Maldonado's Presence

[Chuck]

I don't know if you guys have been watching, but this guy is passionate behind the plate. Fist pumps, head nods & attentive. I mean, he noticed Richards' flicking his arm and ran right out there. I'm guessing Garrett would have kept pitching and could have done more damage to his bicep if he didn't catch that. Moreover, the relationship he has with the pitchers on the mound is like none I have ever seen. The way he sets up and frames pitches and knows where to be and what pitch to call is top notch. I mean, this is all in addition to him having one of the strongest, if not the strongest throwing arm in baseball. 

I'm impressed. 

Maldonado, Simmons/Espinosa and Trout up the middle. Is there a better defense alignment in baseball? 

Calhoun & Maybin in the corner outfield spots are excellent as well. Color me excited about this team. 

[greginpsca]

I even like the way Cron 's defense has improved. i can't remember a player improving so much in such a short amount of time. The only weak link defensively is Escobar. The only part of the team that scares me at this point is the starting pitching.

[Docwaukee]

Maldonado gives good hugs too.  When Nolasco came out of the game after the sixth, Martin hugged him and went with the full head on Ricky's shoulder.  

I think he needs to catch Skaggs next time out.  

[totdprods]

Been extremely impressed with Maldonado so far. I think we're going to see a little advantage with the league being unfamiliar with him for awhile too. He's gonna pick off a few more guys than usual and maybe bop out a couple more HR's, and as this happens for awhile, you'll probably see opponents try and over-correct at some point and hold off running/advancing before they get a better feel for him. 

And I've never really been able to see the whole pitch-framing thing until now. Maybe it's just because I'm looking for it more and I have some perception bias going into his performance, but it seems like he gets more calls.

Angels pitching so far 3.46 ERA (7th in AL), 1.10 WHIP (2nd), .218 BAA (5th), 51 strikeouts (2nd). Again, only 6 games, but that's a big turnaround from last year already.

[totdprods]

5 minutes ago, greginpsca said:

I even like the way Cron 's defense has improved. i can't remember a player improving so much in such a short amount of time. The only weak link defensively is Escobar. The only part of the team that scares me at this point is the starting pitching.

Escobar has looked a lot better defensively so far. Cron definitely has improved.

[Chuck]

7 minutes ago, totdprods said:

Escobar has looked a lot better defensively so far. Cron definitely has improved.

Yeah, outside of a couple of throws Escobar has looked solid. 

[eligrba4ever]

Maldonado spent several seasons in the shadow of Lucroy. Pretty big shadow. But he never let it affect his catching game. Now Maldonado is the Angels' lead dog behind the plate. One of the Angels catchers might get a gold glove this season. Perez almost got one last season. Ain't no weak spots at catcher on this team.

[ettin]

Extension candidate in my eyes already.... Great work behind the dish without a doubt.

[wopphil]

From the little I have seen of him, it appears he is an extremely talented pitch-framer.

[Chuck]

Carlos Perez' arm pales in comparison to Maldonado's. 

Already evident from that SB from Segura in today's game.

[ettin]

4 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

Carlos Perez' arm pales in comparison to Maldonado's. 

Already evident from that SB from Segura in today's game.

Maldonado's is better but Perez has a great arm too. Perez was one of the most prolific backpickers to 1B (and Maldonado is too). Carlos had the quickest pop time with a backpick in the Majors last year: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/instagraphs/2016-catcher-back-pick-data/

Click on the 'raw data' link, filter it, and sort by pop times.

[Chuck]

1 hour ago, ettin said:

Maldonado's is better but Perez has a great arm too. Perez was one of the most prolific backpickers to 1B (and Maldonado is too). Carlos had the quickest pop time with a backpick in the Majors last year: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/instagraphs/2016-catcher-back-pick-data/

Click on the 'raw data' link, filter it, and sort by pop times.

You should see my pop times, @ettin

[ettin]

5 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

Carlos Perez' arm pales in comparison to Maldonado's. 

Already evident from that SB from Segura in today's game.

I do think Maldonado's instincts in game situations are a bit better than Perez. I seriously think the Angels might consider an extension for Martin.

[ettin]

57 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

You should see my pop times, @ettin

I read that before seeing the gif and it worried me that our relationship had taken a more sinister turn

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Maldonado has solid value defensively and as a student of the game. He picks up on little things with pitchers. That is a tremendous asset, with all of the pitching questions we enter the season with.

Going into the season, I was seriously concerned that Mike Scioscia was going to talk Billy Eppler into signing Jeff Mathis again. Mathis isn't the defensive catcher that Maldonado is, and hitting isn't even in the discussion.

[Chuck]

22 hours ago, Dochalo said:

Maldonado gives good hugs too.  When Nolasco came out of the game after the sixth, Martin hugged him and went with the full head on Ricky's shoulder.  

I think he needs to catch Skaggs next time out.  

 

[ettin]

10 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

 

 

 

[Docwaukee]

Maldonado's pitch calling has been better than perez.  

[Docwaukee]

44 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

 

Ha!  

That's some deep man hugging right there.  

[Dick B Back]

12 hours ago, Dochalo said:

Ha!  

That's some deep man hugging right there.  

Yep, haven't seen anything like that since Aybar left.

[disarcina]

And he's been hitting a bit ...........

Maldonado is very impressive behind the plate -- makes the entire team better.

[Richard]

Bump

 

[Stradling]

17 minutes ago, Richard said:

Bump

 

This is why I don't care about losing Jett Bandy and why everyone assuming the worst when trades happen are silly. It's also one more reason to trust Eppler and real understand the decisions made now are much different than the decisions under Dipoto.  If the decisions are different, then the direction is different, which is a good thing. 

[Troll Daddy]

Eppler is a baseball guru ... Maldonado is a blessing 

[Broad Street]

He's thrown out what 80% of stealers?