I think he must have really stunk at it not to get even the same chance as someone so woeful as Moeller.

[Oldcity]

So again, Estrada wasn't even good, but I have to say a LOT of the vitriol targeted at Estrada...and the lovefest for Kendall...is based on so many perceptions fans have of them.

Is there really a lovefest for Kendall? Or are people just glad that Estrada won't be here? I wasn't too happy when they signed Kendall, but I am ok with it just because it meant Estrada is gone.

 

[Time for a Miller]

One thing that worries me about Kendall is the large amount of playing time he has logged in the past. I can't remember the exact numbers, but this was brought up as a positive during the signing. This indicated that he was durable, but to me it means he's been worn down and used up by other teams the past few seasons.

[JJHardy7]

I also think we'll see this year exactly how hurt Estrada was last year. I really don't have a reason to believe his injury caused his problems until I see other wise. Maybe that's not fair, but his sly remarks after he left doesn't put any faith in him in my eyes in terms of believing him.

[Fear The Chorizo]

I think Kendall will be an upgrade over Estrada from an OBP and game-calling standpoint, but it says alot when the Cubs started an inexperienced and unknown Soto (to his credit he was raking when given playing time) in their first two playoff games, and Kendall saw limited action down the stretch in September. His improved NL numbers are mainly the case of two very good weeks that he had - the rest of the time he was a Cub, his numbers were very similar to what he was putting up in Oakland. I'm hoping for an offensive output form him between his career norms and what he did last season - if it's a better season than Estrada's 07, I'm happy. I also think us being overly optimistic on how great Kendall will be this season speaks volumes about the dearth of catching talent in the Brewer system. It's really Angel Salome, and old prospect in Palmaisano, and nothing else in the mid to high minors. With 7 top 100 draft picks this year, hopefully Doug can find some catchers for the organization.

[And That]

Kendall upgrades OBP at a position that desperately needed an OBP upgrade and can't possibly be worse than Estrada both behind the plate and behind the bases. By nature of his OBP and speed, Kendall is worth quite a number of extra bases this year. Kendall isn't a world beater. Thankfully the Brewers have excellent talent at nearly every other position, so they don't need him to be. I like the Kendall signing a lot. Did when it happened, still do today.

[bill hAll Star]

I think when it comes down to it...Estrada is one of the biggest examples of a guy where the stats totally lie. The casual baseball fan usually looks at BA, HR, RBI, and maybe slugging percentage. From that perspective Estrada looks like he is in the upper tier of catchers in the league at least for the past few seasons, which he is obviously not. Estrada had nothing else going for him though.

1. Terrible arm

2. Can't run

3. Way too aggressive(crappy OBP)

4. Clubhouse cancer

5. Not very great at handling pitchers

Kendall may have slightly lower basic hitting numbers at this point in his career but he is an upgrade over Estrada in all of those 5 mentioned categories except for his arm, which also sucks.

[twobrewers]

My problems with Estrada had nothing to do with his handling of pitchers or his clubhouse issues (which I believe were way overblown) or even his lack of walks.

Can I ask what makes you think his clubhouse issues are overblown? I mean, unless you are in the club house - how could you possibly have any idea?

 

I firmly believe that Estrada was a significant club house cancer. I think pretty much every pitcher, batter and coach didn't think much of him.

The proof, in my opinion, is the very low one year offer he had to settle for from the Nationals. We might not know exactly why, but it is very clear that teams wanted nothing to do with him.

[Baldkin]

Kenall can hit 8th.

 

Thats a huge upgrade over Estrada, who, no matter what, could not go into that 8th hole, as he would never take a walk, and would never "clear the pitcher" as a result.

[trwi7]

I'm fine with Kendall as long as he bats 8th. I have a horrible feeling that he'll bat 2nd though.

[bill hAll Star]

I'm fine with Kendall as long as he bats 8th. I have a horrible feeling that he'll bat 2nd though.

The silver lining to that is it will accelerate Yost's trip to the exit door, twirly :-D

 

[Glennron]

I know it's a really small sample size, but is Kendall's arm on a big decline? He threw out only 2 out 50 some potential base stealers with the Cubs. I have no idea how well the Cubs pitchers held guys on, but it's at least a little disconcerting. If he for some reason doesn't bat 8th, I'll also freak. I wouldn't be extremely shocked if it's like Kendall 2 and Hardy 8 because of J.J's success there last year.