The Defense Thread, 2016

[Can_of_corn]

Ugh....Trumbo gives up on a ball that barely clears the wall in left. I think he could have made the play or at least attempted to if he kept running back to the wall.

Also have the Rickard throw and the ball of Manny's glove.

[Frobby]

4/20

Ubaldo stabbed a liner up the box and fired to Manny for a DP.

Tremendous diving catch by Jones to prevent an RBI single by Bautista.

Hardy charged a high hopper off the plate and got to it before it hit the ground; if it hits the ground, it's an infield hit.

Schoop stopped a very hard hit that short hopped him to his glove side and recovered the bounce in time to throw to first for the out.

Really nice 4-6-3 DP on a hard hit ball up the middle to bail out Givens in the 10th.

[El Gordo]

4/20

Ubaldo stabbed a liner up the box and fired to Manny for a DP.

Tremendous diving catch by Jones to prevent an RBI single by Bautista.

Hardy charged a high hopper off the plate and got to it before it hit the ground; if it hits the ground, it's an infield hit.

Schoop stopped a very hard hit that short hopped him to his glove side and recovered the bounce in time to throw to first for the out.

Really nice 4-6-3 DP on a hard hit ball up the middle to bail out Givens in the 10th.

Also Joey recovered an threw out the runner at the plate.

[Aristotelian]

The Jones catch...

http://m.mlb.com/video/v606224183/torbal-jones-lays-out-to-grab-bautistas-pop-up/?game_pk=447087

[webbrick2010]

What the heck was Trumbo doing on the Jones catch

Why position our RF'er in the gap if he is just going to stand out there and be a spectator

Even an average RF'er would have easily came in called for and make a simple catch. Instead he take a few steps stops and lets AJ pull off a very difficult catch. Trumbo is going to cost us a bunch of runs in RF

[Frobby]

What the heck was Trumbo doing on the Jones catch

Why position our RF'er in the gap if he is just going to stand out there and be a spectator

Even an average RF'er would have easily came in called for and make a simple catch. Instead he take a few steps stops and lets AJ pull off a very difficult catch. Trumbo is going to cost us a bunch of runs in RF

I also thought Trumbo probably had an easier play on that ball than Jones did (though not an easy one). But I'd prefer to focus on the positive. Jones' catch was really outstanding.

[Il BuonO]

4/20

Ubaldo stabbed a liner up the box and fired to Manny for a DP.

Tremendous diving catch by Jones to prevent an RBI single by Bautista.

Just a word about the DP. Watch it again and you'll see Jimenez rushed the throw to Machado. Manny catches the ball a foot off the ground.

Jonesy was spectacular.

[Aristotelian]

What the heck was Trumbo doing on the Jones catch

Why position our RF'er in the gap if he is just going to stand out there and be a spectator

Even an average RF'er would have easily came in called for and make a simple catch. Instead he take a few steps stops and lets AJ pull off a very difficult catch. Trumbo is going to cost us a bunch of runs in RF

AJ called for it and if the CF makes the call the right play is to back off and let him make the catch. Otherwise Trumbo and AJ could both be out of commission for a long time if they run into each other full speed.

I did think he should have made a play for the Donaldson home run ball that just barely cleared the fence. Maybe he knows he is incapable of jumping over that fence so there is no point in jumping?

[webbrick2010]

AJ called for it and if the CF makes the call the right play is to back off and let him make the catch. Otherwise Trumbo and AJ could both be out of commission for a long time if they run into each other full speed.

I did think he should have made a play for the Donaldson home run ball that just barely cleared the fence. Maybe he knows he is incapable of jumping over that fence so there is no point in jumping?

Perhaps Jones did call for it, perhaps because Trumbo didn't

A real RF'er would have called for that ball, as it would have been a much easier play for an average RF'er to make

Once Trumbo goes back to his historical slash line I will find it hard to justify him playing in RF

If Alvarez doesn't soon show some life DD should be considering dumping Alvarez, moving Trumbo to DH and finding a competent defensive RF'er

[Frobby]

I did think [Trumbo] should have made a play for the Donaldson home run ball that just barely cleared the fence. Maybe he knows he is incapable of jumping over that fence so there is no point in jumping?

Trumbo seems to be very cautious about running into the fence. That's at least the third time he's backed off on a ball that might have been playable. I can't say if he would have made any of the three plays, but most outfielders would have given them a shot.

[Aristotelian]

If Alvarez doesn't soon show some life DD should be considering dumping Alvarez, moving Trumbo to DH and finding a competent defensive RF'er

Setting aside that particular play, I agree 100%. Trumbo is not good out there, and Alvarez is not good enough (even when he is hitting well) to justify Trumbo playing RF full time. I am surprised hardly anyone agreed with me on the Alvarez thread.

[Redskins Rick]

I thought Trumbo made a nice play on throwing out that runner, trying to score from 2nd.

[srock]

How has no one mentioned the ridiculously amazing Jones diving catch from last night? We don't see him dive much - that was a real treat.

Nice quick rebound from Joey after the missed diving catch to nab the runner. Strong throw. This is pretty much why Kim isn't going to play.

I just watched the highlight and it was a heck of catch.

Interestingly, Jones actually had a bad break on the ball (it was off the end of the bat so it didn't carry) and he made a terrible throw. Bad base running kept the run from scoring, but still a great catch.

[Catch 8]

I must say Trumbo runs the bases much better than he runs with a glove. Anything he has to "sprint" for seems to drop in. We need late inning defensive outfield help.

Machado makes what? Two spectacular plays a game, it seems? Silly.

Wieters needs to frame/steal the pitches that Russell Martin does. Catch the low pitch with the thumb up and hold the mitt for an extra split second instead of giving up on the pitch.

I miss the way Nick played the ball off the wall, kept hitters to long singles, and while not fleet of foot, he caught many balls in full sprints.

[srock]

Also have the Rickard throw and the ball of Manny's glove.

Rickard should have made the catch honestly. Great throw to make up for it though.