Series Loss – Bo to AAA, a Gold Glove Arrives

This is the second AL central team we’ve played all season. What a weird schedule.

Apparently the Twins hate the Guards, and honestly I don’t remember ever really minding the Twins. Something is up there.

Series Results

Bo didn’t catch the first game of the series, and we won. The second game, Bailey rode the bench which, I think, was the first time Hedgey caught back to back games.

Our biggest problem remains hitting, and I know as soon as I say that, someone will bring up our new catcher and his shitty hitting.

Let’s Talk About Catchers

The big news for Belles is that Bo Naylor was sent to the Columbus Clippers (our AAA team) to free up a spot on the roster. Matt ‘Tugboat’ Wilkinson (a lefty pitcher in our AA team, the Akron Rubber Ducks), and a draft pick, were traded to the Giants for a Gold Glove catcher, Patrick Bailey.

I love Bo Naylor. I used to go to games with a sign that said “Nayled It” for when Bo or Josh were up at bat. It’s sad the Naylor Bros time with Cleveland is over (for now, baseball is mercurial), but we have to look at the numbers ESPN isn’t.

Player	Batting Average	OPS	Home Runs	Catcher ERA (cERA)	Framing Runs
Hedges	.306	.801	1	3.37	+6
Naylor	.143	.438	2	4.12	+1
Bailey	.146	.396	1	3.58	+8

Now, if you look at the offensive stats, it’s weird, right.

• Bo Naylor is in a massive slump. His .143 average is the lowest among catchers with at least 90 plate appearances this year.  
• Patrick Bailey is actually statistically worse than Bo offensively right now, ranking last in the majors in OPS (.396) for players with his workload.
• Austin Hedges is having a bizarre, “career year” at the plate (batting .306), but history suggests this won’t last.

Okay, so why would the Guards trade for a catcher who hits for shit if we already have one? Two words for you: Gold Glove.

Defence vs Offense

The “ERA of the pitchers they catch” (cERA) is where the B+ for San Francisco and the C for Cleveland comes into focus. Cleveland is, historically, a pitching machine. With multiple Cy Young winners for the past years, it’s odd that this and last year have been low points for our pitching staff. In order to make excellent pitchers, you need excellent catching and Bo? Well…

• The Hedges Factor: The Guardians are winning 60% of the games Hedges starts. His 3.37 cERA is 7th best in the AL. Pitchers simply throw better to him.
• The Bailey Upgrade: While Bailey’s cERA in San Francisco (3.58) is higher than Hedges’, he was catching a struggling Giants rotation that is currently last in the NL in scoring support. Despite that, Bailey leads the MLB in Framing Runs (+8).
• Pitcher Longevity: On average, Giants starters lasted 5.2 innings with Bailey behind the plate, compared to just 4.4 innings with their backup, Eric Haase. This suggests Bailey is significantly better at navigating through the “third time through the order” than a replacement catcher.

In short, Cleveland made this for a defense choice. If we get more production out of pitchers, we have a better chance to make up for our weak ass bats. You may not be able to win solely on the basis of pitching, but sure as shit you can lose on it. And since we know Hedgey is at 10 years in the Majors, and was open about wanting to retire (unless he lands a multi year contract which is unlikely), we need a great defensive catcher to fill in.

Game Results

Game 1 (40) – WON

• A very wet night
• Kwan scored on an error, and I’ll take that.
• Bazzana has his first home run! What a terrible night for Hammy to have off. The Hammy Call would have been resplendent.
• Hoskins looks like he slipped and fell for that double that gave the Twins a run.

Game 2 (41) – LOST

• Well, let this be a lesson: if you leave 13 men stranded on base, you’re gonna have a bad time.
• Bibee did well, only giving up that one hit, but I think folks need to sit his ass down and tell him to stop trying to catch infield flies. I know he wants a Gold Glove as a pitcher, and that’s the only way to do it, but this is stupid.
• This time, with Hedgy catching, it’s painfully clear our problem is clutch hitting.

Game 3 (42) – LOST

• Bailey did okay. We knew he wasn’t a hitter, and this was his first game with Big Rig.
• All of Gavin’s off speed pitches ended up in the middle of the plate in the 5th.
• Cleveland did better-ish on the bases, but again there’s a lack of clutch hitting.
• Herrin still has a 0 ERA.