The numbers below don't lie. Small sample size is a given for the simple reason that they don't give him that many nights off from behind the dish, but the overall numbers are still very revealing. I didn't realize there was this much of a differential between the C Buster Posey and the 1B Buster Posey as a hitter. It just speaks to how stressful catching is on a hitter and how much it saps his overall offensive potential.
from Giants Extra:
So, what does Bochy think of moving Posey to another position down the road? - Giants Extra:
What if Posey didn’t have to catch? What if he didn’t have to take time off — three games this year, Bochy said — to deal with the hip tightness, or the occasionally sore back, or the other dings and dents that come with being an MLB catcher. Manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged Friday that Posey can be a different hitter when he gets to play first base, something the numbers back up.
Posey is hitting .265 with a .425 slugging percentage in 332 at-bats as a catcher this season. He is hitting .385 and slugging .526 in 78 at-bats as a first baseman. It’s a small sample size, but Posey has had similar splits in past years.
“It does affect him,” Bochy said. “You can tell with the way he swings the bat. I do think it’s easier on the body playing first base. It takes you away from the mental grind of catching every day. It’s a a little bit easier and it does make sense if a guy is comfortable at first and has no stress at first, that he should hit a little bit more.”
Bochy said that if Posey does eventually move, it would be to first base, not third. He thinks Posey has the arm and hands to handle the hot corner, but there are plays that are much more difficult on that side of the diamond. It would take “a lot of work” to get Posey comfortable with slow rollers and other such plays at third base, Bochy said.'via Blog this'
To me, you lose the guy at least 10% of the time just in terms of lost AB's (the numbers below reveal that) from giving him the entire day off. If you lose another 10% of the guy just due to the cumulative stresses of catching, your basically getting 80% out of your best hitting asset on a daily basis. Unless Posey is significantly more valuable behind the dish than your next best option, I think you have to make the move ASAP.
| Buster Posey | 116 | 427 | 52 | 122 | 22 | 1 | 15 | 61 | 40 | 57 | 0 | 1 | .286 | .345 | .447 | .793 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pablo Sandoval | 124 | 464 | 57 | 132 | 24 | 2 | 14 | 59 | 31 | 67 | 0 | 0 | .284 | .328 | .435 | .763 |
| Michael Morse | 122 | 410 | 46 | 116 | 29 | 2 | 16 | 57 | 28 | 113 | 0 | 0 | .283 | .339 | .480 | .819 |
| Hunter Pence | 128 | 525 | 86 | 148 | 26 | 9 | 17 | 55 | 38 | 100 | 11 | 5 | .282 | .333 | .463 | .796 |
| Madison Bumgarner | 26 | 55 | 9 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 0 | .273 | .305 | .473 | .778 |
With Susac developing into a guy who could handle the grind 120-130 times a year, who knows? He looks like he might be OK behind the dish, better if he stops stabbing at balls in the dirt and starts blocking more often. Offensively, he looks like he handle the bat well enough to give you a .250 average +/- 20 points. That would be fine with the occasional pop that comes with it.
Interesting to see they have made up their minds that it will be 1B rather than 3B. Good news for Pablo, maybe worse news for Michael Morse and / or Brandon Belt.
Now, if the brain trust can only figure out why Brandon Crawford, who should be hitting .275 continues to languish as .225, we may have something to cheer about.
No comments:
Post a Comment