End of the Fairytale for Chris Coste?

by dajafi on Apr 30, 2009 1:38 PM EDT

I don't think it's very difficult to understand why Chris Coste captured the imagination of so many baseball fans in Philadelphia and beyond over the course of his journey from minor-league journeyman to solid big-league hitter to high-profile author and World F. Champion. Coste's persistence through more than a decade in the minors represents an ideal of faith and belief in oneself in pursuit of a dream that had to seem well nigh impossible; we all might find inspiration in that story. Add to that the fact that for fans in their mid-to-late 30s, Coste was almost certainly the last "new Phillie" to join the team who was older than they. As a newly minted 36 year-old, I resemble this observation.

But Coste's exposure through the first month of the 2009 in light of the injury to Carlos Ruiz, coupled with his limited production through the second half of 2008, suggest that his great story might be approaching its conclusion, at least in terms of his playing career. After beating back a job challenge from since-traded Ronny Paulino during spring training, through 20 games in 2009, Coste is hitting .175/.267/.275, with ten strikeouts in 40 at-bats. Since a two-hit game against Milwaukee on April 21, Coste is 1 for his last 14, and unlike Ruiz, he hasn't offered great defense to excuse his anemic bat: already, Coste has two passed balls on the season, and the Phillies' staffwide pitching struggles haven't inspired great confidence in his game-calling. (That Paulino is mashing for the Marlins adds salt to the wound, but it's likely no more indicative of his real level than his awful spring with the Phils.)

Coste's poor April might not be as much of a concern were it not for the fact that he started off 2008 like a house afire, hitting .350/.435/.600 in 40 April at-bats last year. He kept it up in May, with a line of .333/.398/.581 through the first two months. (It was around then that I started suggesting an all-star write-in campaign for him.) But the second half was not as kind: Coste batted just .239/.311/.339 after the break, and got just five at-bats during the post-season. In 191 plate appearances since July 4 of last season, not counting playoffs, Coste has put up a composite line of .198/.236/.285 with just two home runs, none since August.

Coste has said on numerous occasions that when his playing days are over, he'd like to pursue a managing career--and that ultimately he would love to do that with the Phillies. Coste's profile as a catcher who's seen pretty much every aspect of baseball life suggests he'd be a good one. Given Coste's diminishing results between the white lines, it soon might be time for him to start thinking about that next chapter.

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Comments

What happened?

Did he just get old overnight? Did pitchers figure him out? Is he injured? Has he seen almost a year’s worth of bad luck (like the kind he saw last night when Zimmerman made a nice play with the bases loaded)?

by Larry Skywalker on Apr 30, 2009 1:49 PM EDT reply actions

Or conversely maybe he just had a lot of good luck that’s finally catching up with him.

There’s a REASON a guy doesn’t make the majors until he’s 36

"Someone created the box score," Morey says, "and he should be shot."

Blocked shots — they look great, but unless you secure the ball afterward, you haven’t helped your team all that much.

by jemagee on Apr 30, 2009 2:17 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m surprised to see you take the position that the baseball executive community has never failed in evaluating talent. Seems inconsistent with views you express at other times.

by taco pal on Apr 30, 2009 2:24 PM EDT up reply actions

every team failed for how many years?

Coste was a good ‘human interest’ story – he wasn’t going to last long – and he’s just getting in the way of marson (not as much as ruiz, but ruiz is beloved for the time being by some)

Every team had a chance to sign this guy over his career and none chose to – good execs, bad execs, new, old, mediocre, whatever…for years…this guy would have been ideal on the 93 team but as a long career? He should be thanked for his good work, enjoy his big shiny ring, and he should be shown the door…he isn’t crash davis folks

And the most important thing isn’t whether he’s good or bad – he’s temporary not long term and IN MARSONS WAY – which is more important

"Someone created the box score," Morey says, "and he should be shot."

Blocked shots — they look great, but unless you secure the ball afterward, you haven’t helped your team all that much.

by jemagee on Apr 30, 2009 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions

It wouldn’t be the first time. By the way, there are such things as minor league equivalencies, so it’s not as if we can’t make an educated guess regarding whether he deserved a shot earlier than he got one.

I like Marson but it’s not as if he’s some kind of can’t-miss prospect (por ejemplo). Nor has he run out of things to prove at AAA, where he has a grand total of 4 AB. Nor is it 100% clear that it would be better for his career development to be starting fulltime in the majors now.

Now I agree that with the lesser proposition that during the time Ruiz is out, it would be wiser for Charlie to play Marson a bit more and Coste a bit less. (So far, Marson has started six games since he came up while Coste has started nine.) I think Marson should have started around ten of those games. But that just isn’t a big-enough deal to justify indignation.

by taco pal on Apr 30, 2009 2:40 PM EDT up reply actions

agree

I think it’s pretty clear that Coste, who was a good minor-league hitter for years and played a few different positions, should have made the majors before he did.

The question is what he’s got left. A month in this season probably isn’t enough to say for sure, but it isn’t very encouraging.

by dajafi on Apr 30, 2009 3:09 PM EDT up reply actions

Keith Law doesn’t like Marsons bat (if he means anything to you) – says too many ground balls

"Someone created the box score," Morey says, "and he should be shot."

Blocked shots — they look great, but unless you secure the ball afterward, you haven’t helped your team all that much.

by jemagee on Apr 30, 2009 6:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah he could be losing it. I think it’s too early to panic though.

by taco pal on Apr 30, 2009 2:23 PM EDT reply actions

Marson

I think Coste is costing us just too many games, guys. In the last couple nights, he has had a “wild pitch” or 2 (I think pass ball), poor throws on steals and poor hitting.

If Marson did not exist, I think he would be a fine back up to Ruiz but the sooner Marson gets his experience up here, the better. He is the future catcher of the Phillies from what I hear. I don’t think Coste belongs keeping Marson down.

by DeanH on Apr 30, 2009 3:27 PM EDT reply actions

I think that’s exactly the problem here — we HAVE Marson, who is at worst adequate at this point. Best to know as much as we can about since he is our “future” at the position (unless Travis D’Arnaud has something to say about it, but he’s at least a couple years away).

http://www.thegoodphight.com

by WholeCamels on Apr 30, 2009 3:42 PM EDT up reply actions

The thing I think that needs to be made clear is that some people here are arguing that Coste is just wasting a roster spot while others are arguing that while Ruiz is on the DL, Marson should get the majority of starts. These are two different points. As tacopal said earlier, there’s nothing wrong with having Ruiz/Coste be our catchers at least to the all-star break. Keeping Marson in LV isn’t stunting his development, it’s continuing it. If you make him your backup catcher, with the team so high on Ruiz, how many at bats does he get? How does catching twice a week instead of 6 days a week help him? Because he’s facing big league pitching? Learning our rotation? He can learn a hell of a lot in AAA much faster and without the pressure as the big leagues. I say give Coste another 6-8 weeks to turn it around, and if Marson is tearing it up, make the swap.

by Geoff Detweiler on Apr 30, 2009 5:43 PM EDT reply actions

Incidentally, Ruiz could be back as early as Saturday, says David Murphy.

Now, as Shagg mentions, some might advocate keeping Marson in the bigs even if Ruiz is healthy. I’m against that, and it isn’t just because of the at-bats issue – if that were all it was, then the Phillies could just solve that problem by naming Marson as the starter over Ruiz right now. But developing a player is about more than just playing time. If we had a bad team, I might feel differently – we could throw Marson in there and just tell him to focus on learning and to not worry about results. But we have a contending team and we can’t do that. I don’t think it’s a good idea to develop a player in a situation where he has to focus inordinately on not screwing up. If Marson’s minor league development were complete, I might also feel differently. But it isn’t – he’s only had one great year in the minors and four AB in AAA and he’s only 23. If we don’t have to have him here (and we won’t once Ruiz comes back), then he should stay in AAA, get his feet under him, and be ready to compete for the starting job in Spring Training 2010.

by taco pal on Apr 30, 2009 6:12 PM EDT reply actions

the biggest point

I think the biggest point right now is that, wherever Marson is, he should be starting four or five times a week. If it’s not here, it should be in AAA.

http://www.thegoodphight.com

by WholeCamels on Apr 30, 2009 6:14 PM EDT up reply actions

I do agree with the main point of the post

Coste has certainly lost his Major League swing. Watching the game last night was the first time I really realized how far he has dropped off. He can’t hit a major league fastball anymore. I have no problem with him being the backup catcher for a little while here, but as soon as Marson’s minor league development is deemed complete (which I do not believe it is right now) he should be up full time, starter or not.

"It was almost like if Harry didn't call it, it wasn't real." - Jayson Stark

by Chris Haines on Apr 30, 2009 8:44 PM EDT reply actions

soon, but not yet

His numbers are a little misleading. Unlike J-Roll, who has mostly short flies and soft grounders so far, Coste has actually hit the ball hard with nothing to show for it at least a dozen times that I have seen so far. If half of those are hits, as they will eventually average out to, his BA is up to the mid 200’s – not great, but respectable.

Behind the plate, his pitch catching is not getting any better, but his handling of the pitchers is as good as Ruiz if not better. And Marson has a LONG way to go back there, in that category. Costie has thrown out base-stealers as well as Ruiz if not better so far.

He’s a good back-up, being forced to play every day. Marson can hit some, but he is not ready as a handler of pitchers. Ruiz gets credit for being a good pitch blocker, but if you look, the Phils’ pitchers have had a consistently lower ERA with Coste behind the plate. And THAT is the number one job of a catcher.

That said, when Marson calms down behind the plate, next year at the latest, the Dream might be over…

by SJDinAudubon on May 1, 2009 2:07 PM EDT reply actions