SB Nation User Blog: Seanny Rotten

Russell Martin was ranked 101 out of 114 MLB catchers for defense.

Seanny Rotten — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:17:25 -0000

Not too many surprises. Yadier Molina is way up at the top with Gerald Laird at the tippy top and Mike Napoli is at the very bottom. Who could be lower than Russell Martin? Some notable names, Jorge Posada, Bengie Molina, Jason Varitek, Jason Kendall and AJ Pierzynski.

http://www.drivelinemechanics.com/2009/10/13/1082419/2009-catcher-defense-filling-in

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 studydone 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.

and also,

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.

Sabermetrics FAQ

Seanny Rotten — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:36:09 -0000

When I'm looking at someone's range factor (like Pablo Sandoval this year) and I see his RF/g is higher than the league average for third basemen, BUT his RF/9 innings is LOWER than the league average ... what accounts for that? What does that mean? Does that mean because one metric says he's above average and the other below he's exactly average?

Where besides Baseball Prospectus can I find a listing of league leaders in EQA? I love that stat, and I think it's the greatest baseball stat ever, but I don't feel like paying BP for the privilege of looking up something.

FAQ

Seanny Rotten — Mon, 25 May 2009 02:14:33 -0000

How can I listen to the dodgers on the radio if I'm in Ventura County? 790AM only works about as far west as Simi Valley and Westlake Village. Thousand Oaks is bad and anything past the Conejo Grade is abysmal.

I have scoured the official Dodgers website, no luck. I remember they used to put the info on the little schedules they'd hand out at 76 - no dice anymore. And before any of you wiseguys tell me I can get it on XM, I'd rather not pay any money if I already have Sirius.

So is there a database somewhere? Some hidden part of the official website? I even googled "dodger radio broadcast ventura 805" - nothing.

Bob Palcic! Yeah! How 'bout some love for the OL Coach, eh? Where my props at!??!

Seanny Rotten — Sun, 10 May 2009 03:28:52 -0000

Bob Palcic! Yeah! How 'bout some love for the OL Coach, eh?

Where my props at!??!

Mini Manny with his Aunt.

Seanny Rotten — Fri, 08 May 2009 21:10:42 -0000

Mini Manny with his Aunt.

Me, my son Jake and Norm Chow at the Rose Bowl during Lady Bruins 102 (while my wife was out doing...

Seanny Rotten — Fri, 08 May 2009 20:47:28 -0000

Me, my son Jake and Norm Chow at the Rose Bowl during Lady Bruins 102 (while my wife was out doing drills, I was getting photos. Hah!)

Here's Mini Manny and his Uncle Mike. Uncle Mike witnessed Kirk Gibson's walk off homer in the...

Seanny Rotten — Fri, 08 May 2009 17:32:43 -0000

Here's Mini Manny and his Uncle Mike. Uncle Mike witnessed Kirk Gibson's walk off homer in the World Series, among other things.

Start 'em young, right? Hey ya know what? Wouldn't it be cool if my son could play football and...

Seanny Rotten — Fri, 08 May 2009 16:58:39 -0000

Start 'em young, right?

Hey ya know what? Wouldn't it be cool if my son could play football and if Rick is still coaching 18 years from now (he'd be in his early 60's ... hopefully after several Rose Bowls and NC's)

This is me, holding my son Jake in the end zone. He was 4 months old in this pic. You can't see...

Seanny Rotten — Fri, 08 May 2009 14:23:38 -0000

This is me, holding my son Jake in the end zone. He was 4 months old in this pic.

You can't see it but he's wearing a UCLA shirt and I'm wearing a "Howland is my Homeboy" shirt.

Just like I promised. This is Jacob with his uncle - still rockin' the Manny cap.

Seanny Rotten — Fri, 08 May 2009 14:13:35 -0000

Just like I promised. This is Jacob with his uncle - still rockin' the Manny cap.