Scioscia's catching dilemma

The old catcher has a problem behind the plate.

Angels Manager Mike Scioscia has two catchers whose strengths and weaknesses are so divergent, it's almost impossible to know which one to start.

Does he go with Mike Napoli's obviously stronger bat, or Jeff Mathis' clearly superior glove? Do you lean toward the guy who gives a home run-challenged team some badly needed extra power? Or do you stick with the guy who seems to bring out the best in the team's pitchers?

Napoli is hitting .295 with 10 home runs, a .508 slugging percentage and .373 on-base percentage. Mathis' average is .202, he has two home runs, a .281 slugging percentage and .298 on-base percentage.

Just going by those numbers it's an easy choice, right? Ah, but then you check out the pitching stats (before last night). With Mathis catching, the team ERA is 4.16. When Napoli is behind the plate, the ERA is 5.26. Mathis has thrown out 22.6% of opposing runners, Napoli only 14.9%.

This all makes the manager who was once famous for blocking the plate feel like he has a mental block.

"I think there are starting to be some trends," Scioscia says. "To me, the defensive side still carries more weight. A lot of people think otherwise."

So does that mean he's thinking of playing the athletically superior Mathis on a more regular basis? Hardly. You have to remember, Scioscia always has seemed to have a special affinity for Napoli, who, like a certain ex-Dodger, is a young, burly catcher of Italian descent.

"Nap has the ability to do what Jeff does behind the plate," says Scioscia. "He's just not in snyc right now."

A game last week in which the team was guilty of five wild pitches with Napoli behind the plate didn't help his cause. Still, Scioscia sounds as if he hasn't come to a final decision for the second half.

"It's up to those guys," he says. "The everyday job is one either of these guys can [still] get."

In other words, this thing is much like the AL West race at the moment. It remains very much unsettled.

-- Steve Bisheff 

Photo: Mike Napoli of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hits a three run home run against the Boston Red Sox in May.

Comments

[Jim H]

This is only a dilemma for Scioscia who was a defensive catcher. Every other manager in the league would be playing Napoli most of the time. Napoli caught a great game tonight (Thursday), caught Saunders complete game shut out earlier this year, guided O' Sullivan through a gem last week. You have always underestimated his abilities defensively and seem to write an article or blog on it every week.

[Justin]

CERA is so overrated. Mathis has got Weaver all year so that is obviously going to lower his CERA. You def. put the guy in there that does what wins games and that is score runs. Mathis does not make up for his pathetic offensive numbers with his glove.

[Zach]

Why does this 'situation' need to be 'settled'?

What Scioscia is clearly saying is not necessarily that he is looking for one of the two to become the everyday guy, but moreso that if one of them improves the weaker part of their game significantly, then they would get a chance to be that guy.

This seems perfectly reasonable. It also seems perfectly reasonable, the way things are right now, to continue to go with favorable matchups or the hotter hand, and just keep allowing the two to share the catcher's role.

One of Scioscia's greatest skills as a manager has always been mixing and matching players, and in this case it seems like he's doing one of his best jobs.

Neither Napoli nor Mathis are stepping up to fully claim the everyday job, so Scioscia should just continue going with what's been successful.

I'm sure everyone would like to see Napoli step up his D and claim that gig -- as he is one of the best offensive catchers in the game right now, and Mathis has a particularly anemic bat -- but the catchers' ERA stats don't lie...

Mathis, despite his offensive shortcomings, is surprisingly valuable to this ballclub.

[aztronut]

Scioscia's just wrong on this one. I agree with Bill James and his research, which says hitting trumps defense. After all, in the end it's about who scores more runs and it's a lot easier for one player to score runs than to prevent them, even as a catcher.

However, even if hitting and defense are given the same importance, the difference between Napoli's hitting abiilty and Mathis' is much greater than the difference between their defensive skill sets. I agree that Napoli's been struggling behind the plate lately, but my God can he hit. You've absolutely got to get his bat in the lineup more, and since he's obviously not going to DH any more this year, he's gotta catch.

I don't see Napoli as Sciosica's pet, in fact I think he's bent over backwards to play Mathis beyond what his offensive performance would dictate. Perhaps this is because of his silly notion that defense trumps offense but it's gotten to the point where it's hurting the team. We really don't need an automatic out anywhere in the lineup (are you listening SRod?) and Scioscia needs to show Napoli more respect when he makes out that lineup card. The guy could have 15-20 HRs right now if he played more. He really should be hitting fourth or fifth, I can't believe Scioscia wants to continue putting him behind Izzy at the bottom of the order. It's nuts!

Mathis' defense may be better than Napoli's but it's not that much better and if you look at the rest of the league he's not a top tier defensive catcher, at least not yet. The fact is, if he can't learn to do any better than linger around the Mendoza line, no other team in baseball would continue to give him the kind of playing time he's getting right now.

[Scott C. Worden]

It's a tough call but Mathis's hitting is attrocious. .202 just doesn't cut it. I know that defense is key but since this team needs power, I still give the nod to Napoli.

[Grandpa]

Gee, here's an idea: dump them both and get a catcher who can hit and catch. A few years back, they had a chance to get Boston's Veritek (sp?). Hell, bring back Jim Sunberg from Texas.

[R. Munkee]

Uh, Steve? The defensive numbers aren't nearly so divergent when you plug in Napoli's CORRECT CS% which is actually higher than Mathis'. ( .255 vs. .226.)

The fact is the two are remarkably similar defensively,
( Their career CERA? Mathis .433 vs. Napoli's .399.) but incredibly "divergent" offensively.

For 29 other baseball managers this would be one of the biggest no-brainers in ML history.

[J in Vegas]

I think there are far too many other factors to consider when determining the effectiveness of a catcher behind the plate. If you even accept the validity of catcher ERA (CERA), which a good many baseball writers don't, you have to take into account the pitcher, the ballpark, the defense behind the pitcher, whether the pitcher is effective at holding runners on (which Angels pitchers aren't particularly good at), etc. There are just too many variables that can't be quantified to rely on CERA.

BTW: ESPN lists Napoli's CS% as 25.5, which would be slightly better than Mathis'. Mathis really isn't a better regular option behind the plate. If Mathis is better defensively, it's a marginal difference at most. It's not significant enough to justify giving them equal time behind the plate when the Angels need Nap's patience and power at the plate.

[Brian C.]

This whole thing Scioscia and defense, defense, defense has become crazy. Why doesn't he realize that RBI's are needed to win games. Having another singles hitting, less than 30% on base guy in the line-up isn't going to win you a World Series. The part about 5 wild pitches in one game with Napoli behind the plate isn't Naploi's fault. If he calls for an outside fastball and the pitcher throws it way right or left whose fault is that? With a bunch of singles hitters already in Izturis, Aybar and Vlad this team needs as much offense as it can get. Shouldn't it be up to the pitching coach Butcher to work with the pitchers and have them better at holding runners on base anyway?

[John]

I think Napoli's reputation as a defensive liability is exaggerated. Moreover, how can he improve his defensive skills if he's only been played sparingly? Finally, it's extremely frustrating to see his bat on the bench on a regular basis. For a team that is as power starved as the Halos - and this has been the case for some time - it's astonishing to see Napoli only average around 240 AB his first three seasons.

[Tom S]

Go with Nap. It's a no brainer for everyone but Mike. Soc's handling of pitchers this year-when to take them out has been atrocious. He doesn't get a vote.l

[Jojo]

Annoying that Steve won't correct his error about Napoli's caught stealing percentage.

[Tom S]

What is really disturbing is how Soc;
1. Continues to leave starters in too long
2. Continue to say Vladdy's bat speed is OK when clearly it is not.
3. Continue to tolerate terrible baserunning.
4. Continue to play,not ready for prime time, Aybar.
5. Brings back up Howie ( There's nothing wrong with me ) Kendrick. Huge mistake. He should be trade bait.
But I have said all along ,that injuries not withstanding, the real story of this Angel season is Mike's misuse of the talent.

[Kevin S]

You have to look at the whole lineup to make that decision. I love Mathis behind the plate. But when you have all those singles hitters in the lineup Mathis' bat doesn't cut it. You have to have Napoli's big bat.
If Soc decides to bring up Wood and Vlad starts to hit (both doubtful in my opinion) then that makes a better case for Mathis.
Not sure Soc is seeing the big picture here.