What Bengie Molina Represents

well-put

Clicking that FanGraphs’ link really made me want Joe Mauer.

unf.

That would be in the past tense, I think.

I sat behind Bengie’s wife and new babby the other night at the game. It certainly wasn’t hard to root for him that game. My buddy who I was at the game with had to remind me to not make any Posey comments though.

If Bochy really is refusing to play Posey out of loyalty to Bengie then he’s doing Bengie a disservice. It’s hard to remember that Bengie has been a good Giant sometimes and that’s a shame.

iawtpost

Actually, I could do a week-long series about what would happen if this site made sounds, but I digress.

I smell off-season material.

Actually, I could do a week-long series about what would happen if this site made sounds

unf unf unf unf

Also,

This is why folks are starting to grumble about Molina being overly sensitive

The reason we are grumbling about Bengie being oversensitive is because he is oversensitive.

We’ll just ignore the concept that Benard would probably one of the best options to hit in the middle of this lineup.

Marvin Benard is the ultimate, twisted example of the saying “absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

I have felt alone on “Bengie Respect Island”. I get as incensed as the next guy with some of his AB’s, his seemingly sensitive ego, his ball blocking, etc., but I recognize that he is a good pro who cares about winning. That being said I want Buster to play every inning at catcher for the next 21 years, starting at 6:40 tonight!

Oversensitive is exactly right. The guy has an extremely thin skin. Remember that only a few weeks ago, he hinted that he wasn’t playing through discomfort because it was his free agent year. The implication, of course, was that if the Giants weren’t showing him love, he wouldn’t play through any pain and risk injury that could decrease his value the following year. Way to take one for the team – you’re under contract!

He reacts poorly to everything. Is this really the guy we want to “mentor” Buster Posey? He’ll give the guy a complex and freeze him out, Brett Favre-style.

Giants Waste Posey’s Talent

The Giants rank 26th in the major league in scoring. They also have the game’s best catching prospect in Posey, who hit .325/.416/.531 in his first full pro season, including a .375 average and five homers in Triple-A in August.

Though it’s blatantly obvious, they don’t seem to realize that Posey could bolster their lineup as they fight the Rockies for the National League wild card.

San Francisco promoted Posey on Sept. 2 and, not coincidentally, Molina pronounced himself well enough to start again the following day. The Giants and manager Bruce Bochy are inexplicably content to let that be Posey’s only impact, as they gave him one at-bat in his first 15 days in the big leagues. San Francisco lost 21/2 games to Colorado in the standings while failing to take advantage of Posey’s talents, scoring more than four runs just four times in 14 games.

Setting up some sort of offensive/defensive platoon with Molina and Posey would be understandable, because Molina offers more behind the plate and some power (if not on-base ability). But continuing to use Eli Whiteside as the backup while letting Posey rot on the bench is unfathomable.

When fans boo players or curse them out, it is almost always an editorial comment on the decision by the front office or manager to put the player in the position he’s in.

Either way you’re telling them that they suck. This statment isn’t going to make a player feel better about the booing.

“Oh they aren’t mad at you. They’re mad at the people who hired a shitty player like you to do a job you could never possible accomplish. Because you suck, you see.”

In conclusion, I wish our players were less shitty.

*while supplies last

I don’t hate Bengie, I hate the fact that he’s still playing while Posey rotts on the bench.

I just think they are able to justify it somehow.

I honestly think their justification for Molina is that, as a cleanup hitter, you’re relying on him to drive in runs, not “get on base.” I can almost guarantee you, the thinking is that the #5 hitter is less likely to get a big hit than Bengie is (avg. even be damned), so him walking doesn’t really help the team score runs.

In a sense, they’re kind of right, but that’s a testament to how badly management has constructed this roster. Less about the type of impact Bengie has on this team.

Possible Update? this is gleaned from the profound wastebasket known as ESPN.com comments—>

~Just in to our int’l news tip line at ESPN.com, legal counsel for Villalona to speak later today. He is quoted as saying initially, "We have serious and compelling evidence to clear Mr. Villalona of these absurd charges… He was simply a young man in the wrong place at the wrong time."

~Stay tuned for updates

Charlie Hayes ate my homework
by glenallen hill’s waterpipe on Sep 22, 2009 12:30 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I’ve really not liked the tone of MCC when it’s come to Molina, but leave that alone for now.

Molina (as of July – I’m sure someone can update this) was a Type-A free agent.

I would argue it makes an awful lot of sense to offer him arbitration, since:

1. I don’t believe he’ll accept, since he wants a multi year deal and there are teams that could fit him in quite nicely. Not that I particularly respect Kevin Kennedy, but on his chat show he did have a point with Molina being a very good fit for the Rays, for instance. Extra first rounder.

2. If he does accept, it gives breathing room for Posey; if Posey plays well, Molina can be a deadline trade.

The Benard thing is interesting – it gets me thinking in a different direction, though.

Molina sort of reminds me of a new Marvin Benard or Livan Hernandez. The end (if this is the end) of his Giants tenure has just been so maddening and god-awful that it’s hard to remember he was once a solid contributor. Sort of like Livan in the imaginary World Series or Benard in 2003.

I was with you until

And his bat plays at catcher. He’s right in the middle of the pack of catchers.

No. Just no.

Also, VORP needs to go away. It drastically undervalues walks and overvalues playing time (which explains why it thinks so highly of Molina). It’s also “secret” and complicated and doesn’t serve any value.

of 26 catchers with at least 300 PA’s, Molina is 20th in wOBA. The guy who’s 24th is only 5 runs worse than Molina. So factoring baserunning and double plays pushes Molina at least 5 spots down (he’s pretty much the worst in the majors in both). That’s 25th best. Add Ronny Paulino, David Ross, Nick Hundley, Gregg Zaun, and Ramon Castro, all of whom didn’t get 300 PA’s this year, but are better hitters than Molina, and what do you get? Bengie Molina is 30th best offensive catcher in the majors. At best.

Bengie Molina is 30th best offensive catcher in the majors. That is nowhere near decent or middle of the pack. It’s not acceptable. Bengie Molina should not be starting for an MLB team.

and I will love him til the end!

That said… I hope this is the end.

I think we’d be less rageful if Bochy just did what he says he wants to do with Posey: give him playing time when the game’s not close. Or semi-regular pinch hits. Or at least play Posey when Molina has the day off: while people can and do make arguments that Molina is a better option than Posey because of gritty vetness or RBIs or whatever, I really don’t think there’s any argument that Whiteside is a better option. Maybe Whiteside is better defensively, but from everything we’ve heard about Posey’s defense, I doubt it’s a big difference if it exists. And in no possible world is Whiteside ever going to be a better hitter than Posey. And experience? Okay, Whiteside’s pretty old, but before this year he had played, what, like 12 MLB games? Yeah.

If Posey got to play occasionally, I would be disappointed that he wasn’t playing MORE, but I wouldn’t be bashing my head into the table at the sheer incomprehensibility of it all. And thus, my irritation with Molina is increased umpteen-fold.

POSEY 4 FIELDER

He’s a little overweight, and I wish he would have tried harder to stay in shape. He’s getting paid millions of dollars to be an athlete.

Well said. Now that my rage has been neatly articulated, I can work on not hating sports players/managers. Such a silly thing to hate.

Bengie Molina is a slow zombie.