The defense thread, 2018

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, Frobby said:

I haven’t been watching enough to catalogue the notable plays, as I usually do.   For now I’ll just note that after 59 games, BB-ref has us at -32 Rtot, -53 Rdrs.    Fangraphs has us at -27.4 defense (last in MLB), -23.4 UZR (also last).     We’ve given up 24 unearned runs, 5th worst in MLB.

Sounds about right.

Reminds me of the '87 club.

[Chavez Ravine]

Watching adds an extra piece of grit to the stats.

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, Chavez Ravine said:

Watching adds an extra piece of grit to the stats.

It does kinda feel like when you get a piece of sand in your eye.

[Chavez Ravine]

Just now, Can_of_corn said:

It does kinda feel like when you get a piece of sand in your eye.

Enough to cause extreme annoyance and some pain, not enough to blind unfortunately.

[Frobby]

June 12, Game 66

Another loss, but it’s worth pointing out that the O’s played pretty stellar defense tonight.

- Craig Gentry made an excellent running catch in the gap in RCF.

- With runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out, Trey Mancini turned a nifty DP where he snared a hard grounder, stepped on first and threw home to get the runner trying to score.    

- Gentry threw a runner out at home trying to score from 2B on a single.

- Adam Jones made a nice backhand catch in the gap in LCF just a few feet before running into the wall, and held on after impact.

- Austin Wynns fielded a ricochet off the brick behind home plate on a wild pitch by Britton and threw out a runner trying to advance to 2B on the wild pitch.    

Overall, one of the O’s best defensive games in quite a while.   

[Legend_Of_Joey]

18 minutes ago, Frobby said:

June 12, Game 66

Another loss, but it’s worth pointing out that the O’s played pretty stellar defense tonight.

- Craig Gentry made an excellent running catch in the gap in RCF.

- With runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out, Trey Mancini turned a nifty DP where he snared a hard grounder, stepped on first and threw home to get the runner trying to score.    

- Gentry threw a runner out at home trying to score from 2B on a single.

- Adam Jones made a nice backhand catch in the gap in LCF just a few feet before running into the wall, and held on after impact.

- Austin Wynns fielded a ricochet off the brick behind home plate on a wild pitch by Britton and threw out a runner trying to advance to 2B on the wild pitch.    

Overall, one of the O’s best defensive games in quite a while.   

The Jones catch and the Gentry throw were the two most impressive to me. I didn't think Jones has the range. I also didn't think Gentry had the arm, but he got the guy by a good distance.

[Frobby]

9 hours ago, Legend_Of_Joey said:

The Jones catch and the Gentry throw were the two most impressive to me. I didn't think Jones has the range. I also didn't think Gentry had the arm, but he got the guy by a good distance.

Gentry’s arm is quite good from what I’ve seen.    There was a play last week where a guy hit a slicing ball down the RF line that I was sure was a double.    Gentry ran over, slid to keep the ball from getting past him, and popped up and threw a strike to 2B.    

His hitting has been pretty terrible, and he’s made at least one outrageous baserunning mistake, but his defense has been pretty stellar this year.    Both Rdrs and Rtot have him at +6, UZR has him at +1.2, Statcast has him at +2.    

[POR]

https://baseballinfosolutions.wordpress.com/2018/06/14/o-my-orioles-defense-struggling-mightily/

[Frobby]

2 hours ago, POR said:

https://baseballinfosolutions.wordpress.com/2018/06/14/o-my-orioles-defense-struggling-mightily/

Excellent article, though it mostly just confirms what we already know.   

[webbrick2010]

I barely watch anymore but in the couple of minutes I did last night I saw the first run score on a ground ball past Valencia, that a ML third baseman would have fielded and watched the second run score on basically a single slightly right of center that Adam Jones couldn't cut off, that every other CF'er in baseball would have cut off. Absolutely ridiculous that Buck continues to trot him out in CF

[atomic]

34 minutes ago, webbrick2010 said:

I barely watch anymore but in the couple of minutes I did last night I saw the first run score on a ground ball past Valencia, that a ML third baseman would have fielded and watched the second run score on basically a single slightly right of center that Adam Jones couldn't cut off, that every other CF'er in baseball would have cut off. Absolutely ridiculous that Buck continues to trot him out in CF

Peterson and Valencia are like twins at third base. Neither can catch routine ground balls unless they are hit directly at them.   I don't expect them to make great plays that I see other teams third basemen make but if the ball is within a foot of you there is no excuse.  

[Otter]

1 hour ago, webbrick2010 said:

I barely watch anymore but in the couple of minutes I did last night I saw the first run score on a ground ball past Valencia, that a ML third baseman would have fielded and watched the second run score on basically a single slightly right of center that Adam Jones couldn't cut off, that every other CF'er in baseball would have cut off. Absolutely ridiculous that Buck continues to trot him out in CF

I agree.  I don't watch that much anymore but was lucky enough to catch those two horrible plays.  The ground ball to Valencia would be made by a good 3B and even a below average one should have at least knocked it down.  The "triple" to CF was just more of the same we've seen from Jones this year.  He's been bad the past couple years defensively, but this year it's just embarrassing to watch.  He not only looks old and/or injured, he is getting very bad reads off the bat.  I wasn't surprised that Palmer criticized Jones' defense and declining speed, but I was surprised MASN put some defensive metrics on the screen showing how bad Jones and Mancini have been this year.

[Frobby]

June 21, Game 73

- Steve Wilkerson, in just his second major league game, made a great diving backhand grab of a one-hop smash down the 3B line, scrambled to his feet and made a strong throw for the out.    

- Later, however, Wilkerson had a hard smash hit right at him bounce off his glove.    Hard hit ball, but a catch that needs to be made.   

- Colby Rasmus, playing in RF for the first time in a couple of months, threw out a runner at the plate.   The throw was strong but a little high, and Caleb Joseph did a nice job to jump, catch the ball and still get the tag down in time on a close play at the plate.   

- Rasmus also misjudged a hard hit fly ball that he initially tracked, that got over his head for a triple.   

- In the decisive 8th inning, Adam Jones let a line single fall in front of him that in my opinion he (or at least, a good CF) would have caught if he’d charged it decisively.    

[Natty]

5 hours ago, Frobby said:

June 21, Game 73

- Steve Wilkerson, in just his second major league game, made a great diving backhand grab of a one-hop smash down the 3B line, scrambled to his feet and made a strong throw for the out.    

- Later, however, Wilkerson had a hard smash hit right at him bounce off his glove.    Hard hit ball, but a catch that needs to be made.   

- Colby Rasmus, playing in RF for the first time in a couple of months, threw out a runner at the plate.   The throw was strong but a little high, and Caleb Joseph did a nice job to jump, catch the ball and still get the tag down in time on a close play at the plate.   

- Rasmus also misjudged a hard hit fly ball that he initially tracked, that got over his head for a triple.   

- In the decisive 8th inning, Adam Jones let a line single fall in front of him that in my opinion he (or at least, a good CF) would have caught if he’d charged it decisively.    

Wilkersons diving/flying  play on that grounder was spectacular. Caleb's play plate on the Rasmus throw, jumping to get the throw and making the tag was also an excellent play. 

[OFFNY]

o

 

(JUNE 25th)

 

Jonathan Schoop's arm has been a major (positive) factor in several crucial plays in the last few games.

 

o