Timeshare will continue for catchers
Milwaukee Brewers catchers Manny Piña and Jett Bandy entered Saturday’s game against the San Diego Padres in distinctly different places at the plate.
Piña, with a .306 average, was trending upward as one of only four catchers in the major leagues batting .300 (minimum of 130 at-bats). Bandy was heading the other way, and after going 0 for 3 in a 7-5, 11-inning loss saw his average drop to .215.
Manager Craig Counsell said before the game he won’t alter what’s been a pretty even timeshare to this point with his two backstops, hot streaks and slumps aside.
“Sometimes players are going to be doing well, sometimes they’re going to be going a little cold,” Counsell said. “Jett’s going a little cold right now, but I expect him to get back on it.
“For me, right now, things haven’t changed.”
In addition to his .306 average, Piña has homered three times and driven in 19 runs. Two of those homers have been extremely timely; his three-run shot in the eighth inning lifted the Brewers past the New York Mets in a memorable Mother’s Day game at Miller Park, and his solo shot in the eighth Friday tied the game and set the stage for Eric Thames’ dramatic walk-off in the 10th.
Piña has also been tremendous defensively, leading all major-league catchers with five pickoffs (three at second base and two at first). He’s started 34 games compared to 36 starts for Bandy, who’s flashed a little more power with six homers to go along with 18 RBI.
Bandy is currently mired in a 1-for-36 slump, and is hitless in his last 22 at-bats.
Teams have run much more frequently on Bandy – and with more success – than Piña. Bandy has gunned down 14.7% of would-be base stealers compared to 31.8% for Piña.
Brewer pitchers have also fared better overall with Piña behind the plate (21-13 record, 3.64 earnedrun average in 309 innings) compared to Bandy (16-19, 4.81, 3141⁄3).
Both players made their first opening-day rosters on April 3. Bandy’s age (27) and potential as a power hitter make him an intriguing piece for the future. The 30-year-old Piña has spent the majority of his career in the minor leagues to this point, but all he’s done is produce when given the opportunity since being called up last August.
Counsell has backed off a bit from the formula he had earlier in the season, pairing each catcher with two particular pitchers and then mixing and matching from there. But he said expect to see both Piña and Bandy continue to split time fairly evenly.
“Jett’s caught all of Chase ( Anderson’s) starts, and I don’t see that changing. I think Manny will continue to catch Jimmy ( Nelson’s) starts, and I don’t see that changing in the foreseeable future,” Counsell said.
“Then after that we just kind of split the games up. And that’s going to continue to happen. I think that’s best for both players in the short term and in the long term over the next 90 or so games, to keep both players productive.”
A close eye: Setup man Jacob Barnes came into Saturday leading the major leagues in appearances with 36, and bullpen mates Corey Knebel and Carlos Torres tied him by pitching the ninth and 10th, respectively.
The New York Mets’ Jerry Blevins also made his 36th appearance Saturday.
Barnes has run into some trouble of late, allowing homers in each of his previous two appearances, but has otherwise been solid with a 1-1 record and 4.28 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 332⁄3 innings.
Knebel has done well as the team’s new closer, and is also on a prolific strikeout pace with 63 in 352⁄3 innings. Torres, who’d turned in a couple key scoreless innings in highleverage situations at the back end of the St. Louis series, swung back the other way when he surrendered a two-run homer in the 10th inning Saturday.
“(Barnes and Knebel), they’re on the edge, to me, of where we want to push them,” Counsell said. “Certainly it’s something we talk about every single day and something that we’re careful with. They’re pitching a lot; we acknowledge that. It’s a little bit a function of our games, and we have to understand that there’s days where we have to say no. And that’s what we’re doing.
“We’re doing that, and then when they’re available, the game calls for them to pitch. That’s what’s basically happening this year.”