Article: Josmil Pinto and Throwing Out Runners

[Parker Hageman]

Not sure that "pickoff attempt" data is observed and recorded anywhere, so it's just an idle thought.

 

 

I'm not away of anyone keeping track of pickoff attempts. Would be a good one to track to see if there are catchers more likely to snap throw down to first.

[bird]

'I'm curious about who he should have chosen instead. His other choices were Fryer, Herrmann, Rohlfing, and Pinto as I recall. And Pinto was not an option really. Because pitch framing :-)'

 

your post here is funny because, yeah, Gardy didn't really choose Suzuki.  Suzuki was put upon him by Ryan, so my use of the word 'chosen' was off.  How about this: When your starting catcher is horrific at framing, maybe pointing out Pinto's flaws in framing might not be overly good because, apparently, the guy who signed Suzuki didn't care much about the skill to begin with?

 

 

Yeah, slightly ironic, but tempered by the facts that it wasn't the first or only flaw mentioned, and that the TD complaints about the Suzuki acquisition centered on his offense. I don't recall a single comment about his pitch framing deficiencies early on here on TD. And now, a bit ironically, we're all over the guy like a cheap suit. 

[DJL44]

Interesting to see a major league umpire essentially say that they can't tell where the ball crosses the plate and have to rely on the catcher to make a call.

[Beemo]

Did Pinto attempt any catcher pick-offs in 2014 or did the coaches see those wild throws and tell him to stop throwing to bases? (It would be very defensible advice, in my opinion, but might play tricks with Pinto's confidence.) Not sure that "pickoff attempt" data is observed and recorded anywhere, so it's just an idle thought.

 

I want to note that the pickoffs counted in Pinto's 5 caught stealings were not pickoffs by Pinto himself. I'm not sure if that's what you thought or not, but I got that impression based on you asking about Pinto's pickoff attempts last year.

[AlwaysinModeration]

Very interesting umpire comments. I have had the privilege of umpiring a bunch of little league games the past couple of years, and what seems like a fairly straightforward job--especially for the casual fan--turns into a much more difficult proposition. Suddenly, there a are a lot more gray areas. There are 3-0 counts that make you want to expand the strike zone for the kid pitching who can't stop walking kids. Then there are the 0-2 counts that you want to squeeze the zone for the totally overmatched kid. Then there are the batters who are on top of the plate and the catchers who make audible sounds when they disagree with your call. And all of the sides if the zone suddenly have a lot more fuzzy spots that are hard to be consistent. And then there is when your son is batting, or worse, pitching, and you try to be sure to be objective...and usually give him a tougher zone than the rest of the kids.

 

Rarely has pitch framing come into play, although the point about catching it well can have an impact. There are certainly some of the kids who will hold the pitches they think are strikes and even a bit of pulling pitches back into the zone a bit, but neither of those influence much for me.

 

Overall, it totally changes your perspective. Not so easy. Fun, though. (Except for when you are behind the kid who doesn't get a glove on more than half of the pitches.)

[Parker Hageman]

I want to note that the pickoffs counted in Pinto's 5 caught stealings were not pickoffs by Pinto himself.

 

 

Right. Those are the pickoffs as in either a pitcher throws to first when a runner takes off or steps off and catches the runner going to another base. For some reason the catcher gets credit as well. 

[jimmer]

Yeah, slightly ironic, but tempered by the facts that it wasn't the first or only flaw mentioned, and that the TD complaints about the Suzuki acquisition centered on his offense. I don't recall a single comment about his pitch framing deficiencies early on here on TD. And now, a bit ironically, we're all over the guy like a cheap suit. 

 

Yeah, slightly ironic, but tempered by the facts that it wasn't the first or only flaw mentioned, and that the TD complaints about the Suzuki acquisition centered on his offense. I don't recall a single comment about his pitch framing deficiencies early on here on TD. And now, a bit ironically, we're all over the guy like a cheap suit. 

In fairness, I wasn't here when we got Suzuki, but I had issues with his whole game when we got him and continued to have issues as we extended him.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I want to note that the pickoffs counted in Pinto's 5 caught stealings were not pickoffs by Pinto himself. I'm not sure if that's what you thought or not, but I got that impression based on you asking about Pinto's pickoff attempts last year.

Yes that is what I thought. Thanks for pointing it out (again I see). My belief was that a catcher's SB-CS stats were measured solely by whether a base runner was safe or out on a steal attempt where the pitch was delivered to home plate etc. (why would the stat be anything else?) I will take another look.

[Lonestar]

Pinto threw out 17 out of 42 in the AA and AAA in 2013.  That's 40%.

 

I wonder why Pinto was victimized by so many offspeed pitches last year.  Is that an aberration or special cause?

 

Has anyone mentioned the umpire who said the difference in Pinto's framing was like night and day before he was sent down last year and after he was called up?