Unfortunately, in the 48th game, [Buster Posey] broke his leg while blocking the plate, prematurely ending his year. But what’s often ignored in the disappointment of a lost season is that up to that point, Posey’s power had mostly deserted him.

Sure, he was hitting .284, but with only four home runs, he was on pace to hit only about 13 for the season. Even those four home runs obscure how little power he’d displayed: he only had five doubles and was slugging .389, for an ISO of .105. True, he’d also stolen three bases — he started out as a shortstop in college, after all — but that’s not the offensive profile of an elite fantasy catcher. Even assuming he would have gotten hot later in the season, we’re talking about, at best, matching Miguel Montero’s production, the fourth-best catcher by our Roto Rater measure.

And that’s where I went wrong in our Winter Mock Draft. In our projection for Posey, we’re guessing he comes back from injury essentially the same hitter he was in ‘10 and will be a top-five fantasy catcher. If he had simply repeated his ‘10 line in ‘11, one could take into account his age and justify picking him as the first or second catcher off the board. However, he got hurt in ‘11, and he wasn’t hitting particularly well when his season ended.

My full article is behind the paywall at SportingNews.com’s Fantasy Source.

12:51 pm - 8 Feb 2012
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Filed under: #fantasy baseball #Buster Posey #San Francisco Giants

Quickly, who’s leading all MLB catchers in Fangraphs’ Wins Above Replacement this year? He was second among catchers in 2010, tied for second in 2009, second in 2008, had a down year in 2007 (his second full season in the big leagues), and was second in 2006 (his first full season).

The only reason he’s ended up second all those years is that he’s simply been unable to keep up with the Joe Mauer juggernaut, and he once tied with Victor Martinez.

Mauer is widely recognized as a superstar when he plays — the degree of which might be slightly underrated because of his injuries — so why is it that so few people realize that the game’s other premier catching talent is Brian McCann?

Continue reading this post...

3:46 pm - 25 Jun 2011 - 1 note
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Filed under: #baseball #Brian McCann #Atlanta Braves #Joe Mauer #Jorge Posada #Jim Edmonds #Kenny Lofton #Ken Griffey Jr #Andruw Jones #Buster Posey #Tim Raines #Rickey Henderson

You want analysis? The Giants will replace an All-Star catcher with a scrub, and it will cost them some wins.

But that’s not why most Giants fans feel nauseous right now. Giants fans were in love with Buster Posey.

[snip]

There will never be a perfect storm like this again: Posey is a guy who helped break an organizational drought for hitters and championships, he played a position that the fans were repeatedly told was almost impossible to do well, and he is possibly the most likable personality on the team, combining perfect amounts of seriousness and charm in a goofy clubhouse.

Does this read like a fan-boy’s love letter to Buster Posey? Good. It’s supposed to.

2:27 pm - 26 May 2011 - 5 notes
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Filed under: #baseball #Buster Posey #San Francisco Giants

freemaneric:

I am going to be sick. Unless it turns out Buster Posey has Monta Ellis syndrome (MES) and can heal seemingly career-ending injuries within a day. (Via 30fps)

I concur.

9:27 am - 26 May 2011 - 1 note
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Filed under: #baseball #Buster Posey