POTD John Buick
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Tsunami of Bench Strength
Well, a very pleasant lapping of saltwater around our ankles, at least. John Buick is a legitimate starting catcher in the major leagues, and here we are deploying him as our 30-game backup scrubeenie.
A little perspective ... here are the WAR totals for various Mariner catchers, last FOUR (4) years aggregate. Following those are Buick's totals:
| Catcher | WAR |
| 1. Jaso, 2010-2013 | 2.6 |
| 2. Shoppach, 2010-13 | 0.4 |
| 3. Quintero, 2010-13 | 0.3 |
| 4. Gimenez, 2010-13 | 0.2 |
| 5. Olivo, 2010-13 (830 PA's) | 0.1 |
| 6. Rob Johnson, 2010-13 | 0.0 |
| 7-10. Four guys incl. Zunino, 2010-13 | 0.0 each |
| 11. Sucre, 2010-13 | -0.1 |
| 13. Blanco, 2010-13 | -0.3 |
| 14. Montero, 2010-13 | -0.8 |
| 15. Adam Moore, 2010-13 | -1.1 |
| ALL MARINER CATCHERS, 2010-13 | +1.2 WAR accumulated |
| John Buick, 2010 | +2.7 |
| Buick, 2011 | +1.6 |
| Buick, 2012 | +0.9 |
| Buick, 2013 | +1.6 |
| BUICK, 2010-13 | +6.8 WAR accumulated |
Fifteen catchers in four years, slap me silly. Suppose the Seahawks had run through nine quarterbacks in four seasons?
So here's Buick, coming in to back up ... that's not unlike Philip Rivers signing on to back up for the Seahawks, back when they were shuffling between Matt Flynn and Tarvaris Jackson.
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Shop(pach)ing for a Role Player
As you might recall, Kelly Shoppach was unamused when Mike Zunino arrived from Tacoma. He expressed his displeasure by throwing Eric Wedge onto a piece of luggage in the stairwell, and was summarily released the next day.
Shoppach wouldn't have minded a jobshare - he had done that before - but what he couldn't stomach was the gifting of "Prime Time Number One" status to a kid who should, rightfully, have been accepting hot feet from Shoppach during his hazing period. MLB(TM) vets are very, very big on Pecking Orders. Shoppach just couldn't abide the humiliation, even at the possible expense of his baseball career.
Why John Buick would sign on with the MARINERS, specifically, to play so few games, to play behind THIS kid, in THIS corner of the country ... somebody smarter than me will have to explain it. Until then, Dr. D will file this as another nice little achievement by Jack Zduriencik.
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Hitting Template
Buick hits .235 with real power ... in April of 2013 he blasted 9 homers (!!) though only 5 the rest of the way. He's a hacker, with a capital H, but can change the scoreboard.
Zduriencik didn't select him because he's "right hand power." Zunino is right hand power. Zduriencik selected him because he's a number one catcher, willing to take 30 games in 2014. The batting template is an accident.
Buick's LH/RH splits are not important. He is a dead red hitter -- weak against ALL types of offspeed, but can turn around a hot fastball. Earl Weaver used to run platoons based on things like this, fastball hitters vs curve ball hitters.
Mike Zunino is, relatively speaking, a hitter who stays back well, so if McClendon gives Buick the games against Ubaldo Jimenez and Derek Holland, then Buick (fresh and physically bouncy) could have an UP year for him ... and, of course, have people arguing that Buick should be the starting catcher.
It so happens that Buick is a hot starter; his best month, lifetime, is April. He's got a .441 SLG in that month. Last year it was .575. He could help with some of the slow starts that many of the M's feed us in the rainy months.
That's my own mission for McClendon at the catcher slot: have the peanut gallery calling for Buick by May.
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Lizards in the Cellar
The rap on Buick is his pitch framing. Here is a superb article from Amazin' Avenue. The .gifs will send you screaming into the night.
Where's Earl when you need him? He'd platoon Buick into those games that were Ump'ed by refs with high ERA's...
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As opposed to that, Buick's defensive stats are superb. His passed balls, throwing arm, jumping out onto bunts, all that stuff, he has a lot to teach Zunino...
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Dr's Diagnosis
The 116-win M's had almost eerie contributions from the bench, and the deep bullpen. So did the recent Oakland A's.
John Buck, as a 30-game backup catcher, slap me silly. That's quite a score.
BABVA,
Dr D