Heading into the dog days, the Yankee roster holds three LH catchers. Somebody's gotta go.
So, who decides? The poet, or the wonk? Let's see...
FIRE OR RICE? (Apologies to Robert Frost)
Some say the year will end with Wells,
Some say Ben Rice.
With all his deepest slumps and spells,
I'm sorta done with Austin Wells.
But if, in trades, he'll bring no price,
I think we'll find J.C. Escarra
Is hardly our next Yogi Berra,
Thus, for now, let's go with Rice,
And hope his defense
Will suffice.
Okay, pretty bad. But at least it's not "Yummy yummy yummy I got trades in my tummy..."
So, let's hear from the Wonk. The numbers are close, and there's something troubling about the difference in RBIs, but Ben Rice looks more productive. The second half should be his.
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16 comments:
I agree with everything Hoss posted yesterday.
As for Wells, the RBI difference is troubling, but maybe it has to do with where in the order the two have been batting most of the time. Just a guess.
Which reminds me, I heard somebody during a game last weekend--maybe on WFAN--who noted Volpe's poor BA, but was impressed by his 49 RBI. Kind of like Wells in that regard.
Hard to explain, but I'm sure somebody here has an explanation.
Not in love with either one. Rice has a serious problem throwing out runners. Would have preferred the team stuck with Gus Ramirez instead if trading him but that’s water under the bridge now. My choice would be Wells.
Maybe it’s because Rice usually hits in front of Judge, hence more runs scored, and Wells usually hits after Judge, hence more rbi’s? Or is that r’sbi?
We were spoiled. We had Yogi. We had Elston. Then there was Thurman. AND: We had Girardi + Jorge.
Seems Life is a series of reversions-to-the-mean. We may now be averaging out those 5 people -- with fellows who are, well . . . less.
You can have a catcher who can frame pitches, prevent SBs, and NOT allow wild pitches to become pass balls. A guy who turns sacrifice bunts into force-outs at the proper base. ETC.
You can have a catcher who can hit.
But it ain't necessarily the case that you can have a fellow who does all of this. We think you can, because we had just that for a long period.
Not forever, tho.
ADDENDUM: The WashPost has an analysis up on its site today of the NYYs and their indifferent "luck" in 2025.
Just a piece of it:
"Major sluggers such as Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Paul Goldschmidt have stalled in key moments, batting a combined .159 with runners in scoring position in June. The Yankees are also five games under .500 in one-run contests."
“ Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Paul Goldschmidt have stalled in key moments, batting a combined .159 with runners in scoring position in June
That is a damning stat!
Damn them!
Joe, you reminded me of "You can call me Ray, or you can call me Jay..."
And then there was this:
"In a startling development, Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has proclaimed that moving forward, MLB teams can only have one Aaron on the active roster at one time.
This mandate applies to players, managers, coaches and staff.
Teams that currently have two or mores Aarons on their active roster have until July 31st to comply with this new rule.
When reached for comment, Yankees Senior Vice President and GM Brian Cashman said, "We are aware of the Commissioner's mandate and are actively having internal discussions to determine which Aaron will remain with the team."
If only.
From your keyboard to God's ears. Of course, Hal would probably make him choose the wrong Aaron.
It's even worse, Joe FOB. From 1921-1979, with just a few years in between, we had Wally Schang, Bill Dickey, Yogi Berra, Elston Howard, and Thurman Munson behind the plate. Then Jorge, from 1997-2011...
...As for whether to trade Wells or Rice, I say, Yes, please, and let's bring up that good-looking Narvaez kid. Oh, wait.
999, so that's what the WaPo calls "bad luck," huh? Sounds more like relentless choking to me.
Both Rice and Wells are considerably worse at throwing out runners than the average. Wells has a career average of slightly higher than 25%. This year, it's slightly higher at just over 27%. Rice has only had 4 attempts and has caught 1, for a 25% success rate.
The percentages, surprisingly, can fluctuate considerably from year to year. The trend has been down over the last few years, likely due to bigger bases and the two-throw rule to first. Last year, the rate was quite low at just over 20%, but this year, it's much higher. Over the years, the average has been slightly over 30%. According to AI, in 2025, the percentage is 31.9% in the AL and 41.9% in the NL. But, this seems dubious, as I can see no logical reason for the huge jump in caught stealing success.
All this is to say that both Yankee catchers suck at catching baserunners.
✅
Yeah, depends on who your pitchers are and how often teams are running. But our guys ain't good. Of course.
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