The Defense Thread, 2016

[Frobby]

August 23

- Two great catch and tag plays by Jonathan Schoop to nab Trea Turner stealing twice. Both times it took replay to prove Turner was out. Schoop made tremendous tags both times. Wieters got rid of the ball quickly, too, though both throws leaked to the 1B side of the bag and the first throw was high.

- Trumbo gave one back to Turner by allowing a fly ball to get over his head for a double. Once again he seemed intimidated close to the wall.

- The defense bailed out Vance Worley in the 7th. First, on an RBI single with runners on 1st and 2nd and nobody out, Davis made a strong relay throw to 3B to nail the runner for the first out.

- Then, after another single put runners on 1st and 2nd again, Manny ranged behind 3B and threw a strike to 2B while his momentum was taking him into foul territory and Schoop made a rocket turn to get the DP.

[El Gordo]

August 23

- Two great catch and tag plays by Jonathan Schoop to nab Trea Turner stealing twice. Both times it took replay to prove Turner was out. Schoop made tremendous tags both times. Wieters got rid of the ball quickly, too, though both throws leaked to the 1B side of the bag and the first throw was high.

- Trumbo gave one back to Turner by allowing a fly ball to get over his head for a double. Once again he seemed intimidated close to the wall.

- The defense bailed out Vance Worley in the 7th. First, on an RBI single with runners on 1st and 2nd and nobody out, Davis made a strong relay throw to 3B to nail the runner for the first out.

- Then, after another single put runners on 1st and 2nd again, Manny ranged behind 3B and threw a strike to 2B while his momentum was taking him into foul territory and Schoop made a rocket turn to get the DP.

That DP was one of the best I've ever seen.

[Frobby]

August 24

- On the bright side, the Orioles nabbed a runner on a nice 7-6-2 relay play to the plate that was perfectly executed.

- The O's blew a 3-6-1 DP opportunity in the 1st when Miley failed to cover 1B.

- With a runner on 1B, Davis let a ball get under his glove and trickle behind him. He tried to throw to 3B but it was too late. Manny turned his back to the field trying to hold the tag and Harper ended up at 2B.

- Up two runs with a runner on 2B and one out, Britton fielded a routine grounder and foolishly tried to nab the runner going back to 2B instead of taking the sure out at 1B. Earth to Zach: that runner doesn't matter, just get the damned out!

[Aristotelian]

When the ball got behind Davis, it was Schoop backing up who made the ill advised throw to 3B. It's a throw Schoop loves to make but he really didn't have a chance this time. Play is at 8:10 of the condensed game.

http://m.mlb.com/video/v1093179183/82416-condensed-game-balwsh/?game_pk=448747

[Redskins Rick]

August 24

- On the bright side, the Orioles nabbed a runner on a nice 7-6-2 relay play to the plate that was perfectly executed.

- The O's blew a 3-6-1 DP opportunity in the 1st when Miley failed to cover 1B.

- With a runner on 1B, Davis let a ball get under his glove and trickle behind him. He tried to throw to 3B but it was too late. Manny turned his back to the field trying to hold the tag and Harper ended up at 2B.

- Up two runs with a runner on 2B and one out, Britton fielded a routine grounder and foolishly tried to nab the runner going back to 2B instead of taking the sure out at 1B. Earth to Zach: that runner doesn't matter, just get the damned out!

On the bright side, its been fun watching the NATs make errors

[Frobby]

On the bright side, its been fun watching the NATs make errors

Yeah, their defense has been awful in this series. That was a heck of a catch Turner made to begin the game, however.

[Redskins Rick]

Yeah, their defense has been awful in this series. That was a heck of a catch Turner made to begin the game, however.

How did he not get an error later in the game, when he went up and clearly had the ball in his web and it bounced out?

[Aristotelian]

How did he not get an error later in the game, when he went up and clearly had the ball in his web and it bounced out?

I think it was because he had to jump...but the scoring guidelines seem to always be more generous to the outfielders.

[Frobby]

How did he not get an error later in the game, when he went up and clearly had the ball in his web and it bounced out?

I thought it was a borderline call, but clearly a play you want your CF to make.

[Frobby]

August 28

Really nice defensive game behind Gausman and Hunter today.

- With 2 runners on, Manny dove for a ball hit down the line by Torreyes and threw a strike to 1B from his knees with Chinese mustard on it to end the inning.

- Schoop dove for a ball in the hole on the OF grass and somehow fired a strike to 1B while practically on his back.

- Hardy made a nice play on a short-hop he had to charge and threw across his body to get the runner by inches.

- Reimold cut off a ball in RCF that popped out of his glove for a split second but he got it back and fired a strike to 2B to hold McCann to a single.

[El Gordo]

August 28

Really nice defensive game behind Gausman and Hunter today.

- With 2 runners on, Manny dove for a ball hit down the line by Torreyes and threw a strike to 1B from his knees with Chinese mustard on it to end the inning.

- Schoop dove for a ball in the hole on the OF grass and somehow fired a strike to 1B while practically on his back.

- Hardy made a nice play on a short-hop he had to charge and threw across his body to get the runner by inches.

- Reimold cut off a ball in RCF that popped out of his glove for a split second but he got it back and fired a strike to 2B to hold McCann to a single.

Pearce made a great throw and Manny a great tag to nail a runner at 3B.

[Aristotelian]

My favorite kind of game. I am going give Manny the play of the game, but Schoop was close. It was great to see them test Pearce and he made a perfect throw.

http://m.mlb.com/video/v1108687483/balnyy-orioles-flash-leather-in-win-over-yankees/?game_pk=448803

[El Gordo]

My favorite kind of game. I am going give Manny the play of the game, but Schoop was close. It was great to see them test Pearce and he made a perfect throw.

http://m.mlb.com/video/v1108687483/balnyy-orioles-flash-leather-in-win-over-yankees/?game_pk=448803

I've been watching them for 61 years and I can't recall this level of IF play.

[Frobby]

August 29

- Reimold made a nice running catch just before hitting the padding in CF, then held on.

- Manny made a strong throw from deep behind 3B to get an out.

- On the Jays' second run, Kim hit the cutoff man and Manny relayed the throw to Hardy covering 3B to get the trailing runner.

- Hardy ranged very deep in the hole way over towards 3B and made a strong throw to get the runner at 1st.

[Aristotelian]

August 30

Another strong game backing up Ubaldo in a much needed win against the division rival Blue Jays.

-Brach pitching the 8th with the score tied, Encarnacion up. Schoop was shifted to the SS side of second base. Encarnacion his a weak grounder taking Schoop even further to his right. He fired an absolute bullet from deep in the hole to get the runner.

-Schoop also made an excellent play earlier in the game, coming in and to his right on a roller and throwing off balance to get the runner (I think Tulo?)

-Reimold appeared fooloed on two knuckling line drives but adjusted and made the plays

-In the 9th, Reimold playing very deep on Barney, Britton induced a very weak fly to CF that dropped easily in front of Reimold. Would have been a tough play positioned normally but possibly catchable. Kirby might want to think about bringing the OF in with Britton pitching, particularly vs weak hitters. Fortunately it was a harmless single that did not cost us.