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If you don't undestand that Buck likes Izzy at SS...


wildcard

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you are not listening.

In the post game Buck praised Izturis' defense at SS. This is not the first time. I would not be surprised to see him re-signed.

Buck also likes what he is seeing from Andino at 2B/SS. Roch writes that Andino might see some time a 3B so Buck can evaluate him there. If Andino can be the primary back up all three positions it makes it easier to carry Fox as the backup at 1B and C. Maybe the 2nd catcher, maybe the third, but it feels like Fox made stick as a utility guy.

I like the way Buck drops hints about what he is thinking. He gives insight into how he is evaluating the players.

Might we see Reimold and Snyder vs Sabathia and Petitte? The Yankees are fighting for first. It could be the veterans or the youngsters who hit lefties. I will not guess. I will just watch Buck do his thing.

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Buck's comment about Izzy's fundamentals tonight were pretty telling of his attention to detail, per the usual. One example he gave was that when Bergey fielded a sharp come backer and seemed a little flustered about where to throw, Izzy stuck his arms in the air to make sure Bergey knew to threw to him. Buck was impressed by that, and honestly it's not something I'd have ever thought of.

Now about Buck's praise of Izzy--Buck has said all along, he prefers to focus on the positive. I'm not sure if his positive reinforcement of things he likes means that he advocates going into 2011 with an epically bad offensive SS.

Buck doesn't tend to say negative things about his players in the press, he's really just sharing the positives he's picked up on. He wouldn't say at this juncture if he things a particular player is a "nugget" or not.

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you are not listening.

In the post game Buck praised Izturis' defense at SS. This is not the first time. I would not be surprised to see him re-signed.

Buck also likes what he is seeing from Andino at 2B/SS. Roch writes that Andino might see some time a 3B so Buck can evaluate him there. If Andino can be the primary back up all three positions it makes it easier to carry Fox as the backup at 1B and C. Maybe the 2nd catcher, maybe the third, but it feels like Fox made stick as a utility guy.

I like the way Buck drops hints about what he is thinking. He gives insight into how he is evaluating the players.

Might we see Reimold and Snyder vs Sabathia and Petitte? The Yankees are fighting for first. It could be the veterans or the youngsters who hit lefties. I will not guess. I will just watch Buck do his thing.

You think that AM may be forcing BS to play and evaluate Andino and say nice things about Izzy? I mean, there can be no other reason, right? ;)

In all seriousness, will the OH be upset if Izzy is brought back and it is because Buck decided that a defensive minded SS is more important than a SS with some pop?

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You think that AM may be forcing BS to play and evaluate Andino and say nice things about Izzy? I mean, there can be no other reason, right? ;)

In all seriousness, will the OH be upset if Izzy is brought back and it is because Buck decided that a defensive minded SS is more important than a SS with some pop?

I'm not sure about the rest of OH, but I would be very disappointed. Izzy would have to be otherworldly good on defense, as in something we've never seen before, to make up for his .553 OPS. That's just unbelievably horrible.

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You think that AM may be forcing BS to play and evaluate Andino and say nice things about Izzy? I mean, there can be no other reason, right? ;)

In all seriousness, will the OH be upset if Izzy is brought back and it is because Buck decided that a defensive minded SS is more important than a SS with some pop?

There's a difference between a defensive-minded shortstop and a poor man's Mark Belanger. You can carry a glove if their offense is below average. It's somewhat harder when they're the worst hitter in the league by a country mile:

Name    wOBA Cesar Izturis     .250Jose Lopez      .261Alcides Escobar    .278Jason Kendall    .278Jeff Francoeur    .288Nyjer Morgan    .288Erick Aybar    .289Jerry Hairston    .292
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Maybe Buck sees potential in Izturis bat?

I know he has mentioned more than 1 time that he had a clutch bat.

Maybe Buck sees Izturis as a glue that holds the team together?

Sign Beltre, trade for a big bat 1b, resign Uehara, sign 1 veteran established pitcher and compete for a playoff spot next year.

A manager's influence is the real deal. I am convinced.

The only reason they dont get paid more is because they have no union behind them.

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Buck's comment about Izzy's fundamentals tonight were pretty telling of his attention to detail, per the usual. One example he gave was that when Bergey fielded a sharp come backer and seemed a little flustered about where to throw, Izzy stuck his arms in the air to make sure Bergey knew to threw to him. Buck was impressed by that, and honestly it's not something I'd have ever thought of.

Now about Buck's praise of Izzy--Buck has said all along, he prefers to focus on the positive. I'm not sure if his positive reinforcement of things he likes means that he advocates going into 2011 with an epically bad offensive SS.

Buck doesn't tend to say negative things about his players in the press, he's really just sharing the positives he's picked up on. He wouldn't say at this juncture if he things a particular player is a "nugget" or not.

Buck does not say bad things but he does let you know when he thinks a player is not up to the job. What is he saying about Bell? He doesn't bad month him but I think most of us know that he thinks Bell needs to be at AAA to start next year to refine his play. He has said he has a good arm and comes in well on balls but I for one hear him loud and clear that he has not shown enough so far to start at 3B next.

The praise of Izzy is much different. Buck values Izzy's defense. He knows what it does for the team in lowing pitch counts and stablizing the team defense. There will have to be someone very special available for Buck to settle for less defense at SS then what he is getting from Izzy. Izzy is a major reason why the O's are play .600 ball.

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I'm not sure about the rest of OH, but I would be very disappointed. Izzy would have to be otherworldly good on defense, as in something we've never seen before, to make up for his .553 OPS. That's just unbelievably horrible.

A normal year for Izzy is a 620 OPS.

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Its obvious he likes Izzy and much like AM, he values defense up the middle. He said that is #1 on his list.

Bringing back Izzy would be an awful idea though.

So if Buck decides the defensive security blanket is what he wants for his young starters, you would still disagree?

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So if Buck decides the defensive security blanket is what he wants for his young starters, you would still disagree?

Absolutely...You can get good defense and more offense elsewhere.

Izzy's defense isn't that good. His UZR in 4 of the last 6 years hasn't been all that great and that includes this year.

His bat has been so bad this year that he is worth less than a replacement player.

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In all seriousness, will the OH be upset if Izzy is brought back and it is because Buck decided that a defensive minded SS is more important than a SS with some pop?

I think the fallacy here is that Izzy isn't the only good defensive SS in the world, and there are others who hit better than he does.

Because the O's tolerated a couple of years of Tejada when his defense was on the decline, and then suffered through the horrible 5 stooges in 2008, a lot of folks seem to think that Izzy is miles better than most major league starting shortstops defensively. He's not. He's got slightly better than average range, and makes fewer mistakes than average. He's very sound fundamentally. It's a pleasure to watch him play the position. But he's not Ozzie Smith, or Mark Belanger, or Omar Vizquel. There are 28 shortstops who have played 600+ innings this year, and Izzy is 15th in UZR/150. If you prefer to go by RZR, Izzy ranks 18th.

Meanwhile, on offense Izzy is dead last. Not by a little. By a ton. He's at -26.6 runs, 8 worse than the next worst guy out of all the shorstops in the majors. And as a result, his solid but not amazing defense just can't make up for his pathetic hitting.

Anyone who is an Izzy advocate simply doesn't watch enough of the other shorstops in MLB. There are plenty of good ones. So, no I have no interest in having some hack like Yuniesky Betancourt or Asdurbral Cabrera. But I'd gladly take a Jason Bartlett, even in a down year both offensively and defensively for him, as compared to Izzy.

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