The defense thread 2021

[Philip]

13 minutes ago, Frobby said:

The knock on Mountcastle at SS/3B was that his arm wasn’t adequate for those positions.   He’s a decent athlete and it’s just too soon to say he can’t become a decent LF.    His arm still won’t be great out there, but it plays better in LF than on the left side of the infield due to the different arm actions required.   So, I think it would be a mistake to pigeonhole him as solely a 1B/DH at this point.  

As I’ve said, for me the bigger issue is that he’s not the only young player we’re trying to develop as an OF.    When Hays is healthy, he’s a better OF than Mountcastle ever will be.   So are Santander and Mullins, and if Mullins keeps hitting, he’s going to play.   So it’s not that MC is irredeemably bad, it’s that the others are very good.   
 

I appreciate your baseball knowledge, but we agree that MC can’t throw, and it doesn’t matter what kind of athlete he is if he can’t translate that into performance in the field. Is it possible to teach a good eye? Improve reaction time? Good routes?
Confidence does increase with success, so if he improved a bit, he’d be les tentative at charging in on balls. But the reverse is also true. As he fails to improve, his confidence declines and he becomes more tentative.

So what can be taught, and what is already established? That’s what needs to be answered.

[wildcard]

54 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

If Mountcastle only plays when one of Stewart, Diaz and Hays is on the IL he'll get in 160 games a year.

Mountcastle if he stay healthy will play around 155 games.   DH when he is not in the field.   Mountcastle gets at bats over Stewart.

[wildcard]

The O's have more at stake here than whether Mountcastle can learn to play an averageish LF.

 The O's have a chance be become a place were pitchers (FA and others) want to come to work with the pitching staff.  This is after years of pitchers avoiding Camden Yards.    If Matt Harvey revives his career here, Lopez becomes a successful reliever/swingman, and two Rule 5 pitchers develop into successful relievers/starters it will boost the teams ability trade for value as well as enhance the pitchers that the O's keep.

But the O's have to have a defense that catches the ball.  We see how Mountcastle and others not playing good defense affect the ability of starters get deep in games and relievers effectiveness. If the O's are on track to have 4 outfielders that will field better that Mountcastle in Hays, Mullins, Santander and Diaz then maybe Mountcasetle will not play much outfield anyway.

Its more important that he add to the middle of the order offense for the next 4 -6 years.

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, wildcard said:

The O's have more at stake here than whether Mountcastle can learn to play an averageish LF.

 The O's have a chance be become a place were pitchers (FA and others) want to come to work with the pitching staff.  This is after years of pitchers avoiding Camden Yards.    If Matt Harvey revives his career here, Lopez becomes a successful reliever/swingman, and two Rule 5 pitchers develop into successful relievers/starters it will boost the teams ability trade for value as well as enhance the pitchers that the O's keep.

But the O's have to have a defense that catches the ball.  We see how Mountcastle and others not playing good defense affect the ability of starters get deep in games and relievers effectiveness. If the O's are on track to have 4 outfielders that will field better that Mountcastle in Hays, Mullins, Santander and Diaz then maybe Mountcasetle will not play much outfield anyway.

Its more important that he add to the middle of the order offense for the next 4 -6 years.

No pitcher is going to base his decision on if the O's have Mountcastle in the outfield.

No one is going to be adding up the pluses and minuses of various offers and have the tipping point be the defense in left field.

The list is going to look something like this:

1. If ownership is willing to pay
2. Playing in the AL East
3. Playing in OPACY

 

 

 

       897. Defense in left field

[wildcard]

5 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

No pitcher is going to base his decision on if the O's have Mountcastle in the outfield.

No one is going to be adding up the pluses and minuses of various offers and have the tipping point be the defense in left field.

The list is going to look something like this:

1. If ownership is willing to pay
2. Playing in the AL East
3. Playing in OPACY

 

 

 

       897. Defense in left field

You are missing the point.  In July if Matt Harvey's ERA is 5.50 because Mountcastle can't track or catch or throw out runners versus a better left field making Harvey's ERA 4.00 it will make a difference is what other teams will pay for him.  

We just saw Mountcastle miss catching a ball, be replaced and the reliever letting two of Harvey runners score.  So don't say it does not happen.  Or will not continue if Mountcastle is in left field.

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, wildcard said:

You are missing the point.  In July if Matt Harvey's ERA is 5.50 because Mountcastle can't track or catch or throw out runners versus a better left field making Harvey's ERA 4.00 it will make a difference is what other teams will pay for him.  

We just saw Mountcastle miss catching a ball, be replaced and the reliever letting two of Harvey runners score.  So don't say it does not happen.  Or will not continue if Mountcastle is in left field.

You mean if Harvey's ERA is 5.50 instead of 5.39? 

I know you aren't suggesting that Mountcastle is, all by himself, going to cause a 1.5 run differential.

Anyway yea, I don't see that being a factor in attracting free agent pitchers.  Unless the O's hand over money pitchers are only going to come here as a last resort.

[NCRaven]

19 hours 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.  

I agree.  Mountcastle needs reps in the outfield.  DJ is a weak defender that has played in the outfield his entire career.  Mountcastle has one month and a week.  I am glad to see he has Hyde's and Elias's support.

[Frobby]

6 hours ago, wildcard said:

You are missing the point.  In July if Matt Harvey's ERA is 5.50 because Mountcastle can't track or catch or throw out runners versus a better left field making Harvey's ERA 4.00 it will make a difference is what other teams will pay for him.  

We just saw Mountcastle miss catching a ball, be replaced and the reliever letting two of Harvey runners score.  So don't say it does not happen.  Or will not continue if Mountcastle is in left field.

I don’t think outfield defense moves the needle much when it comes to pitchers choosing a team.   You know what moves the needle?

1.  Money

2.  Whether the team as a whole is good.

3.   Money

Did I mention money?

[Beef Supreme]

41 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I don’t think outfield defense moves the needle much when it comes to pitchers choosing a team.   You know what moves the needle?

1.  Money

2.  Whether the team as a whole is good.

3.   Money

Did I mention money?

Money? Depends: Long-term contract or Short-term contract? Long-term contract -- it's all about the Money. One-year bounce back contract: it's all about putting up good stats to get a long-term contract the following year... and lots of money then.

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, Beef Supreme said:

Money? Depends: Long-term contract or Short-term contract? Long-term contract -- it's all about the Money. One-year bounce back contract: it's all about putting up good stats to get a long-term contract the following year... and lots of money then.

One year bounce backs you start talking about guaranteed contracts, opt outs, team options.  Lots of stuff can be a factor over putting up stats.

[Beef Supreme]

1 minute ago, Can_of_corn said:

One year bounce backs you start talking about guaranteed contracts, opt outs, team options.  Lots of stuff can be a factor over putting up stats.

The biggest motivation is securing a multi-year contract. It's delayed gratification sometimes: take a little less money right now (all opt-outs being equal), put yourself in a good situation according to you and your agent's evaluation, and cash-in sweet do-re-me the following winter, if everything goes as planned.

[Frobby]

Game 8, April 10

- Didn’t see it, but the O’s botched a rundown play that led to a run in the first inning.

- In the 10th, the go-ahead run scored when Severino couldn’t hold onto a pitch that tailed high and wide of the strike zone.   It was rightfully scored a wild pitch but it’s a ball he really needed to keep from getting past him.    

- Sisco picked off a runner to end the first inning.   

- The fourth inning ended on a nice relay play, Stewart to Ruiz to Sisco.   

- Ruiz made a nice play on a ball that Galvis knocked down and threw out the batter at 1B.

- Mullins made a solid catch at the fence.   Nothing spectacular but he got back and into position quickly.  

[Pickles]

It was irrelevant to the score, but Mullins made an extremely poor throw to the plate in the first inning.  It's hard to criticize the man for anything right now, but I think that was the first time I've appreciated how poor his arm is.  That will cost you some runs over the course of a season.

[InsideCoroner]

5 hours ago, Pickles said:

It was irrelevant to the score, but Mullins made an extremely poor throw to the plate in the first inning.  It's hard to criticize the man for anything right now, but I think that was the first time I've appreciated how poor his arm is.  That will cost you some runs over the course of a season.

That stood out to me as well. Runner on 2nd, hard liner to CF that Mullins got on one hop while charging in, so I thought they had a really good chance to get the runner at home. His throw was off target and short, so there wasn’t even a play. Maybe it was just a bad throw. 

[Natty]

How about McKenna's throw to the plate in the 10th? Might be one of the worst throws in history trying to throw out a runner at the plate.