Praise for John Buck
This is interesting because I always remember hearing that Buck couldn't call a good game.
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"As good as the former No. 1 draft pick was, I want to take a minute to also mention catcher John Buck. The former Royals backstop may be the best free agent signing that the Jays have made in the past few years. He’s off to a pretty good start with the bat, but his true value to the team lies in his work behind the dish. In his first week with the Jays, Buck has clearly earned the trust of the Jays starters.
Rarely have I seen a shake of the head to suggest a disagreement in the pitch selection. The veteran catcher is known for having a game plan detailed before each contest. He appears to be an excellent receiver and he’s created close plays on throws to second base where it appeared the runner would be safe by a country mile."
about 2 years ago
Freneau
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hahahahah
“I kind of looked up there I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, they don’t have any hits,’ " Buck said.
But what's his batting average?
Kendall rules!
It's all ball bearings these days!
by CentralChamps20?? on Apr 14, 2010 4:13 PM EDT reply actions
To be fair
SB/CS
Kendall: 3/3, 50%
Buck: 5/0, 0%
Your turn
It's all ball bearings these days!
by CentralChamps20?? on Apr 14, 2010 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions
True
Buck never could hit, can’t run, can’t throw. Kendall actually is an upgrade.
he's was a shit ton better at the plate last year...
who knows how much catcher defense would make a difference….but buck was worth .9 WAR in 200 PA last year while Kendall was 1.2 in 526 PA…oh, and buck wouldnt have cost 2/6
Fire Everyone
by billybeingbilly on Apr 14, 2010 4:52 PM EDT up reply actions
I STILL like Kendall better
He obviously won’t continue to produce like he has so far, but I never developed the mancrush on Buck that so many people seem to have. Yes they overpaid for him but so be it. I’m glad Buck is gone. We’ll see how they’re praising him when he’s hitting .210 in August.
i just think he's likely to be about as good as kendall
for cheaper….and i just always liked Buck for some reason.
Fire Everyone
by billybeingbilly on Apr 14, 2010 8:21 PM EDT up reply actions
I can understand that
Buck just always rubbed me the wrong way. The whole “he knows how to handle a pitching staff” thing just pisses me off. The pitching staff always sucked and Buck would get his one hit a week and everybody would talk about how great he is. Plus other teams would steal the Royals blind because Buck couldn’t get his throws to 2nd base on less than two hops.
I'm not sure what planet you were living on
Nobody really liked John Buck. Even I, as one of John Buck’s most vocal defenders here, could only resort to taking the position that (a) he wasn’t as bad as people kept saying he was and (b) his ineptitude at stopping the running game was, among all the other issues facing this team, about like bitching at your wife for spending $2 a week on lottery tickets when you can’t afford your $3200/month mortgage.
I am now channeling Will McDonald's optimism.
Definitely was on your side.
I always kind of liked Buck. It’s not like catchers in MLB are any good. I’d say Buck was probably average for an MLB catcher.
Catchers ERA
John Buck 3.99
Jason Kendall 5.79
And yes, its a stupid stat.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
Amount of facial hair
John Buck: Zero
Jason Kendall: Always present
This is more relevant, I think
by Boots 58 on Apr 14, 2010 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Ability to focus in the midst of a nasty divorce
Advantage: Kendall
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Apr 14, 2010 5:27 PM EDT up reply actions
uhh...of course he can focus...dude abuses aderrall
Fire Everyone
by billybeingbilly on Apr 14, 2010 8:21 PM EDT up reply actions
Actually, if you don't have ADD
Aderall will be like cocaine to you, so there’s that.
Yes, I'm still alive. Sorry to disappoint you.
by royaldaddy on Apr 15, 2010 1:23 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I like Buck and all, but...
Since when did Fangraphs and the Sabermetric community buy into a “catcher’s game calling” skill? I’ve let my subscription to the newsletter lapse, so I may have missed something.
The immoderate moderator
I know the local radio guys have been going crazy with how Kendall is helping due to his game calling
I didnt even realize that was a fangraphs article, otherwise I would have assumed it was a mainstream media source. That is interesting, and I wonder why they have that as well
Ac...tually...
I think we all recognize that there is some skill involved in calling a game from behind the plate. We just can’t measure it properly. Some people make the argument that the fact that we can’t measure it means it doesn’t exist, but that’s not necessarily the case; part of the reason we can’t measure it is because the pitcher also influences the pitch selection, and in many cases the pitcher’s will overrides the catcher’s. Since there’s absolutely no way for us to assign credit or blame there, we can’t judge the catcher, and thus no metric devised to figure it all out will ever be meaningful. It doesn’t mean the skill doesn’t exist, it just means we cannot speak to it.
At least that’s my take on it, and I presume it’s the position most sabermetricians would espouse as well.
I am now channeling Will McDonald's optimism.
That's fair
So I guess my problem is with someone saying that a given catcher is exhibiting this particular skill. What does he base that on?
The immoderate moderator
by Scott McKinney on Apr 15, 2010 6:31 AM EDT up reply actions
I always liked Buck
and I always thought he called a fine game. Never did I see any flaw in his game calling like you will see with Jorge Posada or Mike Piazza. He was just an average catcher and still is IMO.
Yes, I'm still alive. Sorry to disappoint you.
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