Pirates Clint Hurdle Considered Benching Rod Barajas

The Pittsburgh Pirates catchers have been having some serious challenges when it comes to being able to hit the baseball.
Apparently, Clint Hurdle has been thinking long and hard about it Rob Biertempfel tweeted today.

After reading the post, we can only imagine the metrics that show the Pirates should keep sending Rod Barajas out behind the plate.  Listen, the Pirates have many problems, but part of the balue of Rod Barajas is his ability to slug.

Neal Huntington said on our podcast last night that Barajas has been a victim of the long fence in left field at PNC Park which is true, but when his isolated slugging numbers are his lowest since when Jason Kendall was catching for the Bucs–2003.  Barajas has a .127 ISO.    It always seems to happen when a veteran player comes into Pittsburgh.

For all the metrics done to show the value Rod Barajas brings to the Pirates, the one we look at, Wins Above Replacement, has him at .8 which is very hard to do.

After hitting sixteen homers last season in 336 at-bats while he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers.  In nearly the same amount of at-bats, 326 for the Buccos this season, Barajas has nine homers.  We thought he might have hit more doubles since Huntington said the deep outfield wall at PNC hurt him, but no, that’s not the case.  Barajas has nine doubles.  Most of those balls are getting caught, not turned into doubles.