More Holiday Music

Steely Dan classic "Buy Nothing Day" "Black Friday"

Fenway West 11.26.10

Happy Thanksgiving from Fenway West!

Happy Thanksgiving from Fenway West! Time to be thankful for what we do have and not to worry about what we don't have. (Things. Stuff.) Please enjoy Arlo Guthrie performing a Thanksgiving staple, "Alice's Restaurant."

Click here for the 2005 version with video.

Fenway West 11.25.10

Jason Varitek compared to other Hall of Fame catchers

In a sense, catchers can be compared to quarterbacks. The position of catcher comes with great responsibility as they are the only ones who can see the whole defense at one time as the pitch is thrown, as well as any offensive players who may be on base. The relationship between pitcher and catcher is of utmost importance. The catcher needs to know what each batter is capable of, his likes and dislikes; and also needs to what pitch is best to retire the batter, and what the pitcher’s best choice of pitches in thousands of different situations. It’s no wonder that catchers go on to be great managers. Think Joe Torre.

In a previous post, after questioning why catchers are always judged by their offensive stats before their defensive stats, I speculated on Jason Varitek’s chances of entering the Hall of Fame some day. ‘Guest’ replied with this comment:

disagree

sorry but i completely disagre, Tek is not a HOFer. you say other stats besides batting avg (which DOES matter to some extent and he's never hit .300) but what else is there?... yes he's caught 4 no-hitters which is awesome but thats like saying DoN Larsen should be in the HoF just for his perfect game. Its one accomplishment. Teks meant a lot to the Red Sox organization and we appreciate everything he does on AND off the field, but you cannot make a case that he belongs in the hall of fame. no way, no how.

That comment prompted me into comparing Varitek’s numbers, both offensive and defensive, against 8 other catchers who are in the Hall of Fame.

I never said Batting Average does not matter. I said , “I hope that those voting come the time that ‘Tek is knocking on that vaulted door, that they will consider all of his stats equally, and not just his batting average.” Only 2 of them, Cochrane and Dickey, had lifetime batting averages over .300, while Bench, Carter and Fisk were all in the .260’s. I also consider catching 4 no-hitters 4 separate events, not 1 as the commenter did. I would think it is more comparable to a pitcher throwing 4 no-hitters in his entire career.

I took a look at the offensive and defensive lifetime season statistics of HoF catchers Bench, Berra, Campanella, Carter, Cochrane, Dickey, Fisk, Hartnett and compared them to those of Varitek. While his averages could fluctuate up or down (BA, OBP, SLG, OPS and FLD, etc.), his quantifiable stats (games, at bats, hits, runs, doubles, home runs, total chances, put outs, etc.) can only go up. Most of the catchers in the HoF have 17-24 years of MLB action, while 2 of them have fewer years than the 14 of ‘Teks.

Click on the table to make larger

Jason Varitek’s offensive numbers to date compare favorably to the lowest of the 8 HoF’ers, while his defensive numbers place him in the top 3 in 6 of 10 categories.

I know these numbers can be inspected, detected, infected, neglected, selected, bisected, and dissected in 11teen bazillion different ways, but I will leave that to the Jamesian statisticians and simply say, he’s got a shot. Check his numbers when·his career finally does come to an end, factor in his game calling skills and that 'C' on his jersey, then he has an even bigger shot. Carlton Fisk played in 2499 games in 24 seasons, and only 273 were not in the catcher position. ‘Tek won’t play another 10 years, but he’s got a lot of game left in him before he hangs up his cleats.

Note~ I started this post before it was announced that Victor Martinez was signed to a contract with the Detroit Tigers. This suggests to me, that the Red Sox FO may be looking at Varitek mentoring or even possibly platooning with Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Salty is chomping at the bit, Varitek isn’t ready to call it quits, and Salty is really looking forward to the possibility of working with ‘Tek.

Red Sox box score from the past (07.24.04)

It's the off-season and most of the posts in bloggerland from the major media outlets to the smallest of blogs seem to be focused on what Theo 'might' do this winter. In a break from speculation, I offer something that 'did happen', as opposed to what 'might happen.'

In my post about catcher's being rated first on their offensive skills and Jason Varitek's possibility of making into the Hall of Fame, I included a photo that every Red Sox fan will recognize- 'Tek feeding A-Rod a leather sandwhich in 2004. That is the game that turned the Red Sox season around and led to them making the playoffs that historic year.

So I will start off with the box score from July 24th, 2004.

Click on box score to make larger

The Lees, Rangers CEO and Yankee fans

I don’t remember where exactly I read this, but it appears that that the Rangers CEO and Cliff Lee’s wife share a common bond- their dislike of Yankee fans.

Not as outspoken as his late father George was during his 37 years in control of the Yankees, Steinbrenner was moved to the airwaves in response to comments made Monday by Rangers CEO Chuck Greenberg. Greenberg said in a Dallas radio interview that "Yankees fans, frankly, were awful" during the ALCS games at Yankee Stadium, a remark he later apologized for by saying he had "unfairly and inaccurately disparaged" Yankees fans. The Yankees learned of Greenberg's comments during their meetings, and Steinbrenner said the team informed Major League Baseball that they intended to aggressively respond but agreed to wait a day in deference to the World Series. Steinbrenner said that he spoke with Greenberg later on Monday and believed his tone of apology to be sincere. "He absolutely would be the first one to admit that they were stupid comments and inappropriate," Steinbrenner told 1050 ESPN. "He very much wanted to give a sincere apology. I said, 'That's good that you're apologizing to us, but you need to apologize to our fans. They're the ones you've wronged here.' And he did in that statement."

ESPN also had a post about Greenberg and Yankee fans.

Lee’s wife was reportedly not happy with the behavior of Yankees fans, who threw taunted her, spit at her and threw beer at her.

If you put all that together with the fact that Arlington, TX is only 40 minutes from the Lee’s home in Arkansas, my guess is that Lee will be staying put in Texas.

More on Jason Varitek

The Boston Red Sox FO should take a long hard look at the ongoing negotiations between Hal Steinbrenner (is he the dumb one, or the dumber one?) and Derek Jeter and his agent. ESPN opined that “messy” negotiations, as suggested by Steinbrenner, “It's akin to putting the Rolling Stones together without Mick Jagger. You can't do it.”

The Red Sox have already eliminated any such messiness with David Ortiz, but negotiating still remains with Jason Varitek, who is just as important to the Red Sox as Jeter is to the Yankees.

On the surface, it may appear that the Red Sox are not pursuing Victor Martinez as much as they had declared, especially in light of the attention that he is getting from other teams. Does this mean that 'Tek will be back and mentoring Jarrod Saltalamcchia? Many think Salty is not quite ready for the big leagues, but that the Sox have not cemented a deal with V-Mart as of yet certainly suggests it is a possibility.

Why are catchers always first rated upon their batting statistics?

Why are catchers always first rated upon their batting statistics? I read this post on Bleacher Report a while back about V-Mart, and the author immediately recited his batting statistics, but made did not mention his defensive skills, nullifying stolen base attempts and game calling skills until much later in his post. To the author’s credit, he finally did later mention Martinez’s loyalty to his employer, clubhouse acceptance and respect.

Martinez is making an on-the-field case for why he should get a new contract from the Sox. After a thumb injury sidelined him for almost a month, an offensive surge over the last two months has shown why he's so valuable. In August, Martinez hit .298 with 4 HR and 15 RBI. In September, his numbers have been even better: a .324 average, 6 HR, 23 RBI, and a .941 OPS.

He makes no mention of his other assets until halfway through his post.

Jason Varitek may not be bound for the Hall of Fame, but he should. The first thing that will be looked at will be his batting statistics. Any other position player with a similar set of stats would never be elected in. Factors such as his quiet but strong clubhouse leadership and his game calling skills carry much less weight. ‘Tek prepares himself for a game unlike any other catcher. He does his homework, and knows what pitch to call for every batter in every situation. He has at least 2T of memory.


He’s also called and caught 4 no-hitters, more than any other catcher in baseball history. ‘Tek probably won’t make it to the HoF, but he should. I hope that those voting come the time that ‘Tek is knocking on that vaulted door, that they will consider all of his stats equally, and not just his batting average.

Let's not forget the 2004 season's turning point.