The defense thread 2021

[survivedc]

41 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

The ball that RM didn’t catch wasn’t a good play but I also think he thought he would collide into Galvis, so he hesitated.

But he has to call him off and take charge there.  To me, that perfectly illustrates the newness of the position and why he needs reps out there.  

Couldn’t tell but I think he did call him off. Galvis was going back for it and in much better position then sort of bailed and the ball dropped. I do agree the collision concern made him hesitate.

How many balls have been hit towards RMC in game play in similar situations? A handful?

[Sports Guy]

8 minutes ago, Oriole1940 said:

Then get the reps somewhere  else other than the ML games.  How many games are the Orioles going to lose or nearly lose while a player who is not good at a position practices in real game conditions,  trying to learn what should have been learned before he reached the big leagues.  I have NEVER heard of something like this,  and have been following big league games for almost ALL of my 81 years. 

Ummm, this happens often.

Let’s go over this again..The Os DO NOT care about winning.  If he costs them games, so be it.  They would rather him learn here than not and quite frankly, sending him to AAA is just a dumb move at this point in his career.

[Pickles]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

Game 7, April 8

I didn’t see this game, but I know it included:

- A terrific diving catch by Mullins in LCF. In addition to the very athletic dive, he had to stay focused on the ball while Mountcastle was also diving for the ball behind him.   Luckily they did not collide and Mullins made the catch.   

- A possibly catchable ball that Mountcastle didn’t catch.

- On the same play, Mountcastle overthrew 3B and while the runner who was diving into the bag held there, the batter ended up at 2B.

I don’t really know of anything else that may have occurred in this game.  
 

The diving catch by Mullins was a hell of a catch, only necessitated by the fact that Mountcastle has very bad range. (And good thing he caught it because if he missed it, it would have bounced past a diving Mountcastle to the wall for at least a triple, if not more.)

Mullins also made another fine running catch, staying on his feet this time, to catch a drive to the warning track in LCF.

I've seen enough from Mountcastle to say pretty confidently that he will never play a ton in the outfield for  a GOOD team.

[survivedc]

2 minutes ago, Beef Supreme said:

As much as we are enjoying bashing Mountcastle for his poor defense -- the jog and dive in the fifth inning would have been a triple or inside the park HR if Mullins hadn't caught it and the play in the sixth when he let a catchable ball drop in and then threw it wildly back to the infield allowing the runner on first to advance were both ridiculous. But on that diving miss behind shortstop, Galvis should have been settled under it. Instead, Galvis froze at contact, then turned to his left towards centerfield and got completely spun around as the ball fell to what would have been over his right shoulder. Doesn't make Mountcastle's defense better but Galvis should have been camped out under that popup. 

Mountcastle pulled up on his dive when Mullins streaked in front of him. That much was obvious.

[Philip]

1 hour ago, wildcard said:

.   Let Mountcastle DH  The O's are giving the other team too many .

 

•  

The non- catch yesterday in NY caused a lot of extra relief use, and caused a stressful day to be worse. MC can contribute from the DH spot, but he doesn’t contribute in the field

[Philip]

5 minutes ago, Beef Supreme said:

As much as we are enjoying bashing Mountcastle for his poor defense -- the jog and dive in the fifth inning would have been a triple or inside the park HR if Mullins hadn't caught it and the play in the sixth when he let a catchable ball drop in and then threw it wildly back to the infield allowing the runner on first to advance were both ridiculous. But on that diving miss behind shortstop, Galvis should have been settled under it. Instead, Galvis froze at contact, then turned to his left towards centerfield and got completely spun around as the ball fell to what would have been over his right shoulder. Doesn't make Mountcastle's defense better but Galvis should have been camped out under that popup. 

Just had all around, and MC may not even be the worst, but moving him to DH is the easiest way to get an immediate improvement, even if McKenna is an empty bucket on offense.

[Beef Supreme]

4 minutes ago, survivedc said:

Mountcastle pulled up on his dive when Mullins streaked in front of him. That much was obvious.

He still dove though. And he never would have caught that ball because he ran so slowly towards it.

[survivedc]

5 minutes ago, Beef Supreme said:

He still dove though. And he never would have caught that ball because he ran so slowly towards it.

I can’t disagree there. He did dive.

[Beef Supreme]

2 minutes ago, survivedc said:

I can’t disagree there. He did dive.

I thought you were saying he didn't when you said he "pulled up." Really ugly, regardless.

[Frobby]

13 minutes ago, Philip said:

Just had all around, and MC may not even be the worst, but moving him to DH is the easiest way to get an immediate improvement, even if McKenna is an empty bucket on offense.

What is boils down to is, is there a reasonable chance he can improve to become a half decent OF?    He’s only played 54 games there between the majors and minors.    So, it may make sense to bite the bullet in a year where we won’t be contending and just give him a shot, fully understanding that his defense is going to cost us games in the interim and the experiment may not work at all.    

But I think it’s tough to do that once Hays comes back, if Mullins is still performing.   
 

 

[Philip]

23 minutes ago, Frobby said:

What is boils down to is, is there a reasonable chance he can improve to become a half decent OF?    He’s only played 54 games there between the majors and minors.    So, it may make sense to bite the bullet in a year where we won’t be contending and just give him a shot, fully understanding that his defense is going to cost us games in the interim and the experiment may not work at all.    

But I think it’s tough to do that once Hays comes back, if Mullins is still performing.   
 

 

I do not know what the hardest part of being an outfielder is, I am assuming it is quick reaction. Knowing where the ball is going and getting to that spot.

Once you get to that spot, you catch the ball, and once you’ve caught the ball, if necessary you throw the ball.

Nobody claims that Mountcastle can throw. Whether he can catch the ball is certainly debatable, for me the main problem is that he can’t get to the ball and that’s why for instance Mullins was covering for him yesterday. Nobody will say so but I’ll bet the guy in center is told to keep a careful eye on left. He has above average sprint speed, but as I have said he doesn’t seem to be able to use that on defense, his routes don’t seem to be very good, and his reaction time appears to be slow.

Since he was drafted, the knock has always been his defense. And that is proving to be the case. I don’t know what he can be taught, but People have spent several years trying to teach him.

I contend that he cost us today’s game starting in yesterday’s game, if you want his bat in the lineup put him at DH.

[wildcard]

4 hours ago, Frobby said:

What is boils down to is, is there a reasonable chance he can improve to become a half decent OF?    He’s only played 54 games there between the majors and minors.    So, it may make sense to bite the bullet in a year where we won’t be contending and just give him a shot, fully understanding that his defense is going to cost us games in the interim and the experiment may not work at all.    

But I think it’s tough to do that once Hays comes back, if Mullins is still performing.   
 

 

I don't agree that this is the time to just play Mountcastle in left to see if he can improve.  The O's have some pitching.  They have some players that should hit.  They have pretty good defense except for Mountcastle in left.   Stranger things have happen then the O's being competitive this year for a good portion of the season.   I think they should  play Stewart in LF until Hays is ready.  DH Mountcastle.  In 2012 the O's turned around fast.   We never know when that will happen with the current rebuild.

When the O's are out of it for the season then give Mountcastle time to improve in LF.   Then it will not matter that much.   I just don't agree with giving away winnable games when the O's are still in contention.

[LA2]

1 hour ago, wildcard said:

I don't agree that this is the time to just play Mountcastle in left to see if he can improve.  The O's have some pitching.  They have some players that should hit.  They have pretty good defense except for Mountcastle in left.   Stranger things have happen then the O's being competitive this year for a good portion of the season.   I think they should  play Stewart in LF until Hays is ready.  DH Mountcastle.  In 2012 the O's turned around fast.   We never know when that will happen with the current rebuild.

When the O's are out of it for the season then give Mountcastle time to improve in LF.   Then it will not matter that much.   I just don't agree with giving away winnable games when the O's are still in contention.

I agree that the O's shd not be throwing away games because of MC's poor defense. But DJ Stewart is no solution and is no nearer to returning to action than Hays is, as far as I know. Hays coming back would give us a much better OF than Stewart and push MC to DH, where he belongs until, as you suggest, we're out of contention and can afford to experiment with him in the field, either at first or in the OF. In lieu of Stewart or Hays, why not see if McKenna or Diaz can surprise us at the plate and push MC to DH?

[wildcard]

1 hour ago, LA2 said:

I agree that the O's shd not be throwing away games because of MC's poor defense. But DJ Stewart is no solution and is no nearer to returning to action than Hays is, as far as I know. Hays coming back would give us a much better OF than Stewart and push MC to DH, where he belongs until, as you suggest, we're out of contention and can afford to experiment with him in the field, either at first or in the OF. In lieu of Stewart or Hays, why not see if McKenna or Diaz can surprise us at the plate and push MC to DH?

Hays was placed on the IL on April 5th.  That means the soonest we could see him back in the 16th.  But hamstrings can linger and Hays has not been a quick healer in the past, so its hard to know when he will be back.

Stewart was placed on the IL on April 1st but its was supposed to be retroactive to March 29th.   He should have been available on April 8th if he was healthy.   So its probably a case of when he is phyically ready.  Hyde had said this weekend.

McKenna has not hit well above A+ ball.  He should be sent down when Hays returns and be allowed to show he can hit AAA pitching.  Right now he is the backup for CF primarily and a defensive backup for Mountcastle or if Santander needs a day off.

Diaz has not shown he can hit at AAA yet. If Elias follows what he has done with other prospects he will probably spend May and June in AAA unless injuries to other players force him to be promoted sooner.

That is my take.

[sportsfan8703]

Mountcastle has had back to back terrible games in the field. I don’t know if he can play the big LF in OPACY. We need Hays back, or Diaz/Stewart up.