The Chronicle already has ran one puff piece this Spring on the Stros’ catcher, Brad Ausmus, in which the paper somehow overlooks the fact that Ausmus is the worst hitter in Stros franchise history. Not to be outdone, however, the normally realiable Chronicle golf writer, Steve Campbell, weighs in with yet another article on Ausmus, this time rationalizing that Ausmus’ pitiful hitting is somehow made up for by his stellar defense and Zen-like handling of pitchers.
The problem with this reasoning is that there is no objective basis for it. Using last season as an example, Ausmus generated 38 fewer runs for the Stros over the course of the season than an average National League hitter would have generated using the same number of outs as Ausmus. Although defensive statistics are less precise than offensive stats, Baseball Prospectus estimates that Ausmus saved the Stros six — count’em six — more runs over the course of the season than an average National League catcher would have saved the Stros from a defensive standpoint. Thus, the Stros generated 32 fewer runs last season using Ausmus than they would have if they had found a catcher who could hit and field at an average level.
Over the course of a season, those 32 runs would have generated at least 2.5 more wins. The Stros finished one game behind the Cards last season in the National League Central.
But even the Chronicle’s subjective worship of Ausmus doesn’t make any sense. Veteran Stros pitchers such as Oswalt, Clemens and Pettitte didn’t need Ausmus to help settle them down while pitching over the last several seasons. Meanwhile, it sure didn’t seem as if Ausmus’ comforting presence helped Brad Lidge much last season or had any positive effect on inexperienced pitchers such as Taylor Buchholz and Wandy Rodriguez. Ausmus doesn’t even throw out runners attempting steals on an average basis anymore. I will concede that he blocks pitches well — his one remaining above-average talent — but as Charles Kuffner points out, the Chronicle’s subjective musings of Ausmus’ intangible contributions simply do not square with the facts.
The Stros have been one of the better Major League Baseball ballclubs over the past decade. However, indulging a player as bad as Ausmus in the lineup for such a long time is the type of decision that has prevented the Stros from getting over the hump and putting together a World Series-winning club. Rather than being the public relations department for Ausmus, the Chronicle would be coming closer to doing its real job if it pointed that out every once in awhile.