[DaddyO]

It seems like Miguel Olivo has multiple passed balls a game, but the stats (including his one PB as of the 8th inning of today's game) show he has 4 PB's in 14 games at catcher. At that rate, if he were to catch 130 games, he would finish with 37 PB's for the 2012 season.

The List Of Most PB's (Season), 20th-21st Century:

Rank, Catcher (Season), PB, GmC 
1.  Geno Petralli (1987 Tex-AL), 35, 63 
2.  J.C. Martin (1965 Chi-AL), 33, 112 
3.  Earl Williams (1972 Atl-NL), 28, 116 
4.   Gus Triandos (1959 Bal-AL), 28, 125 
5.  Ted Simmons (1975 Stl-NL), 28, 154 
6.  Bob Didier (1969 Atl-NL), 27, 114 
7.  Mike MacFarlane (1995 Bos-AL), 26, 111 
8.  John Henry (1911 Was-AL), 25, 51 
9.  Bob Uecker (1967 Atl-NL), 25, 59 
10.  Nig Clarke (1907 Cle-AL), 25, 115 
11.  Dick Dietz (1970 SF-NL), 25, 139 
12.  Jason Varitek (1999 Bos-AL), 25, 140 

[Huindekmi]

It's usually credited as a wild pitch whenever a pitcher tosses one in the dirt and Olivo does his little Olé move instead of blocking the ball with his body. (note: that's the same maneuver that made everyone despise Rob Johnson so much)

In my layman's opinion, at least half of the wild pitches credited during games that Olivo catches are perfectly preventable.

Tell me again why Jaso isn't allowed behind the plate?

While I'm not a huge proponent of cERA, I decided to go look at the stat to see if there was an obvious flaw in Jaso's game. Nope. Over the past two seasons, Jaso has easily beaten Olivo in cERA. In passed balls, Jaso isn't great, but Olivo is consistently one of the worst in baseball. The only area that Olivo appears to be better is in his CS%.

So, there you go folks. We are sacrificing a couple hundred OPS points from the catcher position in order to prevent, on average, one additional stolen base per week.

Brilliant!

[Vidya]

The year's not over and Olivo is no Geno Petralli. Also, passed ball numbers can be seriously skewed by a knuckleball pitcher. OK, that's not Miguel's excuse.

My point is Olivo is no Ted Simmons or Jason Varitek either. Those were the only catchers on the list to get 130 starts. Besides, Olivo's BA is now up to .175 and his OPS is out of pitcher-land. I have no idea what Wedge has against Jaso, but if the numbers don't change, Olivo won't get 100 starts. No matter what he does, by August we will be watching a Montero - Jaso platoon. Olivo is fighting for a starting job on a MLB team that is not named the Mariners.

This post has been edited by Vidya: 26 April 2012 - 01:24 PM

[DaddyO]

Vidya, on 26 April 2012 - 12:58 PM, said:

The year's not over

True 'nuff, and I'm not seriously suggesting he will break or even approach the record. But you gotta admit that even for him (most PB's ever in a season, 16) he's off to a rought start in that department.

Quote

passed ball numbers can be seriously skewed by a knuckleball pitcher. OK, that's not Miguel's excuse.

Which only makes Olivo's performance in this department all the more ugly. Although I gotta admit the movement of Felix' pitches is hellacious. But what's really disturbing is WATCHING them, because so many seem inexplicable. It's sad, because other than whiffing on or failing to block pitches Miguel is a pretty good catcher.

[lisa mariner]

DaddyO, on 26 April 2012 - 11:25 AM, said:

It seems like Miguel Olivo has multiple passed balls a game, but the stats (including his one PB as of the 8th inning of today's game) show he has 4 PB's in 14 games at catcher. At that rate, if he were to catch 130 games, he would finish with 37 PB's for the 2012 season.

The List Of Most PB's (Season), 20th-21st Century:

Rank, Catcher (Season), PB, GmC 
1.  Geno Petralli (1987 Tex-AL), 35, 63 
2.  J.C. Martin (1965 Chi-AL), 33, 112 
3.  Earl Williams (1972 Atl-NL), 28, 116 
4.   Gus Triandos (1959 Bal-AL), 28, 125 
5.  Ted Simmons (1975 Stl-NL), 28, 154 
6.  Bob Didier (1969 Atl-NL), 27, 114 
7.  Mike MacFarlane (1995 Bos-AL), 26, 111 
8.  John Henry (1911 Was-AL), 25, 51 
9.  Bob Uecker (1967 Atl-NL), 25, 59 
10.  Nig Clarke (1907 Cle-AL), 25, 115 
11.  Dick Dietz (1970 SF-NL), 25, 139 
12.  Jason Varitek (1999 Bos-AL), 25, 140 

Doesn't Saltalamacchia and his 26 PB in 2011 belong on this list? (comparatively, Olivo had 11)
Though, as Vidya pointed out, could be attributed, in part, to luck (or lack thereof) of the knuckleballer draw (Wakefield, in this instance)

This post has been edited by lisa mariner: 26 April 2012 - 02:48 PM

[DaddyO]

lisa mariner, on 26 April 2012 - 02:47 PM, said:

Doesn't Saltalamacchia and his 26 PB in 2011 belong on this list? (comparatively, Olivo had 11)
Though, as Vidya pointed out, could be attributed, in part, to luck (or lack thereof) of the knuckleballer draw (Wakefield, in this instance)

I dunno, I guess so. I just took the list of a website dedicated to catching.

[Huindekmi]

I checked Baseball Reference and found that Petralli is small potatoes. The single season leader in passed balls is Rudy Kemmler with 114 way back in 1883. Petralli's worst season has him tied for 203rd on the list.

OK. So passed balls were a lot more common before the 20th century. A LOT more common. Petralli's score is the worst single season since 1900. Still...

Saltamachia holds the record for any player currently active.

[Vidya]

DaddyO, on 26 April 2012 - 01:22 PM, said:

True 'nuff, and I'm not seriously suggesting he will break or even approach the record. But you gotta admit that even for him (most PB's ever in a season, 16) he's off to a rough start in that department.

Yes he is off to a rough start. If he's suppose to be showing the other catchers how to do it, we better hope they're not watching that part.

Quote

Which only makes Olivo's performance in this department all the more ugly. Although I gotta admit the movement of Felix' pitches is hellacious. But what's really disturbing is WATCHING them, because so many seem inexplicable. It's sad, because other than whiffing on or failing to block pitches Miguel is a pretty good catcher.

Wedge certainly likes him. He certainly has the best leadership qualities of the position players, and Wedge seems to value that. Eventually the group of young players will develop their own leadership, and we can be done with the OTH vets. His loyalty to the Mariners is high, and it's hard for management to not value that.

I'm not making excuses, even though it looks like I am. Managers are people, and develop a relationship with their players, especially the ones that have been around a while. My point is that it's not just about numbers, baseball is a real game played by real players, and the human element can be really confusing compared to the numbers that sometimes tell a different story. Olivo's going to be around longer than most of us will like, but he will be gone soon enough.

I certainly believe that Wedge is over using him right now, but I also expect that will change as the season develops. I have no idea what's going on with Jaso, but with Montero I agree that he should be gradually transitioned into becoming a full-time catcher. Finally, if Olivo is going to be traded as many of us expect, then Wedge will have to showcase him for the other MLB teams. Olivo is not just struggling to be the #1 catcher with the Mariners, he's struggling to be the #1 catcher on a yet to be named MLB team that will need a catcher due to injury or some other reason.

This post has been edited by Vidya: 27 April 2012 - 11:29 AM