If Manny stays he should play 3B.

[Beef Supreme]

2 hours ago, wildcard said:

Beckham is currently a 30 error SS.   Dickerson will work with him to see if you can get better.  Complicating that with having him learn 3B does not sound like a good idea.

Not much to learn for a shortstop moving to 3B: See ball, catch ball, throw ball. Fast reaction over footwork. Manny played all of four games at thirdbase in the minors and was capable of making the transition...as a 19 year old. Beckham could transition too. Playing third base would make for a lot less for him to worry about. When shortstops move to third base, they do not become worse fielders. Usually, they look a whole lot better defensively.

[Beef Supreme]

13 minutes ago, Frobby said:

No he’s not.    He’s made 24 errors in 163 games.    My guess is he’d do a bit better in his next 162.

I think wildcard was projecting from Beckham's 2017 stats as an Oriole.

[Beef Supreme]

8 hours ago, wildcard said:

Buck said the O's should know who plays SS and 3B by FanFest.    Its time.

I still think that the best alignment for the O's is Manny at 3B and Beckham at SS.   The O's should go with the alignment that is the best of them.   We will see.

Right, if they are trying to win this year go with the best alignment. Screw the politics. We agree on the principle, even if we disagree about one certain specific.

 

[Beef Supreme]

3 hours ago, Aglets said:

JJ hardy isn't on the team anymore, that's an important detail.

Tim Beckham hasn't exactly been lighting the world on fire defensively.......in 288 games played (almost 2 full seasons) he has been worth a total of 0.8 dWAR.   Not terrible, but certainly not that impressive.

SS is also considered to be the most difficult position on the field to play so it seems entirely logical to me to put your best defensive player (Manny) there, and then you can make an argument that the alignment of Manny at short and Beckham at 3rd is better than the reverse.  

Personally I would like to try Schoop at 3rd cuz he has the arm for it and then put Beckham at 2B.  

Also, the trade value argument you raise is certainly part of the calculation.....Duquette is well aware Manny isn't going to be here a year from now.   The fact that Duquette may not be either is a bit concerning though.

Quote

In his Baseball Abstract books, author Bill James introduced what he called “The Defensive Spectrum,” in which he rated the difficulty of baseball’s eight defensive positions. It went like this:

P – C – SS – 2B – CF – 3B – RF – LF – 1B

So, shortstop is the most difficult position and the position that fields the most ground balls. 

Live long and prosper, Aglets. 

[Number5]

3 hours ago, Beef Supreme said:

So, shortstop is the most difficult position and the position that fields the most ground balls. 

Live long and prosper, Aglets. 

Back and to the left.  Back and to the left.

[OFFNY]

21 minutes ago, Number5 said:

 

Back, and to the left.  Back, and to the left.

 

o

 

The "magic bullet" (the 2nd shot) was a different bullet than the fatal one (the 3rd shot) in which Kevin Costner/Jim Garrison referenced the "Back and to the left" head and body motion for, but I get what you are saying.

 

o

[atomic]

7 hours ago, mdbdotcom said:

I doubt that would affect our record.

Manny is a natural SS. He played SS in the minors and was brought up to play 3B because we had a hole there. The last two years he's tried to bulk up and hit like a 3B, but he is not an elite hitter at 3B.

Playing SS, Manny can stay leaner and play his game. He could also be an elite SS in the field and at the plate. He's done his bit to help the O's, and this year's team isn't going anywhere. Let Manny be Manny. Don't keep him out of his natural position in his walk year when the team has little chance to contend.

Read once that most major league players are short stops In high school as ShortStop is hardest position and they are best players on their teams.  

[mdbdotcom]

1 hour ago, cimota said:

Read once that most major league players are short stops In high school as ShortStop is hardest position and they are best players on their teams.  

Sure, even Teixeira was a shortstop in high school. Manny was a shortstop at AA.

[weams]

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

 

[MDtransplant757]

Can’t imagine how poorly this will turn out

[Diehard_O's_Fan]

Do you guys think Beckham will make a better 3b than a SS? What are your thoughts?

[ChuckS]

11 minutes ago, Diehard_O's_Fan said:

Do you guys think Beckham will make a better 3b than a SS? What are your thoughts?

The shaky part of Beckham's defensive game is his glove (rather than range or arm).  That's not going to improve at the hot corner.  

Maybe they want to increase Manny's trade value for a mid-season trade.  That's the only plus side I can see to this. 

I think Beckham will be okay at 3B and Manny will fine at SS, but this defensive alignment probably weakens us a little bit. 

[backwardsk]

So what happens in 2019?  Does Beckham go back to SS?  Why not give him an extra year of experience.

[jabba72]

5 minutes ago, backwardsk said:

So what happens in 2019?  Does Beckham go back to SS?  Why not give him an extra year of experience.

Thats why i dont like the move. The only reason they traded for Beckham is because he plays SS. Ignoring his defense, Is he a plus hitter at 3B? I dont know off hand, but I doubt it.