It’s been a while since we did some ridiculous reader emails, but I figured yesterday’s column on the All-Star rosters would generate a few, since it’s always a controversial topic. Sadly, I haven’t gotten any particularly virulent or poorly-written ones, but I did get two that caught my eye. The first is from Nick, who didn’t provide an email address:
How could you say Jason Varitek doesn’t deserve to be in the all star game? Baseball is played on both sides of the field and regardless of his lack of batting, Varitek might be the best pitch caller in the game today. Don’t forget he was the one who caught Lester’s no hitter and has done this more than once. He was voted in by the players, that should tell you something.
It does tell me something, but not what Nick seems to be hearing.
I’m really stunned/amused by the no-hitters argument for Varitek. Has anyone ever pushed catching no-hitters as a skill, or evidence of a specific skill for the catcher? And is that not evidence that you’re scraping for something if you have to reach like that because the player’s offensive performance has been so bad?
But the surprise email was this one, from “scott,” apparently a student at an Ivy League school, about my Sabathia reaction piece:
Keith, CC won the Cy Young last year, remember that? NO KIDDING that he’s one of the best pitchers, if not the best, in the National League. Your last few columns have shown a complete lack of baseball knowledge.
Aren’t you all bowled over by scott’s baseball knowledge? Wow. I sure am. He knows who won the Cy Young Award last year!
(The ESPN Conversation on the Sabathia article has been a good one, so if you have questions about that deal, please post them there.)
UPDATE: We have a winner! Bob from Kansas City writes:
you my friend are the most uneducated baseball “expert” I have ever seen. Joakim Soria is the “token” Royal on the All Star team? You are an idiot. Do some research and you’ll find that he is pretty much the most automatic closer in baseball today. Ask batters around the American League what they think of Mr. Soria. You and your east coast bias make all of us in the midwest sick. Learn how to do some research before writing this ridiculous garbage.
Awesome. I’m an idiot, even though Bob doesn’t understand the “token” term. Good times!
What’s the likelihood that Nick is a Massho-,er , Northeasterner? I would attribute a lot of credit for the last two Boston no-hitters to some awesome defensive plays that the Boston fielders made behind Buchholz and Lester.
btw Keith, your 2nd link isn’t to the Sabathia piece.
As a Red Sox fan and someone named Scott I am embarrassed by both of these emails
It seems that Scott only read the first sentence of that article before responding. I wonder what the term papers he’s been turning in at that Ivy League school of his are like, with that kind of attention span.
I have to say, I watch Varitek play almost everyday and I can’t belive how horrible his pitch selection is most of the time. He barely deserves his 25-man roster spot, nevermind an all-star roster spot.
Keith, this Varitek thing bugs me so very much, but for all of the wrong reasons.
I’m all for bucking the conventional wisdom (I think ‘Tek should be on the bench, just for the Sox and not for the AL All-Star team), but common sense would seem to indicate that there must be SOME value for calling a game. I mean, people like Erik Bedard (reportedly) don’t watch tape, or get info on hitters, and that info has to be worth SOMETHING in terms of performance, doesn’t it? Can we build a manageable amount of data on this?
Sigh. I need a sandwich.
Jason Varitek’s inclusion on the All Star team for his .218/.300/.358 line would be akin to having my name among the nominees for the Nobel Prize in Physics for having successfully created a telephone out of string and two styrofoam cups.
And as far as the whole “no-hitters caught” argument, I’ve heard it many times already – although the last one was only a several weeks ago – and I never know what to say in response. It’s like telling a six-year old child of divorce that Santa can’t possibly bring Mommy and Daddy back together. Because as we all know, Santa loves divorces. I can’t possibly crush such barefaced innocence.
Poor Varitek. Now everyone is just going to rail on him and he must be feeling pretty low to begin with.
Ron Hassey caught 2 perfect games, would he be considered the best catcher of all time?
Varitek is lucky he’s still starting, he’s absolutely horrible.
I am a die hard Red Sox fan and a huge Varitek fan and when Tito pinch hit him for Cash Sunday night I groaned out loud… enough said.
Jeff Torborg caught 3 no hitters, how many All Star games did he play in?
Every year we complain that the fans vote based on popularity but is it any different than the players vote? Varitek couldn’t make the International League All Star Roster with that line.
This is the spew that WEEI is dishing out. They bring up “intangibles” because he’s a white guy who looks like he’s trying. No stat person has ever been able to quantify “being a good game-caller” or anything like that.
I don’t believe that there is any evidence about the true effect that game calling skills have. So I don’t mind that some people don’t include it when evaluating a player, but I also do not like it when people do include it. I mean there has to be some difference right? Not all catchers are going to call the game exactly the same way. It is probably overrated, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist either.
http://statisticianmagician.mlblogs.com/
Kurt Suzuki should also be given consideration at catcher. Higher on-base % and just slightly lower offensive numbers than Pierzynski, but far superior defensive stats. A.J’s caught stealing % is laughable.
But, but, but…Varitek has a big red “C” on his chest! Don’t forget the intangibles, people!
The ESPN Conversation forum for Keith’s All-Star article has now reached over 1400 comments. Since I’m not masochistic enough to subject myself to idiocy at such a rapid-fire pace, I only read like 50 of them, but already I saw the “caught four no-hitters” argument trotted out like ten times.
I mean, even if those no-hitters are even slightly attributable to Varitek, doesn’t that seem more like a misplaced Hall of Fame argument than one for an All-Star berth in a year where he’s hitting .219? How does a no-hitter he caught in 2001 determine whether or not he should be on the AST in 2008? Lord how I dread the day Tek becomes HOF eligible.
Keith, I agree with you almost always, and certainly Burrell is more deserving of a spot on the All-Star roster than Ludwick, but calling Ludwick a 4A player is a bit of a stretch. His career OPS+ sits at 113. Sure, the OBP is mediocre, and that knocks him down a notch, and he’s below-average defensively, but his career SLG is good enough that he’s probably an average corner outfielder. Unless you’re arguing that he’s Raul-Ibanez-bad in the field (and he could be, I don’t really know), a league-average outfielder is quite valuable. Not an All-Star, no, but not a fringe major leaguer, either.
The “automatic” Joakim blew a save tonight. Good call, Bob.
I guess I should preface this by saying that I’m a Sox fan, but that doesn’t mean I vote in 10 Sox players 50 times a day. I’m a little embarassed that Tek almost got voted in to start… We all see him struggling at the plate, but the defense and intangibles, I’m not sure that’s there. He’s a good lockeroom guy, great, that qualifies him as a coach, and Tito isn’t bringing a glove to the game. Five or six times a game he stands up to call for that high strike, I’ve never once seen that work, not once, the gamecalling works when a pitcher is having a good night…
Wouldn’t a list of catchers that have caught no-hitters over the last 10-20 years drive a spike right through the “Varitek make-um good all-star, he catch him some no-hitters” argument.
To answer my own question. . .according to retrosheet, since ’98 (in reverse order), they are:
Varitek, Varitek, Pudge, Pierzynski, Miguel Olivo, Johnny Estrada, Ausmus, Lieberthal, Varitek, Eli Marrerro, Charles Johnson, Varitek, Steinbach, Girardi, Alberto Castillo, and Posada.
I can picture all of their busts in Canton. Does this give another bullet point to the Pierzynski for All-Star campaign?
Also, should Eric Cooper be the plate umpire for the All-Star game? He has called two no-hitters in the past 10 years.
I must say I really enjoy reading you chats, blogs and articles. However, these posts where you call out your detractors just seem to make you look very insecure and only add to the snarky, Ivy League arrogance that many accuse you of.
I am a diehard Red Sox fan and I certainly have a lot of respect for Varitek and the way he handles the staff, but come one. If you are a Red Sox fan and you try to justify his place on the All Star team, you make us all look like a bunch of idiots.
I don’t think he’ll ever say it publicly, but I have to imagine Varitek is pretty embarrassed to be on the All Star team with the season he is having.
Why did Crede make the squad? I was a bit perplexed about that pick.
Watching Baseball Tonight last night, Buck made a great point about All-Star rosters. What is the exact criterion for the All-Star game? Is it the guy I want to see the most, the guy who has had the best 1/2 season, or the guy who has played the best since the last all-star game?
I should have wrote “what are the exact criteria” in the last post. Don’t want anyone to think I’m a complete moron. Apologies.
I got excited to watch the All Star game as a kid, but it’s barely watchable (although still slightly better than the Pro Bowl). There are a few interesting match-ups, but it doesn’t last more than an at bat or two. The Larry Walker or John Kruk vs. Big Unit was about as good as it gets, but that was awhile ago. There is no criteria for entrance, just what big market teams have big names, and the fact that it decides home field for the World Series is crazy.
FYI: Not all of us Kansas Citians are morons like Bob.
Keith,
I have to admit, I did not like you when I first started reading your work. However, I personally think that you are one of the better espn.com contributers (along with Jim Callis), and this is coming from a KC fan!
By the way, your draft coverage was awesome. Great day to call in sick.
Using the reasoning that Varitek should be an all-star because he has caught a couple recent no hitters is so remedial. If lester gives up a blooper and Bucholz gives up a swinging Bunt single, is all of a sudden Varitek less of a catcher. He gets credit for calling games well and helping the pitchers on his staff, well were is the criticism for Beckett’s 06′ 5.02 ERA, or Dice-K’s below potential performance.