Who is the best Sox defender right now?

[Maxbialystock]

Forget DWAR for now. I'm talking about the eye test.

 

I'll start by saying that I wish it were Bogaerts because he works so hard at it and so far has no errors, but I think his range ain't great. So my no doubt contentious pick is Hanley Ramirez because he has 0 errors and because he is still quick on his feet and, as a former SS, is more likely to have excellent range.

[sk7326]

oh it's Vasquez or Bradley. Bogaerts' range is never going to be amazing, but he has done a very good job. Errors are for the most part useless for conveying this sort of information.

 

Ramirez has been good - but I wonder how much credit we are giving him because he has not been the toxic sewage dump he was last year.. Being valedictorian is nice - but if you're the valedictorian of summer school, it's a bit less impressive

 

Our up the middle is really good - the corners are adequate but definitely the weaker part of the defense. Fortunately that is better than the reverse. I don't think we are adding value to our run prevention the way that Kansas City has - but it is a breath of fresh air compared to 2015.

[Dojji]

Which is the most important joint, the elbow, the knee, the hip or the shoulder?

 

Ummmm...

[mvp 78]

1. Vazquez

2. Bradley

3. Betts

4. Pedey

5. Hanley

[Kimmi]

I love Vazquez behind the plate, but right now, my gut says Pedroia. He looks like the Pedroia of old, not only defensively, but offensively as well.

[Kingface]

Pedey.......with Vaz close 2nd. Pedey does things that most 2b can only dream of but we are so used to it.......

[a700hitter]

Hanley with no errors thus far.

[redsoxdirtdog]

Hanley with no errors thus far.

 

Absolutely! GG.

[Jasonbay44]

I still think JBJ is the best defensive player on the roster, regardless of what the stats say thus far.

[redsoxdirtdog]

However.... management will no longer tolerate these superfluous threads.

[Slasher9]

Hanram.

[redsoxdirtdog]

How about playing FAR BEYOND expectations?

 

Hanley #1

 

Shaw #2

 

X-Bo #3

 

Mookie? #4

 

Biggest impact? Likely Vaz! Playing up to SKY HIGH expectations.

 

JBJ only underperforming because of bizzarly bad throwing do to weather. He will likely be tied with Vaz by years end.

 

UP THE MIDDLE, the Sox may just have the best D In the entire mlb!

[SoxHop]

That damn catcher position has be perplexed.

 

I'm still wondering how people thing V is better than Swihart. I do myself......... but I have no way to prove it.......

[redsoxdirtdog]

That damn catcher position has be perplexed.

 

I'm still wondering how people thing V is better than Swihart. I do myself......... but I have no way to prove it.......

 

 

Seems self evident to me. Body language & reading inferences, it seemed clear many of the pitchers were not feeling it with Swihart.

 

As for on field.... I could state what you've no doubt read 1000 times about his ability to frame the pitch. I would add his cat like quickness. GREAT HANDS!!!!! Exceptional blocking & knock-down deadening of pitches in the dirt. Great arm. Keeping runners closer to the bag..... etc. Plus, the innumerable intangibles.

 

Man! If he could hit .270 with some pop????

[iortiz]

Everybody is playing great defense but I have to give it to Hanley, no one in earth saw this coming. He plays 1B like he has been there forever.

[Youk Of The Nation]

Everybody is playing great defense but I have to give it to Hanley, no one in earth saw this coming. He plays 1B like he has been there forever.

 

The Sox have gotten supremely lucky in the last decade with guys who never came up as first basemen playing first base extremely well. Youk was incredible defensively despite being a third baseman to begin with, and now Hanley. Granted, Hanley is so far a small sample size, but you're right in that he is playing like he was always meant to do this.

[Slasher9]

Everybody is playing great defense but I have to give it to Hanley, no one in earth saw this coming. He plays 1B like he has been there forever.

 

there were a few of us that thought he would be fine and thrive at 1b. i predicted GG defense from him.

[Hugh2]

there were a few of us that thought he would be fine and thrive at 1b. i predicted GG defense from him.

 

I was on that ship....even after getting burned by him in LF. Also, its rather common for MLB first baseman to not be 1B by trade.

[greenwell]

The Sox have gotten supremely lucky in the last decade with guys who never came up as first basemen playing first base extremely well. Youk was incredible defensively despite being a third baseman to begin with, and now Hanley. Granted, Hanley is so far a small sample size, but you're right in that he is playing like he was always meant to do this.

 

I think Hanley has looked great, but one thing that surprised me looking at the stats is that he has the fewest assists for any qualifying 1B and it's not even close. He has 3, #2 has 11. I'm not entirely sure why, I haven't noticed him missing assist opportunities.

[Hugh2]

I think people need to put weight in defensive metrics, otherwise you're a dinosaur. Now don't get me wrong, scouting and the eye test are still and always will be relevant. But to really use the "eye test" I think you actually have to be at the games scouting the players, you can't scout defense very well from a tv screen.

[sk7326]

That damn catcher position has be perplexed.

 

I'm still wondering how people thing V is better than Swihart. I do myself......... but I have no way to prove it.......

 

The pitch framing is amazing

[Dojji]

Seems self evident to me. Body language & reading inferences, it seemed clear many of the pitchers were not feeling it with Swihart.

 

As for on field.... I could state what you've no doubt read 1000 times about his ability to frame the pitch. I would add his cat like quickness. GREAT HANDS!!!!! Exceptional blocking & knock-down deadening of pitches in the dirt. Great arm. Keeping runners closer to the bag..... etc. Plus, the innumerable intangibles.

 

Man! If he could hit .270 with some pop????

 

Give him time and he may. He's hit for decent average at times in the minors, and of course he's adanced on the strength of his glove so he's never really had multiple years to see the same pool of pitchers, he may do what Yadi did at first, carry himself on the strength of his glove initially, then start hitting more as he gets used to the league.

[Emp9]

Everybody is playing great defense but I have to give it to Hanley, no one in earth saw this coming. He plays 1B like he has been there forever.

 

I did actually. But I wasn't posting here at the time so it's a bit hard to prove. Maybe some fellow BDC posters could vouch for me? I was saying HanRam at 1B not only isn't that big of an experiment, there was an off chance he'd thrive there.

[S5Dewey]

I did actually. But I wasn't posting here at the time so it's a bit hard to prove. Maybe some fellow BDC posters could vouch for me? I was saying HanRam at 1B not only isn't that big of an experiment, there was an off chance he'd thrive there.

 

RSDD and I have eaten a considerable amount of crow over our position regarding Hanley at 1B. I think I can speak for him when I say that while the meal wasn't very tasty it was well worth eating.

[S5Dewey]

I think people need to put weight in defensive metrics, otherwise you're a dinosaur. Now don't get me wrong, scouting and the eye test are still and always will be relevant. But to really use the "eye test" I think you actually have to be at the games scouting the players, you can't scout defense very well from a tv screen.

 

Call me T. Rex. I put very little faith in defensive metrics, for the reason(s) Hugh has said. No one person can be on every field during every game so either the players are being "rated" by a television screen or we have different people with different standards doing the rating at different parks.

 

Offensive metrics are quantifiable. BA =Hits/AB's. OPS =SLG+OBP. Defensive metrics are sometimes determined by someone saying, "Gee, I think a normal player would have gotten to that ball. What do you think, Bob?"

 

Regardless of the sample size, when I see a metric that says that Jacoby Ellsbury is a better outfielder than JBJ I immediately question the methodolgy.

[Palodios]

I'm very happy to see Hanley being a valuable player for the Red Sox. That being said, is he really any more valuable than Mike Napoli would have been here?

[S5Dewey]

I'm very happy to see Hanley being a valuable player for the Red Sox. That being said, is he really any more valuable than Mike Napoli would have been here?

 

I'd prefer Hanley to Napoli in 2016. For one thing, since Hanley is signed he has to play someplace until (maybe) he becomes our FT DH. Also, without looking it up it "feels" like his K rate is a lot lower than Napoli's. And of course while Hanley's commitment re injuries was questioned up until this year, there is always the ongoing issue of Napoli and his hips.

 

The downside of course is that Hanley is making $22M/year while Napoli is making $7M.

Edited May 13, 2016 by S5Dewey
Removed a redundant sentence.

[TheBabeStrikesBack]

Forget DWAR for now. I'm talking about the eye test.

 

I'll start by saying that I wish it were Bogaerts because he works so hard at it and so far has no errors, but I think his range ain't great. So my no doubt contentious pick is Hanley Ramirez because he has 0 errors and because he is still quick on his feet and, as a former SS, is more likely to have excellent range.

 

I'm going to pick David Ortiz because he has 0 errors as well.

[illinoisredsox]

Right now I would go with Vazquez. First, he makes all the routine plays seemingly effortlessly AND has made some great ones as well. Two things jump out: the pitching staff is not afraid to throw splitters with him behind the plate and right now teams are not really even attempting any running game against the Sox.

 

Frankly, I have not been that impressed with JBJ's play in the OF this season. Yes, he has made some great plays, but he has missed a few that I think makes last season and his throwing has not been nearly as good (been off the mark several times, in a couple instances by wide margins). He's been good, but IMO he was better last year.

[sk7326]

I'm very happy to see Hanley being a valuable player for the Red Sox. That being said, is he really any more valuable than Mike Napoli would have been here?

 

No. People are just amazed Hanley can walk onto the baseball field without tripping over his shoelaces.