The good old head first slide. If you're not a graceful runner better to go feet first (or wear the damn mitts).
And is no longer trade bait. (Like he was rumored to be earlier in the week)
You needed Cora to tell you this was the move?
Okay, you're crazy.
The guy has had absolutely zero consistency at the plate or in the field for 3 season straight now. Everyone yells about short sample sizes before making any predictions. I've been saying we should do the same for the Blake too, and that's all we've had from him. I was calling for his release just because he seemed to be doing nothing but wasting away and given next to zero chances (and yes... sucking when he was given a chance, but who the hell wouldn't in such small and sparse samples?) to prove anything. Glad Dombrowski stopped listening to me. I'm confident in him
I think saying he is going to mash is crazy too but he hit reasonably well in 2015 in MLB as a 23 year old. Yes he's sucked this year and for a couple of years but it isn't crazy to think he could at least hit reasonably for a catcher if given a chance.
Back up other positions and hit well enough to do it. He has 14 innings behind the plate. Even for a 3rd stringer with Vazquez being beyond awful that is ridiculous. They clearly don't want him back there.
So why does anyone think he'll get more consistent play to prove himself because of this? The Sox clearly don't trust him behind the plate. I'd wager Leon plays 80% of the time now. The Betts injury gave Swihart some opportunities to play the outfield or DH last month and he was putrid. Why are the playing time and the results going to be different this time?
Surely Leon will get the majority of playing time, but I'd wager less than 80% by a fair amount. The Sox preferring Vaz and Leon is not the same as clearly not trusting Swihart. They clearly trust him enough to have kept him. The answer to your final question is because baseball often surprises. Almost any results Blake posts going forward wouldn't surprise me.
Just a quick look at the last 5 years shows me that the largest share of catcher PAs that any single catcher for the Red Sox has had over that span is the 62% that Vazquez has had in 2018. I realize we aren't talking a full season in this scenario, so it's feasible that a single catcher could see a larger share of the duties over a shorter time period. But it doesn't make much sense that the guy on the short end of that split in 2018 will all of a sudden be playing significantly more often than any other catcher in recent history.
If the Red Sox continue to win while Swihart is behind the plate he'll play unless his defense is a complete disaster. He would need to be a complete disaster for him not to play. If you win with him, you don't want to wear down Leon. And if he doesn't play now, then what's the point of even having him?
If he gets 20-30% of the plate appearances it’s still an increase. Heck, if he hits .200 it’s an improvement. I’m not expecting much here.
He was wearing the mitt on the right hand. I don't see how he could've done anything to his hand on that slide. He didn't seem to come up like he was injured
To this point, he's appeared in 41 of 90 games (46%), with full-game duty in 17 of them (19%). 30% of catching PA right now is 105 PA. He has 88 PA, 64 in those full-game appearances. In those, he's hitting 11 for 58 (.190 AVG / .266 OBP). In his PH/PR/late-game-sub role he's 4 for 23 (.174 AVG / .208 OBP). Somewhat interestingly, all 4 of those hits have come in the last 2 weeks.
The point was not to suggest that Swihart would have been expected to replace Betts (or even come close to it), it was to suggest that, contrary to the notion that he has not been given a chance to play with any regularity, he had that chance to play somewhat more regularly in late May/early June because Betts was out. He started 10 games out of 15 from May 26 to June 10, during which he hit .176 with no extra base hits and 2 RBIs. In other words, given a chance to contribute, he was terrible. Why would Cora see that and think, "I gotta figure out a way to get this guy in the lineup"?
Well, there’s “Catcher’s ERA” if that’s worth anything. Sandy is 3.13 in 38 games. Vazquez is 3.76 in 59 games. Team ERA is 3.57.
Okay but if he hits .250 over the remaining time he gets to play as catcher - before this season his average was .270 - so if he hits .250 from this point and isn't awful at catching-- how much of a difference would you see between him and Vaz? You're right - I agree- Swihart is not the type of guy you need to get into a lineup -- unless he can do well enough at catching. I'm not a big fan of either. But looking forward to see what Swihart can show. I agree wiht you- you are probably right- we shall see.
Yeah, Swihart was kept around pretty much for this exact situation. They're not about to expend resources now just to push him back down to #3.
What about Vazquez' strong framing and better than league average in throwing out runners ?
They've got three such vets already in Pawtucket in Butler, Ohlman, and Hernandez. Hernandez even has an option should they need to add him to the 40-man, though he missed the first two months of the season on a drug suspension so he may not yet be up to the task (he's played 20 games, hitting 211/313/333).
According to BP, Leon is a better than average framer as well (not as good as Vaz though). They rate similarly with throwing out runners the last few years as well as blocking.
Swihart has more MLB experience catching Wright than Leon does (71 innings vs 49), for what it's worth.
Sounds freakish. He had the oven mitt on his left hand....maybe catchers should wear two, LOL
