2062.17 Will Malone Experiment Continue in Playoffs?

[ae37jr]

Will Malone Experiment Continue in Playoffs?

Back around the all star break, I made a case for Twin Cities catcher Carlos Marcillas to be the teams MVP. His defensive prowess seemed to have gotten the most out of what appeared to be a mid pitching staff. Less than month later we did a complete 180 and now have the worst defensive catcher in the BBA.

On July 15, Marcillas attempted to take out the son of River Monster legend Mark Wareham, Mitch, with a hard takeout slide to break up a double play. The play ended with Marcillas rolling his ankle. His injury would keep him out of action for 3 weeks.

Twin Cities was set to call up yet another expert pitch framer named Eduardo Medine. Medine had done a well enough job as a 3rd stringer the past couple of years. About to make the decision, team GM Alan Ehlers said, "hmm". Medine was struggling at AAA this year. Adding his bat would make the team worse for sure. Why not do something that I've thought about during the season. And that is give developmental lab gone wrong Matthew Malone a chance to be the teams backup catcher.

Malone famously went to the D-lab to learn a new position. The River Monsters do this a lot to try to increase flexibility. We were hoping maybe he'd learn SS. Not that we want him to play SS, but a little more range and softer hands might have made him slightly better at 3B, A position he can kind of/sort of/not really play now. To the surprise of all, Malone came back from his 6 weeks of isolation with a catchers mitt. To be fair, Malone got probably the best roll anyone can get. +5 blocking, +5 framing, +5 arm. Unfortunately he plays for an organization that doesn't value 4 POT as a viable option at catcher... or do they?

As spring training was about to break, the River Monsters considered not carrying a backup catcher. Was it more valuable to have a catch and throw guy who plays once a week or just punt defense that one day and carry another big stick? Eventually they chickened out and went with Cesar Roman as the backup. But with Marcillas on DL, Medine struggling, and the River Monsters fairly firmly planted as the top wild card... now was the time.

At first, Malone was the backup. We really never planned for him to be the everyday catcher. We figured during the 3 weeks Marcillas was out, he'd start maybe 3-4 games. Even if we lose those games 15-0... it wasn't going to make or break our season. To the surprise of everyone, he did well. So we played him more... and more. Marcillas fully healed and we kept him in AAA on rehab assignment until rosters expanded just to further the experiment. Before long Malone became the everyday catcher.

POS	Name	G	GS	TC	A	PO	E	DP	SBA	RTO	RTO%	IP	PB	CERA
C	CARLOS MARCILLAS	93	87	660	46	614	0	1	76	14	18.4	773.0	5	4.05
C	CESAR ROMAN	50	46	396	25	369	2	4	45	6	13.3	415.0	3	3.38
1B	MATHEW MALONE	26	26	215	16	199	0	2	23	5	21.7	220.1	0	2.70

His results have been a mixed bag. As expected, his pitch framing is on pace to be amongst the worst in the BBA. You'd think that would directly effect ERA right? Not so here. His 2.70 ERA is the best of any catcher in the league who has started at least 25 games. I know, I know....short sample. The easiest way out of anything that doesn't fit your narrative. I try not to get too wrapped up in trying to figure out how the sausage is made. If it works, it works. When it stops working, we'll adapt.

So I still think catcher defense is super important . BUT....everything is push and pull. There is a balance of offense and defense. Here how Malone stacks up against the best offensive catchers in the league....

POS	Name	ORG	G	GS	PA	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	IBB	HP	SO	GIDP	AVG	OBP	SLG	ISO	OPS	OPS+	BABIP	WAR	SB	CS
C	Edgardo Reyes	CCJ	92	90	385	352	122	16	2	17	61	53	31	4	1	39	15	.347	.400	.548	.202	.948	153	.354	5.8	0	0
1B	MATHEW MALONE	TWC	148	148	632	557	167	42	4	28	85	110	59	2	16	101	13	.300	.383	.540	.241	.923	148	.325	4.8	1	1
C	Farid bin Mubarak	POR	49	36	150	140	44	14	1	2	13	19	7	2	3	11	5	.314	.360	.471	.157	.831	125	.331	1.2	1	0
C	Masakado Matsunaga	DM	127	127	541	498	146	23	2	23	74	61	37	1	3	72	14	.293	.344	.486	.193	.830	124	.303	5.3	1	1
C	Ross DeVille	MEX	99	73	360	338	97	11	5	19	63	40	14	2	0	55	11	.287	.308	.518	.231	.826	117	.287	2.6	2	3
C	Ed Henderson	RMO	120	101	432	400	116	19	0	21	76	51	23	1	4	68	11	.290	.331	.495	.205	.826	114	.301	2.5	1	0
C	Ivan Quintana	BIK	72	41	191	174	53	11	1	5	31	27	15	1	0	21	7	.305	.356	.466	.161	.822	121	.320	0.8	0	0
C	Dave Armstrong	LOU	98	73	321	273	64	11	0	18	46	44	43	5	2	72	3	.234	.340	.473	.238	.812	116	.247	1.3	0	0
C	Sam Butler	CPF	126	123	532	495	135	24	2	26	80	61	35	0	1	173	10	.273	.321	.487	.214	.808	114	.367	5.3	0	0
C	Tadanobu Otani	BOI	129	125	516	465	121	24	1	26	73	64	41	1	4	55	17	.260	.322	.484	.224	.806	116	.244	3.0	0	1
C	Sonny Wadden	SA	52	47	179	170	49	9	0	9	31	24	5	0	0	34	4	.288	.302	.500	.212	.802	112	.305	1.2	0	0
C	Tony Lopez	PHX	119	113	479	420	115	23	0	15	58	60	57	1	1	97	10	.274	.361	.436	.162	.797	115	.324	4.1	1	0
C	Allan Uecker	POR	125	124	489	459	129	25	2	20	74	57	18	0	5	84	12	.281	.311	.475	.194	.786	110	.301	6.4	1	2
C	Mitchell Goater	VAN	131	127	536	488	139	27	1	16	64	53	41	5	0	65	12	.285	.336	.443	.158	.778	123	.297	3.2	1	2
C	Raul Watson	CLG	51	51	194	171	42	9	0	9	32	18	19	0	1	51	1	.246	.320	.456	.211	.776	107	.289	1.9	1	0
C	Manny Trujillo	SFB	85	77	308	300	89	14	1	11	40	35	4	0	1	51	8	.297	.305	.460	.163	.765	99	.324	2.0	1	0
C	Adam Rumbold	LV	55	33	151	146	41	6	1	6	23	16	4	0	0	26	3	.281	.298	.459	.178	.757	100	.304	0.4	0	0
C	Ricardo Romo	BRK	58	36	166	154	42	7	1	6	20	15	7	1	2	21	6	.273	.307	.448	.175	.755	99	.277	0.1	0	0
C	Roy O'Donnell	JAX	113	105	411	380	106	20	1	11	41	44	26	0	3	107	10	.279	.328	.424	.145	.752	105	.360	2.1	1	0
C	CESAR ROMAN	TWC	59	46	180	153	37	7	1	5	23	15	25	0	1	40	4	.242	.350	.399	.157	.749	104	.294	1.6	0	1

Only Reyes of Charm City has been a better offensive catcher. Combine that with having the lowest catcher ERA in the BBA and how do you take him out from behind the plate? With the playoffs approaching we have an interesting dilemma. Do we go with what is working or make a change before the short sample boggey man gets us? Here are some random observation/philosophies that I believe to be true.

-A great defensive catcher is very beneficial to fringe pitchers more so than stars
-A great pitch framer gets the most out of High Stuff/Low Control pitchers
-Pitchers with high movement, good control, and low movement benefit the least.
-Your starting catcher gets tired a lot and will need 1-2 days off a week.
-DH'ing a catcher when he is tired does not do much for recovery
-A DH catching 1-2 days a week will not tire him.

So I feel like in the long run, it's probably best to start the defensive catcher while using Malone as a backup on the days a pitcher like Jerry Stone is on the mound. It will keep his bat in the lineup while resting out everyday catcher and allowing us to hold a roster spot for something else. Using the defensive catcher for the bulk of the 162 will ensure we get the most out of our lesser pitchers.

For the playoffs though? You get a day off every 3-4 days, so there is no rest day needed for catcher. We're going to shorten our staff and play our best pitchers more. RP get more off days too, so they can go just about every game. Which will take away some of the importance of needing a good catcher. And finally we come back to sample size. A great defensive catcher may get you a couple of close called strikes in a game guaranteed. But another big bat can possibly get you a 3 run bomb. I think even though it's riskier. The three run bomb is worth the gamble in a short series.

So to answer the question... Yes. Matt Malone will be one of our 2 post season catchers and will likely catch most of the games. If we decide to throw someone like Enzo Bouton however, we will see Marcillas behind the dish.

[BaseClogger]

The thing is Roman has been really good too.

[RonCo]

Geoghegan MVP