Comments on: Count On Jose Molina Catching A.J. Burnett In Post-Season

By: Molina To Catch Burnett In ALDS

Molina To Catch Burnett In ALDS — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:09:49 +0000

[...] I called this one a week ago. [...]

By: Will Posada catch Burnett in the postseason? | The Yankee Universe

Will Posada catch Burnett in the postseason? | The Yankee Universe — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:03:55 +0000

[...] Steve Lombardi (WW) and Ben K. (RAB) have already demarcated the issue. Jose Molina has been there for each of A.J.’s 31 effective innings (and he was there for one very ineffective inning). With A.J. pitching well, it seems as though Joe Girardi will have a tough decision to make once the postseason arrives. Do you start A.J. Burnett with Jose Molina behind the plate or do you throw away the sample and pair up A.J. with Jorge Posada’s bigger bat? Obviously, Molina couldn’t hit a parked car if his life depended on it, however, he and A.J. have been a solid duo and disrupting that could hurt his pitching performance once Detroit rolls into town (yes, I’m calling it). Then again, can you afford to sit Jorge Posada’s bat in the postseason? [...]

By: Will Posada catch Burnett in the postseason? « iYankees

Will Posada catch Burnett in the postseason? « iYankees — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:06:21 +0000

By: Raf

Raf — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:21:35 +0000

@ MJ:
At the very least he should’ve kept running into the dugout and up the clubhouse; by that point he was already ejected.

By: MJ

MJ — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:17:34 +0000

Corey wrote:

Ya, that’s from the fight. They’ve been talking about it for a while now.

I love Jorge but I hope that teaches him a lesson not to be a jerkoff. Plus, if you’re gonna fight, then fight. Don’t throw some lame-ass chicken-wing elbow in passing. Either clock the guy or go back and sit down. He’s lucky the Yanks took care of business and the team doesn’t 100% need him right now.

By: Corey

Corey — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:13:29 +0000

G.I. Joey wrote:

Not sure if it’s from the fight though.

Ya, that’s from the fight. They’ve been talking about it for a while now.

By: MJ

MJ — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:12:08 +0000

Raf wrote:

Having said that, if a pitcher expresses a preference, and it doesn’t hurt the team, sure go for it, let them have a personal catcher; after all, the starter isn’t going to catch all 162 games.

Crap, you beat me to the punch. That’s exactly what I’m saying.

By: MJ

MJ — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:11:42 +0000

Raf wrote:

I’d say that a catcher doesn’t make much of a difference.

Statisticall and empirically, that may be true. But if we accept that a part of sports performance relies on psychology and a positive attitude (meaning expecting a positive outcome if all environmental factors are favorable) then it only matters if the pitcher believes that it makes a difference. Otherwise, why would Greg Maddux insist on pitching to Eddie Perez all those years instead of Javy Lopez? All I’m saying is that even if the catcher doesn’t matter, as long as the pitcher thinks it matters then that’s all we need to know.

By: Raf

Raf — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:09:55 +0000

Having said that, if a pitcher expresses a preference, and it doesn’t hurt the team, sure go for it, let them have a personal catcher; after all, the starter isn’t going to catch all 162 games.

By: Raf

Raf — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:08:34 +0000

Steve Lombardi wrote:

@ Janks-n-Jints: FWIW, in the Bill James Goldmine last year, Bill James made a case that, if Posada had been catching Mussina last year, and not Molina, then Moose would not have won 20 games. Sometimes the catcher does matter…

Maybe, maybe not, but given Mussina’s body of work during his time in the majors, I’d say that a catcher doesn’t make much of a difference.