St. Louis Cardinals: Overreacting to Yadier Molina’s Slow Start

I admit that I have been a little critical of the St. Louis Cardinals so far, particularly on offense. However, there are certain things that people are overreacting to that don’t make sense. One of those is pointed out by Bernie Miklasz here.

As I indicate above, I agree with Bernie on this one.  Yadier Molina has gotten off to a slow start in regards to gunning down opposing base stealers in 2011, 2013 and last year, but he got better over the course of the season in each of those years, to the point of leading the league in regards to the rate at which he caught opposing base stealers.

In fact, if there’s anybody you *shouldn’t* worry about, I think it’d be Yadi. Yes he lost weight, but I consider that a good thing, as it indicates he’s in better shape and thus might handle the rigors of catching an entire season better.

Some would argue that part of it might be due to age catching up to him. Again, his slow starts in this area are common to him, and a player doesn’t typically lose what many consider hall of fame level ability overnight.

Now his bat was down last year from the previous year, so I understand people being more skeptical in regards to his hitting. It is definitely something to keep an eye on as the season goes on.

Personally, I think in addition to rebounding defensively, he’ll rebound offensively as well, though maybe not to 2011-2013 levels. Any you know what? I’m ok with that. In my mind, Yadi’s primary value is his excellent defense plus his ability to be a second pitching coach. His offense in those 2011-2013 years was a nice bonus, but that’s always what I considered it to be, a bonus.

Anyways, that’s my two cents.