What should the Red Sox do with AJ Pierzynski's roster spot for the rest of 2014?

[Eck'sSneakyCheese]

Yeah, but the difference doesn't have anything to do with a cherry picked three week stretch in a season.

It would be cherry picking if it hadn't just occurred and wasn't still going on.

 

[Rasputin]

It would be cherry picking if it hadn't just occurred and wasn't still going on.

It's cherry picking anyway. It's too small a sample to tell you anything.

 

[Savin Hillbilly]

It's cherry picking anyway. It's too small a sample to tell you anything.

 
There is a valid point lurking there, which is that a 23 year old and a 37 year old are presumably going in opposite directions on their career arcs. The 23 year old is more likely to improve than the 37 year old--but only in the long term. It's a pretty good bet that Christian Vazquez will be a more valuable major league catcher than AJP, say, three years from now. But three months from now? Who knows?

 

[Eck'sSneakyCheese]

The fact that only a handful of people think that AJP should remain on the team speaks volumes for what this sample says.

 

[MakMan44]

The fact that only a handful of people think that AJP should remain on the team speaks volumes for what this sample says.

No it doesn't. You're smarter than this, guy. 

 

[Eck'sSneakyCheese]

No it doesn't. You're smarter than this, guy.

I can't argue this.

Edit: I think Savin nailed it. Who knows?

 

[AB in DC]

There sure are a lot of back seat drivers in this thread.  
 
If Vasquez (or whoever) were ready to play in majors today, I'm sure he'd be here.  Unless anyone knows something the Front Office doesn't, there's no reason to think he won't stay in Pawtucket until September 1.

 

[Rasputin]

The fact that only a handful of people think that AJP should remain on the team speaks volumes for what this sample says.

It really doesn't. It speaks more to the people voting than anything else.

 

[Adrian's Dome]

It really doesn't. It speaks more to the people voting than anything else.

 
The problem I have with the poll is this: are people voting against him because he's been reported as a cancer, a hated player, and a general pain in the ass, or because of his lack of an advanced approach, his place discipline/platoon split, his age, or his questionable receiving skills?
 
I'd love to think it's all the latter, I'm just not sure.

 

[Savin Hillbilly]

 
The problem I have with the poll is this: are people voting against him because he's been reported as a cancer, a hated player, and a general pain in the ass, or because of his lack of an advanced approach, his place discipline/platoon split, his age, or his questionable receiving skills?

 
Yes.

 

[Toe Nash]

It really doesn't. It speaks more to the people voting than anything else.

It's not about the sample, it's about where the team is in the standings. They're pretty much out of it and have so many holes offensively that they seem very unlikely to get back into it. I am reasonably sure that Pierzynski is not completely cooked and likely has a bit more decent hitting left in him*, but that's not the point. Replacing him with Vazquez may only reduce our already slim chances this year by a tiny fraction, and improves our chances in future years by letting him get acclimated to the majors and giving us more info on how badly we need (or don't need) a catcher this offseason.
 
Imagine the team had been out of the race in 2013, or if Ellsbury had been injured and they called up JBJ for the last three months, and he hit how he has this year (very poorly) and showed little signs of improvement. Wouldn't that be good information to go into the offseason with? Hey, maybe we want to look more closely at the outfield? Maybe it changes nothing because no one is available besides Sizemore, but maybe they go a bit harder after someone.
 
But you and others have an extremely hopeful view that they can still compete this year, so I'm probably wasting time here.
 

There sure are a lot of back seat drivers in this thread.  

 
There are sure a lot of back-seat drivers in every thread. That is the point of this forum.

 

[glennhoffmania]

 
The problem I have with the poll is this: are people voting against him because he's been reported as a cancer, a hated player, and a general pain in the ass, or because of his lack of an advanced approach, his place discipline/platoon split, his age, or his questionable receiving skills?
 
I'd love to think it's all the latter, I'm just not sure.

 
Does voting against him because of every single thing you posted make the case stronger?  I don't see why it was to be the former or the latter.

 

[joyofsox]

I wish I had the time to try to answer my own question about how AJP compares to other Sox players re numbers of runners stranded. If anyone has those numbers, I would really enjoy seeing them.

 
This may be similar. According to BP's RBI Opportunities stat, here are the percentage of base runners driven in by various Sox batters:

Victorino    15.8
Holt         15.2
Ortiz        14.7
Gomes        14.7
Pierzynski   14.3
Bradley      13.3
Middlebrooks 13.0
Herrera      12.7
Pedroia      12.4
Napoli       12.2
Sizemore      9.7
Carp          8.1
Bogaerts      7.7
Ross          5.4
Nava          3.6

 

[E5 Yaz]

Alex Speier was on a podcast with Buster Olney this week discussing this very topic, and Speier suggests the decision might not come down to Vasquez's offense, but the ability he has (as a rookie) to work on game prep and pitch calling with a slew of new pitchers at the midseason mark.
 
It's on the June 26 podcast here, at the 29:30 mark:
 
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnradio/podcast/archive?id=2386164

 

[InsideTheParker]

 
 
This may be similar. According to BP's RBI Opportunities stat, here are the percentage of base runners driven in by various Sox batters:

Victorino 15.8
Holt 15.2
Ortiz 14.7
Gomes 14.7
Pierzynski 14.3
Bradley 13.3
Middlebrooks 13.0
Herrera 12.7
Pedroia 12.4
Napoli 12.2
Sizemore 9.7
Carp 8.1
Bogaerts 7.7
Ross 5.4
Nava 3.6

[SIZE=11.818181991577148px]Thanks a lot. Those are a bunch of surprising numbers, especially those of Bradley and Bogaerts. Also, Victorino's must be from a very small sample size, as it seems as though he has barely played this year.[/SIZE]

 

[Reverend]

This season has been awful so there's an understandably strong desire among many people to throw in the towel and play the kids as soon as possible just so that we won't have to continue watching this frustrating team continue floundering around.  But it doesn't really make sense. 

 
I can't remember the poster, but this makes me think of the suggestion someone offered that they demote the young guys, promote a couple of the best guys in AA and broadcast Pawtucket games instead of Red Sox games.
 
Obviously it would never happen, but the idea is not without appeal.
 
 

Alex Speier was on a podcast with Buster Olney this week discussing this very topic, and Speier suggests the decision might not come down to Vasquez's offense, but the ability he has (as a rookie) to work on game prep and pitch calling with a slew of new pitchers at the midseason mark.
 
It's on the June 26 podcast here, at the 29:30 mark:
 
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnradio/podcast/archive?id=2386164

 
Nice find. I think the fans in general haven't caught up to how much of a factor game planning is for the Red Sox now beyond just "calling a good game" and having rapport with the pitchers and has to be considered as much a component as hitting and defense.