7: With Javy, it was all about hits & hit avoidance.

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by Savannah Guy

SAVANNAH, GA – It will be no surprise to denizens who are familiar with my typical posts and perspectives, I’ll look not to his stats, but try to add a little different perspective on Javy the catcher, batter and mentor. I watched almost every game that he played in while he donned the Braves cap.

My general impression of Javy remains clear even after not seeing him play for five years. Images of his plate work, both standing with bat and crouched with mitt, are forever etched in mind. Foggy perhaps, but there.

I’m interested in hearing your thoughts on any of this. Correct me and add to my knowledge and you’ve handed me a gold coin.

So, Javier Lopez is rejoining the Braves franchise with a minor league free-agent contract and an invite to spring training. Will this be a Javy Lopez redux? Not a chance. Many moons have passed and, such as in life, you cannot leave, change and return to the home you left. The team has changed. Management has changed, Javy has changed and for that matter, the world has changed. He’s older and wiser, yet he’ll return to the team or not – based on his own health, capability and competitive circumstances which may have nothing to do with his skills, his history with the team or his charm to many fans.

So, I’ll begin with the hope and assumption that Braves management are keenly aware of all the pertinent details of the capabilities of Mr. Lopez. I’ll also assume they possess the strategic intelligence to know where this likely small piece fits into the potential roster of 2008.

All in all, the Javy contract opportunity is a move that, whether successful in spring or not, is well worth taking. If his spring performance were equal to or less than younger players (like Pena, Miller, Sammons) he would surely be dismissed. If he has an apparent sustainable resurgence in hitting, tests healthy and demonstrates a mentoring attitude, he could be quite a positive player and veteran influence in the clubhouse.

If those things happen, he’d be a bargain and a helpful addition to the roster. My hope is the latter option prevails. A nice story that would be: coming home to a place he’s never been, as it were.

Whether we hold out hopes for a storybook dream for a dramatic return of the sort that will land Javy at Turner Field as a serious backup catcher, off-bench option and pinch-hitter or just a spring washout can be discussed until the cows come home. But I’ll venture that this move by the Braves to invite Javy to spring training with a $750k contract is a sound and affordable move. Basically, we have something useful to gain with very little to lose by this move.

Crouching tiger or hidden dragon?

What about Javy’s ability as a backup catcher? Javy’s defensive skills have and will no doubt continue to come into question, yet I believe he was a very competent and pretty darn good catcher. I never considered Javy “bad” defensively as some do. Not at all. At times he was good to very good and he did carry a cannon on that shoulder of his. Seems the slew of leg/knee injuries took away much of his crouching capability and lessened his overall mobility (remember those calf-cushion thingy’s?). Injuries could have accounted for many of his passed balls and misplays. Still, a good catch.

Ok, here’s the “hit avoidance”. There was one thing that always really bothered me with Javy’s defense, pre and post injury: Javy seemed to have a fear or natural inclination to avoid taking hits at home plate. He would go out of his way…up the first base line, to stay out of collisions and harms way. That cost the Braves runs on more than a few occasions. Remember the many times an opposing runner slid around the plate to avoid Javy’s missed swipe tag attempt?

I’m not talking about macho, bruiser, not-afraid-to-play, rumble and butt-heads-at-the-plate-at-all-costs, but there are times when a catcher has to know when and how to block a run from scoring or take one for the team.

Greg Olson had finesse. He was not a large or hefty man, but he took hits when he needed to. I was at the game when he took the big hit that knocked him for a loop, broke his ankle and essentially ended his playing career. Bad example – never mind.

Charlie O’Brien took hits and he was a superb defensive catcher. Johnny Estrada was not afraid to block the plate and take a hit. That is, until he got nailed by Darin Erstad, if I remember correctly. It was a brutal, head on, hockey type hit. Estrada never really seemed to recover from that concussion and injury…or maybe he just became gun shy.

Brian McCann seems to be able to block the plate also. He’s been run over a few times and has an ankle injury to show for it, yet he seems able to chin-up, man-up and take a hit when he needs to. At the same time, he isn’t foolish about standing on the plate when he’s sure to get unnecessarily hammered either. Brian just needs to know the difference between the 1-Hop and a passed ball.

Anyway, Javy never really conquered that quick decision making technique. Maybe it was the Achilles heel of his defense. That and the hammy’s and the knee.

Taking hits comes with the territory with a few positions. The two bases that require a tough mentality and fearless, stand-your-ground approach are home plate and second base. As I’ve pointed out before, Kelly Johnson is not a natural second baseman in that regard. He will drop the ball or miss the bag to avoid a hit. I still think Kelly would be better suited for first base somewhere. Could be an Olerud. Anyway, The Lemmer was a great example of a tough, stand your ground, own your bag second baseman. That caught up with him with a body block by Derrick Bell pretty much ended his career. Lemke called it a clean hit but I never considered it such. Seemed like blatant kneecapping to me.

As I make an argument for fortitude and willingness to take a hit, I’ve just listed two examples of that style of play ending two careers. Those are the exceptions and those are the bad breaks. Second base and home plate are tough positions to play. Some take hits and last, some don’t.

Perhaps Javy has conquered that fear of physical confrontation of the violent kind and hopefully Kelly will too, but Bench and Berra, Lemke and Biggio they are not. Kelly has time. Not so much for Javy.

Will Javy see in Kelly the same predilection to avoid hits and help him? Will Javy see in Brian the habit of pan caking pitches in the dirt, passed balls and not jumping quickly with agility at wild pitches? That would be truly cathartic for Javy and helpful to Kelly and Brian.

Here’s hoping McCann is practicing with pitches in the dirt, slimming down and muscling up a bit.

Here’s hoping Kelly is taking hard grounders to his right and turning double plays with runners sliding in.

Here’s here’s hoping Kelly and Brain don’t see the “hit” plays I recounted here.

Jere’s joping Javy jas jappy jolidays….

Savannah Guy

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