The defense thread 2021

[Ruzious]

17 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Lol a guy competing and holding his own at the highest level of a professional sport and people are calling him un-athletic.  

Alright then.. I think people understand we're talking in comparison to his peers - not the average person.  God love ya.     

[Sports Guy]

5 minutes ago, Ruzious said:

Of course, but... this is a message board for a Major League team.  Obviously... we're talking relative to other MLers.  That's a given.  We don't need to explain that.  

Right?

The best basketball player ever at my HS - by miles - was a little point guard named Craig Davis.  He was a little-used backup at NC State - decades ago.  Hopefully we all get the concept of a big fish in a little pond.  In fact, I know we do.  Right?  Good.    

  

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I don’t think that’s a given especially from some of the people this is coming from.  I don’t think they understand how to separate the 2.

[Beef Supreme]

6 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

I think you're confusing un-athletic with lack of grace.  

DJ Stewart is very athletic.  He doesn't always look great, but that doesn't mean he's un-athletic.  

 

59 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Then I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.  

Wouldn't be the first time we disagree. But since you described Stewart as "ungraceful," or in your exact phrasing, Stewrt "lack(s) grace," we actually agree, I would say.

Synonyms
Ungraceful: awkward, clumsy, graceless, stiff, wooden, gawky
Unathletic: awkward, clumsy, gawky, graceless, klutzy, lumbering, ungraceful

Source: Merriam Webster Dictionary

These two words are nearly identical in meaning. 

Stewart's "lack of grace" stands out like a sore thumb compared to the average player. He is poor in spatial awareness and he is poorly coordinated. I understand people dislike when someone says something negative about their idols but Stewart plays the field like he is doing a Dizzy Bat Race.

 

[Beef Supreme]

21 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

It’s comical...I mean, I don’t think Wieters was a great athlete in many ways and I think it held him back some.

Wieters was cat-like in his defense behind the plate. He wasn't a very fast runner, but he was tremendously athletic.

[Moose Milligan]

1 hour ago, Beef Supreme said:

 

Wouldn't be the first time we disagree. But since you described Stewart as "ungraceful," or in your exact phrasing, Stewrt "lack(s) grace," we actually agree, I would say.

Synonyms
Ungraceful: awkward, clumsy, graceless, stiff, wooden, gawky
Unathletic: awkward, clumsy, gawky, graceless, klutzy, lumbering, ungraceful

Source: Merriam Webster Dictionary

These two words are nearly identical in meaning. 

Stewart's "lack of grace" stands out like a sore thumb compared to the average player. He is poor in spatial awareness and he is poorly coordinated. I understand people dislike when someone says something negative about their idols but Stewart plays the field like he is doing a Dizzy Bat Race.

 

First, Stewart isn't my idol.  I haven't been high on him since we drafted him.  But I recognize that he does some things well, especially draw walks.  His separation between his batting average and his on base percentage is fantastic.

Second:  

1 hour ago, Beef Supreme said:

Wieters was cat-like in his defense behind the plate. He wasn't a very fast runner, but he was tremendously athletic.

You can't discount Wieters being slow on the bases and then highlight the best part of his skill-set and come to the conclusion that he was tremendously athletic.  If you're going to do that, you need to do the same for Stewart....which would be that he's clumsy/awkward in the outfield but has a very quick bat and can hit for power, therefore he is tremendously athletic as well.

Third, only a philistine would use Merriam Webster.  Have some pride.

[foxfield]

You are only coming through in waves....your lips move, but I can't hear what you're saying.*

 

 

Ok let's stop being so defensive and get back to discussing defense.  

 

*The above lyric is a perfect illustration of the proper way to use the words you are, your and you're.

[bobmc]

26 minutes ago, foxfield said:

You are only coming through in waves....your lips move, but I can't hear what you're saying.*

 

 

Ok let's stop being so defensive and get back to discussing defense.  

 

*The above lyric is a perfect illustration of the proper way to use the words you are, your and you're.

But you forgot the supra possessive - your'n?  I always get IT confused with uri - er - sorry!   Yeah - back to D 

[Legend_Of_Joey]

Plot twist: DJ Stewart was in the original starting line up and has now been scratched.

[jabba72]

I thought it was a pretty good catch by Stewart. It wasnt graceful looking but he got there and caught it. He probably isnt on the level of Santander in RF, but he's adequate. Alot better at tracking flyballs than Mountcastle. 

[Frobby]

Game 31, May 7

This game seemed to turn on Matt Harvey’s own miscue.  With one out in the 4th, he dropped a throw while covering 1B.    After that, he allowed a stolen base, got a ground out that sent the runner to 3rd, allowed a go-ahead single, walked the next hitter, and then coughed up a three run homer.  The error seemed to rattle him.

[maybenxtyr]

8 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Game 31, May 7

This game seemed to turn on Matt Harvey’s own miscue.  With one out in the 4th, he dropped a throw while covering 1B.    After that, he allowed a stolen base, got a ground out that sent the runner to 3rd, allowed a go-ahead single, walked the next hitter, and then coughed up a three run homer.  The error seemed to rattle him.

I was wondering how he gave up 4 runs but 0 earned. That explains it.

[wildcard]

16 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Game 31, May 7

This game seemed to turn on Matt Harvey’s own miscue.  With one out in the 4th, he dropped a throw while covering 1B.    After that, he allowed a stolen base, got a ground out that sent the runner to 3rd, allowed a go-ahead single, walked the next hitter, and then coughed up a three run homer.  The error seemed to rattle him.

Which should not have bothered that veteran.

[Frobby]

Just now, wildcard said:

Which should not have bothered that veteran.

Bad umpire calls don’t seem to bother him.   But sometimes it’s hard to get past your own mistakes.   I should clarify that I was only following on GameDay at that point, so I didn’t observe his demeanor. I just saw the sequence that unfolded.   

[webbrick2010]

So really I don't watch the O's games much anymore

and I know people think I'm beating a dead horse (er OF'er)

but I turn on last nights game and within minutes I get to watch another rainbow throw from good old DJ Stewart, 20 feet over the cutoff man that short hops Galvis gets away and allows a run to score.

Admittedly Galvis made a weak effort to corral the bad throw (he is an Infielder right?) and the game was a blowout so who cares, but it gave me a sad chuckle.

I get that DJ Stewart is embarrassed about his arm and wants to prove that he can actually make a throw from medium deep RF (and we are talking Camden Yards) to 2B in the air.... but DJ you can't.

Just throw the ball on a line (your max distanced being about 120') to the cutoff man and stop with the rainbow throws.

[Frobby]

Game 36, May 11

Defense arguably cost us this game in the 9th inning.    With one out and runners on first and second, Hays dove for a soft liner in the gap but came well short of catching it.   Mullins fielded it cleanly on a hop and relayed it to Urias, who turned and threw home well wide and past Severino while the runner scored from 2B.   The play was backed up, but the bad throw allowed Jonathan Villar, who had been on 1B, to advance to 3B with only one out.  

With the infield in, the hitter bounced a grounder to Mancini, whose throw to Severino came in head-high and Severino’s tag was late.   If the throw had been knee high, it would have been very close at the plate, though I can’t say Villar definitely would have been out.  I’d also say Mancini’s throw was a bit fluttery in addition to coming in too high.   

The first play was notable in several respects.   First, Hays’ dive was ill-advised, as he really wasn’t close to catching it.   Second, Mullins made the decision to relay the ball to Urias rather than throw directly home, which was probably the right decision given his weak arm (even his relay throw was a one-hopper) but an outfielder with a stronger arm might have been able to nail the runner at the plate.   Third, with Mullins having made that decision, it was a mistake for Urias to turn and throw home.   And then, his throw wasn’t good.   Even so, Severino might have been able to stop it from getting past him, though the play properly was scored as an error on Urias.   So all around, a very disappointing play.