Suzuki vs. Murphy

[jimmer]

 

I remember reading that Suzuki wears down and that was a big problem before he came to Minnesota. Last year even when he was not playing well it would have been hard to play any of the back ups. They were so bad. But should Murphy be able to start say 40% of the time it may keep Suzuki fresher and playing better. I think it is possible that Suzuki is the starter this year and the catching position is improved. That being said I do feel like a lot of the previous posters that Murphy will take over at some point this year.

For his career, Suzuki's numbers are better in the 2nd half than the 1st half (to include last year).  Not sure how that jives with the prevailing idea he wears down so much and that negatively effects his production.

[spinowner]

I think that given Suzuki's age and past performance it's unlikely he will improve over last year. I think that given Murphy's age and past performance it's likely he will improve over last year once he gets acclimated to the pitching and coaching staffs. I expect Murphy to be the primary catcher by about game 50 or so. 

[bird]

 

Twins scouts liked Correia, Worley, Meyer (as a frontline starter type) and Pelfrey and so on.  Ryan liked Pelfrey enough to give him two more years.

 

 

Yeah, and the same idiots liked Hughes, Jepsen, May, Sano, Puckett, and your fave Hunter...so what's your point? That they could just possibly be wrong about Murphy? Well of course they could. 

[Blackjack]

 

 

 

The better catcher will start, the other will be the backup, period, IMO.

In the long term, I agree with you. Coming out of spring training, unless Suzuki is horrible, he will start, with Murphy getting every sixth game, by May Murphy gets every third game, by July 1 whoever is playing better will get the majority of the starts.  If Murphy gets hot, the timetable moves up.

[alarp33]

Lots of talk about Suzuki being able to handle the Twins pitchers better, I would say Murphy has that down alright....

 

http://m.yesnetwork.com/video/294971183

[HitInAPinch]

 

And Molitor hasn't even dealt with Murphy, on top of what you said.

 

Absolutely.  I think this is going to be a fun year.  I see a continuation of last year:  slowly adding the latest MiLB up-and-comers to the MLB roster.  I love that about baseball!

[howieramone2]

 

I'd say there is nothing surprising about the Molitor statement either, and in fact the Twins may have artificially limited their catcher search this winter because they didn't want to displace Suzuki as starter. (Not that I think there were many starting options available.)

No. Our favorite team scouted every player who has ever worn a cup and chose Murphy as our catcher of the future. The last catcher TR signed made the All Star team.

[DaveW]

 

The last catcher TR signed made the All Star team.

And that worked out so well that we had to trade our promising CF for another catcher just a short 1.5 years later!!

[howieramone2]

 

And that worked out so well that we had to trade our promising CF for another catcher just a short 1.5 years later!!

Dave, we didn't trade Buxton.

[twinsnorth49]

 

No. Our favorite team scouted every player who has ever worn a cup and chose Murphy as our catcher of the future. 

 

I don't think this is very true, more likely they were looking at options and decided Murphy provided a somewhat realistic chance to give them some depth at a reasonable price and some control. They had obviously come to the conclusion that Hicks was expendable enough to allow them to try and fill an org need. 

 

I don't  know this for sure, but then again you don't know if they scouted every player who has ever worn a cup and decided that Murphy is their future mainstay behind the plate either. 

[twinsnorth49]

 

Twins scouts liked Correia, Worley, Meyer (as a frontline starter type) and Pelfrey and so on.  Ryan liked Pelfrey enough to give him two more years.

Meh, I think it was likely more that Pelf and Correia fit the bill as a couple of cheap pieces to eat up some innings while the team was lost in the wilderness, I think the scouts knew who they were.

 

Worley and Meyers made sense at the time, if the scouts misjudged Meyer as a potential front line starter, well, I guess that's never happened before.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

For his career, Suzuki's numbers are better in the 2nd half than the 1st half (to include last year).  Not sure how that jives with the prevailing idea he wears down so much and that negatively effects his production.

Yeah, what was the popular theory behind Suzuki's modest improvement in August/September last year?  His worst months were June and July, and he clearly wasn't getting played less after that.  Maybe he's just a ~.640 OPS true talent hitter at this point in his career, with the usual random variations above and below that mark.  Seems more likely than the idea that he's really a .700 OPS hitter dragged down by a lack of off days.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

The last catcher TR signed made the All Star team.

Unfortunately not since the last time TR signed him.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

In the long term, I agree with you. Coming out of spring training, unless Suzuki is horrible, he will start, with Murphy getting every sixth game, by May Murphy gets every third game, by July 1 whoever is playing better will get the majority of the starts.  If Murphy gets hot, the timetable moves up.

That sounds reasonable, but it wasn't quite what was being alleged upthread, that clearly the Twins view Murphy as better than Suzuki right now.  I think he has a chance to be better, but as you say, he's going to have to prove it in April/May/June, and he might be handicapped by only playing once or twice a week in that time too.  That's not how you'd treat someone you knew was better than the starter right now, that's how you treat a backup that you hope will someday become better than the starter.

[Blackjack]

 

That sounds reasonable, but it wasn't quite what was being alleged upthread, that clearly the Twins view Murphy as better than Suzuki right now.  I think he has a chance to be better, but as you say, he's going to have to prove it in April/May/June, and he might be handicapped by only playing once or twice a week in that time too.  That's not how you'd treat someone you knew was better than the starter right now, that's how you treat a backup that you hope will someday become better than the starter.

 

I don't agree with that, Terry Ryan likes competition at positions, thats what Murphy is, competition, with the potential to be the starter next year. If he is better than Suzuki, he'll need to earn it on the field.

[Halsey Hall]

From what I've seen, Murphy has a good bat with some pop.  He's also going to be a fav with the ladies. i'd guess when the seasons over he'll have about half the starts. 

[Squirrel]

From what I've seen, Murphy has a good bat with some pop.  He's also going to be a fav with the ladies. i'd guess when the seasons over he'll have about half the starts.

 

Can't wait to check that out for myself.

[howieramone2]

 

I don't think this is very true, more likely they were looking at options and decided Murphy provided a somewhat realistic chance to give them some depth at a reasonable price and some control. They had obviously come to the conclusion that Hicks was expendable enough to allow them to try and fill an org need. 

 

I don't  know this for sure, but then again you don't know if they scouted every player who has ever worn a cup and decided that Murphy is their future mainstay behind the plate either. 

You can take it to the bank.

[TheLeviathan]

I wore a cup playing football and I'm quite positive Terry Ryan was not there scouting me.  You may even want to bank it.

[Otto von Ballpark]

He's also going to be a fav with the ladies.

Butera ranked pretty well in that measure too, from what I understand.

[twinsnorth49]

You can take it to the bank.

Because everyone knows you can trust the bank.....

[Squirrel]

Butera ranked pretty well in that measure too, from what I understand.

So did Mauer.

[PseudoSABR]

Interesting tidbit from Carfardo today on the Murphy/Hicks trade.

John Ryan Murphy, C, Twins — One baseball official not associated with the Murphy deal with the Yankees for outfielder Aaron Hicks called it “the best pure baseball deal of the offseason.” The Twins got a very good catcher and the Yankees a very good defensive fourth outfielder. Murphy is winning friends rapidly with the Twins. He’s a strong voice for pitchers and a potential power threat.

 

 

[Dantes929]

Maybe rather than overvaluing Murphy we are undervaluing Suzuki.    He is capable of playing well and if you value leadership and toughness he appears to have it in spades.     I am not saying he should be the #1 but what if he comes out the gates hitting like in  2014?    I am fine if they start with Suzuki and if he plays well keep him until he slumps at which time you flip flop.   Ideally they both have long productive streaks.   

 

[Boom Boom]

On the one hand, the Twins are notorious for preferring veterans and guys who have been around the organization longer.

 

On the other, if the Twins think Murphy will be the starting catcher at some point, he has to play. It won't do him or the team any good to rust on the bench.

 

My guess is that Molitor picks two starters to pair with Murphy and we see a 60-40 split in favor of Suzuki.

[Squirrel]

On the one hand, the Twins are notorious for preferring veterans and guys who have been around the organization longer.

On the other, if the Twins think Murphy will be the starting catcher at some point, he has to play. It won't do him or the team any good to rust on the bench.

My guess is that Molitor picks two starters to pair with Murphy and we see a 60-40 split in favor of Suzuki.

I'd actually be okay with, in fact a bit surprised by, a 60-40 split to start the season.