Archive for November 7th, 2007
Phillies Acquire Brad Lidge
Cardinal Nation feels robbed. Our beloved catcher has missed out on yet another Gold Glove (2006 Brad Asumus comically won the Gold Glove over Molina, strictly on reputation). The sportswriters, bloggers, columns, and sports talk radio stations in St. Louis have touched upon the topic all morning. The fans are screaming “misdeal” on the baseball poker table. I want you to take a deep breath Cardinal Nation, and understand a few key points:
-It is important to note that MLB managers and coaches cast the ballot for Gold Glove awards, not the media, so if your angry, direct it towards them. And we thought the sports writers were out of their minds.
-Russell Martin is an all-star catcher, caught 400 more innings than Yadi, and plays better than average defense overall. All Star Players tend to draw more attention than players who don’t make the team.
-Molina played in 107 games last year. Although his numbers in 107 games are excellent defensively, there may have been implications in the eyes of managers.107 games is the kicker. Do I believe Yadi should’ve won the Gold Glove reagardless? Absolutly. Why? There is not a better defensive catcher in the game than him.
Bernie Miklasz wrote an excellent article on his blog, comparing the two catchers definsive statistics. Let’s take a look:
- Martin had the most errors of any catcher (14).
- Martin threw out only 28.7% of would be base stealers, good for 4th in the NL, 9th best in MLB.
-Teams attempted 115 steals on Martin this season. Although Martin caught 1,254 innings to Molina’s 861, the percentage of would be basestealers busted on the path favors Molina, 0.48 to 0.82.
- Only 3 catcher is MLB allowed more basetealers than Martin’s 82.
- Molina led MLB in throwing out would be basestealers: 23 of 46; 50%. Yes, that’s correct, only 46 runners attempted to steal bases on Molina. Show me a manager in the NL that doesn’t fear Molina’s arm and I’ll show you a smart manager. Until those same managers voted for Russell Martin.
In my opinion, the injuries HAD to be the only logical reason Molina didn’t win the Gold Glove. 108 games played due to wrist and knee injuries would be jusitfiable in the eyes of a manager, but the fear that Molina puts into opposing managers is evident by the statistics. These statistics don’t lie, so assuming managers supposedly fear Russell Martin more than Molina, we should expect a lot of baserunners thrown out by Yadi next year right? I highly doubt it.
Yadi should’ve still won this thing.
Also: Here’s what others are saying about the snub…
Odds and ends….
- AJ Burnett Trade Possiblities include the Cardinals - MLB Trade Rumors
- The Search for A Shortstop in the STL - Derrick Goold
- Cards Decline Option on Taguchi - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Is Rolen a Darkhorse Candidate in New York? – Pro Sports Daily
- White Sox looking at Eckstein – Daily Hearald
also….
Buster Olney is betting on the Cardinals as the destination for Glavine …
