SB Nation - Rod Barajas

2010 Amateur Draft Very Early Preview

hugo — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 19:00:19 -0000

5 days ago: Toronto Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos listens to questions after announcing that the team had traded pitcher Roy Halladay during a news conference in Toronto on Wednesday Dec. 16, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Frank Gunn )

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Well, most of the Type A free agents are signed so the draft order for the Jays (and the rest of the league) is starting to crystallize. As of now, here are the Jays' picks (h/t to River Ave Blues, a fantastic site that does a nice job representing Yankees fans in the interwebs)

First Round:

#11 (the Jays' own first-round pick)

Sandwich Round:

#33 (supplemental pick for Scutaro, which turns out to be higher than the Red Sox pick they get for Vespa)

#38 (for failing to sign James Paxton, a 2009 sandwich rounder)

Second Round:

#52 (the Jays' second round pick)

#69 (for failing to sign Jake Eliopolous, a 2009 second-round pick)

#70 (the pick coming over from the Red Sox for Marco)

Third Round:

#84 (the Jays' third-round pick)

#104 (for their failure to sign Jake Barrett, a Jays' 3rd-round pick in 2009).

If Rod Barajas signs with another team, the Jays will get another pick in the supplemental round, probably somewhere in the 40s. That would make 9 picks in the first 3 rounds, and 5 in the top 50 or so. General Manager Alex Anthopolous mentioned in his chat yesterday that he plans to use this draft to "flood the Minor league system with high-end talent."

Between the players the Jays got in the Halladay trade, those coming over in the Rolen trade last season, and this year's draft, particularly with Anthopolous' renewed emphasis on scouting and stated willingness to exceed slot (not that that helped all that much last year), I think it's reasonable to expect that the Jays minor-league system can become a consensus top-10 system by the time the dust clears after the draft. That's actually quite good considering how many young players the Jays have promoted from the system in the past couple of seasons to the major-league team. And it will go a long way toward making the Jays competitive down the road without resorting too heavily to the free-agent market. I've always believed you bring your core players up through the system and with trades, and go to free agents only to plug holes when you're almost ready to contend.

While having so many picks would potentially allow the Jays to really distribute their picks among position, I have to admit, I don't think they should prioritize any positions really. I think teams get into trouble when they do that. I'd use the draft to try to nab the best talent available that I think will sign. I do think it's important to look at a mix of more polished, "safer" players and more athletic, "upside"-type players.

Off to Indy!

Eli Greenspan — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 18:03:57 -0000

More photos » by Darren Calabrese - AP

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Getting ready to drive over to Indianapolis in the next half-hour or so. Here are a couple links to get everyone through the day:

The Marlins are reportedly close to trading closer Matt Lindstrom, FOXSPORTS.com's is reporting. Approximately six teams are interested in the closer, who struggled to find his form in 2009. However, with a high-90s fastball, he could make for a very effective middle-to-late inning reliever.
Bill Ladson of MLB.com is reporting that the Mets are interested in Nationals outfielder Josh Willingham. Willingham can hit for power, showing that in D.C. by hitting .260 with 24 home runs.
The Mets also have interest in Rod Barajas, according to the New Jersey Star-Ledger.
The Rays and Cubs are no close to a deal for Milton Bradley, according to Jon Heyman. The Mets are trying to work Luis Castillo into the deal, which is also slowing things down.
The Reds are showing interest in free agent pitcher Noah Lowry, according to MLBlogs.com.
One AL source says the Yankees will consider Rich Harden at the Winter Meetings.

See you guys on the other side.

2010 MLB Arbitration Tracker

Eric Simon — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:48:02 -0000

The deadline for offering salary arbitration to impending free agents is midnight tonight. Here are the latest decisions.

Player	Team	Type	Arb?	Updated
Jason Bay	Red Sox	A	YES	***
Doug Davis	Diamondbacks	B	NO	***
Mark DeRosa	Cardinals	B	YES	***
Justin Duchscherer	Athletics	B	YES	***
Chone Figgins	Angels	A	YES	***
Troy Glaus	Cardinals	B	NO	***
Vladimir Guerrero	Angels	B	NO	***
Matt Holliday	Cardinals	A	YES	***
John Lackey	Angels	A	YES	***
Darren Oliver	Angels	A	NO	***
Joel Pineiro	Cardinals	B	YES	***
Brian Shouse	Rays	B	YES	***
Billy Wagner	Red Sox	A	YES	***
Gregg Zaun	Rays	B	YES	***

The full arbitration decision list is after the jump.

Player	Team	Type	Arb?	Updated
Rod Barajas	Blue Jays	B	NO
Jason Bay	Red Sox	A	YES	***
Erik Bedard	Mariners	B	NO
Joe Beimel	Rockies	B	NO
Adrian Beltre	Mariners	B	YES
Rafael Betancourt	Rockies	A	YES
Doug Brocail	Astros	B	NO
Marlon Byrd	Rangers	B	YES
Kiko Calero	Marlins	B	NO
Johnny Damon	Yankees	A	NO
Doug Davis	Diamondbacks	B	NO	***
Carlos Delgado	Mets	B	NO
Mark DeRosa	Cardinals	B	YES	***
Octavio Dotel	White Sox	B	NO
Justin Duchscherer	Athletics	B	YES	***
Jermaine Dye	White Sox	A	NO
Chone Figgins	Angels	A	YES	***
Jon Garland	Dodgers	B	NO
Brian Giles	Padres	B	NO
Troy Glaus	Cardinals	B	NO	***
Mike Gonzalez	Braves	A	YES
Kevin Gregg	Cubs	A	NO
Vladimir Guerrero	Angels	B	NO	***
Rich Harden	Cubs	B	NO
LaTroy Hawkins	Astros	A	NO
Matt Holliday	Cardinals	A	YES	***
Orlando Hudson	Dodgers	A	NO
Nick Johnson	Marlins	B	NO
John Lackey	Angels	A	YES	***
Adam LaRoche	Braves	B	NO
Brandon Lyon	Tigers	B	YES
Jason Marquis	Rockies	B	YES
Guillermo Mota	Dodgers	B	NO
Xavier Nady	Yankees	B	NO
Will Ohman	Dodgers	B	NO
Darren Oliver	Angels	A	NO	***
Miguel Olivo	Royals	B	NO
Vicente Padilla	Dodgers	B	NO
Carl Pavano	Indians	B	YES
Andy Pettitte	Yankees	B	NO
Joel Pineiro	Cardinals	B	YES	***
Placido Polanco	Tigers	A	NO
Fernando Rodney	Tigers	B	YES
Ivan Rodriguez	Rangers	B	YES
Marco Scutaro	Blue Jays	A	YES
Brian Shouse	Rays	B	YES	***
Rafael Soriano	Braves	A	YES
Fernando Tatis	Mets	B	NO
Miguel Tejada	Astros	A	NO
Yorvit Torrealba	Rockies	B	NO
Jose Valverde	Astros	A	YES
Billy Wagner	Red Sox	A	YES	***
Randy Wolf	Dodgers	A	NO
Gregg Zaun	Rays	B	YES	***

Arbitration News - UPDATE

Eli Greenspan — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:36:44 -0000

More photos » by Frank Gunn - AP

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A couple arbitration related headlines making news this Tuesday, courtesy of MLB.com:

The Rockies have offered arbitration to pitchers Jason Marquis and Rafael Betancourt. The Rockies and Betancourt could not work out a two-year deal earlier this offseason, but likely will try to work out a deal before the hearing. Either way, they have set themselves up for draft picks if they don't sign either.
The Blue Jays have offered arbitration to shortstop Marco Scutaro and catcher Rod Barajas. Scutaro, a Type-A free agent, may have trouble finding a job this offseason if the Red Sox pursue other options at short. Teams may not be as willing to surrender to draft picks for a guy like Scutaro, who is only a .265 hitter who has never hit more than 9 home runs before this past season, when he hit 12.
The Padres will not offer arbitration to outfielder Brian Giles or catcher Henry Blanco. Blanco has drawn interest from the Mets, White Sox, and Braves.
The White Sox will not offer arbitration to outfielder Jermaine Dye, pitcher Octavio Dotel, outfielder Scott Podsednik, or catcher Ramon Castro.
Bob Dutton via Twitter is reporting that the Royals will not offer arbitration to Miguel Olivo. Olivo is the only Royal to receive a free agent ranking, he is a Type-B free agent.
The Detroit Free Press is reporting that the Tigers offered arbitration to right-handers Brandon Lyon and Fernando Rodney, but not infielder Placido Polanco, shortstop Adam Everett, left-hander Jarrod Washburn and first baseman-designated hitter Aubrey Huff. The Tigers are expected to stay in contract with Polanco and Everett, but sources say they have already moved on from Huff and Washburn.
Carrie Muskat via Twitter is reporting that the Cubs will not offer arbitration to pitchers Rich Harden or Kevin Gregg.

Ryan Doumit an option in Toronto?

Eli Greenspan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:42:08 -0000

More photos » by Paul Beaty - AP

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The Pirates reportedly are very willing to move catcher Ryan Doumit, FOXSports.com is reporting. Doumit had a breakout year in 2009 hitting .318 with 15 home runs, but battled injuries in 2009 to hit only .250 in 75 games.

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Ryan Doumit	75	280	31	70	16	0	10	38	20	49	4	0	.250	.299	.414

Doumit will make 3.5 million dollars in 2010 and 5.1 million in 2011, pretty reasonable if he can return to 2008 form.

The Blue Jays could re-sign Rod Barajas as a one year stop gap for catching prospect J.P. Arenciba; however, Arenciba hit .236 with 21 home runs and struck out 114 times to just 26 walks, and needs more seasoning before being expected to play everyday in Toronto. Realistically, he won't be ready to take over until the middle of 2011 or the start of 2012.

Bringing in Doumit to play catcher would be a good stop gap and could provide the Blue Jays with a big bat at a relatively cheap cost. And if Arenciba proves to be ready sooner than expected, then Doumit could be moved to first base or the outfield.

What would it cost the Blue Jays for Doumit? Doumit has only had one season in which he played over 100 games, so the Pirates can't demand too much in return.

The Pirates' bullpen is pretty weak, even if you include injured pitchers Evan Meek and Jose Ascanio in the bullpen. The Blue Jays' bullpen is relatively young and deep, meaning moving one of them in a trade likely wouldn't hurt in the long run.

If the Jays offered Jesse Carlson, they might be able to land the catcher.

At least it's a start.

The Season That Was: Rod Barajas

Tom Dakers — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:32:58 -0000

In 2008 Rod Barajas was kind of sharing time at catcher with Greg Zaun, then Zaun got hurt and Cito became manager. Cito grew to really like Rod and once Cito likes a player there is no amount of new information that is going to change his opinion. Rod was incredibly, almost unbelievably hot and cold. All in all he had a fairly decent season in 2008 hitting .249/.294/.410 for a WAR of 1.2.

He's been an interesting player, decent slugging but can't get on base if his life depended on it. If he could take the occasional walk he might be able to level out the hot and cold streaks, but when you show pitchers you will swing at everything you don't really give them much incentive to throw you strikes.

In the Community Project we guessed that Rod would have a .290 OBP and a .400 SLG in 450 plate appearances, which with his defense would have been worth about a 0.8 WAR. He really hit:

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Rod Barajas	125	429	43	97	19	0	19	71	20	76	1	0	.226	.258	.403

So he didn't get on base as well as we thought he would, we were 32 points high on that but we were very close on the slugging average and close on the plate appearances since he had 460. His on base average was the worst in the major leagues among players that had 450 or more at bats. The second worst was Yuniesky Betancourt at .274. There were only 4 players majors with a lower batting average. Fangraphs has his WAR at 0.8.

Rod hit left-handers pretty well (.267/.308/.486) but hardly hit righties at all (.213/.241/.377).

He hit better on the road (.238/.280/.435) than at home (.214/.234/.369), actually worse at home than Vernon Wells hit at home.

With RISP he was pretty good (.264/.298/.480). With the base empty he didn't hit at all (.183/.202/.328).

By month Rod hit:

April .299/.333/.493

May .274/.304/.369

June .224/.268/.418

July .182/.193/.327

August .225/.253/.535

Sept/Oct .153/.189/.244

So he started the season pretty well and he went downhill from there expect for a home run streak in August.

His longest hitting streak was 7 games, back at the end of April.

His favorite team to play? He had 4 good games against the Phillies (.500/.583/1.200). Of the AL teams Rod hit the White Sox well (.500/.526/.667). Least favorite team to play? The Indians (.105/.100/.105).

Defensively? Well, judging a catcher's defense isn't something you can't really put numbers on but he seemed to call a good game behind the plate. He has a good arm, he threw out 34% of base stealers. He made 8 errors, which tied for the most among AL catchers.

It was kind of a strange season, he set a career high in RBI's with 71. But then he had an OPS+ of 71. 19 home runs is good. 20 walks isn't. I tend to think a .258 on base average just too low. He made to many outs. He will be 34 next year so it is hopeful thinking to expect him to improve much now. At best you have roughly a replacement level catcher or slightly better. The trouble is, do we have anyone else that would be replacement level?

Where does he fit among the catchers in the AL East? Well, I'd rather have Victor Martinez or Jorge Posada. Obviously Matt Wieters has more potential, I'd take him next year too. The Rays? Not sure who will catch for them next year, Gregg Zaun had a 1.8 WAR last year. I think, if the Jays want to contend we really have to find else to catch.

Living in the Limelight: Gregg Zaun's Free Agent Value

devil_fingers — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:27:28 -0000

More photos » by Richard Drew - AP

I'm having a hard time locating your Z-Game, Wes.

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I'm worn out. I don't have anything to add to the playoff discussion, and it's still weeks until baseball-databank, etc. are ready to make things available. I have other stuff in the pipeline, but for now, in honor of his awesome Rogers Sports Net commentaries on the playoffs (and since we have some catcher defense numbers to go on for 2009), let's take a look at the potential free agent value of one of my favorite players (and I suspect he's a favorite of many others): Gregg Zaun. Are you ready to bring your Z-Game?

Gregg Zaun

#9 / Catcher / Tampa Bay Rays

Height: 5-10

Weight: 205

Bats: B

Throws: R

Born: Apr 14, 1971

I'm not sure what the market is like for catcher this offseason, but it seems like every year, guys like Paul Bako and Jose Molina get jobs. You know, guys who can't hit a lick, but have a reputation as "good glove men" or allegedly can "calls a good name," things which always seem to attach to catchers that...can't hit. While its true that defense is very important, and that catcher defense is hard to quantify, this might be a case where many clubs don't realize that their catcher also has to hit, and moreover, that even without injuries to their starter, that the backup is going to see significant time. Only four catchers started more than 130+ games this season at the position, and only 8 started 120+. So having a decent backup at the position is arguably more important there than at any other position, since you pretty much know that your start isn't going to be available for at least 40 games at that position, even if he's healthy.

Gregg Zaun, of course, became famously known years ago as the Practically Perfect Backup Catcher©. But, as the inventors of this notions discovered, given the general hitting ability (or lack thereof) among catcher, Zaun was actually a pretty decent starter. This ways years ago... Zaun is now advanced in age, and seems destined for a series of one-year contracts. But what is is true talent level?

Hitting: Zaun's not a horrible. He's not what he used to be, of course, but a .344 career OBP is nothing to sneeze at, especially from a catcher. What do we think his true wOBA talent is at the moment? From 2006-2009 his wOBAs have been .351, .324, .316, and .344. Adjusting for age, taking a weighted average and regressing to a league average (weighted by year and PA) wOBA of .330, we get a true talent level of a .325 wOBA, or about -2 runs (2 runs below average) per 700 PA.

Fielding: Catcher fielding is tough to quantify. For 2009, I've used my own numbers cited above. For 2005-2008 I've used Rally's numbers, prorated. I've then combined then with the Fans Scouting Report, and given a bit more weight to the FSR then I usually do, to take into account the problematic nature of the statistics. Zaun wasn't bad this season, being a bit above average, although Rally has him as being around 6-7 runs below average (prorated) in each season 2005-2008. The Fans are harder on him -- my translations have him as. -1.5 this season, -8 in 2008, -9 in 2007, and -4 in 2006. With regression of the numbers and the FSR combined, he seems like a -4 defender per 162 games.

Adding it all together: -2 hitting -4 fielding +12.5 positoin +25 AL replacement level * .75 playing time = 23 WAR - 0.5 aging penalty = 1.8 WAR player in 2010.

Not bad at all, considering Zaun made only $2M this pas season, and seems unlikely to get a raise. If, as usual, guys like Zaun go for cheap, some team is going to get a good deal on a part-time catcher who's defense isn't great (but isn't dreadful) and can get on-base. Not a bad backup for, say, Matt Wieters, huh?

They can't all be Joe Mauer, Geovany Soto, Victor Martinez, or even Yadier Molina. But they don't all have to be Miguel Olivo or Jason Varitek or even Rod Barajas, either. Let's see who's smart.

Kenji Johjima opts out of deal, will return to Japan

Eli Greenspan — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:57:22 -0000

More photos » by Elaine Thompson - AP

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Mariners catcher Kenji Johjima announced today that he will opt out of the final two years of his contract and resume his career in Japan. The 33-year old catcher leaves after four seasons with the Mariners, a career .268 average, and 48 home runs.

"After lots of very deep thought and deliberation, I have decided to return home to resume my career in Japan," Johjima. "I have had a wonderful experience competing at the Major League level. The last four years have been extraordinary, with great teammates and great coaches.

After two solid seasons, offensively, his numbers dropped dramatically and his movement behind the plate was limited. The Mariners can now use Rob Johnson or Adam Moore behind the plate, but his departure frees up 16 million dollars that would have gone to him over the next two seasons.

Johjima will return to Japan where he is regarded as more than a star, owning a career .298 average with 187 home runs. His best year came in 2004 when he hit .338 with 36 home runs in 116 games.

If the Mariners decide to add another backstop, they could look into Rod Barajas or former Mariner Jason Varitek.

Jason Varitek Actually Improved in 2009. Surprised?

Randy Booth — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:00:21 -0000

More photos » by Charles Krupa - AP

8 months ago: Boston Red Sox Jason Varitek, right, and New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada watch Varitek's grand slam off starter A.J. Burnett in the fourth inning of their MLB baseball game at Fenway Park, Saturday, April 25, 2009, in Boston.(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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There was a point last offseason where the Red Sox had to make a decision about Jason Varitek. After he rejected arbitration and went out on the open market, nobody wanted him -- but suddenly, Varitek and agent Scott Boras wanted the Red Sox.

Funny how those things work.

Once Varitek signed, most of us all though the same thing: Well, he can't possibly play as bad as he did in 2008.

That turned out to be true -- but not by much.

Jason Varitek

#33 / Catcher / Boston Red Sox

Height: 6-2

Weight: 230

Bats: B

Throws: R

Born: Apr 11, 1972

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Jason Varitek	109	364	41	76	24	0	14	51	54	90	0	0	.209	.313	.390

Status for 2010: The Red Sox hold a $5M club option, while Varitek has his own $3M player option. It's unlikely the team will exercise their option. It's unknown if Varitek will exercise his.

Varitek actually had a pretty funny season: he played in 22 less games than in 2008, but he had more home runs (14 in 2009 to 13 in 2008), more runs batted in (51 to 43), and a better OPS (.703 to .672), among other things. His .209 batting average was the only thing that was down this season (he batted a much better .220 in '08).

Taking a deeper look at his stats, he really did become a better player at the plate. His walk percentage went up, he struck out less and his power was better. The one thing that really didn't help him was his batting average with balls in play (BABIP). It was a .238 -- which would have been worst in the major leagues, had he played enough games to qualify (Ian Kinsler had a .245 BABIP, leading qualified players).

This means Varitek was quite unlucky. Although it's rare to see someone with a high batting average have a low BABIP, it definitely was an unlucky road for the Captain.

As far as Varitek in the field, we all know he had problems throwing out baserunners. However, his range factor per game (RF/G) and range factor per nine innings (RF/9), ranked second best in baseball behind the Giants' Bengie Molina:

NAME	TEAM	INNINGS	RF/G	RF/9
Bengie Molina	Giants	1042	8.3	8.8
Jason Varitek	Red Sox	924	8.3	8.7
Russell Martin	Dodgers	1201	8.2	8.4
Brian McCann	Braves	1078.2	7.7	8.2
Rod Barajas	Blue Jays	974.1	7.2	8

Does it say a lot about Varitek's defense? Maybe, but it's also hard to judge a catcher's defense with any form of measurement. Trust your eyes, I say.

This offseason will be interesting for Varitek. I imagine he isn't going to test the free agent waters again, but Scott Boras has done some weird things before. If he does, don't expect to see Varitek back in Boston. But if he exercises his option, I definitely see him at least starting the year as a Red Sox. Could he be cut later? Most definitely. But for the foreseeable future, he's a Sox.

Poll

Grade Jason Varitek's 2009 season

A

5 votes

B

36 votes

C

130 votes

D

158 votes

F

95 votes

424 votes | Poll has closed

2009 Catcher Defense: Filling in the Holes (yet again)

devil_fingers — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:17:43 -0000

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP

That Minnesota pretty boy might be in the playoffs, but he's go nuthin on One Man, Five Tools.

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Even if you aren't a FanGraphs junkie like myself and so many others, if you spend any time there looking at the WAR rankings in order to, say, evaluate who should be the 2009 MVP candidates, you've undoubtedly noticed (due to Joe Mauer's incredible season) that currently, they do not have a system in place to evaluate catcher fielding. Hey, no one's perfect, and knowing Mr. Appleman and his crew, they're probably waiting until they get a system they're happy with before they implement something.

I don't make any great claim to originality here, as you will see if you read on, but for those of you who want a rough idea of how different catchers "measure up" behind the plate for your MVP arguments or to settle the eternal "I wonder just how bad a guy can be at blocking pitches," question, here is a rough attempt to evaluate every catcher's defensive 2009.

Choosing a Methodology (With Qualifications)

Before I go any further, I should make clear that for the purposes of this post that I assume that it is well-established that the differences between catchers with regard to gamecalling (as expressed in, e.g., "catcher's ERA") are negligible, and thus such issues will not be discussed in this post. When I discuss catcher defense, like most others, I will be discussing preventing stolen bases, blocking pitches, etc.

One of the difficulties with evaluating catcher defense with regard to even these issues is that, much more than with other fielding positions, the catcher's performance is dependent on another player -- namely, the pitcher. No matter now strong or weak the catcher's arm is, he can't escape the reality that he depends on the pitcher's skill with regard to holding runners, quickness to the plate, etc. While the catcher's skill with regard to blocking pitches that are off the mark is clearly important, catching Tim Wakefield poses a unique challenge (just ask Josh Bard). And so on.

For these reasons, probably the best way of measuring catcher defense is Tom Tango's WOWY (With or Without You) method of defensive evaluation as detailed the 2008 Hardball Times Annual. You can read about the details in the links provided. Versions of WOWY for catchers have also been done by Brian Cartwright and Dan Turkenkopf. I would do it that way if I could. The main issue is that 1) it's pretty complicated, and beyond my present capabilities, and 2) it requires something like Retrosheet, which isn't available until after the World Series is over, so even if I could do it, I couldn't get the numbers during the season of even now...

In lieu of that, I'm going to be doing something much simpler, which, while not quite as good, is, I think, pretty decent. Just keep in mind the qualifications about not adjusting for particular pitchers made above.

The Method Used Here

For non-WOWY catcher defense, the basic idea is to 1) choose what events you're going to deal with, 2) determine each catchers performance with respect to league average, and 3) decide the run value of each event. Like I said, this post isn't that original: very similar methods are used/suggested by Rally and chuckb. I have most closely modeled my "catcher defense metric" on the method outlined by the Amazing Justin Inaz (now a regular at Beyond the Box Score). His weights for each event seem about right to me, and the general principles are sound. One modification I've made (I'll note the other as I go along) is in the denominator of some stats. when Justin did his version, he was using THT's catcher defense stats, which only recorded catcher innings. Since then, the new Baseball Reference has come out with more detailed individual catcher defense stats, including plate appearances. While the difference isn't huge, I feel that it's more accurate to use plate appearances (batters faced) as the denominator for things like pitch blocking and errors, since while every inning (other than some ninth [or later] innings) has 3 outs, the catcher has to be out there whether there are 3 or 10 batters during those three outs. Otherwise, I'm pretty close to Justin's method, and you can read there for more details.

Stolen Bases/Caught Stealing: First, we figure out the league rate for caught stealing. One cool thing about the new Baseball Reference is that it separates out the catcher caught stealings from the pitcher pickoffs, so we can exclude the pickoffs (not under the catcher's control) from the equation. So we total the CSctch +SB to get total stolen base attempts (SBA) and then to total CSctch/total SBA for the lgCS rate. We use the weight of .63 runs for each caught stealing, which represents the average linear weight of the caught stealing (.44 runs) plus the weight of the stolen base not achieved (.19 runs). The formula for runs above/below average for each catcher is thus (CS - (lgCSrate) * SBA) * 0.63.

Wild pitches/passed balls: The league rate is (WPlg + PBlg)/lgPA. The linear weight for each passed ball/wild pitch is 0.28 runs, which we make negative since the more WP/PBs a catcher has, the worse his defense is. The formula for each player is ((WP + PB) - (lgWPPBrate * PA)) * -0.28.

Errors: Justin accounts for two kinds of errors -- throwing errors and fielding errors. Baseball Reference also includes catching errors (on throws). I've assimilated catching errors to fielding errors. There are separate linear weights for throwing errors (-0.48) and fielding errors (-0.75). The method is the same as above. Get the league rate, then see how far over/under the player is. For throwing errors: (TE - (lgTErate * PA)) * -0.48. Fielding errors: (FE - (lgFErate * PA)) * -0.75.

Then you just add them all up to get the total runs above/below average. It's not perfect, and hopefully, there will be some improved options soon, but the results do seem to reflect reality. I thought about coming up with a "rate" version like UZR/150, but that isn't as simple as prorating for innings caught/PA -- one needs to normalize each sort of event separately, the chart is confusing enough as it is. For now, this is just a value measurement of what each player did this season. But before the big chart, let's take a look at some standout performances. I've rounded to one decimal place to tone down the illusion of great precision.

Standouts and "Standouts"

Caught Stealing: Gerald Laird of the Tigers dominates here at + 11 runs. The next closest player was Johjima at +6.5 runs, then Koyie Hill at +5.4. Now, Laird had a lot more time behind the plate to accomplish that, but one wonders why teams kept trying to run on him. At the bottom of the rankings for CS runs are fan favorite A.J. Pierzynski at -4.5 runs, Yorvit Torrealbea at -5.1 runs, and blowing away the field is defensive legend and Boston Red Sox stalwart Jason Varitek, at -10.7 runs.

Pitch blocking: As for the actual "catching" part of catching, the best in baseball this season was the Phillies' Carlos Ruiz, at +5.6 runs. Jason Varitek gains some of his cred back here at +5.1 runs (I wonder what it would be if he had to catch Wakefield). The Man, the Myth, the Legend, Matt Wieters may not have quite cemented his Hall of Fame credentials, but he can block a pitch decently at +3.9 runs. The players are grouped by their performance for separate teams, so I just noticed that one of my favorites, Gregg Zaun, was +2.9 for the Orioles, and +1.4 for the Rays, which puts him at +4.3, or the real number 3. Maybe Baltimore let him go to soon -- he definite brings his Z-Game when he's blocking pitches. At the bottom of the rankings, Jorge Posada, Josh Bard, and and Rob Johnson (why did he get so much playing time?) are all tied at -3.8, Russell Martin (?!) is at -5.1 (although he saw more PA than just about any other catcher on the list). And bringing up the rear... this is going to be a shock, prepare yourself... Miguel Olivo, at -7.8. Think about that -- it's only -0.28 runs per WP/PB. Sure, he's "only" -2.7 runs worse thatn Martin, but Martin saw almost 1400 more PA than Olivo this season. This shows we're on the right track, as Brian Cartwright's WOWY study done previous to this season showed Olivo to be historically terrible at blocking the plate. Another great job of scouting by Dayton Moore and the Process Servers.

Throwing errors: Given that there's so little variance with this stat, there's probably less of a repeatable "skill" when it comes to this stuff. In other words, if we were doing a projection, there would be much more regression for TE and FE runs than others. Still, we're measuring value here, so it goes on the record. Gerald Laird leads the pack again at +1.5 runs, followed closely by Yorvit Torrealbea at +1.3 the Kurt Suzuki and Henry Blanco at +1.2 each. At the bottom, we have Rod Barajas (otherwise a good defensive catcher) at -1.6, Miguel Montero at -1.7, and sadly, my boy John Buck at -3.0. He had some really, really horrible games at the beginning of the season. At least he can move two inches to his right or left.

Fielding errors: Jason Kendall justifies his major league status with a +1.0 here, as does Russell Martin. Rod Barajas shows he's Joe Mauer's equal, as they both have +0.8. Mike Napoli is -1.6, the traitorous Paul Bako is at -2.0, and Brian McCann, who's decent at everything else, has an anomalous -3.6.

The Best and The Worst, and Others of Note: One Man, Five Tools, Indeed: Gerald Laird blows away the field at +13.3 runs. The Tigers made a conscious effort to improve their defense in the offseason, and whatever else happened, with Laird they certainly succeeded. At 0.9 WAR player without defense, with it he's about 2.2. Kenji Johjima might be overpaid, but at +8.8 runs defensively, he seems a bit less ridiculous. Dave Ross and Ryan Hanigan come in at +7.0 runs. Yadier Molina was very good, if not quite as godlike as some would think, but +6.6 runs is nothing to sneeze at, and makes him about a 4 WAR player this season. Joe Mauer's +4.3 is good, but he's not the best in baseball or the league, and that certainly doesn't make him a better MVP candidate than Zack Greinke. Matt Wieters is +2.5, so he'll probably stick at catcher, at least for a while.

Victor Martinez isn't as bad as some would say, being only -2.2 betweeen Boston and Cleveland. Jeff Mathis is a "great" defensive backup at -2.0. Or how about Jose Molina at -1.1 backing up Jorge Posada at -5.9? Giants cleanup hitter Bengie Molina is at -3.4

As for the bottom ranks... Josh Bard is at -7.3, the human swing machine, Miguel Olivo, is at -8.8, and the Living Stereotype, Mike Napoli, is at -9.7. No wonder the Angels think Mathis is a good defender.

The Big Chart

That's it. Keep in mind (along with the limitations mentioned above) that current season performance is not the same thing as true talent. I hope you will find this handy when trying to get various catchers' "real" WAR, and let others know about it. Let the arguments begin!

Rank	Player	Tm	PA	CSRuns	WP/PBRns	TERns	FERns	TotalRuns
1	Gerald Laird	DET	4842	11.0	0.6	1.5	0.2	13.3
2	Kenji Johjima	SEA	2597	6.5	0.9	0.9	0.5	8.8
3	Dave Ross	ATL	1517	4.8	1.6	0.3	0.3	7.0
4	Ryan Hanigan	CIN	2913	4.7	0.7	1.0	0.5	7.0
5	Yadier Molina	STL	5045	3.2	2.6	0.7	0.2	6.6
6	Koyie Hill	CHC	2755	5.4	0.2	0.0	0.5	6.1
7	Henry Blanco	SDP	2278	2.9	1.2	1.2	0.4	5.7
8	Carlos Ruiz	PHI	3887	-1.5	5.6	0.6	0.7	5.4
9	Raul Chavez	TOR	1818	3.6	0.5	0.0	0.3	4.4
10	Joe Mauer	MIN	4153	0.5	2.4	0.7	0.8	4.3
11	Rod Barajas	TOR	4298	2.6	2.5	-1.6	0.8	4.2
12	Brian Schneider	NYM	1976	1.6	1.2	1.0	-0.4	3.5
13	Ramon Hernandez	CIN	2069	0.6	1.7	0.6	0.4	3.3
14	Francisco Cervelli	NYY	1024	2.0	0.8	0.0	0.2	3.1
15	Lou Marson	CLE	572	1.6	1.0	-0.2	0.1	2.5
16	Eliezer Alfonzo	SDP	1128	2.2	0.3	0.6	-0.5	2.5
17	Matt Wieters	BAL	3384	-1.1	3.9	-0.2	-0.1	2.5
18	Ronny Paulino	FLA	2609	2.1	-0.4	0.4	0.5	2.5
19	Landon Powell	OAK	1205	2.8	0.5	-0.3	-0.5	2.4
20	Taylor Teagarden	TEX	2180	3.1	0.9	-1.3	-0.3	2.4
21	Omir Santos	NYM	3092	-0.7	2.8	1.1	-0.9	2.4
22	Ivan Rodriguez	HOU	3327	1.4	0.4	-0.2	0.6	2.2
23	Chris Iannetta	COL	3362	0.1	1.9	-0.7	0.6	2.0
24	Gregg Zaun	BAL	1974	0.2	2.9	-0.9	-0.4	1.8
25	Humberto Quintero	HOU	1893	2.4	0.4	-1.4	0.4	1.7
26	Corky Miller	CIN	702	0.4	0.8	0.4	0.1	1.7
27	Ramon Castro	NYM	822	1.8	0.6	0.4	-1.3	1.4
28	Mike Rivera	MIL	1227	-0.2	0.5	0.6	0.2	1.3
29	Lou Marson	PHI	245	0.7	0.4	0.1	0.0	1.2
30	Jason LaRue	STL	1139	0.0	0.9	0.1	0.2	1.2
31	Craig Tatum	CIN	749	0.5	0.6	-0.1	0.1	1.1
32	Chris Coste	PHI	925	-1.0	1.4	0.5	0.2	1.0
33	Dusty Ryan	DET	337	0.4	0.4	0.2	0.1	1.0
34	Kurt Suzuki	OAK	5222	-3.4	3.6	1.2	-0.5	0.9
35	Michel Hernandez	TBR	1140	0.1	1.1	0.1	-0.5	0.8
36	Geovany Soto	CHC	3607	2.2	-1.1	0.4	-0.8	0.7
37	Clint Sammons	ATL	135	1.0	-0.5	0.1	0.0	0.6
38	Jamie Burke	WSN	155	0.3	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.6
39	Brad Ausmus	LAD	1086	-0.1	-0.1	0.6	0.2	0.6
40	Ivan Rodriguez	TEX	961	1.4	0.1	-0.5	-0.6	0.5
41	Matt Pagnozzi	STL	40	0.3	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.5
42	Chris Gimenez	CLE	245	-0.1	0.4	0.1	0.0	0.5
43	Pablo Sandoval	SFG	113	0.3	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.4
44	Buster Posey	SFG	179	0.3	-0.1	0.1	0.0	0.4
45	Dioner Navarro	TBR	4097	0.5	-0.3	0.2	0.0	0.4
46	J.R. Towles	HOU	538	-1.0	0.9	0.3	0.1	0.3
47	Wyatt Toregas	CLE	710	-0.5	0.3	0.4	0.1	0.3
48	Alex Avila	DET	709	0.4	-0.6	0.4	0.1	0.3
49	Steve Holm	SFG	101	0.5	-0.3	0.1	0.0	0.3
50	Edwin Bellorin	COL	69	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.2
51	Dusty Brown	BOS	49	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.2
52	Jose Lobaton	SDP	205	0.2	0.3	-0.4	0.0	0.1
53	Jason Jaramillo	PIT	2347	0.2	0.2	-0.7	0.4	0.1
54	Jake Fox	CHC	30	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.1
55	Carlos Corporan	MIL	6	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
56	Ryan Budde	LAA	38	-0.1	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0
57	A.J. Ellis	LAD	119	-0.1	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0
58	Guillermo Rodriguez	BAL	72	0.0	-0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0
59	Bobby Wilson	LAA	98	-0.1	0.0	0.1	0.0	-0.1
60	David Freese	STL	10	-0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	-0.1
61	Kevin Cash	NYY	297	-0.3	0.0	0.2	0.1	-0.1
62	Chris Coste	HOU	628	-1.2	0.6	0.3	0.1	-0.2
63	Adam Moore	SEA	241	-0.1	-0.2	0.1	0.0	-0.2
64	Corky Miller	CHW	383	-0.7	0.2	0.2	0.1	-0.2
65	Gregg Zaun	TBR	928	-1.5	1.4	0.5	-0.6	-0.2
66	Jarrod Saltalamacchia	TEX	3169	-0.5	1.6	-1.3	-0.2	-0.3
67	Wil Nieves	WSN	2538	1.4	-0.4	-1.1	-0.3	-0.3
68	John Hester	ARI	255	-0.4	-0.1	0.1	0.0	-0.3
69	Paul Hoover	PHI	55	-0.3	-0.1	0.0	0.0	-0.4
70	Guillermo Quiroz	SEA	161	-0.1	-0.4	0.1	0.0	-0.4
71	Dane Sardinha	DET	404	-0.5	-0.3	0.2	0.1	-0.5
72	Shawn Riggans	TBR	156	-0.3	0.1	-0.4	0.0	-0.5
73	Matt Treanor	DET	157	-0.6	-0.1	0.1	0.0	-0.6
74	Kevin Richardson	TEX	70	-0.3	-0.4	0.0	0.0	-0.6
75	Victor Martinez	CLE	1991	-2.7	0.7	1.0	0.4	-0.6
76	Josh Thole	NYM	551	-0.1	-0.5	-0.2	0.1	-0.6
77	Tyler Flowers	CHW	123	-0.3	-0.5	0.1	0.0	-0.7
78	Michael Barrett	TOR	174	-0.3	-0.6	0.1	0.0	-0.8
79	Luke Carlin	ARI	176	-0.9	-0.1	0.1	0.0	-0.8
80	Kyle Phillips	TOR	186	-0.2	-0.3	-0.4	0.0	-0.9
81	Jesus Flores	WSN	980	0.4	-1.2	0.5	-0.6	-0.9
82	Jose Molina	NYY	1533	-0.9	-0.9	0.3	0.3	-1.1
83	Jamie Burke	SEA	424	0.7	-0.8	0.2	-1.4	-1.3
84	Kelly Shoppach	CLE	3042	-0.7	-0.9	-0.4	0.6	-1.5
85	Victor Martinez	BOS	1173	-1.5	1.0	-1.3	0.2	-1.6
86	Ramon Castro	CHW	975	-1.8	1.0	-0.9	0.2	-1.6
87	Rob Johnson	SEA	2927	2.4	-3.8	0.5	-1.0	-1.8
88	Ryan Doumit	PIT	2754	-1.0	0.5	-0.5	-1.0	-2.0
89	Chad Moeller	BAL	1116	-3.1	0.2	0.6	0.2	-2.1
90	Jeff Mathis	LAA	2902	0.8	-1.0	-0.9	-1.0	-2.1
91	Paul Phillips	COL	502	-1.8	-0.3	-0.2	0.1	-2.3
92	Mike Redmond	MIN	1513	-4.1	0.5	0.8	0.3	-2.5
93	Robinzon Diaz	PIT	1268	-1.0	-1.6	-0.3	0.2	-2.6
94	Yorvit Torrealba	COL	2438	-5.1	0.5	1.3	0.5	-2.9
95	Brayan Pena	KCR	1012	-0.5	-3.1	0.5	0.2	-2.9
96	Brian McCann	ATL	4763	-0.7	1.8	-0.4	-3.6	-3.0
97	Chris Snyder	ARI	1962	-1.3	-3.0	1.0	0.4	-3.0
98	Eli Whiteside	SFG	1348	1.0	-2.2	-0.7	-1.2	-3.2
99	John Baker	FLA	3919	-2.6	-0.5	-0.9	0.7	-3.2
100	Paul Bako	PHI	1328	-0.7	-0.3	-0.3	-2.0	-3.3
101	Russell Martin	LAD	5205	1.5	-5.1	-0.7	1.0	-3.3
102	Bengie Molina	SFG	4582	-1.0	-2.6	0.9	-0.6	-3.4
103	Jason Varitek	BOS	4133	-10.7	5.1	0.7	0.8	-4.1
104	George Kottaras	BOS	1166	-1.8	-3.0	0.1	0.2	-4.4
105	Jason Kendall	MIL	5296	-2.9	-1.5	-1.1	1.0	-4.5
106	John Buck	KCR	1693	-2.0	-0.1	-3.0	0.3	-4.8
107	A.J. Pierzynski	CHW	4927	-4.5	-0.8	1.1	-0.6	-4.8
108	Jose Morales	MIN	812	-2.1	-1.7	-0.1	-1.3	-5.2
109	Jorge Posada	NYY	3653	-0.8	-3.8	-0.5	-0.8	-5.9
110	Miguel Montero	ARI	4094	-1.4	-3.4	-1.7	0.0	-6.5
111	Nick Hundley	SDP	2877	-3.7	-2.0	-0.9	-0.2	-6.8
112	Josh Bard	WSN	2902	-2.8	-3.8	-0.4	-0.2	-7.3
113	Miguel Olivo	KCR	3821	0.7	-7.8	-0.9	-0.8	-8.8
114	Mike Napoli	LAA	3468	-4.3	-3.1	-0.6	-1.6	-9.7