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ancientsoxfogey |
#21 | |||
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And kjs, even the one "advantage" you cite to Brown is statistically insignificant. The difference in CERA may or may not be significant depending on
the confidence level you want to use - and that's based just on a guess of what the SD of the RA variable for the two of them might be.
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dadesfan |
catchers | #22 | ||
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Where in this eqation does Exposito come in? He is now at Lancaster batting .300+. What happens next year, as Varitek is a free agent at te end of the year? With his horrible slump do they re-sign him, or if he is re-signed for how long? dadrsfan |
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Sibby Sisti |
Varitek | #23 | ||
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If he continues in this protracted slump, his bargaining power, even with Boras, will diminish.
But the one quality which makes Varitek unique is his uncanny ability to read hitters and call pitches. I have not read of any achievements by Kottaras, Brown and Wagner in this area. Jason studies all the opponent hitters in the league and not only calls the right pitch most of the time but sets up in a place to get maximum efficiency. As long as future Sox rosters have solid hitters, acquiring or developing a defense-first catcher should be a priority. |
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beavertontim |
#24 | |||
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I don't think Tek will be back. Some guys get old quick. Tek appears to be one of these guys.
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Arquimedez Bozo |
#25 | |||
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Dadesfan/dadrsfan (what the heck is the deal with that anyway? did you make a typo when entering your name when you signed up for the site? Just curious),
Exposito is at least two full years away I think. He's far enough away that he can't factor in to that equation - you can't really count on players
below the AA level.
"they should go to soxprospect so that BOZO THE
CLOWN and the rest of THE WANTS TO BE will give you some information" - A SP.com Legend
"A doubleheader is better than tipping the other team off the side of a cliff." - Cin1010 |
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MAYERalumn |
Dusty Brown | #26 | ||
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First of all, I have to admit... I played Babe Ruth league baseball with the kid and played against him in High School. He seems to have turned a corner this
year offensively though. He is never going to put up huge numbers, but he seems to be swinging the bat well enough to go along with his stellar defense. If
the Sox were going to call up a catcher, lets say if Varitek was out for a week or something, would Dusty be first in line? Also, who is the better prospect
right now... Dusty Brown or George Kottaras? I think Kottaras has the better offensive potential, but Dusty seems like a guy who could handle a pitching staff
better, call a better game and be a better overall defensive catcher. Seeing as Varitek is batting .218 but made the All Star team, defense and game calling
is more important than hitting for a catcher in my opinion. Thoughts?
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LondonSox |
Re: Dusty Brown | #27 | ||
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Call up Dusty no question in my mind. Better prospect is probably still debatable. Brown ahs been solid this year Kotteras streaky and the defense is by all
accounts a plus for Dusty vs Kotteras. Personally I porbably rather have Brown than Cash right now, but the Sox don't throw people away easily.
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Bosoxwest |
Re: Dusty Brown | #28 | ||
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I wonder that they would move Cash while Wake is pitching so well. If he (Timmeh) was struggling it would be one thing, but whereas he seems to embrace the
"team battery" concept so strongly, I'm thinking Cash is here until something changes. It would be fun to be a fly on the wall during the
conversation though:
FO: "Tim, we are going to make a move. We're letting Kevin go." Wake: "Why? We're going pretty good." FO: "He can't hit." Wake: <glancing awkwardly over to Tek's locker> "And?"
"MVP Tony G. knows not of these attitude transgressions. He sees ball. He hits ball. He fields with the grace of Brian Boitano. His sweat quenches the
collective thirst of small towns in Ohio and his flatulence fuels Venezuelan power generators with no greenhouse gas emissions." ~ Hairps, bringing the
Granadillo love.
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kjs4562 |
Re: Dusty Brown | #29 | ||
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I agree Dusty would be the guy to get the call because Kottaras clearly has trouble throwing to second base. I'm not sure I'm on the bandwagon, though,
with Dusty's "stellar" defense, or that "he's a guy who could handle a pitching staff better, call a better game and be a better overall
defensive catcher". His caught stealing percentage is 29%, which is right in line with the league average, not stellar. And the Pawsox ERA is actually a
half run lower with Kottaras catching. I actually like Dusty's development as a hitter - he has a higher OPS than Kottaras, although he still has less than
200 ABs. But he's not doing anything right now that's so outstanding that the Sox should consider replacing Cash with him, IMO.
I think he's a very intersting guy to watch, Mayer. I think Dusty could benefit from more ABs and Kottaras from more innings caught, but neither has stepped forward as the lead prospect so, for now, they continue to alternate. We'll have to see if one of them can take a step up over the next couple of months. |
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cfunkrenegade |
Re: Dusty Brown | #30 | ||
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For what it's worth, who has caught more Zink starts this year? Brown or Kottaras?
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MAYERalumn |
Re: Dusty Brown | #31 | ||
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Kottaras has been catching Zink lately.
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amfox1 |
#32 | |||
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Of Zink's 19 starts, Brown has caught 10 and Kottaras 9. Roughly, they alternate starts, although Kottaras has caught Zink's last two starts.
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cfunkrenegade |
#33 | |||
amfox1 wrote: Good to know. Doesn't it make sense that if the Sox were sold on either as a replacement for Cash that they would give one the majority of Zink's starts? (Assuming a Cash replacement would catch Wakefield) I don't see Cash getting replaced this season. I would think the Sox like the depth they have and the ability to keep pushing these guys and see what they can develop them into. Now, it'll be interesting to see which gets called up in September, but there is still a lot of baseball to be played before that is determined. |
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kjs4562 |
#34 | |||
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Just some updated and expanded defensive stats on Kottaras and Brown through 7/8:
Last Edited By: kjs4562 07/09/08 8:46 PM.
Edited 1 time.
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grabsmaine |
#35 | |||
kjs4562 wrote: Good post KJS. The difference in ERA, especially when catching Zink, does grab some attention... |
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kjs4562 |
#36 | |||
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Thank you. I also found Kottaras' 22 PB+WP interesting, compared to Brown's 36. Also, Kottaras' 2 non-Zink passed balls is pretty impressive.
Maybe, other than his trouble throwing to second, he's a pretty darn good all around defensive catcher. Of course, throwing to second is a HUGE part of
what a catcher has to do.
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grabsmaine |
#37 | |||
kjs4562 wrote: I know, that was one thing that Mirabelli generally had going for him. And I think throwing to second base is that much more important when catching a knuckler, as teams are more apt to run. It seems like it may be the biggest thing holding Kottaras back. When I get a chance I'll try to find some stats on how Wagner compares re- throwing out runners. |
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kjs4562 |
#38 | |||
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According to the Seadogs press notes Wagner has thrown out 46.9% (23 for 49), Otness 39.3% (13 for 33). Very promising numbers for Wagner.
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grabsmaine |
#39 | |||
grabsmaine wrote: For what it's worth, I've included Mark Wagner's stats (courtesy of minors.baseball-reference.com). They didn't have CERA, WP, or IP, so if
anyone knows where to get those, please include them:
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kjs4562 |
#40 | |||
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Just for comparison purposes, the Eastern League CS average is 33%. International League is 29%. Major League is 26%. So Wagner is 13% above league average,
Brown 3% above league average.
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