More on stolen bases
Posted by Andy on April 21, 2010
The Red Sox are off to a pretty bad start this season in terms of stolen bases (not to mention hitting and overall record.)
Check out the teams with the most games allowing 2+ stolen bases within the first 14 games of a season:
| Rk | Tm | Year | #Matching | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PHI | 1991 | 10 | Ind. Games |
| 2 | CHW | 1975 | 10 | Ind. Games |
| 3 | HOU | 1976 | 9 | Ind. Games |
| 4 | HOU | 1988 | 8 | Ind. Games |
| 5 | NYM | 1990 | 7 | Ind. Games |
| 6 | CHW | 1976 | 7 | Ind. Games |
| 7 | BOS | 1996 | 7 | Ind. Games |
| 8 | TOR | 1988 | 6 | Ind. Games |
| 9 | TOR | 1989 | 6 | Ind. Games |
| 10 | TEX | 1984 | 6 | Ind. Games |
| 11 | MON | 1997 | 6 | Ind. Games |
| 12 | MIN | 1987 | 6 | Ind. Games |
| 13 | LAD | 1980 | 6 | Ind. Games |
| 14 | KCR | 1975 | 6 | Ind. Games |
| 15 | HOU | 1989 | 6 | Ind. Games |
| 16 | CLE | 2002 | 6 | Ind. Games |
| 17 | CHW | 2005 | 6 | Ind. Games |
| 18 | BOS | 2010 | 6 | Ind. Games |
| 19 | ANA | 1998 | 6 | Ind. Games |
The 2010 Red Sox slot in with 6 such games. But that doesn't tell the whole story.
Here are the stolen base stats for the entire league at the moment:
| Tm | SBO | SB ▾ | CS | SB% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOS | 204 | 31 | 1 | 97% |
| ARI | 203 | 18 | 3 | 86% |
| FLA | 212 | 16 | 3 | 84% |
| CLE | 186 | 15 | 5 | 75% |
| DET | 200 | 14 | 4 | 78% |
| PHI | 179 | 13 | 3 | 81% |
| NYY | 175 | 13 | 1 | 93% |
| TOR | 190 | 11 | 3 | 79% |
| LgAvg | 197 | 10 | 3 | 76% |
| TEX | 183 | 10 | 4 | 71% |
| MIL | 182 | 10 | 3 | 77% |
| LAA | 194 | 10 | 1 | 91% |
| CHW | 204 | 10 | 4 | 71% |
| SFG | 169 | 9 | 3 | 75% |
| SDP | 179 | 9 | 4 | 69% |
| COL | 213 | 9 | 7 | 56% |
| CHC | 208 | 9 | 4 | 69% |
| PIT | 199 | 8 | 1 | 89% |
| LAD | 216 | 8 | 2 | 80% |
| CIN | 212 | 7 | 3 | 70% |
| TBR | 184 | 6 | 2 | 75% |
| STL | 190 | 6 | 4 | 60% |
| MIN | 182 | 6 | 5 | 55% |
| KCR | 214 | 6 | 3 | 67% |
| BAL | 206 | 6 | 5 | 55% |
| ATL | 167 | 6 | 4 | 60% |
| WSN | 231 | 5 | 0 | 100% |
| SEA | 218 | 5 | 1 | 83% |
| OAK | 200 | 5 | 4 | 56% |
| HOU | 187 | 4 | 1 | 80% |
| NYM | 235 | 3 | 3 | 50% |
| 5922 | 288 | 91 | 76% |
We see that the Red Sox are way, way, out in front in terms of stolen bases allowed and only one team, Washington, has caught fewer runners. On average, teams have allowed fewer than 10 stolen bases so far. At 31, the Red Sox are way out on the bell curve.
I predict that before long, we'll see both David Ortiz and Mike Lowell on the bench, with Victor Martinez moved to DH and Jason Varitek back behind the plate. While it's true that Varitek isn't much better at preventing stolen bases, Martinez seems to be completely ineffective.
April 21st, 2010 at 3:03 pm
I'm thinking the Red Sox might want to start looking to trade for a catcher. Or call Hector Villanueva and tell him to start working out. Or a trade with the Cubs for Alfonso Soriano and turn him into a catcher. Or dig up Roy Campanella and prop him up behind home plate. Anything would be an improvement.
April 21st, 2010 at 3:09 pm
With the caveat that I haven't actually seen them much this year, I don't think Varitek is any better than Martinez at throwing out runners at this point. Varitek allowed a SB per game last season, which Martinez has never done. It sounds like Wakefield was at fault for most of yesterday's shenanigans. I assume the Boston staff in general is not hard to run on. Varitek isn't capable of being a full-time C anymore, as I imagine he'd bat about .150 in that role. They can't replace the whole staff, so I expect they're going to obtain a new catcher at some point. Anyone have ideas on someone who might be available?
April 21st, 2010 at 3:52 pm
V-Mart has hit better at non-catcher positions, so that'd be nice ... and surely the Sox have some kid in the minors who can play the position respectably, even if he can't hit.
April 21st, 2010 at 5:46 pm
The Nationals have had very few chances to throw out would-be basestealers because they've played six of their games against the Phillies, who aren't running this year. As of one of the middle innings last night, they had a total of 3 stolen bases - 2 by Jimmy Rollins, who's currently on the DL - and 1 caught stealing, for a total of 4 attempts. That one caught stealing happened last night.