Blue Jays GDT: 2024 v6 | Fri, Sept 13 | vs StL | 7pm ET/4pm PT | TBA vs TBA

[Forgotusername]

Good job by Kirk not to get flustered by that non call.

 

[TMLeafer]

Damn, he got there just didn't hang on.

 

[SpezDispenser]

I'm guessing this will be on the white board today.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1827469355971445073

I read that this morning and can't understand what this dickhead is talking about. It was all hittable....except it wasn't? Fukumean?

 

[MS]

That was a rough AB for Ernie. Watched a 2-0 meatball go right by and then swung at ball four 4 different times.

 

[MS]

Bad challenge there this early in the game on a play where it looked it was probably the correct call initially,

 

[LaP]

I know Barger hits for under 200 but the power is there. Good swing.

 

[GermanJay]

Kirk is getting hot

 

[Eyedea]

Smart play IBBing Vladdy with none on and 0 out…

 

[MS]

Man, do the Angels suck.

 

[canucksfan]

Kirk is hitting like he did early on in his career.

 

[metafour]

Kirk is getting hot

Where's the guy who a ~week ago proclaimed after a 2-3 game stretch where he didn't get a hit that it was proof that he couldn't handle a starting workload lol?

 

[MS]

Kirk is hitting like he did early on in his career.

The correlation between Mattingly disappearing and the offence exploding is just hilarious.

 

[canucksfan]

Schedule gets tougher. It’ll be interesting to see how the young guys do.

Is there a franchise worse off than the Angels? Team sucks, farm system is dreadful and don’t really have any solid trade chips.

 

[Brock Boeser Laser Show]

Schedule gets tougher. It’ll be interesting to see how the young guys do.

Is there a franchise worse off than the Angels? Team sucks, farm system is dreadful and don’t really have any solid trade chips.

The angels couldn't come close to winning with prime Ohtani/Trout. What a wasted opportunity they had.

 

[Discoverer]

Where's the guy who a ~week ago proclaimed after a 2-3 game stretch where he didn't get a hit that it was proof that he couldn't handle a starting workload lol?

I swear there are a few people here who can't see beyond his weight and evaluate him entirely based on that.

 

[CabanaBoy5]

Where's the guy who a ~week ago proclaimed after a 2-3 game stretch where he didn't get a hit that it was proof that he couldn't handle a starting workload lol?

Ok there brother, settle down. It wasn't a 2-3 game stretch that he sucked, it was a season and a half. In that large sample size, many commented, even former players, that perhaps he couldn't handle a heavy workload. He's been decent the past 10 games against a putrid Angels team and a sub-500 team in the Cubs. You're judging him on such a small sample size against poor teams when nothing is at stake? Let's see how he does at the start of next season moving forward and when the pressure is on before pompously declaring he can handle a huge workload. Despite this small resurgence, he's still below his career stats in virtually every category...BA, SLG, OPB, OPS, OPS+, etc. Nevertheless, I wish him the best next April.

 

[metafour]

Ok there brother, settle down. It wasn't a 2-3 game stretch that he sucked, it was a season and a half. In that large sample size, many commented, even former players, that perhaps he couldn't handle a heavy workload. He's been decent the past 10 games against a putrid Angels team and a sub-500 team in the Cubs. You're judging him on such a small sample size against poor teams when nothing is at stake? Let's see how he does at the start of next season moving forward and when the pressure is on before pompously declaring he can handle a huge workload. Despite this small resurgence, he's still below his career stats in virtually every category...BA, SLG, OPB, OPS, OPS+, etc. Nevertheless, I wish him the best next April.

You are wrong. That is OK.

Kirk has been hitting well for multiple months now. You are free to look up his stats yourself. This isn't a 10-game sample. You are uninformed, so why comment?

Furthermore, I am specifically referring to an actual incident that took place here recently. Someone made a post suggesting that it was imperative that we find a starting catcher for next season. I pointed out that Kirk's hitting was already turned around and with his elite defense, he is an easy starter. That person then waiting to bring up a 2-3 game sample as "proof" that Kirk was only a backup (because apparently he was too tired to get a hit?). Ironically, since that post was made Kirk has gone back to hitting (and has even thrown out several baserunners), so I guess he must not be "too tired" to start after all lol.

He also didn't even "suck" last season. This is pure hyperbole. Yes, it was a clear down year from his ALL-STAR 2022 season, but his 96 wRC+ last season placed him squarely at 10th among catchers who had a minimum of 400 plate appearances.

His 2024 xwOBA is slowly approaching his 2022 xwOBA (which was a season that produced 130 wRC+).


Apparently to some people, this is what a backup catcher looks like:

 

[Eyedea]

I swear there are a few people here who can't see beyond his weight and evaluate him entirely based on that.

That’s exactly what it is. He pretty much mirrors Moreno in terms of overall value but because he’s rotund he’s considered inadequate and inferior.

 

[jetsforever]

Casual season sweep of the Angels

 

[Discoverer]

Ok there brother, settle down. It wasn't a 2-3 game stretch that he sucked, it was a season and a half. In that large sample size, many commented, even former players, that perhaps he couldn't handle a heavy workload. He's been decent the past 10 games against a putrid Angels team and a sub-500 team in the Cubs. You're judging him on such a small sample size against poor teams when nothing is at stake? Let's see how he does at the start of next season moving forward and when the pressure is on before pompously declaring he can handle a huge workload. Despite this small resurgence, he's still below his career stats in virtually every category...BA, SLG, OPB, OPS, OPS+, etc. Nevertheless, I wish him the best next April.

A slightly below average bat (96 wRC+ last year, 94 this year) from arguably the best defensive catcher in baseball is an EXTREMELY valuable player.

Most of what people have had to say about Kirk since the Jansen trade is how he won't be able to handle the workload and he's only going to get worse going forward because of his weight. Meanwhile, he has a 143 wRC+ since the trade.

 

[LaP]

Where's the guy who a ~week ago proclaimed after a 2-3 game stretch where he didn't get a hit that it was proof that he couldn't handle a starting workload lol?

So two months erase the last two seasons? Hope the GM thinks differently. He needs to share the work until proven otherwise.

 

[Dr Pepper]

Schedule gets tougher. It’ll be interesting to see how the young guys do.

Is there a franchise worse off than the Angels? Team sucks, farm system is dreadful and don’t really have any solid trade chips.

They could probably trade Rendon for Baez I suppose, just to switch it up a bit.

 

[Discoverer]

So two months erase the last two seasons? Hope the GM thinks differently. He needs to share the work until proven otherwise.

96 wRC+ with elite defense last year for 2.3 fWAR in 422 PA.
93 wRC+ with elite defense this year for 2.2 fWAR in 286 PA.

Tenth among all catchers in fWAR the last two years while 18th in PA.

Gabriel "I Can't Believe We Traded the Future of the Franchise" Moreno: 4.6 fWAR in 694 PA
Alejandro "Not Good Enough to be a Starting Catcher" Kirk: 4.5 fWAR in 708 PA

There's a big difference between being bad and being not quite as good as he was when he first broke into the league. Kirk is an excellent catcher.

 

[LaP]

96 wRC+ with elite defense last year for 2.3 fWAR in 422 PA.
93 wRC+ with elite defense this year for 2.2 fWAR in 286 PA.

Tenth among all catchers in fWAR the last two years while 18th in PA.

Gabriel "I Can't Believe We Traded the Future of the Franchise" Moreno: 4.6 fWAR in 694 PA
Alejandro "Not Good Enough to be a Starting Catcher" Kirk: 4.5 fWAR in 708 PA

There's a big difference between being bad and being not quite as good as he was when he first broke into the league. Kirk is an excellent catcher.

A catcher needed to be traded and the management made a choice. The problem with the Moreno trade is they acquired a defensive center fielder for one of the best catcher prospect in baseball along with a good bat while what the team desperately needed is a 4th better to replace Hernandez. Kirk's performance has no bearing on the evaluation of this trade.

BTW Moreno is a year and a half younger than Kirk, has better OPS+ than Kirk the last two seasons and won the GG last year. Beside i'm not even sure why you bring Moreno to this discussion as it's about Kirk. Kirk has to be better offensively speaking than he was last season and in the first half of this season. Not even sure why anyone would argue otherwise. Under 100 OPS+ for a guy who's slower on base than my dead grandma is not enough.

 

[Discoverer]

A catcher needed to be traded and the management made a choice. The problem with the Moreno trade is they acquired a defensive center fielder for one of the best catcher prospect in baseball along with a good bat while what the team desperately needed is a 4th better to replace Hernandez. Kirk's performance has no bearing on the evaluation of this trade.

BTW Moreno is a year and a half younger than Kirk, has better OPS+ than Kirk the last two seasons and won the GG last year. Beside i'm not even sure why you bring Moreno to this discussion as it's about Kirk. Kirk has to be better offensively speaking than he was last season and in the first half of this season. Not even sure why anyone would argue otherwise. Under 100 OPS+ for a guy who's slower on base than my dead grandma is not enough.

I brought Moreno into it because he and Kirk are almost identical in terms of on-field performance, which makes the difference in narrative between the two hilarious. Moreno won a Gold Glove because he's a very good defender. You could say he's basically a poor man's Kirk defensively.

A slightly below average bat from an elite defensive catcher is a very good player.