The Jason Kendall thread

[Invader3K]

Leave him in the 9th hole, he's doing great there.

 

One thing at the game last night...I can't remember which Reds player was hitting, but he hit one into the outfield, and one of the Brewers players threw the ball towards first...the ball was wide and basically went over Fielder. Kendall was right on the ball, perfectly lined up with the throw, and stopped it from getting back towards the backstop. I remember thinking "If that was Johnny Estrada catching, the Reds would have a runner on second base right now." Instead, the Reds were held to a single. Just another example of Kendall's excellent defense.

[JoeHova]

If that was Johnny Estrada catching, the Reds would have a runner on second base right now." Instead, the Reds were held to a single. Just another example of Kendall's excellent defense.

I'm not so sure about that. Because of the angle that Weeks threw the ball from, the catcher didn't have to be very far up the first base line. I'm not saying it wasn't a nice play, just that I think most catchers at least make a half-hearted effort to back up the play, just like most players at any position do.

[JohnBriggs12]

Jason Kendall is now batting .526.

And Mike Rivera is now batting .750!

 

Combined the Brewer catchers are hitting .565. Quite a far cry from that 2004 duo of Moeller and Bennett.

[BrewCrewForever]

I would have to say that I am developing a huge man crush on Jason Kendall. It aint hard, even if he wasn't hitting his defense and just hustle is so much better then Estrada it aint even funny.

[tristarscoop]

Leave him in the 9th hole, he's doing great there.

 

One thing at the game last night...I can't remember which Reds player was hitting, but he hit one into the outfield, and one of the Brewers players threw the ball towards first...the ball was wide and basically went over Fielder. Kendall was right on the ball, perfectly lined up with the throw, and stopped it from getting back towards the backstop. I remember thinking "If that was Johnny Estrada catching, the Reds would have a runner on second base right now." Instead, the Reds were held to a single. Just another example of Kendall's excellent defense.

I said the absolute same thing to the boyfriend. I feel like every day my crush on Kendall grows a little more. He threw another guy out, had more clutch hitting and had the back-up play. He's so far in front on what we're used to that every day is just like a little extra bonus icing on the cake.

 

[rluzinski]

You bring up an interesting question. How much of a difference is needed for OBP to trump SLG pct.? Take Kendall for an example. A low slugging pct. guy on a high slugging pct. team. Might it in some ways be more beneficial to have a high OBP guy hitting in front of a bunch of SLG guys rather than just have one more SLG guy in a long line of SLG guys?

 

On average, a point of OBP is worth somewhere between 1.3-2.0 points of SLG, depending on how you try to estimate it. For a specific batter in a specific lineup position, the value of each is very dependant on the batter before and after him, though. Much of the value of SLG is derived from the movement of players already on base. THe less base runners on, the less value a base hit has. Because Kendall is expected to have such a low SLG, it makes sense to bat him 9th, where the value of SLG is less and the value of OBP is more. From a Dan Fox article at BP:

 

"What makes it work in this case is that Kendall's combination of an adequate OBP and a woeful slugging percentage is not that different from the typical ninth spot hitter in the order. This means that when batting eighth he won't be driving in many of the four-through-seventh place hitters who reach base, but when hitting ninth he gets on base enough to allow Fielder and Braun opportunities to drive him in, resulting in a net offensive gain. It appears the break-even for this strategy as far as the Brewers go is somewhere around Kendall delivering a .360 SLG. That is, if Kendall's slugging percentage were .360 or higher (while delivering the same OBP[he's assuming a .324 OBP...rluz)), it would essentially be a wash as to whether to bat him eighth or ninth."

 

Now, that's not to say that Kendall's low SLG doesn't hurt the Brewers at all; it's just doesn't detract from runs scores as much there as it would somewhere else in the lineup. No matter what lineup spot you are talking about, the lower your OBP or SLG is, the less runs your team will score and the less games they will win. Unless your team wins 162 games, there's no such thing as "enough power".

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

So what does that all mean in English? Is it good to have Kendall as 9th?

[Tbadder]

Thanks for the info Russ! I suppose if he hits over .500 the rest of the year it won't matter much though.

[lukevan]

Yes, it's good because it diminishes the impact of his lack of power because he has the pitcher hitting behind him (fewer baserunners on average) and enhances his OBP since he is batting basically at the top of the order after the first inning with Weeks, Fielder and Braun there to drive him in. I like Kendall's speed too; I'm just really liking Jason Kendall so far.

[rluzinski]

Even for an average lineup, it makes sense to bat the pitcher 8th but Kendall is especially suited for #9 because he has no power.

[RU Rah Rah]

I would have to say that I am developing a huge man crush on Jason Kendall. It aint hard, even if he wasn't hitting his defense and just hustle is so much better then Estrada it aint even funny.

You'll have to fight me for him. He's been great so far. No complaints.

 

[bork]

And on top of it all, he's thrown out 4 of 11 base stealers so far, for 36%.

[bork]

I was just noticing that Kendall could end up throwing out more base runners in April, then Estrada did all last year. Kendall has thrown out 8 of 20 for 40%. Estrada only threw out 11 during the entire season.

[BrewCrewForever]

I was just noticing that Kendall could end up throwing out more base runners in April, then Estrada did all last year. Kendall has thrown out 8 of 20 for 40%. Estrada only threw out 11 during the entire season.

I'm actually surprised Estrada even threw out that many. I swear he must have thrown all 11 out in games I couldn't watch or listen to for some reason and there were not many.

 

[rluzinski]

First 8 games (26 AB): .538/.567/.731/1.298

Since (79 AB): .203/.292/.266/.558

 

Either the results of the LASIK surgery wore off or people might have been jumping to some hasty conclusions after only 8 games. That said, I'm actually pleased with his overall offensive production so far ( .286/.361/.381/.742). As long as he can keep his OBP around .350, you will here no complaints from me. I'm also happy to see that he's been apparently playing good defense and his arm hasn't been the liability that I thought it might be. Really, he's been the only bright spot among the starting positional players so far.

[pitchleague]

like someone else said, I truly appreciate his hustle and his arm behind the plate. Veteran leadership helps too although the team slump can't be his fault, can it? After so many years of slow-footed catchers with noodles for arms (although Henry Blanco has a cannon), it's nice to see a ground ball by our catcher actually turn into a fairly close play at first.

[rluzinski]

For those that think a catcher has a significant effect on pitchers, apparently Kendall calls terrible games unless he's calling one for elite pitchers (Sheets/Gallardo). Suppan, Villy, Bush and Parra are all performing worse than their preseason expectations. Of course, I don't blame Kendall for the bad performances any more than I credit him for the good ones. I don't think any of us know what effect if any he has. I'd guess very little.

[Fear The Chorizo]

I think whatever marginal effect a catcher has on a pitching staff can be more than outweighed by pitchers lacking command and throwing pitches in bad locations. A catcher can call a slider low and away or a fastball in, but if those pitches aren't located properly and are hit 500 feet after catching too much of the plate, the intent of what the catcher wanted with the pitch doesn't really matter.

 

I really don't see Kendall getting shaken off much, so at least he seems to have a good grasp of what pitchers want to do in certain situations.