Vazquez Placed On The 60 Day DL

[PaulinMyrBch]

Christian Vazquez will be operated elbow The catcher for the Red Sox have to undergo Tommy John surgery so he lost the season. 
 
Headline via google translate
 
http://www.elnuevodia.com/deportes/beisbol/nota/christianvazquezseraoperadodelcodo-2028416/
 

That's just quoting the facebook story. Can someone with facebook go check Vazquez's fb page and see if he posted that or if its a fake post? That says he's having surgery in the morning. I'm thinking legit media would have that if its the case.

 

[EdRalphRomero]

I can't find a Facebook page for him.  Or at least one that seems legitimately to be run by him/his management

 

[PaulinMyrBch]

I think its BS at this point. No way he's having surgery in the morning and the Boston sports press isn't on it. Plus has anyone ever heard him refer to himself as "the sniper?"

 

[Ferm Sheller]

Plus, it's a little fishy that Andrews would examine him today and schedule surgery for tomorrow.

 

[PaulinMyrBch]

And the FB post is 2 hours old. Doubtful that is out there and legit press is quiet.
 
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=344312202435856&id=252607838272960

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Sox just announced surgery is official.
 
Pretty much every beat guy has tweeted it in the last two minutes.

 

[PaulinMyrBch]

Sox announce he's having TJ surgery tomorrow. Legit. All the bigs are tweeting it.

 

[S. H. Frog]

What a tremendous disappointment.  We will probably never see Vazquez catch for the Red Sox, with the possible exception of a spring training showcase next winter.

 

[Rasputin]

That ducks, I was really looking forward to watching him this year.

I really hope Swihart is up and playing well by midway through the season because I don't remotely like the idea of going into 2016 with one catcher coming off TJ and the other with nothing more than September under his belt.

 

[Darnell's Son]

That ducks, I was really looking forward to watching him this year.

I really hope Swihart is up and playing well by midway through the season because I don't remotely like the idea of going into 2016 with one catcher coming off TJ and the other with nothing more than September under his belt.

They can always bring back AJ Pierzynsky! :c070:

 

[Rasputin]

What a tremendous disappointment.  We will probably never see Vazquez catch for the Red Sox, with the possible exception of a spring training showcase next winter.

That's a bit of an extreme reaction. It's not like he's going to be expensive. Trading him next spring would probably mean selling low.

We need two catchers and unless there's a very specific need to fill, trading him just because he's too good to be a backup catcher would be silly.

 

[StuckOnYouk]

What a tremendous disappointment.  We will probably never see Vazquez catch for the Red Sox, with the possible exception of a spring training showcase next winter.

Why can't Swihart and Vazquez be the catching tandem for the next 5 years once Vazquez returns?

 

[Sampo Gida]

Plus, it's a little fishy that Andrews would examine him today and schedule surgery for tomorrow.

 
Might have been scheduled earlier.  They put him on the 60 day several days earlier so this might have just been a pre-surgical examination, with an outside chance that surgery would not be needed if Andrews saw something the Red Sox did not.     Impossible to say

 

[Saints Rest]

Why can't Swihart and Vazquez be the catching tandem for the next 5 years once Vazquez returns?

I agree. It seems that most people a year ago would have hoped that 2016 would be Swihart starting with Vazquez backing up. This surgery isn't likely to change that equation. What it does change/reduce is the probability that CV would be the starter with BS backing up and finding other ABs elsewhere in the lineup.

 

[Pilgrim]

Why can't Swihart and Vazquez be the catching tandem for the next 5 years once Vazquez returns?

The realistic case is that this will probably happen, and that's if were lucky enough to have two prospects pan into starting and backup quality players respectively

If they are both starting quality pre-arb catchers then a miracle has occurred. In that case, they certainly should trade one because a top 50 trade chip is far more valuable than 30 games of a good back up catcher.

 

[Lowrielicious]

Why can't Swihart and Vazquez be the catching tandem for the next 5 years once Vazquez returns?

That was where I thought this was heading also. If Swiharts bat is as advertised there should be plenty of opportunity to slot him in to DH in future also.
The ratio of starts Vazquez makes at C to Swihart can be tweaked according to how good Swiharts defense is there and how well each end up hitting.

 

[benhogan]

The realistic case is that this will probably happen, and that's if were lucky enough to have two prospects pan into starting and backup quality players respectively

If they are both starting quality pre-arb catchers then a miracle has occurred. In that case, they certainly should trade one because a top 50 trade chip is far more valuable than 30 games of a good back up catcher.

Catchers have a greater chance of getting injured, we should keep both.
 
Swihart is extremely athletic, he could man 1st (and DH), if his bat is really that special. 
 
If he is stronger LH hitter, he could also form a nice platoon with Vasquez.
 
The #2 catcher should get more then 30 starts, and would provide AAA-rated injury insurance.

 

[PaulinMyrBch]

If Vazquez comes back with the same arm strength, I don't see a catcher platoon where he is half the equation working. He is simply to good on defense to send a substandard receiver out there to catch 2/5 of your staff. Now if Swihart proves he can get near the defensive skill range as Christian and hits like some expect in the majors, I can see it where he catches and DH's.  But if he's an all hit catcher, he'll quickly be an all hit ex-catcher playing one of the 4C's for someone. 

 

[Rasputin]

The realistic case is that this will probably happen, and that's if were lucky enough to have two prospects pan into starting and backup quality players respectively

If they are both starting quality pre-arb catchers then a miracle has occurred. In that case, they certainly should trade one because a top 50 trade chip is far more valuable than 30 games of a good back up catcher.

It's not a miracle. They're both probably greater than 70% or so to become starter caliber which means there's at least a 50% chance that they both do.

And if Swihart is as athletic as they say, we can get a hell of a lot more out of them than just games caught.

In the post Papi era, Swihart can play first and maybe even third some. It will extend his career, Vazquez' career, and the careers of whoever is playing first or third.

 

[Snodgrass'Muff]

If Vazquez comes back with the same arm strength, I don't see a catcher platoon where he is half the equation working. He is simply to good on defense to send a substandard receiver out there to catch 2/5 of your staff. Now if Swihart proves he can get near the defensive skill range as Christian and hits like some expect in the majors, I can see it where he catches and DH's.  But if he's an all hit catcher, he'll quickly be an all hit ex-catcher playing one of the 4C's for someone. 

 
Swihart isn't an all bat catcher, though, and he hasn't been since, well, the day he was drafted. He picked up the defensive side of catching, along with receiving skills, managing a staff and all of the other things a catcher does very quickly. So much so, that he was named the Red Sox minor league defensive player of the year in 2013. If Vazquez is to Jose Iglesias in an all Red Sox analogy, Blake Swihart is to Alex Gonzalez circa 2006. Not quite as special, but still very good defensively. Check out his Sox Prospects page.

 

[Savin Hillbilly]

Catchers have a greater chance of getting injured, we should keep both.
 
Swihart is extremely athletic, he could man 1st (and DH), if his bat is really that special. 
 
.

I've also wondered, given his touted athleticism and catcher's arm, if he might not be deployed at third base sometimes to give Panda some 1b or DH days when Papi's gone.

In short, no reason to assume Vazquez and Swihart can't coexist on the roster.

 

[OCD SS]

Plus, it's a little fishy that Andrews would examine him today and schedule surgery for tomorrow.

 
Obviously the "fishyness" has been removed, but on the ProJo Sox podcast (Super2) on Sunday one of Britton or MacPherson posited that the surgery could happen as soon as immediately after the exam this morning.

 

[ToeKneeArmAss]

Disappointing for sure but if it was inevitable then it's good to get him under the knife asap. Looking forward to seeing that cannon firing at full strength - hopefully by spring. Bat notwithstanding, this kid is a special talent.

 

[PaulinMyrBch]

 
Swihart isn't an all bat catcher, though, and he hasn't been since, well, the day he was drafted. He picked up the defensive side of catching, along with receiving skills, managing a staff and all of the other things a catcher does very quickly. So much so, that he was named the Red Sox minor league defensive player of the year in 2013. If Vazquez is to Jose Iglesias in an all Red Sox analogy, Blake Swihart is to Alex Gonzalez circa 2006. Not quite as special, but still very good defensively. Check out his Sox Prospects page.

I'm not saying he doesn't project to be a good defensive catcher. He has the skill set and projects to be above average in blocking, throwing, etc. He's currently getting recognized for those portions of his defensive game. Where he is not ready and clearly not anywhere near CV is his ability to handle a staff, receive the ball, specifically the low pitches, and call a game. He's not there yet and there is no guarantee that he gets there and can handle a major league staff. If he does, we've got a good catcher problem if CV recovers strong. If he doesn't, he's a 4C guy.

 

[Rasputin]

I'm not saying he doesn't project to be a good defensive catcher. He has the skill set and projects to be above average in blocking, throwing, etc. He's currently getting recognized for those portions of his defensive game. Where he is not ready and clearly not anywhere near CV is his ability to handle a staff, receive the ball, specifically the low pitches, and call a game. He's not there yet and there is no guarantee that he gets there and can handle a major league staff. If he does, we've got a good catcher problem if CV recovers strong. If he doesn't, he's a 4C guy.

If for whatever reason he can't make it as a catcher, he's got the bat and athleticism to change positions, not get kept our of the war because the old pharmacist broke his ear.

 

[TigerBlood]

I'm not saying he doesn't project to be a good defensive catcher. He has the skill set and projects to be above average in blocking, throwing, etc. He's currently getting recognized for those portions of his defensive game. Where he is not ready and clearly not anywhere near CV is his ability to handle a staff, receive the ball, specifically the low pitches, and call a game. He's not there yet and there is no guarantee that he gets there and can handle a major league staff. If he does, we've got a good catcher problem if CV recovers strong. If he doesn't, he's a 4C guy.

 
I don't mean to be rude, but this post comes across as a bit hyperbolic. I'm also genuinely curious where you're getting the "can't handle a major league staff" and "can't yet call a game" info. I understand that there are parts of his game that need work, which is why he's going to AAA, I just haven't seen those specifics skills criticized before.

 

[The X Man Cometh]

Beyond his tangible contributions, Vazquez is an intense presence on the field, in a way I haven't seen from a young guy in a long time. He's always locked in. I was looking forward to see him popping up after strike three and pointing at the mound, pounding his hands together after every single hit, etc.

 

[joe dokes]

I just want to see Vazquez come back at 100%; having that and Swihart is a "problem" that 31 MLB teams would love.

 

[PaulinMyrBch]

 
I don't mean to be rude, but this post comes across as a bit hyperbolic. I'm also genuinely curious where you're getting the "can't handle a major league staff" and "can't yet call a game" info. I understand that there are parts of his game that need work, which is why he's going to AAA, I just haven't seen those specifics skills criticized before.

Listen if you want to be lazy to the board, we're good with that. We all get info from here that we haven't seen elsewhere. But before you call someone out on what you haven't seen elsewhere, you should at least google "Swihart framing" or "Swihart defense" or "Swihart receiving" and see what comes up. I'm not going to dig up everything I've read in the last month about the kid, but you can if you want. I've posted some recent stuff below. It's a pretty well known fact that he hasn't been catching that long. Drafted to be a catcher, but wasn't a primary catcher through his high school years. He played shortstop and outfield. So he's been a full time catcher since he was drafted. 3 seasons in the minor, 264 games. Vazquez had that many minor league games caught before he reached AA, plus the off-season training at Casa Molina.
 
The defensive book on Swihart is that everything is there athletically for him to be a plus defensive catcher (athleticism, arm strength, footwork, quickness), but learning that position takes time and he simply hasn't been catching that long. One of the last things to come is consistent framing, getting under the low pitch, managing the game/staff. 
 
My original point is a platoon with CV is going to be difficult if the other catcher isn't in his league with him regarding receiving and framing, mainly because pitchers are going to want to pitch to the guy that gets them strikes. Swihart had 20+ games at AAA last year. Let him stay down there and work on the parts of his game that need it, and we'll see what we have in 6 months. But its no guarantee he gets there and becomes a complete defensive catcher. If it was that easy, everyone would be drafting college shortstops and converting them to catcher. 
 
Here is what his coaches are saying
 
Here is what his manager is saying

 

[TigerBlood]

Listen if you want to be lazy to the board, we're good with that. We all get info from here that we haven't seen elsewhere. But before you call someone out on what you haven't seen elsewhere, you should at least google "Swihart framing" or "Swihart defense" or "Swihart receiving" and see what comes up. I'm not going to dig up everything I've read in the last month about the kid, but you can if you want. I've posted some recent stuff below. It's a pretty well known fact that he hasn't been catching that long. Drafted to be a catcher, but wasn't a primary catcher through his high school years. He played shortstop and outfield. So he's been a full time catcher since he was drafted. 3 seasons in the minor, 264 games. Vazquez had that many minor league games caught before he reached AA, plus the off-season training at Casa Molina.
 
The defensive book on Swihart is that everything is there athletically for him to be a plus defensive catcher (athleticism, arm strength, footwork, quickness), but learning that position takes time and he simply hasn't been catching that long. One of the last things to come is consistent framing, getting under the low pitch, managing the game/staff. 
 
My original point is a platoon with CV is going to be difficult if the other catcher isn't in his league with him regarding receiving and framing, mainly because pitchers are going to want to pitch to the guy that gets them strikes. Swihart had 20+ games at AAA last year. Let him stay down there and work on the parts of his game that need it, and we'll see what we have in 6 months. But its no guarantee he gets there and becomes a complete defensive catcher. If it was that easy, everyone would be drafting college shortstops and converting them to catcher. 
 
Here is what his coaches are saying
 
Here is what his manager is saying

I mean I had read what I thought was most recent information.on his development and just didn't remember seeing that said anything specific about his ability to call games, receive the low pitch. I still don't see those skills mentioned after puting a few minutes into a search.

And to your real point, that only holds up if all things are equal on offense between the two, which most believe is not going to be the case at all. If Swihart becomes an adequate catcher and a seriously talented offensive player, marginal pitch framing value vs ~100 points of OPS is a pretty easy choice, I think.

 

[PaulinMyrBch]

I mean I had read what I thought was most recent information.on his development and just didn't remember seeing that said anything specific about his ability to call games, receive the low pitch. I still don't see those skills mentioned after puting a few minutes into a search.

And to your real point, that only holds up if all things are equal on offense between the two, which most believe is not going to be the case at all. If Swihart becomes an adequate catcher and a seriously talented offensive player, marginal pitch framing value vs ~100 points of OPS is a pretty easy choice, I think.

 
No. I don't believe that to be the case. I expect Swihart to outperform CV offensively, but he's going to have to close the gap defensively to take the dish from Vazquez, assuming he comes back and can be the same defensive catcher he was in Sept '14.

 

[TigerBlood]

 
No. I don't believe that to be the case. I expect Swihart to outperform CV offensively, but he's going to have to close the gap defensively to take the dish from Vazquez, assuming he comes back and can be the same defensive catcher he was in Sept '14.

Maybe, but how close do you think he has to get? It all depends on the rest of the roster situation and if any of the corner positions become available or if the team is looking at an already weak offense.

 

[Mighty Joe Young]

 
No. I don't believe that to be the case. I expect Swihart to outperform CV offensively, but he's going to have to close the gap defensively to take the dish from Vazquez, assuming he comes back and can be the same defensive catcher he was in Sept '14.

 
Not disagreeing with you but .. it's pretty easy to compare offensive contributions .. but how does one quantify the defensive impact of an outstanding defensive catcher? or merely compared to a good defensive catcher?

 

[Koufax]

If Swihart continues to hit in the major leagues the way that he did in the minors, I think he only needs to be an average defensive catcher to displace CV.  A couple of days ago folks here were marveling at what a good job the Sox did in picking up Sandy Leon, a  very good defensive catcher by all accounts, for essentially nothing.  If that's the market value of a defensive catcher, then its pretty clear that offense is an important part of the job.  Since Swihart seems quite capable of both parts of the job and CV is questionable as a hitter, I don't see CV as a long term starting catcher for the Red Sox.  If Swihart can hit in the bigs, CV will be traded.   

 

[dbn]

I'm glad that there is a lot of other things to look forward to watching this season, because Vazquez behind the plate was very high on my list. I still remember watching the first runner he gunned down at second after his call up and thinking "Wow."

 

[trekfan55]

If Swihart continues to hit in the major leagues the way that he did in the minors, I think he only needs to be an average defensive catcher to displace CV.  A couple of days ago folks here were marveling at what a good job the Sox did in picking up Sandy Leon, a  very good defensive catcher by all accounts, for essentially nothing.  If that's the market value of a defensive catcher, then its pretty clear that offense is an important part of the job.  Since Swihart seems quite capable of both parts of the job and CV is questionable as a hitter, I don't see CV as a long term starting catcher for the Red Sox.  If Swihart can hit in the bigs, CV will be traded.   

 
Sandy Leon is basically a minor leaguer who was out of options and unlikely to clear waivers.
 
Christian Vazquez could be an elite defensive catcher who proved he belongs in the majors (albeit with a weak offense) in his callup in 2014.  No way he is worth nothing, cannot compare the 2 (that is if he comes back fully healed from the surgery, and I hope he does).
 
What hurts me about this injury is that CV could have established himself (and perhaps hit slightly better) enough as the starter.  The way things stand now, Swihart will be the starter at the latest in Spring Training 2016, maybe before,  with Vazquez coming back from TJ surgery and vying for the backup job.  Of course, a lot can happen but this was CV's chance to nail down the job, and this injury cost him.

 

[Koufax]

I'm glad that there is a lot of other things to look forward to watching this season, because Vazquez behind the plate was very high on my list. I still remember watching the first runner he gunned down at second after his call up and thinking "Wow."

 
I had the same response to Jose Iglesias several times, and he was traded.  That's my prediction for Vazquez, not because I don't like to see the fabulous defensive play but because hitting is always valued more than defense.

 

[chrisfont9]

The realistic case is that this will probably happen, and that's if were lucky enough to have two prospects pan into starting and backup quality players respectively

If they are both starting quality pre-arb catchers then a miracle has occurred. In that case, they certainly should trade one because a top 50 trade chip is far more valuable than 30 games of a good back up catcher.

Presumably Vazquez will be eased back into any role when he returns, and if his elbow is something to worry about after that, then he's more suited to a secondary role anyway. I'm certainly hoping he comes back capable of being a full-time receiver, and the Sox have one of those "dilemmas" about how to play all their awesome position players, but it's possible that his health slots him into something easier to implement.

 

[grimshaw]

I'm fine with Swihart starting in AAA and working on the pitch framing, and whatever other parts of the solely defensive part of the position.  That part I get.
 
But wouldn't he learn the pitch calling part of the game a lot more quickly at the major league level?  Especially in terms of watching video of major league hitters and where their cold zones are, listening to other pitchers during the season talk about how they would pitch each batter?  Chatting with Vazquez on the bench etc.
 
I'm not concerned with having him take over the starter spot right away or even seizing it from Vazquez eventually, but if there is one position on the diamond where a prospect isn't wasting away on the MLB bench, it's at catcher.

 

[geoduck no quahog]

Is it conceivable that a tandem of Vazquez/Swihart could find Swihart's bat in the lineup more than CV just by him playing other positions (1B for example) on his non-catching days? That's a method of easing him in in 2016 under the tutelage of the noveau-molina...particularly if Craig is traded. 
 
As for this year, I for one am content to see how things play out, specifically with his approach in AAA and what injuries occur where and when on the ML staff.

 

[Plympton91]

At risk of incurring the wrath of the Board cognoscenti for being contrarian, I think the Red Sox may actually end up being a better team with Hannigan for the first half and Swihart for the second half than the would have been with Vazquez over the whole season. Hannigan is a good bet to have an OBP above .300, whereas Vazquez was much less likely to do so, and the defense will still be well above average.

In addition, they'll be much more likely to call up Swihart, who to me is already the all-around best catcher on the 40-man roster, to replace a struggling Hannigan than they would have been to replace a struggling Vazquez. Having Hannigan as the starting catcher the first 60 games and backup Swihart for the next 100 is likely to be better than having Vazquez as the starting catcher all season and then have to deal with pitchers adjusting to Swihart for the playoffs.

So, while it always sucks to have a young player get injured and lose a year of development time as well as kill your organizational depth right out of the shoot, I wouldn't be surprised if the 2015 team is better for the experience.

 

[Eddie Jurak]

I could almost agree, P91. The only reason I don't is that Vazquez looks like he may be a unique talent on defense. Also, I'm not sold on Hanigan being a better hitter. But if Hanigan can hold down the fort until Swihart is ready we're in good shape at C.

 

[Cesar Crespo]

Doesn't Leon have the same elite defense? I think people have hyped up CV quite a bit but it's a real possibility his bat will be too weak to land a starting job. JBJ redux, but his minor league numbers are much worse. If he was hitting .220/.275/.275, he'd have to be quite the catcher. His slash line last year is heavily skewed by a 4/5 game at years end. Before that, he was brutal.

 

[foulkehampshire]

Doesn't Leon have the same elite defense? I think people have hyped up CV quite a bit but it's a real possibility his bat will be too weak to land a starting job. JBJ redux, but his minor league numbers are much worse. If he was hitting .220/.275/.275, he'd have to be quite the catcher. His slash line last year is heavily skewed by a 4/5 game at years end. Before that, he was brutal.

SSS aside, I actually thought CV looked better at the plate than his numbers indicated.

9.5% BB, 16.5% K - willingness to go to opposite field. If he could trade a few groundballs for line drives he has the making of an adequate offensive C. His approach should allow for a workable average because he doesn't hit a lot of flyballs.

 

[Sampo Gida]

At risk of incurring the wrath of the Board cognoscenti for being contrarian, I think the Red Sox may actually end up being a better team with Hannigan for the first half and Swihart for the second half than the would have been with Vazquez over the whole season. Hannigan is a good bet to have an OBP above .300, whereas Vazquez was much less likely to do so, and the defense will still be well above average.

In addition, they'll be much more likely to call up Swihart, who to me is already the all-around best catcher on the 40-man roster, to replace a struggling Hannigan than they would have been to replace a struggling Vazquez. Having Hannigan as the starting catcher the first 60 games and backup Swihart for the next 100 is likely to be better than having Vazquez as the starting catcher all season and then have to deal with pitchers adjusting to Swihart for the playoffs.

So, while it always sucks to have a young player get injured and lose a year of development time as well as kill your organizational depth right out of the shoot, I wouldn't be surprised if the 2015 team is better for the experience.

 
It may be. However, Hannigan won't catch every game, and your analysis precludes the possibility of further injury.   Depth has taken a big hit at a very important position, and as you said, that sucks.   However, if Hanigan and Swihart both stay healthy, it probably won't be a huge loss for 2015.  It does give them one less piece to deal for an ace at the deadline (for example, if Vazquez and Swihart both had great 1st halfs, they could move Vazquez). That might be the biggest negative.

 

[iayork]

Doesn't Leon have the same elite defense? I think people have hyped up CV quite a bit but it's a real possibility his bat will be too weak to land a starting job. JBJ redux, but his minor league numbers are much worse. If he was hitting .220/.275/.275, he'd have to be quite the catcher. His slash line last year is heavily skewed by a 4/5 game at years end. Before that, he was brutal.

For what it's worth, and in a small sample size, Leon is about league-average in framing.  Hanigan is a little better, but not much.  Vazquez is (or was) much better than average, second-best in baseball.  That's the equivalent of around 20-30 extra runs over the season that the Sox lost by going from Vazquez/Hanigan to Hanigan/Leon.  It's possible that they might hit well enough to make that up, but it's not a slam-dunk.

 

[Mighty Joe Young]

For what it's worth, and in a small sample size, Leon is about league-average in framing.  Hanigan is a little better, but not much.  Vazquez is (or was) much better than average, second-best in baseball.  That's the equivalent of around 20-30 extra runs over the season that the Sox lost by going from Vazquez/Hanigan to Hanigan/Leon.  It's possible that they might hit well enough to make that up, but it's not a slam-dunk.

So .. You are basically saying the difference between Leon and Vazquez - if they were both full timers - is 3 Wins???

Now, I get that framing is important .. But are we really buying into such a massive effect?

 

[Snodgrass'Muff]

Well, 2-3 wins with some not insignificant error bars given the sample size.

 

[Mighty Joe Young]

Well, 2-3 wins with some not insignificant error bars given the sample size.

I guess what I am asking is do people actually buy into some of the massive effects ascribed to this skill? I'm not saying I don't, as such. but I have a really hard time getting my head around the size of the effect that people are claiming.

 

[Darnell's Son]

Here's a good article on the subject.
 

 
External Validation
It's always good to get some validation of so-called advanced metrics. In this case, we contacted two professional catching coaches (former major leaguer Rob Bowen of Red Alert Baseball and Kevin Wheeler) to get their ratings for close to 30 current catchers. We didn't share our data with the raters, so they weren't influenced by RPM's ratings.
 
While the agreement isn't perfect—nor should we expect it to be—the correlation between RPM and the combined catching coach ratings is a satisfying .771 (r[SIZE=8pt]2[/SIZE]=.595).