O's utility infielder no longer needs to play SS

[wildcard]

1 minute ago, El Gordo said:

Thanks for patronizing me. Buck would not have moved Manny to SS if he hadn't expressed his desire to play there. He wouldn't have forced him to play a position he didn't want to play. But he also wouldn't have played Manny there if he thought it weakened the IF.

Beckham at 3rd probably weakens the infield.

[wildcard]

Just now, El Gordo said:

Aren't they shopping for a UTIF?

Aren't they shopping for starters.  First it was 3.  Than it was 2.  Now it is one.   They don't always do what they say the want to do.

[El Gordo]

Just now, wildcard said:

Beckham at 3rd probably weakens the infield.

In your opinion, not in Bucks. He wouldn't make the move otherwise.

[Tx Oriole]

8 minutes ago, El Gordo said:

Why do you think it was just to placate Manny? What evidence do you have besides your imagination?

Please tell me why they are moving Manny to SS when Manny plays a great 3rd base. This is just a one year deal. I don't see Manny signing a long term deal with the O's. Beckhams natural position is SS. Manny is great at 3rd. Beckham is pretty good at SS. Why the move then? Does Manny and his agent think it will be easier for Manny to get picked up by a team in FA if he plays SS for a season?  Maybe more money can be made?  I Don't know. I am sorry but this move just doesn't make sense to me. 

[El Gordo]

Just now, wildcard said:

Aren't they shopping for starters.  First it was 3.  Than it was 2.  Now it is one.   They don't always do what they say the want to do.

I don't think SP availability has any thing to do with UTIF. If any thing it leaves them more money to spend there. In the grand scheme of things it really isn't that important. The UTIF gets  maybe 100 IN in the field per season. Waht you need is a guy who is steady and makes the routine plays. That's not Beckham.

[Tx Oriole]

20 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Bur that is what the O's are doing.

I know. I don't understand their reasoning. Guess I am not supposed to. 

[wildcard]

Just now, El Gordo said:

In your opinion, not in Bucks. He wouldn't make the move otherwise.

Buck will not move Jones from CF because Buck feels he has earned the right to stay there as long as the team doesn't add a center field that is soo much better that he has to move Jones.  Its the same with Manny.  Manny has always wanted to play SS, his natural position.   Now that Hardy is gone Buck doesn't want to deny Manny playing SS.   He doesn'y want  Manny unhappy.   That is the bottom line.   

If Buck wanted the best infield on merit he would keep his platinum  glove winner at 3rd and continue to improve Beckham at his natural position SS.   But that isn't happening because Manny is a star on the team.  He wants to play SS.  Beckham is still a guy trying to show he is an everyday player.

[El Gordo]

5 minutes ago, Tx Oriole said:

Please tell me why they are moving Manny to SS when Manny plays a great 3rd base. This is just a one year deal. I don't see Manny signing a long term deal with the O's. Beckhams natural position is SS. Manny is great at 3rd. Beckham is pretty good at SS. Why the move then? Does Manny and his agent think it will be easier for Manny to get picked up by a team in FA if he plays SS for a season?  Maybe more money can be made?  I Don't know. I am sorry but this move just doesn't make sense to me. 

I can tell you why I think Buck made the move. The SS is them most important IF position. He gets the most chances and he is the field general. He is involved in more DP's than 3B. He handles more cut off throws, especially to the plate. He has to have his head in the game as much as the catcher. Buck has more confidence in Manny doing those things than Beckham.

[wildbillhiccup]

I'm tapping out because trying to talk logic with "wildcard" is an exercise in futility. 

[Tx Oriole]

19 minutes ago, El Gordo said:

This notion is not how Buck works. He moved Manny to SS because he thinks SS is the most important IF position, and Manny is the best SS in the organizaion. If he didn't  believe that he would have kept him at 3B.

Okay I get what you are saying. Can Tim play an adequate 3rd? I guess I have have to accept what Buck is doing. He has more baseball knowledge in his finger than I have in my body. 

[jjnono]

5 minutes ago, Tx Oriole said:

Please tell me why they are moving Manny to SS when Manny plays a great 3rd base. This is just a one year deal. I don't see Manny signing a long term deal with the O's. Beckhams natural position is SS. Manny is great at 3rd. Beckham is pretty good at SS. Why the move then? Does Manny and his agent think it will be easier for Manny to get picked up by a team in FA if he plays SS for a season?  Maybe more money can be made?  I Don't know. I am sorry but this move just doesn't make sense to me. 

I think if Manny plays significantly above replacement level at shortstop for the first half of the season, it could potentially broaden interest from teams at the trade deadeline who have a) the need, and b) the resources, to make a trade.  I choose to look at this switch as a way of simply showcasing Manny's ability to play another position.  I'm probably wrong about this, though.

[wildcard]

1 minute ago, El Gordo said:

I can tell you why I think Buck made the move. The SS is them most important IF position. He gets the most chances and he is the field general. He is involved in more DP's than 3B. He handles more cut off throws, especially to the plate. He as to have his head in the game as much as the catcher. Buck has more confidence in Manny doing those things than Beckham.

So you bought into the O's explanation.  That's fine.    Meanwhile Beckham has started a total of 5 games at 3rd in his professional career.  Majors and minors.   The logic falls apart right about there.

[El Gordo]

3 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Buck will not move Jones from CF because Buck feels he has earned the right to stay there as long as the team doesn't add a center field that is soo much better that he has to move Jones.  Its the same with Manny.  Manny has always wanted to play SS, his natural position.   Now that Hardy is gone Buck doesn't want to deny Manny playing SS.   He doesn'y want  Manny unhappy.   That is the bottom line.   

If Buck wanted the best infield on merit he would keep his platinum  glove winner at 3rd and continue to improve Beckham at his natural position SS.   But that isn't happening because Manny is a star on the team.  He wants to play SS.  Beckham is still a guy trying to show he is an everyday player.

This is pure baloney.  If Buck had a better CF than AJ he would play him. He doesn't. If Buck had a better SS than Manny he would play him. He doesn't. Explain to me why a plus SS at 3B is better for IF defense than an average SS  at 3B, and a plus SS at SS? Why is 3B so much more important a position. 

[El Gordo]

3 minutes ago, wildbillhiccup said:

I'm tapping out because trying to talk logic with "wildcard" is an exercise in futility. 

Ditto ditto.

[wildcard]

2 minutes ago, El Gordo said:

This is pure baloney.  If Buck had a better CF than AJ he would play him. He doesn't. If Buck had a better SS than Manny he would play him. He doesn't. Explain to me why a plus SS at 3B is better for IF defense than an average SS  at 3B, and a plus SS at SS? Why is 3B so much more important a position. 

We don't know and neither do the O's know if Beckham can be even adequate at 3rd base.   We hope he does.  That is about it.  But the fact remains he has not played 3rd.   So one would have to think he will at least begin the season a below average defender there.