Mancini's throw to get Gardner at 3rd.

[wildcard]

Enjoyed this play has much as any yesterday.    Do you think Mancini is improving in left?

[weams]

Just now, wildcard said:

Enjoyed this play has much as any yesterday.    Do you think Mancini is improving in left?

No. But his arm plays great. And he's not awful. 

[wildcard]

http://m.mlb.com/bal/video/v1441012683/nyybal-mancini-delivers-a-strike-gets-gardner/?affiliateId=clubMEGAMENU

[crissfan172]

49 minutes ago, weams said:

No. But his arm plays great. And he's not awful. 

It was a great throw, but his lack of arm strength is the only reason Trumbo ever gets to the play the field. 

 

That being said, I've been impressed by how natural he looks in the OF, and he definitely has the arm to play LF. 

[SteveA]

50 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Enjoyed this play has much as any yesterday.    Do you think Mancini is improving in left?

I said a week or two ago that he excels at being adequate out there.   He's got a bit more range than I expected.   He's rather average at route running, in that he usually takes a decent route but once in a while he doesn't.   He's better than Rickard at route running IMO.   His arm is decent but not great.   His lack of experience shows once in a while, such as on the play yesterday when he didn't catch the ball going forward to add some momentum to his throw, and a couple other plays where I remember him not quite playing a carom the way he should.

But I think he hurts us less out there than Trumbo, Delmon Young, and several others have.   Couple that with his good approach at the plate, and if he continues to hit at a reasonable rate he'll continue to see time out there.

[Frobby]

He's playing it better than he did in spring training, so there's that.   Minuscule sample size, but Rtot and UZR have him very slightly below average and DRS has him at average.    Not bad for a guy who never played an inning of OF in the minors.    

[Fuzzball22]

You rarely see a runner at second tag and go to third on a play that was pretty much a routine fly ball to left. Not trying to take anything away from the play but he has to throw the guy out on that play.

[tntoriole]

6 minutes ago, Frobby said:

He's playing it better than he did in spring training, so there's that.   Minuscule sample size, but Rtot and UZR have him very slightly below average and DRS has him at average.    Not bad for a guy who never played an inning of OF in the minors.    

I think the last line is the most important.  Trey has further improvement to come and I could definitely see him as a more than adequate left fielder as he gets an entire season, offseason and next spring under his belt.  He is a quick study. 

[Can_of_corn]

8 minutes ago, Frobby said:

He's playing it better than he did in spring training, so there's that.   Minuscule sample size, but Rtot and UZR have him very slightly below average and DRS has him at average.    Not bad for a guy who never played an inning of OF in the minors.    

Makes me wonder why they never tried it in the minors.

[tntoriole]

2 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Makes me wonder why they never tried it in the minors.

They didn't see us resigning CD and Trumbo?   Or they flipped a coin and put Christian Walker out there instead? 

[Legend_Of_Joey]

14 minutes ago, Fuzzball22 said:

You rarely see a runner at second tag and go to third on a play that was pretty much a routine fly ball to left. Not trying to take anything away from the play but he has to throw the guy out on that play.

It's no different than runners stealing on rookie catchers. Test the rookie and if he succeeds, live and learn.

[Can_of_corn]

6 minutes ago, tntoriole said:

They didn't see us resigning CD and Trumbo?   Or they flipped a coin and put Christian Walker out there instead? 

Irrelevant.  A left fielder has more value than a first baseman.  If a guy has any chance at the more valuable position you play them there.  This is why Mountcastle is still at as and why they played Schoop at short.

[Ohfan67]

I think they have gotten a lot more from Mancini than they expected and viewed him more as a fall back DH if no Trumbo. 

[SteveA]

23 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Irrelevant.  A left fielder has more value than a first baseman.  If a guy has any chance at the more valuable position you play them there.  This is why Mountcastle is still at as and why they played Schoop at short.

Did those guys coming INTO the system having played those positions?   I know Mountcastle did.

It's one thing to keep a guy at the more valuable position until he proves he can't handle it.

It's another to take a guy who played first base in college and move him to a tougher position without any evidence that he will do well there.  Especially early on when he was just one minor league rookie out of many.    By the time he had emerged as one of our top 3 or 4 hitting prospects, how many consecutive years had he been playing first base in our organization and at Notre Dame?

Not saying they shouldn't have given it a shot, but it takes a visionary to proactively make a move like that.   I would ask why he was at 1B for Notre Dame?   Did they have 3 super athletic OFs?   What did Mancini play in high school?   I don't know the answer to those questions.

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, SteveA said:

Did those guys coming INTO the system having played those positions?   I know Mountcastle did.

It's one thing to keep a guy at the more valuable position until he proves he can't handle it.

It's another to take a guy who played first base in college and move him to a tougher position without any evidence that he will do well there.  Especially early on when he was just one minor league rookie out of many.    By the time he had emerged as one of our top 3 or 4 hitting prospects, how many consecutive years had he been playing first base in our organization and at Notre Dame?

Not saying they shouldn't have given it a shot, but it takes a visionary to proactively make a move like that.   I would ask why he was at 1B for Notre Dame?   Did they have 3 super athletic OFs?   What did Mancini play in high school?   I don't know the answer to those questions.

And yet that is exactly what the O's did at the major league level.  Wouldn't it have made more sense to try something like that when he was 21 and in Aberdeen?   Or minor league spring training back in 2014?

I don't really care why Notre Dame did what they did, they have issues and concerns that are much different from a professional franchise.

And I don't think it takes a visionary to try and push guys on defense to see if something is there.  Not like he is doing this at catcher.