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Oh, yeah, OF defense is important. I've been big on OF defense since the late 1980's, when Bill James "invented" what he called DER, "Defensive Efficiency Rating," and stated that it correlated most with speed in the OF.
I just don't jibe with the way the pendulum has swung so far these days, in which Endy Chavez is deemed to be worth more than Adam Dunn or Bobby Abreu. When backup fringe players are valued more highly than HOF candidates like Abreu, we've got a wire shorted out.
But sure. I like OF defense, and it has helped the run prevention.