Jose Molina

by Rev Halofan on Jul 21, 2007 9:50 PM PDT in News Comment 37 comments

In just over a thousand plate appearances (1,043 to be exact) for the Angels in parts of seven seasons, Jose Molina managed to appear in the team's Top 50 in two offensive categories...
He is 48th all-time Angel in striking out with 221 Ks and 25th all-time Angel in sac hits with 29.

What this means is that Jose Molina was great at getting out. His offense was AT LEAST what we can expect from Jeff Mathis and as his free agency loomed, we are lucky to have a 26 year old ex-Wankee minor leaguer in exchange for Bengie and Yadier's middle brother.

Don't believe a single thing you hear about Jose Molina having an irreplaceable game-calling skill. Mike Napoli frames a corner strike as good as anyone and Jeff Mathis is as agile behind the dish as it gets.

Mathis is 24 years, 4 months old.
Napoli is 26 years, 9 months old.
Jose Molina is 32 years and 2 months old.

Trading Jose for AA pitching gives us a minor league arm to possibly trade in the next ten days.

Trading Jose lowers the number of ex-Cubs on the Angels to ONE (Gary Matthews, Jr.).

The only downside:
One more member of the 2002 World Champion Angels is gone.
...and then there were five.

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There won't be a big trade in the next 10 days.

This is around the time Stoneman takes his summer vacation.

Lackey, Frankie, Figgy, GA, and tonight's BOTG are the only guys left...

Going to miss you, Jose....especially those bunt singles.

by bc56274 on Jul 21, 2007 9:48 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

So what i think you are saying

is that Jose Molina was more important to the Angels than Bill stoneman ... and that is bullshit.

by Rev Halofan on Jul 21, 2007 9:52 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's quite a leap you made...

Though, that could be accurate. Stoneman never has gotten a hit for the Angels.

We could trade away Stoneman, for a minor league general manager, and not miss a beat.

by bc56274 on Jul 21, 2007 11:55 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

You must not be old enough....

... to remember Buzzie Bavasi.

by mattwelch on Jul 21, 2007 11:56 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

His son is right on our trails.

by bc56274 on Jul 22, 2007 12:00 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'll take your money

How much?

by mattwelch on Jul 22, 2007 1:13 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I didn't say he was going to pass us...

I'm waiting until October to take your money.

I'm going to give you your pick of eight playoff teams, and I'm going to take the field.

Since you say it isn't a crapshoot.

by bc56274 on Jul 22, 2007 2:39 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

my oh my

how the bandwagon spoils some fans...

by Rev Halofan on Jul 22, 2007 12:01 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Come on, that isn't fair.

Anyway, it's not like I'm attacking Mickey Hatcher.

I just don't like Stoneman.

by bc56274 on Jul 22, 2007 12:05 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Look, he's already dumping...

his world series ring:

LINK -to- AUCTION

'86 never happened!

by Downing Rules on Jul 21, 2007 10:12 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

The Seller is in South Carolina

WHO COULD IT BE???

by Rev Halofan on Jul 21, 2007 10:17 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

It is...

Bubba the ebay thug trying to scam some fool out of $30k.

'86 never happened!

by Downing Rules on Jul 21, 2007 10:32 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wow

those are some seriously vague and fuzzy pictures. i hope no one pays 30k for that thing! it's probably the stadium freebie they gave out a few years back...

With win-win-win, we all win!

by lightupthehalo on Jul 21, 2007 10:35 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I like how it's $30k plus

$125 for shipping!

Comedy.

'86 never happened!

by Downing Rules on Jul 21, 2007 10:38 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Scioscia has a way with making average...

catchers pretty darn good. Bengie wasn't that great until Scioscia came along and bettered his game-calling skills.

I think we have nothing to worry about, the skipper will keep this ship sailing smoothly.

'86 never happened!

by Downing Rules on Jul 21, 2007 10:40 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Excellent point

Napoli certainly exceeded expectations....

by mattwelch on Jul 21, 2007 11:11 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Molina at least had some offensive value, though

Looking at the Angels' catching situation ($), the question comes down to who do you want to suck least: Molina (-5.3 VORP but -0.175 VORPr, i.e. he has sucked a lot this year for the Angels but not terribly per game) or Mathis (-1.5 VORP and -0.485 VORPr, i.e., he's an offensive black hole and simply hasn't had enough opportunities to make us truly hate him yet).

Santana's where he belongs. Now it's Bart's turn.

by scareduck on Jul 21, 2007 11:23 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

pull your head out

of your small sample size...

by Rev Halofan on Jul 21, 2007 11:40 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's hard to be a worse hitter than Jose

And is reverse double negative VORP really useful in measuring backup catchers with few ABs?

by mattwelch on Jul 21, 2007 11:48 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed on the small sample size issue

Though I suppose this amounts to a confession that Mathis is as ready as he'll ever be to hit major league pitching.

Santana's where he belongs. Now it's Bart's turn.

by scareduck on Jul 22, 2007 5:55 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

No

I would have loved to see him put it together down in AAA, or at least continue in the vein of 2005, and his season line this year down their was bad.

But, he's hit a lot better the last several weeks, he does have a history of success/promise, he's a great young athlete & Jose was 10 days away from turning into a pumpkin, 2008-value wise. And Scioscia's probably the best in the organization at working with young catchers. Unless you're UCI Halo, I don't see how this move is bothersome.

by mattwelch on Jul 22, 2007 9:56 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not that it matters....

...but I'm with you on this one. If I'm an Angels fan, and it's top of the ninth late in the season with the Mariners not only breathing down their necks but at the plate, and Rodriguez has walked the first two guys he's faced with Napoli already lifted in a double switch, I'd much rather see Jose Molina trudging to the mound to get in his face than Jeff Mathis.

by beercub on Jul 22, 2007 10:02 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Cool......Napoli Starts 90% of the time now!!!!!!!

Mabye he will hit 44HRs next season.

Put Kendry Morales at 1B, and move Sean Rodriguez to 3B......NOW LETS GO WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by acuda27 on Jul 21, 2007 10:43 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Good move

Napoli gets to play every day, Molina was hitting horribly this year, and can't be any better than Mathis at the plate.

There have been numerous studies by Baseball Prospectus-type folks showing little evidence that says a catcher can really call good games consistently.

I don't see any downside to this at all, except for Rev's. But that's modern-day sports ... few players stick around anywhere for a long time.

by ligtreb on Jul 22, 2007 12:32 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I believe this was Scioscia's decision

all the way.

The tools are there - Mathis looked great Thursday at Tampa Bay - and I believe Scioscia is a better judge of catching ability than ANYONE posting here.

Mathis impressed Scioscia enough to win the job in spring training 2006, batting .306. Unfortunately, he fell on his face, and Napoli has taken advantage of his opportunity.

Molina's trade, however, may give Mathis a new breath of fresh life. The Angels, in no uncertain terms, are giving Mathis a vote of confidence. Let's see what the kid does with his opportunity this time...

"When you don't know that you don't know, it's a lot different than when you do know that you don't know" - Bill Parcells

by johnnyangel101 on Jul 22, 2007 12:44 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

You hit all the right points.

The trading away of Jose was totally predictable in spring training due to his looming free agency.

I don't think Mathis is destined to be a decided back-up catcher like Jose. Several of the prospect reports I read a few years back were very high on his potential on offense, while raving about his defense. In '05, he hit 21 HRs with 26 2Bs in AAA before being given the starting job with the Angels last year.

SOMETHING went wrong, but I find it difficult to believe that EVERYONE (including Scioscia) could have been so wrong about his potential. Napoli certainly didn't do anything to distinguish himself in AAA in '06 before being called up.......except not being Jeff Mathis.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/M/Jeff-Mathis.shtml

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/N/Mike-Napoli.shtml

by wumbug on Jul 22, 2007 4:29 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Napoli was always

a solid prospect who was overshadowed by Mathis. In '04 and '05 he had OPS's around or over .900 in the minors. Huge power, a lot of Ks, and a lot of walks. He was off to a mediocre start in '06, and his OPS was still over an .800 OPS. I don't know how that doesn't qualify as distinguishing one's self.

by Caseys Kiss of Death on Jul 22, 2007 5:54 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

*Still a .780OPS to start 2006

but in 78 at-bats, so the point stands.

by Caseys Kiss of Death on Jul 22, 2007 5:59 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

OK with me.

by wumbug on Jul 22, 2007 6:57 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

But in 2005

Napoli hit 31 bombs and was a Texas League All-Star. The problem I have with Mathis is that he looks awfully like a victim of Young Catcher Burnout Syndrome, in which a promising young catcher suddenly forgets how to hit starting around AA.

Santana's where he belongs. Now it's Bart's turn.

by scareduck on Jul 22, 2007 5:58 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not arguing against Napoli

other than to say that he was our next best alternative when Mathis imploded.

Mathis, according to The Baseball Cube, was a Pacific Coast League All-Star and AAA All-Star in 2005 also. That year he also hit 21 HRs. He looked like a product on the rise.

Scioscia, Stoneman, et al, had scouted and researched both Mathis and Napoli in 2006......and they chose Mathis. They must have had their reasons.

I, for one, think he just might yet turn into the #1 catcher he was projected to be.....or at worst a 50-50 platoon.

by wumbug on Jul 22, 2007 6:25 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

In the back of my mind

I think Competitive Jeff has a new lease on life - I, too, am curious to see if he will ever turn himself into the #1 guy. I'm not making excuses for his last year and a half, but he may have been suffering from at least a mild case of Gourneault-itis. Remember, he is STILL very young.

Scioscia expects and demands a lot from his catchers. I believe Mathis re-opened some eyes with his defensive performance on Thursday. I am almost certainly reading too much into this, but when Mathis threw out Crawford the other day on an OUTSTANDING defensive play (blocked ball in dirt, scoop and cannon throw right on the bag), SCIOSCIA looked fired up when Mathis came back to the dugout. Mathis, with his football mentality, may feed off of that. Maybe.

For now, he will at least get an opportunity to play. And that's all any player can ask.

"When you don't know that you don't know, it's a lot different than when you do know that you don't know" - Bill Parcells

by johnnyangel101 on Jul 22, 2007 7:44 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

You know...

The first time I ever heard about the ex-Cubs factor was when John Darnielle from the Mountain Goats told everybody he was rooting for the Giants in the 2002 series. A diehard Cubs fan, he said he would side with the National League and the team with the most former Cubs on it, whose presence he then acknowledged was as sure a kiss of death as anything he could think of.

That was in San Francisco on the night of game 1.

by Brendo on Jul 22, 2007 10:40 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs