“I choose my days to give Russell off. A lot of days, I’ll catch Stew against left handers as well, in a sense. Yeah, he’s caught him three or four starts, but I’m not saying it’s going to be that way the whole year. Everyone is going to want to make something of it right now, but it’s not going to be that way the whole year.” – Joe Girardi
Manager Joe Girardi doesn’t want us to make anything of Chris Stewart becoming ‘s personal catcher, but I’ve chosen to ignore his sentiment. Stewart has now caught five of Sabathia’s seven starts this year, something more than coincidence. In the small sample size of seven starts this season, it would appear that the backup catcher has done a better job calling games than his counterpart. In 39.1 innings, Sabathia has averaged 8.0 innings per start, posted a 2.51 ERA, given up only 6.6 H/9, 1.2 BB/9, and earned 8.7 K/9. Compare these numbers to ‘s two games behind the plate, where Sabathia averaged only 6 innings per start, and a 6.75 ERA, 12 H/9, 3.75 BB/9, but also an 11.3 K/9.
On the surface, it would appear that the backup catcher Stewart is handling the lefty pitcher better in 2012, but there are numerous circumstances surrounding these games. Obviously small sample size plays into the numbers, but Martin also caught Sabathia’s first two games of the year. It’s possible that the ace of the staff entered the season “cold” and needed a few starts to get on track, but I also made a point back in mid-April that the spin on his sinker fluctuated in his bad innings. Indeed, Sabathia admitted that getting on top of the pitch allowed him to succeed in the next few games, which boosted his groundball rate and lowered his H/9 and ERA. All of this was largely figured out by the time Stewart began his catching duties with Sabathia, and one reason why we see so much success in his last five starts.
You could go back to last year, and see that also caught many of Sabathia’s starts in place of Martin. Girardi would likely call this a coincidence too. In fact, Russell Martin only caught 19 of Sabathia’s 33 games, this time succeeding with a 2.94 ERA, 8.8 H/9, 2.4 BB/9, and 7.8 K/9. With Cervelli behind the plate, the numbers were a 3.07 ERA, 8.5 H/9, 3.1 BB/9, and 10.1 K/9. While the ERA and H/9 are similar, the BB/9 and K/9 with Cervelli increased by nearly 30%. There is certainly a case to be made that Sabathia has pitched better to backup catchers, and perhaps he and the Yankees agree.
After the trade for Chris Stewart, the front office admitted to having interest in growing advanced catching statistics, which the termed undervalued. In the latest 2011 rankings, Chris Stewart was ranked well above Russell Martin, who received a negative score. I personally don’t buy the coincidence scenario that Girardi has concocted, however I do believe that Stewart, a .203 career hitter, is best placed in the lineup when the offense is least important, and there aren’t many runs necessary with Sabathia pitching. Whether the team’s ace pitcher, Girardi, or the front office prefers a backup catcher to Martin will remain a mystery. It’s an answer we’re very unlikely to hear from the tight-lipped Yankee locker room. Regardless, I hope the match up continues, since the results have been tremendous.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
4 Responses to Sabathia’s Personal Catcher
Leave a Reply
-
TIQ IQ
I really, really dislike the idea of personal catchers but when it’s a guy like CC I’m inclined to cut some slack. Besides, it’s not like Russell Martin is Johnny Bench with the bat.
That said, when lesser pitchers are involved and there’s a bigger disparity between the offensive capabilities of the catchers involved then I would oppose having a personal catcher.
They way Martin is hitting maybe he should be the backup! (I know by the end of the year he’ll outhit Stewart)
Cervelli being a better defensive catcher than Martin doesn’t pass the eye test. I doubt that CC has requested not pitching to Martin. I think it’s more a matter of Girardi feeling that there is some benefit to pitchers developing a rapport with their catcher and thinks it easier to do that by assigning the backup to one pitcher and having it CC because CC will pitch more starts than anyone else and its easier to hide the backup bat when he’s pitching. Never mind that Stewart has outhit Martin this year. Martin caught CC’s games in September last year so that they’d feel comfortable together in the playoffs. I’m guessing the same will happen this year unless Martin’s bat is this bad all year.
I have no problem with this at all. It makes sense to have the (theoretically) weaker-hitting backup play in games when the ace is starting, because the opposition will likely score fewer runs.