Do we really believe Mike Rivera is the answer?

[brewernp]

I admit that up until the All-star break I was a Jason Kendall supporter. I have since joined the opinion that he should be allowed to leave after the season. However, I don't believe that Mike Rivera is the answer either. Everyone jumped on his bandwagon last year after a few big hits in 62 ABs. I think we have seen the real Rivera this year and that is not much if at all better than Kendall. There is a reason why he is 33 years old and not a starter. I would be more than happy to have him as a back up next year, but we need to bring in a veteran next year to bridge the gap to the young guys in the minors. Any thoughts?

[bklynbrewcrew]

He has never been given the chance to be the answer. My guess is that he would probably be a decent stopgap until LuCroy or Salome are ready to play every day. I do believe that Rivera is a far better option than Kendall who is terrible.

[sgtcluels]

No he is not the answer. But we are way over paying for at best replacement level performance. We need a short term player to bridge the gap between players in our system and what we've got.

[patrickgpe]

He is probably not the answer, but the problem is that there aren't too many answers available. The reason why so catchers like Greg Zaun and Jason Kendall are allowed to catch forever is that there are just not that many good ones. I'd probably rather see Rivera catch next year over Kendall, as he has looked good when he gets to play but rarely gets a chance.

[Tbadder]

He's a better answer than Kendall. That doesn't make him acceptable, but it does improve the club a modicum.

[logan82]

Probably a very similar or slightly higher OPS than Kendall with more power and less OBP. Rivera isn't likely to be an improvement over Kendall offensively.

[yoshii8]

I don't think he's the answer, although I don't mind him as a backup catcher. I really hope the Brewers are able to find someone to upgrade the catching position this off-season. It's too bad that Angel Salome didn't step up and earn the position for 10'.

[endaround]

Probably a very similar or slightly higher OPS than Kendall with more power and less OBP. Rivera isn't likely to be an improvement over Kendall offensively.

 

Rivera has a WAR of 0.4 compared to Kendall's 0.7 in 1/4 the PAs. They both look to have an OBP around .325-.330.

[sheethead]

I don't care what the answer is, just so the question is who's replacing Kendall? I really, really, really don't want to see Jason Kendall in a Brewer uni in 2010. Really.

[jrodbrewcrew]

I like Kendall as a "gritty/guy I'd like to have on my side" type of guy. That being said, I don't see him being the starter next year. I also like Rivera, but not as a starter. I'd like to have seen him catching 2 games per week this year, but that wasn't going to happen. Not sure who'll be back there next season.

[topper09er]

logan3825[/b]]Probably a very similar or slightly higher OPS than Kendall with more power and less OBP. Rivera isn't likely to be an improvement over Kendall offensively.

Um, Jason Kendall is the worst everyday offensive player in the entire major leagues, it is basically impossible to be worse than him offensively. He has a .238/.326/.290=.616 OPS, which is 3rd worst in the majors among starters, but the only reason he is not lower than Emilio Bonifacio's .612 is because he has been issued a staggering 6 IBBs, which is infinity % higher than the worst hitter in the league should get. Without his 6 IBBs, he is at .238/.318/.290 =.608 OPS. Also remember his only triple came from Soriano basically walking around the left field corner and handing him third base, and his only HR was a pathetic flyout in Houston. He is the worst hitter in the major leagues, no one is not an improvement over him.

[And That]

The Brewers shouldn't bring back Kendall, and I'm also not comfortable just handing the job to Rivera while we wait for Lucroy/Salome. Brian Schneider had an off year at the plate in '09 so he might come pretty cheap, but he's regarded as a good defensive catcher and has a career OPS of 700. He bats lefty too. I could handle a Schneider/Rivera platoon until one of the kids is ready.

[bklynbrewcrew]

I like the idea of Schneider. He is very good defensively and while not a good hitter he is better than Kendall. This whole topic is moot anyway because Melvin is bringing Kendall back.

[bcf5575]

why hasnt rivera been able to earn any playing time for 2 different managers now? they must know something that we dont. I think he would get exposed if he played much more than he does now. him being the answer for next year is scary - i hope they find something better than kendall and rivera for next year...

[logan82]

endaround wrote:

Rivera has a WAR of 0.4 compared to Kendall's 0.7 in 1/4 the PAs. They both look to have an OBP around .325-.330.

This year yes, but can Rivera hit that well getting 2/3 or more of the starts.

[MJLiverock]

That's what I don't get BCF5575. Why didn't Melvin order Macha to play Rivera more this month so he could at least have a few more AB's to evaluate him. There is no reason Kendall should start 15/20 games in September when his production has not been noticeably better than Rivera and the team is out of the playoff hunt. No one can seem to figure out why Kendall has the 10th most AB's of all catchers this year yet having the worst OPS by a looong shot - - Russell Martin is the only guy really within a 100 points of him with that many AB's and this is Russell Martin's worst year.

[endaround]

This year yes, but can Rivera hit that well getting 2/3 or more of the starts.

 

Well, I wouldn't give Rivera that many starts, I'd go more with a 3/2 for the catchers whoever they are. That said players tend to hit better when playing full time vs part time. This year and in 2006 when he got about 150 PAs he had a .325 OBP both times with BABIP of .278 and .296. Again its not so much Rivera is good that Kendall is bad and in all phases at this point.

[logan82]

I guess I just have a hard time believing that a 33 year old will get better even with regular PA. I see no reason to keep Kendall over Rivera, but I don't think Rivera is a very good choice as catcher. I still see him as a minimal upgrade over Kendall at best.

[Roderick]

I still see him as a minimal upgrade over Kendall at best.

At a fraction of the cost.

[Hate those Rodents]

Yep, it's a nobrainer to go with Rivera next year along with Salome. Let Lucroy work the system through AAA to save his clock and come up (possibly as the starter depending on how he does in AAA and ST) in 2011.

[JohnBriggs12]

I've always liked Mike, but he's a backup that should be playing a couple times a week. He might be okay splitting time but really, I'd like them to find a true starter who's better than Kendall or Rivera. It's the one position other than SP where they have room for a huge upgrade.

 

Both Salome and Lucroy are prospects but not sure things and both would appear to need another year in the minors. I think Salome can hit well enough, but 10 errors and 8 PB in 72 games tell me he's not ready yet.

 

I've suggested Brewers go after Kurt Suzuki (see trade thread). I'm not sure Oakland would be anxious to deal him so the Brewers would have to pony up. But he represents the type of guy who could be a true upgrade.

 

Other guys that could be had all don't seem to be any better than Kendall.

 

Schneider was worse than Kendall this year and turns 33 in November. No thanks.

 

Earlier I thought Chris Snyder might be a good buy low pickup but he's been awful this year. Maybe he'd be worth a shot, but I wouldn't give up anything of value.

[dadofandrew]

Those minor league numbers are always fictional...the scorers have no clue. Corporan had 5 E's and 10 PB's in 68 games, and he is supposedly a very good defensive catcher. Either every catcher magically gets better when they get to the big leagues, or the scoring is goofy. I have no doubt it is the latter. As I've said, I saw an error called on Mike Garciaparra in Appleton that was as ridiculous as anything, a diving stop and throw to 1B, runner looked to beat it anyway, but throw was wide. When the error was announced, the fans around me all burst out laughing, and one said, "That's why he's got 40some errors".

[dadofandrew]

As for the available catchers, the only one I see that looks to out OBP Kendall is Zaun, who I've liked for a long time. Jason will only be back on a 1y/$3M or so deal, and to be honest, he looks as good to me as anyone other than Gregg. Schneider is coming off a bad year, and might be a good "buy low" opportunity. As pointed out, there aren't many guys who can hit and catch.

 

If TB does not want him back, I'd trade for him, as he has an option for $2M next year. He'll be 39, so he won't be able to handle more than 100 games or so, but I hope Salome gets some time.

[bklynbrewcrew]

Why should we pay Kendall 3 million when he is the worst offensive player in baseball? As far as Im concerned we cant get any less production from the C position than we have gotten from Kendall this year. Time to turn the page but its a near guarantee that Kendall will be back playing as much as he has the last two years.

[MJLiverock]

Watching Kendall throw the ball in CF on the stolen base attempt last night and then throw it away on wild pitch allowing the run from second to score made me laugh in a sick twisted way. I may have become so cynical that I root against a Brewer player so see just how bad can someone play and still get the start everyday in a position where 2-3 days off a week is fairly common.