The Defense Thread, 2017

[Frobby]

2 minutes ago, DirtyBird said:

No way is there a 50% chance of Davis throwing him out at home if he is going on contact.

I don't agree.    Lind is quite slow.   

[Aristotelian]

2 hours ago, Beef Supreme said:

The fault is solely Turner's. Where is he going in the first place? He is already in scoring position. But he is not the tying run. There is no advantage to him getting to 3rd in that situation.

Is it possible that Lind was bluffing the run-on-contact in order to draw a throw, but he faked out his own man and got Turner to run rather than getting Davis to throw?

IF Davis goes home and Lind beats the throw (which is possible with Davis playing back), then he is the tying run on third with one out. 

If Davis takes the sure out, Lind scores, and Turner is on third.

Turner is rightfully expecting Lind to go home. 

[Beef Supreme]

6 hours ago, Frobby said:

I agree Turner made a bad decision.    But there is a marginal advantage to being on 3B with 2 outs rather than on 2B.    A wild pitch, passed ball or balk could result in scoring a run from there.  

OK. But I do not see much of an advantage when he is not the tying run. Certainly not worth the risk of running off the base half-cocked and causing a run-down. The runner on second needs to make absolutely certain the runner on third has committed to run home before committing to run to third in that specific situation.

[Beef Supreme]

4 hours ago, Aristotelian said:

Is it possible that Lind was bluffing the run-on-contact in order to draw a throw, but he faked out his own man and got Turner to run rather than getting Davis to throw?

IF Davis goes home and Lind beats the throw (which is possible with Davis playing back), then he is the tying run on third with one out. 

If Davis takes the sure out, Lind scores, and Turner is on third.

Turner is rightfully expecting Lind to go home. 

Possible. I don't know the answer.
Turner can't allow himself to be faked out like that. Rookie mistake. They don't just happen in rookie years.

[Beef Supreme]

9 minutes ago, Beef Supreme said:

OK. But I do not see much of an advantage when he is not the tying run. Certainly not worth the risk of running off the base half-cocked and causing a run-down. The runner on second needs to make absolutely certain the runner on third has committed to run home before committing to run to third in that specific situation.

I recant. Turner was, indeed, the tying run. Forgot about Murphy having scored. Still, Turner can't let himself get deeked, especially in such a crucial situation. I may allow contributory negligence on the part of Lind, but I still blame Turner.

[Frobby]

Game 32, May 9

- Mancini made a nice running catch of a deep fly ball in the alley near the wall.     Not a great play for an experienced outfielder, but a very solid play for a guy just learning the position.   

- Joseph pounced on a sac bunt and threw out the lead runner at 2B.

- Gentry made a nice running catch of a slicing liner in LF, then relayed to Flaherty to threw to Davis to double off a runner who had been running on the pitch.    I'm not sure Mancini or Kim would have caught that liner, but Gentry got a great jump and did it pretty easily.    

- Davis made a nice pick on a throw from Hardy in the hole.    

[backwardsk]

I mostly listen to the radio.  It sounded like Smith made a good play in the eighth to keep Heisey to a single leading off the inning.

 

[Frobby]

16 minutes ago, backwardsk said:

I mostly listen to the radio.  It sounded like Smith made a good play in the eighth to keep Heisey to a single leading off the inning.

 

Smith had a good night in the field.   He held runners to singles on balls hit towards the corner twice, I believe, and he also made a running catch near the wall.   None of those were spectacular plays, but very solid and I'm not at all sure that Trumbo would have made all three.   

[Frobby]

7 minutes ago, dan-O said:

Do you think Kim makes this play? I didn't see it, but my buddy was thinking maybe not. 

I don't know.    Could have gone either way, I think.

[Frobby]

11 minutes ago, dan-O said:

Mancini is a bit faster than I initially thought. He really busts it down the line.

I agree, and he's certainly faster than Kim.   But Kim is probably a little quicker to judge a fly ball at this stage of Mancini's development.

[sportsfan8703]

After looking at the replay, Davis should've had that ball. He might have been shielded by the runner, and it was a rocket. Still though. 

[Frobby]

Game 34, May 12

- Schoop made an outstanding play ranging behind the bag to grab a chopper and throwing with his momentum heading towards the OF and nabbing the runner by a half-step.    Not many 2B have the arm to make that throw.   

- Rickard threw out Hosmer trying to score from 2B on a single.

- Mancini, playing 1B, fielded a ball towards the 2B hole and made a high throw to Givens, who did a nice job to catch it and still step on the bag.    

-

[Frobby]

Game 35, May 13

- On a liner to right, Seth Smith got an excellent jump and made a sliding catch.   

- Adam Jones tried to run down a long fly ball in the gap, but the ball ticked off the tip of his glove.   He catches that most of the time.  

I didn't see the first four innings, so there could be more worth noting. 

[El Gordo]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

Game 35, May 13

- On a liner to right, Seth Smith got an excellent jump and made a sliding catch.   

- Adam Jones tried to run down a long fly ball in the gap, but the ball ticked off the tip of his glove.   He catches that most of the time.  

I didn't see the first four innings, so there could be more worth noting. 

• There was a ball over Manci it's head that might have been caught.

[LA2]

7 hours ago, Frobby said:

Game 35, May 13

- On a liner to right, Seth Smith got an excellent jump and made a sliding catch.   

- Adam Jones tried to run down a long fly ball in the gap, but the ball ticked off the tip of his glove.   He catches that most of the time.  

I didn't see the first four innings, so there could be more worth noting. 

Definitely an example of what Trumbo would not have caught.

Additionally: Jones made a difficult lunging backhand catch in the left field alley after a long run (good jump, good speed)--3rd inning, hard drive hit by Escobar. Palmer thought it would have been an inside-the-park homer otherwise because of the artificial turf, outfield distance, and Escobar's speed. Video clip is up on the O's mlb.com page.