…which sounds a little better than “I can’t throw anybody out.” From the Contra Costa Times’ Joe Roderick.
Last season, Oakland catcher Jason Kendall threw out runners only 18 times in 119 stolen base attempts (15.1 percent), the second lowest percentage in the major leagues. This year, Kendall has nailed six of 10, including the last three who have attempted to steal.
When given a chance to fire back at his critics, Kendall backed off.
“I didn’t get upset at that,” he said. “I’ve got stuff to prove to myself. I don’t have to prove anything to anybody. I had a bad year last year, both offensively and defensively. This year I can’t find the holes (hitting). It’s early. I’ve got a lot to prove to myself.”
“That’s the hardest throw in baseball to make. You just got to be consistent. You can’t throw everybody out. It’s impossible. A lot of times you want to try to throw everybody out and you rush and you put more on it. I can launch a ball into center field with the best of them. There’s no shame in it.”
Last night’s A’s/Royals tilt was washed out ; in about an hour’s time, KC’s Scott Elarton will attempt to lose his 5th game in the month of April. Elarton brings an ERA of 3.16 into today’s contest ; the Royals have scored a total of 5 runs in his 5 previous starts.