He has experience there (primarily a 3B in the minors, still had a bad .935 fielding %). In the majors? A better fielder (.967). How do all these bad, slow 3B keep getting better in the majors? Is it because they get comfortable? Because the have better teaching?
Because the pitching is better so guys aren't hammering slop pitches at 110 MPH back at the third baseman?
Whatever it is, the contending teams don't seem to care as much. They want the lumber and they'll deal with the gloves. Will it cost them in a Bill Buckner moment when it counts?
Maybe. But ya gotta get to the bracket before bad D can cost you a series.
Boston, Detroit (with Miggy Cabrera), LAAAAA...if they have a bat that can fit at 3rd they're making it fit. Because you can never have too much offense...
And defense is over-rated.
I thought we would have proven that with our all-D, no-hit (and therefore worthless) lineups.
Your pitcher is your defense. If you have pitch-to-contact guys then defense becomes more important. If the only function of the guys behind the pitcher is to catch lazy flies or fling 3-hopped grounders to 1st base, then you can drop the importance of the glove.
Nick Franklin was kicking the ball all over the field the other day. What did Hultzen do with the bases loaded from a couple of errors?
He struck out 2 guys and walked off the mound.
Who needs fielders? The biggest weapon against hitters is on the mound.
Catricala will have to hit well and often if his glove is a stone, but I just don't see it as that. ML average fielding at 3rd is what, .955 or so? Vinnie just needs to stay within shouting distance of that.
Because the teams in the AL that we'll be fighting with for playoff slots have no problem dropping that 3B fielding average in order to increase the positional contributions offensively, and we'd better find a way to follow suit.
~G
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