The Benintendi Thread

[moonslav59]

No he wasn't. He's still a work in progress there.

 

I disagree. I think any plus defensive CF'er can be (and usually is) a capable corner OF'er in a very short period of time. Beni was certainly equal or better than the Brentz-Holt "Bad News Bears" in LF at the time of his call-up, even if he was not fully at top readiness.

 

Besides, I called for him getting more time in LF earlier. That's been my mantra- "sooner rather than later".

[mvp 78]

I disagree. I think any plus defensive CF'er can be (and usually is) a capable corner OF'er in a very short period of time. Beni was certainly equal or better than the Brentz-Holt "Bad News Bears" in LF at the time of his call-up, even if he was not fully at top readiness.

 

Besides, I called for him getting more time in LF earlier. That's been my mantra- "sooner rather than later".

 

I'm just saying that he's not entirely ready right now. Maybe his few miscues just resonate too much with me?

[mvp 78]

To me, he was "capable" but not "ready."

[sk7326]

Beni was also ready defensively at the position of need (LF).

 

I think that mattered less. LF was doable between Holt, Young, Hill and Shaw and Ramirez (just wanted to see if you were reading the last one). If Benintendi were expected to have Christian Vasquez' bat, the position of need would be staffed another way.

 

Playing LF at Fenway itself is something which stands outside of being a good outfielder. Carl Crawford is a primo example here. Only way to do it is to do it.

[Nick]

I'll take him over Brycee, Brockie and Chrisie in left field....

[moonslav59]

To me, he was "capable" but not "ready."

 

He was more capable that Brentz & Holt.

 

He was more capable than Bogey at 3B back in 2014.

 

He was more capable than Swihart in LF earlier this year.

 

The kid is a plsu defender in CF right now. He can handle LF in a pretty quick turnover time, but again, I wish they had moved him to LF earlier at AA.

[moonslav59]

I think that mattered less. LF was doable between Holt, Young, Hill and Shaw and Ramirez (just wanted to see if you were reading the last one). If Benintendi were expected to have Christian Vasquez' bat, the position of need would be staffed another way.

 

Playing LF at Fenway itself is something which stands outside of being a good outfielder. Carl Crawford is a primo example here. Only way to do it is to do it.

 

Young was hurt.

 

Brock and Bryce were doing HanRam imitations out there before the call-up.

[mvp 78]

He was more capable that Brentz & Holt.

 

He was more capable than Bogey at 3B back in 2014.

 

He was more capable than Swihart in LF earlier this year.

 

The kid is a plsu defender in CF right now. He can handle LF in a pretty quick turnover time, but again, I wish they had moved him to LF earlier at AA.

 

He's not a plus defender in CF. No way.

[moonslav59]

He's not a plus defender in CF. No way.

 

He's not a minus.

 

Can we agree on average?

 

He reminds me of Ellsbury. Not great reactions and routes to start out with, but his athleticism makes up for it.

[mvp 78]

He's not a minus.

 

Can we agree on average?

 

He reminds me of Ellsbury. Not great reactions and routes to start out with, but his athleticism makes up for it.

 

Average? Sure.

[Maxbialystock]

I personally don't care and think it's borderline silly to argue whether Benintendi was/is ready to play LF or CF. He is here to hit, and we know he has outfield skills and only lacks Fenway experience. I didn't think he was ready to hit MLB pitching and was clearly wrong. His fielding should not be an issue.

[mvp 78]

I'm never f***ing silly...

[Slasher9]

but perhaps borderline silly?

[Bellhorn04]

but perhaps borderline silly?

 

Now I'm reminded of the Monty Python sketch about the election. There were 3 parties-the Sensible party, the Silly party and the Very Silly party. Next to the Very Silly party, the Silly party didn't look that bad.

[mvp 78]

but perhaps borderline silly?

 

:(

[moonslav59]

but perhaps borderline silly?

 

Can we agree on average silly?

[Dojji]

I'm never f***ing silly...

 

I can't think of a better time to be a little silly, if she's OK with it

[moonslav59]

I personally don't care and think it's borderline silly to argue whether Benintendi was/is ready to play LF or CF. He is here to hit, and we know he has outfield skills and only lacks Fenway experience. I didn't think he was ready to hit MLB pitching and was clearly wrong. His fielding should not be an issue.

 

True, it was about his bat, but clearly nobody expected Beni to be a worse fielder in LF than the Brentz/Holt circus. That's what mattered on the defensive aspect of the call-up.

[Wade Boggs]

Beni , was brought up because he was tearing it up down there. Brentz stinks. Young won't be back until September. He hasn't even begun a rehab stint yet. Holt has to play his all around role not just LF. DD said he would promote players right through, skipping triple A... When he could not pull off a deal for the LF he wanted, who ever that was , they called Beni. His fielding needs work, Keep in mind he played CF. It will take time, he's 22. Just a moment back in time, Mookie was a second baseman, Now he's a very good RF, and in the running for the MVP. Yoan Moncada will go through it as well at 3B next year in April.

 

I'm trying my best . I'm new to the board. lol

[Spudboy]

Beni , was brought up because he was tearing it up down there. Brentz stinks. Young won't be back until September. He hasn't even begun a rehab stint yet. Holt has to play his all around role not just LF. DD said he would promote players right through, skipping triple A... When he could not pull off a deal for the LF he wanted, who ever that was , they called Beni. His fielding needs work, Keep in mind he played CF. It will take time, he's 22. Just a moment back in time, Mookie was a second baseman, Now he's a very good RF, and in the running for the MVP. Yoan Moncada will go through it as well at 3B next year in April.

 

I'm trying my best . I'm new to the board. lol

 

Your post is full of good stuff and is as valid as anyone's.

[moonslav59]

...Just a moment back in time, Mookie was a second baseman, Now he's a very good RF, and in the running for the MVP. ...

 

With a nice stop in CF along the way!

 

I'm trying my best . I'm new to the board. lol

 

Welcome!

[southpaw777]

Yeah, Id lighten up on benni's D ...it take a few times in front of the monster to get used to it. Also the trajectory of the ball is different in the corners...to say hes worse than holt or brentz is a bit premature

[User Name]

Benintendi is fine in LF and will only get better with time. What did (does) scare me is the adjustment after the league gets to know him well. I have the Michael Conforto example fresh in my mind. This seems to be DD's MO however, and he's right most of the time about it. One of my friends from Michigan is actually staying at my house this week and we were talking about DD's track record with elite-level prospects. After that conversation, I feel a little better about his handling of Benintendi and future handling of Moncada. Dombrowski knows his s***.

[Dojji]

Dombrowski is one of the most veteran general managers in the entire league and usually puts a good team together. I've been extremely pleased with his performance overall this year. I especially appreciate the times when he refused to let the money dictate who played when, such as insisting on getting Shaw extensive practice at 3B in the Spring rather than coddling Sandoval, and not letting Buchholz drag the team down this year.

 

I also like having an older, more battle-scarred GM who's not afraid to spend our assets to improve the team now, it's a nice contrast to Theo and Cherington who never seemed to want to part with anyone they'd drafted -- one of the traps of youth is to buy too much into the hype of this one guy or that one guy and wind up paralyzed when you have to make the decision of who to make available. DD's seen all that before, so he's less susceptible to this.

[S5Dewey]

This may be a poor comparison, but whatever....

 

After what I've seen in left field in recent years I actually LIKE having Benintendi out there. When Gomes was there every fly ball was an adventure but Gomes has the personality and hitting to pull it off and not have the fans get down on him. He also usually made the play although it was far from pretty.

 

Last year with Hanley out there every fly ball was a potential disaster - and often lived up to that. Now when a fly ball is hit to LF I at least think, "Yeah, he'll catch that", which is a lot better than holding my breath like I did when we had those those other two defensive clowns out there. Sure, he's got some learning to do about the wall, the scoreboard, and the angles of the ball coming off the wall but IMO he's going to be better than "fine" out there.

[Dojji]

This may be a poor comparison, but whatever....

 

After what I've seen in left field in recent years I actually LIKE having Benintendi out there. When Gomes was there every fly ball was an adventure but Gomes has the personality and hitting to pull it off and not have the fans get down on him. He also usually made the play although it was far from pretty.

 

Last year with Hanley out there every fly ball was a potential disaster - and often lived up to that. Now when a fly ball is hit to LF I at least think, "Yeah, he'll catch that", which is a lot better than holding my breath like I did when we had those those other two defensive clowns out there. Sure, he's got some learning to do about the wall, the scoreboard, and the angles of the ball coming off the wall but IMO he's going to be better than "fine" out there.

 

We have sort of an ideal situation right now in the defensive outfield. Both JBJ and Betts are now battle-hardened, highly athletic young centerfielders who are good at what they do, and Benintendi is just as athletic as talented as either of the others and also a centerfield talent, wanting only for experience which he is now getting. I expected him to struggle from time to time, so far he's actually struggled less than I was anticipating, which is only a good thing.

 

In the meantime we're already seeing a benefit from having three highly athletic outfielders, all with the range and athleticism to cover centerfield, playing our 3 outfield positions. I don't think it's a coincidence that the pitching staff got better when the gaps in the outfield got smaller. And the great thing is that hopefully this is going to get better as Beni settles in.

[moonslav59]

...insisting on getting Shaw extensive practice at 3B in the Spring rather than coddling Sandoval...

 

It was a good choice, and HanRam made it easier by looking pretty ngood at 1B pretty much right out of the gate.

[mvp 78]

Benintendi is fine in LF and will only get better with time. What did (does) scare me is the adjustment after the league gets to know him well. I have the Michael Conforto example fresh in my mind. This seems to be DD's MO however, and he's right most of the time about it. One of my friends from Michigan is actually staying at my house this week and we were talking about DD's track record with elite-level prospects. After that conversation, I feel a little better about his handling of Benintendi and future handling of Moncada. Dombrowski knows his s***.

 

He'll be a plus defender in LF sometime next year. He just needs the reps. My only point is that he's not there right now.

[Dojji]

...insisting on getting Shaw extensive practice at 3B in the Spring rather than coddling Sandoval...

 

It was a good choice, and HanRam made it easier by looking pretty ngood at 1B pretty much right out of the gate.

 

 

The thing is, I worded it that way deliberately. In Spring it wasn't quite cetrain that Pablo was done like dinner. He might have been able to work his ass off and save his season. A lot of GM's would be tempted to throw in with Pablo and hope he worked his issues out. But if he'd done that, then Shaw would have had to break himself back into 3B in live baseball with only a cameo or two at the position over the Spring, and that would have negatively impacted his defense. It's just one of those little things where I'm glad we have DD because he tends to play to the odds rather than the egos.

[moonslav59]

This may be a poor comparison, but whatever....

 

After what I've seen in left field in recent years I actually LIKE having Benintendi out there. When Gomes was there every fly ball was an adventure but Gomes has the personality and hitting to pull it off and not have the fans get down on him. He also usually made the play although it was far from pretty.

 

Last year with Hanley out there every fly ball was a potential disaster - and often lived up to that. Now when a fly ball is hit to LF I at least think, "Yeah, he'll catch that", which is a lot better than holding my breath like I did when we had those those other two defensive clowns out there. Sure, he's got some learning to do about the wall, the scoreboard, and the angles of the ball coming off the wall but IMO he's going to be better than "fine" out there.

 

It has been pretty sick out there.

 

Too bad Young got hurt. He was OK.

 

Here are our LF UZR/150 rankings over recent sampler sizes:

 

2016: 24th (-6.6)

15-16: 22nd (4.5- would have been much worse had HanRam stayed healthy)

14-16: 20th (-2.2)

13-16: 22nd (-4.3)