The Most Important Piece

It's easy to see the most important positions in football and basketball, quarterback and point guard  respectively, but this baseball season is proving a point that I have long thought to be true for our team, and really all other teams, that catcher is the most important position in baseball. I've always had an affinity towards catchers. Two of my best friends in high school were the catchers for our baseball team. Being a pitcher our bond was probably stronger than most but it becomes easy for me to see and hopefully explain the benefits of having a solid player you trust behind the dish.

Before you get any ideas he has an entire pack of big league
chew (that's gum) in his mouth. I said he was good, not smart.

The Hoos dropped a very disappointing 2 of 3 this weekend to Seton Hall and Wright State. The Hoos are off to a very rough looking 6-4-1 start including losses to Liberty, BC, and now both Wright State and Seton Hall. We knew a change was coming and it came this weekend. Of the 3 games we played Keith Werman was behind the dish for two of them. It has been well documented on this blog and in other places that the absence of a true veteran catching presence on the team is going to cause problems, but lets examine exactly why.

The picture above is of my catcher DJ Diethorn. I played with him from when we were 7 until we both graduated from high school. I trusted that kid on the baseball diamond more than anyone else, which was good because I had to throw to him for 11 years. While I don't expect that kind of relationship to develop with catchers in college, having the trust the your catcher knows you and your tendencies make you a lot more confident in your pitches and more aggressive on the mound. DJ knew there were times we needed to throw stuff in the dirt, and I never took pause throwing it there because I knew he knew what to expect and could handle it. That eliminates a lot of the thought for a pitcher on the mound, which is very important, because the more you think out there, the more usually goes wrong.

Let's spin this forward to the UVA team.

MORE HUGGING!

Branden Kline has been throwing to an All American backstop in John Hicks since he arrived at UVA. He is the kind of player he trusts and the kind of catcher that can handle the nasty stuff Kline brings to the table. He also most likely developed this trust with Ryan Levine, last year's backup and bullpen catcher. Levine could easily prove to be the biggest loss for this program this season as he was slated to be the starter this season before he was excused from the program for undisclosed reasons. This forces pitchers to need to very quickly develop trust with new players they have never thrown to before, in our case that is Nate Irving, a kid with a good stick for a catcher, but is struggling to handle the staff. There is also evidence of trust issues. In watching the pitchers throw to Irving vs. Werman it's easy to seem the being hesitant with their stuff. Kline on Saturday threw 6 innings, allowing one earned, with 6 K's. Irving behind the plate allowed two passed balls. Kline looks like he is uncomfortable breaking stuff off to Irving which is going to become a problem. That stat line masks a start where Kline also gave up 3 unearned runs. I understand mistakes happen but this needs to be nipped in the bud so to speak because we can't have our ace not having the confidence to throw his best stuff.

While throwing Keith Werman behind the plate will help with passed balls, it does not completely solve the problem. The key to this season will be the development of trust between the pitching staff and Nate Irving, who offensively has established himself as the future of the position. Once that happens, look out, as the Hoos will finally have stability at baseball's most important position.



He was really good. I promise.