Cardinals nearing extension with Molina

[MWV]

Fangraphs early take on the deal. Cameron seems to like it.

[NonProfitCow]

Fangraphs early take on the deal. Cameron seems to like it.

Not as bad as he thought it would be is not the same as liking it. He's also basing the entire thing on the assumption that catching metrics are way off and Yadi is a 4 WAR player.

[SouthSideRyan]

Fangraphs early take on the deal. Cameron seems to like it.

Not as bad as he thought it would be is not the same as liking it. He's also basing the entire thing on the assumption that catching metrics are way off and Yadi is a 4 WAR player.

 

Everyone knows that Yadier Molina was a 0.3 defensive WAR player the last few years. What this article presupposes...is maybe he wasn't?

[MWV]

Fangraphs early take on the deal. Cameron seems to like it.

Not as bad as he thought it would be is not the same as liking it. He's also basing the entire thing on the assumption that catching metrics are way off and Yadi is a 4 WAR player.

Fair point. I meant only to convey my surprise that he would put as positive a spin on the deal as he does.

[BeerHere]

I'd take Molina over Soto, but not at that price.

[KingCubsFan]

Fangraphs early take on the deal. Cameron seems to like it.

Not as bad as he thought it would be is not the same as liking it. He's also basing the entire thing on the assumption that catching metrics are way off and Yadi is a 4 WAR player.

And the ridiculous notion that a 1 WAR=5 million dollars and a 4 WAR player is somehow worth $20 million dollars in real life.

[Pushfrog98]

I just took a quick poll around my office and they're all excited and think it's well deserved.

 

A few quotes when I asked "What do you think of you guys extending Molina at 5/75?"

 

"You're paying for defense... and he's the best defensive catcher we've ever seen." (not sure if "we've" means Cardinal fans or Baseball fans in general)

 

"Yup. He's by far the best catcher in the majors. Stays healthy, hits well, plays great D."

 

"Very Nice. Glad he'll be around for the rest of his career."

 

Yep, I'm getting similar sentiment.

 

Are these diehards or casual fans? I gotta feel like most people are happy that he's back long term but the casual fans dont understand how $15 million a year is excessive for a medium market club like STL.

These are die-hards (and quite knowledgeable, for the most part)

[NonProfitCow]

Fangraphs early take on the deal. Cameron seems to like it.

Not as bad as he thought it would be is not the same as liking it. He's also basing the entire thing on the assumption that catching metrics are way off and Yadi is a 4 WAR player.

And the ridiculous notion that a 1 WAR=5 million dollars and a 4 WAR player is somehow worth $20 million dollars in real life.

ugh

 

Read up on how the number is figured. It makes sense just fine.

[seanimal]

Fangraphs early take on the deal. Cameron seems to like it.

Not as bad as he thought it would be is not the same as liking it. He's also basing the entire thing on the assumption that catching metrics are way off and Yadi is a 4 WAR player.

 

Everyone knows that Yadier Molina was a 0.3 defensive WAR player the last few years. What this article presupposes...is maybe he wasn't?

 

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQeQQGEHH3dotOVXZCXxAOI_kLg2VInpSRjf35-Q0eguLksqkdshJTRQZeJWw

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

I like this deal for both sides. Seems like Molina's been around forever and he's only 28...Top defensive catcher though and he gets on base at a decent clip in recent years as well as hitting for above average BA. Good asset for the Cardinals and should remain one through his contract unless something drastic happened.

[javy knows my name]

Fangraphs early take on the deal. Cameron seems to like it.

Not as bad as he thought it would be is not the same as liking it. He's also basing the entire thing on the assumption that catching metrics are way off and Yadi is a 4 WAR player.

 

Everyone knows that Yadier Molina was a 0.3 defensive WAR player the last few years. What this article presupposes...is maybe he wasn't?

 

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQeQQGEHH3dotOVXZCXxAOI_kLg2VInpSRjf35-Q0eguLksqkdshJTRQZeJWw

 

SWEEEEEEET

[Rob]

Fangraphs early take on the deal. Cameron seems to like it.

Not as bad as he thought it would be is not the same as liking it. He's also basing the entire thing on the assumption that catching metrics are way off and Yadi is a 4 WAR player.

 

Everyone knows that Yadier Molina was a 0.3 defensive WAR player the last few years. What this article presupposes...is maybe he wasn't?

 

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQeQQGEHH3dotOVXZCXxAOI_kLg2VInpSRjf35-Q0eguLksqkdshJTRQZeJWw

 

:yahoo:

[Have a seat, Neifi]

Fangraphs early take on the deal. Cameron seems to like it.

I wouldn't go far. He concludes only that it doesn't "look as bad as he originally thought," noting:

 

I understand the desire to show the fan base that Molina wouldn’t be the next Pujols, and that the team was still intent on keeping the team’s best players from walking away via free agency, but at this price, perhaps the Cardinals could have just waited another 12 months before committing top dollar to a defensive specialist. Molina may very well be worth the money, but the Cardinals had to pay a premium price to lock up their star catcher, and if his bat regresses in 2012, they may regret not waiting for his value to drop slightly before committing to him long term.

[SouthSideRyan]

Thank God, NCCub showed up to post that picture so you troglodytes could get my awesome joke.

[Tracer Bullet]

Fightfightfight

[seanimal]

Thank God, NCCub showed up to post that picture so you troglodytes could get my awesome joke.

 

tread lightly young man, there is no boysenberry syrup waiting for you on the other side of this

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

Wait, why does he have to repeat last year with the bat to be worth his contract?

 

I think they'd be perfectly fine with 135-140 starts with his '09 offense...Hell, even his '08 offense. If he throws up a BA over .285 with a .350 offense as well as provides his usual stability and defense then there's really not much wrong with this deal.

 

Didn't they catch crap for giving Holliday "too much" money? I can't imagine the last FA or FA to be that I've heard fans called underpaid anyway...

[SouthSideRyan]

A BA over 285 with an OBP of 350 is what he did last year.

[Formerly Snayke]

It's quite hilarious that we're entering a world where an average-hitting catcher is about to be paid as much as an outfielder who puts up a .900 OPS in his sleep.

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

A BA over 285 with an OBP of 350 is what he did last year.

 

Which is a good thing for them? He's done that or been in the vicinity of for 3 of the past 4 years.

[Formerly Snayke]

The difference being that he added 60 points to his IsoP.

[SouthSideRyan]

A BA over 285 with an OBP of 350 is what he did last year.

 

Which is a good thing for them? He's done that or been in the vicinity of for 3 of the past 4 years.

 

Let's pretend there's no difference in the current run environment vs previous years.

[davearm2]

It's quite hilarious that we're entering a world where an average-hitting catcher is about to be paid as much as an outfielder who puts up a .900 OPS in his sleep.

There's no doubt in my mind that the sabermetric community has no clue how to put a WAR value on an elite defensive catcher. Or even how to identify an elite defensive catcher.

[TruffleShuffle]

yeah all those traditionalists have been saying for years that molina is an elite defender while all us sabermetrically-inclined folks have been saying that he sucks. if only we could watch the games, alas the tv reception in our mom's basements is so poor!!!

[davearm2]

Massive WHOOOOSH