Let’s relax with the praise of ‘the fat catcher’.
This is getting out of control now. I know everyone out there is happy with the production of the fat catcher so far this year, but let’s all relax and just appreciate what he’s done. I’m not going to try to lie and say that he hasn’t improved or performed beyond expectations, he has. I’m not going to buy into people making him out to be some sort of godsend that has finally arrived either though. We all have our own opinions of how players perform and project, but to think this guy is going to become one of the best at his position is quite absurd. This is why I have a problem with stats. I’m not saying I don’t pay attention to stats, but they don’t always tell the truth. When I see a stat that compares a guy like the fat catcher to Johnny Bench, Russel Martin or Gary Carter I have to stop myself from laughing til I puke. People are getting out of control with stat comparisons and what not and it makes me wonder, what has this all come to? Are we judging players STRICTLY on stats now? I know that baseball is a game of stats. I know that the barometer of how a player is doing in the game is largely based on stats, but how in the hell can you compare TFC (the fat catcher) to Johnny Bench? I’m not saying I’m not wrong in my own assessment of him, hell I’m wrong all the time, but how can you do this? The fat catcher’s name shouldn’t even be mentioned on the same day as Johnny Bench’s much less in the same sentence. I’m not trying to stir anything up here, Rays Indexalready has put me in my place on the net, but what is it they see in this guy that makes them believers? I’ve watched TFC play this year and have marvelled at his improvement, but again, what makes people think he’s going to be a great hitter? I can’t argue sight over stats but every time I watch him hit he is not impressive. He has hit some balls hard, done a great job with clutch hitting but I’m not going to buy into him becoming a great offensive catcher just yet. He has huge holes in his swing, has Steve Henderson as his hitting coach and is already fat and slow. This is a horrible combination for success and I really haven’t seen anything that is going to make me think differently. This is one of those things I just don’t understand. This was all brought up because Steve Henson called TFC a middling catcher. I’m going to lean more towards Henderson in this opinion but I’m not looking to stir up anything here. I’m just curious as to what makes these guys think he’s not? He has never lit it up offensively and he is nothing to brag about defensively either. Let me do this, I’ll give positives and negatives and see if I can figure it out.
- Positives: He is having a great offensive season to this point batting .352 with an .825 OPS. He has definitely improved offensively and defensively as we all can agree. He has a very good batters eye as he doesn’t strike out much and does get on base. He is gaining a nice relationship with the pitching staff. He is doing a good job behind the plate with an CERA of 3.48 and a CS% of .304. He’s doing this all at an age of 24.
- Negatives: He has a very average swing with very little power behind it. He clogs up the bases and makes quite a few baserunning mistakes. He’s has very little lateral movement which leads to alot of wild pitches and passed balls. He is still not yet calling the game for pitchers even though people will have you believe he is. He is only 24 and already fat.
There is not alot of negatives yet not alot of potential either. I’m content with him behind the plate for now and I’m not looking for the Rays to go out and replace him as I was in the offseason. I just don’t think he’s great, going to be great or wouldn’t dog someone for thinking he should be replaced soon. I agree with what they said that drafting Posey to win “now” is retarded. This is all just something to talk about here as I’m not trying to get taken to the woodshed, I’m just curious as to what makes you fans of TFC think he’s going to be an above average player. I’ll do this. I’ll make a friendly bet with Rays Index that TFC will finish the season with an average of below .300. The stakes I don’t want to make crazy because I don’t want to root against him, I’m just not convinced that he’ll be able to keep up his production. Take it for what it’s worth guys and stop comparing him to great catchers because he’s not.
Scott Brannelly can be reached here.
Source: Rays Index, Yahoo
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:43 PM
well. we never said that TFC is the next Bench or the next Fisk or the next Piazza. Heck we aren’t even saying he is the next Joe Torre, although he could turn out to be a great manager.
all we were saying is that those are the only players that have had BETTER seasons at such a young age. In other words, TFC’s season is NOT as good as theirs were and he will never be as good. BUT he is showing early on that he will be better than most.
Part of this, as i have written about in the past, is that catchers are notoriously slow developers. they spend so much time in the minors working on defense, that organizations usually don’t worry and don’t pressure the development of the bat. Compare TFC to Jorgie Posada. Posada only had 1 major league game prior to his age-24 season. TFC had 255. Most catchers wouldn’t even be in the majors at this point in the pro careers. now, take that slow development and add to that the fact that Navi had to learn to hit in the majors, and he had had to learn everything twice (he is a switch-hitter).
Now, I agree Navi will never hit 30 home runs in a season. Heck, he might never hit 20. His stride is way to long. Power is generated from the legs and hips. TFC is practically doing a split on his swing, which is in itself an amazing accomplishment for a Fat Catcher. But once a batter gets their legs that far apart there is no torque generated,which means his swings are all arms and wrists.
What TFC does have going for him is a nice level swing that DOESNT HAVE A LOT OF HOLES, and a mastery of the strike zone something which is usually a good sign of future success as a hitter. i won’t bother you with stats, but he doesn’t strike out a lot. I have also commented before, TFC hits a ton of line drives. they are not hard line drives like Upton who has amazing bat speed, then again Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs never did either. but he does hit A LOT of line drives.
Is he going to hit .350? no. as you said he is too slow. Slow guys don’t get the bonus hits like drag bunts or infield hits. But i have said as long ago as the spring of 2007 that once Navi figured things out, he would be a .320 hitter year-in and year-out.
“I’ll make a friendly bet with Rays Index that TFC will finish the season with an average of below .300.”
I’ll tell you what…If TFC finishes the season below .300, you can come on Rays Index and write a post on any topic you choose. Rays or something else. But if Navi does hit .300 I want you to write a post on here in which you say 5 positive things (and nothing negative) each about Dioner Navarro AND Jason Bartlett.
June 4th, 2008 at 5:04 PM
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