Check out the mayor of Cincinnati throwing out the first pitch. Thanks to loyal reader Gayle for pointing this out to us.
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on Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007 at 5:25 pm by Peter Abraham.
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Some people will go to the closest MLB stadium just to catch live baseball if they don’t live near their own team’s ballpark.
Cincy is the closest club to where I live – does anybody need any explanation now why I prefer to stay at home in Lexington, KY and watch the Astros’ Class A club instead?
Is that Erkel throwing the ball? Did Marion Barry give him crack before he threw that pitch? Cause he obviously didn’t see Eric Davis. I like the way he makes it seem as if he hadn’t warmed up his arm after he threw the ball.
“Cincy is the closest club to where I live – does anybody need any explanation now why I prefer to stay at home in Lexington, KY and watch the Astros’ Class A club instead?”
You don’t go to Reds games because the mayor of Cincinnati can’t throw?
Wolf,
Not to change the subject, but… What’s the ballpark like in Lexington? New/old? I’ve been to every current and many past Minor League stadiums in New York State and once did a paper on WPA stadiums built during the Depression. When the Astros A team was in Auburn, NY, I saw them play. Do you know any baseball history about Lexington?
First off – R.B., my bad. Obviously I’m a little touchy today.
Todd – the ballpark here was built brand new for the team’s arrival(Lexington Legends, inaugural season:2001). I’ve only been to a small handful of Milb parks, so I can’t really measure it too well against others. I like it pretty well, though. Clean, fan-friendly, nice amenities, great team owner, fun promtions, etc. One of the best things that’s happened to Lexington, with us being such a college basketball town. Royals C John Buck came from that first team, as well as Cincy P Kirk Saarloos and INF Felix Escalona (who was with Columus/NY for a few years and was called up to the bigs a couple times with the Yanks). Anyway – you can check out the team website at http://www.lexingtonlegends.com if you like. As far as baseball history goes in Lexington, we had a negro league team, he Lexington Hustlers, back in 1947 – which supposedly became the first integrated team in the south a few years later. I don’t know much more than that, but I’m curious now myself to delve into it a little deeper.
Oh, BTW – Yankee fans will want to root for us to get a good coach to replace Tubby Smith here; every time UK has won an NCAA BB title, the Yanks have won the WS the same year. ;^)
Oh, and Clemens pitched here in Lexington last year to prep for his return to Houston. That was freaking surreal. His son Koby was on the team last year and returns again – at least for the start of the season, thanks to his whopping .229 BA last year.
Hey Todd, if you’re into minor league ballparks, try taking a trip sometime down to Virginia and North Carolina … I used to live down there and there are some tremendous parks down there, both new and old … Norfolk, Lynchburg, Salem and Pulaski in Virginia, and Durham, Asheville, Kinston, Wilson, Edenton and Zebulon in North Carolina are all must-sees. (The old stadium in Greensboro may have been the most interesting of them all, but the pros stopped using it a few years ago ).
The thing I don’t get about this is why no one knew he was that bad at throwing a baseball in the first place? In this day and age, political handlers are duty bound to protect their politicians from hideous public displays of ineptitude like that. Didn’t he take a bunch of warm up tosses? The other thing is, why didn’t he tell someone he can’t throw a baseball?
“Hey, Mr. Mayor. Would you like to throw out the first pitch this season?”
“Uh. I throw like a 4 year old. I’d rather sit in the box seats and feast on that big buffet. I’ll shake hands and smile and pose for pictures, but I shouldn’t be anywhere near an athletic field.”
R.B.,
Thanks for the Minor League ballpark tips. That sounds like a nice trip through Virginia and North Carolina. Something I could do by bus just like the ballplayers. Cool.
So he was asked what were his opening day impressions. Yanks win, Schilling..their NO 1 starter got bombed by the worst team in the AL…so you’d think he would talk about that? No mention of that. He starts picking apart the Yankee defense…becaue errors on day one are automatically a sign of a terrible defense. He basically said the Yanks are in BIG TROUBLE because Jeter, Arod, Matsui and Phelps are all HACKS! Apparently he doesn’t think Schilling getting bombed by the Royals is a big deal. RSN ESPN is at full strength boys.
The Star Ledger story yesterday was also about how HORRENDOUS the Yankees’ defense is, and that they are on shaky ground because of it. Again, citing how the Golden Gloves Jeter has are popularity prizes.
I have a couple of thoughts here. First, the Yankees winning is not news; the Yankees losing is. Therefore, I think the slant that most NY writers will mostly take this year is going to be negative. Sheesh, you’d think it would be a good thing that a local team consistently wins. Not in this neighborhood.
Second, I’m getting sick and tired of how writers will on the one hand praise anyone who is NOT on the Yankees team who has earned Gold Gloves, and how the Yankees should go after those players, and then on the other hand say that Jeter’s Gold Gloves mean nothing. (I myself feel that the first Gold Glove a player earns is the most valid, and then after that you basically have to dis-earn it or someone has to be really fabulous to take it away from you.)
Third, one game does not a season make. The Yanks played shoddy defense in the beginning of game one. The Yankees do not have the best defense in the world, but they usually do a much better job. Do I wish the Yankees had a better defensive team? Certainly. Do I think they’re horrible? No. But most of the time they do they job.
Chris NY—I think so. Otherwise, how did CMW get all those double plays last season?
Star Ledger guy also said Jeter has no range and it’s obvious to anyone who sees Jeter play “in person” every day. A question: If a guy positions himself well in the first place, wouldn’t he not have to move so far out of position to get to a ball? And, two, aren’t there times, when even when you position yourself, the hitter doesn’t hit it where you think he was going to?
Is it me or does it seem that the Yankees scouts missed the boat on first base. They took 5 years to realize that Giambi is not a first baseman and is nothing but a liability in the field. They disrespected Tino not once but twice by bringing in this useless player. they had enough sense to get him back but then decided that Philips was so good they didn’t need him. From day one you could see he wasn’t anywhere near as much of a talent as Tino. Now he didn’t even make the team. It is time to realize that Giambi was a bigger mistake than Rodriguez. You now have to use two roster spots in addition to Giambi. Wake up Yankees!
Big_Tonys—
Unfortunately, there’s not much they can do to address this until Giambi’s contract is up. It’s clear to me the Yankees are biding their time until then.
But offensively, Giambi is a force and a very, very valuable member of this team. If he doesn’t hurt his wrist last season, an argument could be made that he may have challenged for the league MVP.
And I think the Yankees believed they would get more offense out of Phillips than Tino. At one point last season it looked like they might have been right, but then it turned sour.
The whenever the Yankees replace an offensively strong player with a defensively strong player, you hear very, very loud complaints about how you can’t sacrifice offense for defense (as in Doug Mientkiewicz, anyone?). It seems no matter what they do, the Yankees are open to all kinds of criticism.
I’m not concerned about Jeter’s defense. Jeter used to be dramatically overrated defensively, but he improved just as dramatically and has been a good fielding shortstop for the last two years. (That’s a funny thing about Jeter, he often seems to get better each year in one way or another.)
I haven’t read the Star Ledger article, but I wonder how it supports the argument that Jeter can’t field aside from generalities like “if you watch him you can see he lacks range.” Those arguments are worthless in supporting his GG candidacy, and they’re just as bad to argue that he’s a lousy shortstop. The numbers certainly don’t say that (11 FRAA in 2005, 7 FRAA in 2006).
I am concerned about ARod’s defense. Whereas Jeter’s getting better at short, ARod is getting worse at third, to the point where his defense last year was a significant liability. His “moron” play didn’t boost my confidence in him.
I think some writers are giving Phelps a hard time just because he’s a no-name who made an error. There’s no reason to think he’s anything more or less than an average first baseman.
The fact is, the Yankees have had bad infield defense for years, but it’s never really been the focus of much attention until an opening day where there were 3 infield errors. The Yankees are not a great defensive team, or maybe even a good one, but they are a good pitching team and a best-in-baseball hitting team, and those strengths are far more important than their defensive weaknesses.
And Gold Gloves, by the way, are totally meaningless. Rafael Palmeiro proved that conclusively.
Jeremy, the article gave no statistical support for its claim about Jeter, just anecdotal.
I agree that A-Rod is more problematic, because it seems like the more he thinks about NOT making errors, the more apt he is to do so. He overthinks everything. (I understand that particular affliction, I’m guilty of it a lot, too – it’s paralyzing at times.) But I’m optimistic we won’t be seeing a replay of last year’s meltdown defensively.
As an aside, it doesn’t help the Yankees in the sportspages when the Mets are making 7 double plays in 2 games!
On a daily basis, no team will field better athletes than the Devil Rays, who will win their share of games simply because they will challenge—and often beat—defenses. On Opening Day, Tampa Bay kept putting pressure on the Yankees’ outfielders, and in particular, exposed the fact that Hideki Matsui’s arm has become a serious liability. Part of the reason there is virtually zero chance the Yankees will bring back Bernie Williams (only a direct order from George Steinbrenner would make this happen) is because the team can’t afford to carry any more subpar defensive outfielders.
Most catchers seem to hit a wall at about age 33, but even at 35, Jorge Posada looks like he’ll be around a while longer.[/quote]
Jeremy – Mientkiewicz may or may not actually BE a strong defensive 1B, but the Yankees brought him in, supposedly, because he was strongER defensively than Giambi. He was not brought on for offense.
Lori – I don’t think anyone’s being trashed here. Just a discussion on a weakness the Yankees have. I do think the general media, however, is taking this one game as an opportunity to “expose” how “bad” the Yankees are.
Breaking News – Today’s game – Yankees vs. D-Rays rained out
FROM NEWSDAY.com
Today’s Yankees-Devil Rays game at Yankee Stadium, scheduled for a 1 p.m. start, has been postponed due to rain. No makeup date has been announced [/QUOTE]
Yeah, I just went to the weather channel website to see what the hourly forecast is. Awful. Rain and thunderstorms all afternoon. I guess it’s better if they don’t start at all rather than start and stop and risk injuries.
Doreen
April 4th, 2007 at 9:51 am
Chris NY—I think so. Otherwise, how did CMW get all those double plays last season?
I agree, I just added “well” to your statement saying they usually get the job done.
To all: I have heard the arguments about Jeter’s lack of range before, and I guess I can’t disagree even though I don’t see it with my ignorant eye… but I wonder this – how can someone with his speed and athleticism have bad range? Is this not something that he can (and maybe has already?) improve on? Is it bad positioning? Slow reaction…? and if his range is so bad, how is he so often in center field or in the seats on both sides of the field making plays? I’ve heard it’s just his range to the left that’s the issue, is this only on ground balls?
“and if his range is so bad, how is he so often in center field or in the seats on both sides of the field making plays? I’ve heard it’s just his range to the left that’s the issue, is this only on ground balls?”
the haters are probably only refering to hard hit ground balls. i’m sure he’s made some sick throws from shallow left that make up for the supposed range that he’s missing…
exactly. the only thing I could see is if it’s a reflex thing. he’s taller than the avg ss (I assume, but probably a pretty safe assumption….), he’s got good speed and quickness (shown in his hitting abilities and base running abilities), he’s a great athlete (shown by many, many plays, jump throws, etc…), so how does any of that translate to a guy with no range to his left? and I can’t see it being a positioning thing, he’s too smart a player to be out of position all the time. he actually seems to be in the right place at the right time more often than not.
and I’d add shallow center and right to those sick throws too. remember the catch over his shoulder and over cano? Looked like a Jerry Rice diving in the end zone.
That was god damn terrible. Rick Ankiel comes to mind…
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Thoughts and discussion on the 26-time World Champion Yankees.
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Peter Abraham
He still had better command than Schilling did yesterday.
That is quite possibly the worst throw of a baseball in the history of mankind.
look at that control!
My cat can throw a ball better than that.
Some people will go to the closest MLB stadium just to catch live baseball if they don’t live near their own team’s ballpark.
Cincy is the closest club to where I live – does anybody need any explanation now why I prefer to stay at home in Lexington, KY and watch the Astros’ Class A club instead?
Is that Erkel throwing the ball? Did Marion Barry give him crack before he threw that pitch? Cause he obviously didn’t see Eric Davis. I like the way he makes it seem as if he hadn’t warmed up his arm after he threw the ball.
wow the next Pedro.
“Cincy is the closest club to where I live – does anybody need any explanation now why I prefer to stay at home in Lexington, KY and watch the Astros’ Class A club instead?”
You don’t go to Reds games because the mayor of Cincinnati can’t throw?
At least Eric Davis didn’t get hurt diving for it.
“You don’t go to Reds games because the mayor of Cincinnati can’t throw?”
Why yes, R.B. – that’s why I don’t go to Reds games.
It was a joke. Geez.
I was being facetious myself, in case you didn’t catch it, which you obviously didn’t.
Wolf,
Not to change the subject, but… What’s the ballpark like in Lexington? New/old? I’ve been to every current and many past Minor League stadiums in New York State and once did a paper on WPA stadiums built during the Depression. When the Astros A team was in Auburn, NY, I saw them play. Do you know any baseball history about Lexington?
my best part is that… and this is my own speculation… that he didn’t quite understand the umpire’s gesture.
it appears as if the mayor thinks the ump was doing some sort of Arsenio Hall impression. Look at his reaction when the ump mock-tosses him.
that’s what cracks me up.
great stuff.
The sad part is he is better than the bottom 3 of the Reds rotation.
How do you even throw a ball that badly? LOL
First off – R.B., my bad. Obviously I’m a little touchy today.
Todd – the ballpark here was built brand new for the team’s arrival(Lexington Legends, inaugural season:2001). I’ve only been to a small handful of Milb parks, so I can’t really measure it too well against others. I like it pretty well, though. Clean, fan-friendly, nice amenities, great team owner, fun promtions, etc. One of the best things that’s happened to Lexington, with us being such a college basketball town. Royals C John Buck came from that first team, as well as Cincy P Kirk Saarloos and INF Felix Escalona (who was with Columus/NY for a few years and was called up to the bigs a couple times with the Yanks). Anyway – you can check out the team website at http://www.lexingtonlegends.com if you like. As far as baseball history goes in Lexington, we had a negro league team, he Lexington Hustlers, back in 1947 – which supposedly became the first integrated team in the south a few years later. I don’t know much more than that, but I’m curious now myself to delve into it a little deeper.
Oh, BTW – Yankee fans will want to root for us to get a good coach to replace Tubby Smith here; every time UK has won an NCAA BB title, the Yanks have won the WS the same year. ;^)
Oh, and Clemens pitched here in Lexington last year to prep for his return to Houston. That was freaking surreal. His son Koby was on the team last year and returns again – at least for the start of the season, thanks to his whopping .229 BA last year.
He can automatically play centerfield for us.
Wolf,
Thanks for the information. Minor League Baseball is a lot of fun.
I think Marion Barry would have thrown a strike and hit 95 on the gun
Think…..Gooden…
Where’s Bob Euker when you need him? “Jussstttt…a bit outside!”
Or…I could just read the title of the blog and not sound like a moron….oh well, my bad
Hey Todd, if you’re into minor league ballparks, try taking a trip sometime down to Virginia and North Carolina … I used to live down there and there are some tremendous parks down there, both new and old … Norfolk, Lynchburg, Salem and Pulaski in Virginia, and Durham, Asheville, Kinston, Wilson, Edenton and Zebulon in North Carolina are all must-sees. (The old stadium in Greensboro may have been the most interesting of them all, but the pros stopped using it a few years ago
).
The thing I don’t get about this is why no one knew he was that bad at throwing a baseball in the first place? In this day and age, political handlers are duty bound to protect their politicians from hideous public displays of ineptitude like that. Didn’t he take a bunch of warm up tosses? The other thing is, why didn’t he tell someone he can’t throw a baseball?
“Hey, Mr. Mayor. Would you like to throw out the first pitch this season?”
“Uh. I throw like a 4 year old. I’d rather sit in the box seats and feast on that big buffet. I’ll shake hands and smile and pose for pictures, but I shouldn’t be anywhere near an athletic field.”
LOL, Davis was so disgusted he didn’t even shake his hand
BTW, thanks for sharing that Gayle – definitely good for a laugh.
Maybe he was trying to hit the mascot…you know…to scare people.
I just read on Yahoo Sports that the Nationals just signed him to be their fourth starter….he pitches on Friday.
I think that Nationals thing really may be true.
Was that Rick Ankiel?
So stop pretending to switch throw—use your good arm!:D
Oh, and there’s another good one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eDzJ_K9i_0
He was obviously getting squeezed ;o)
R.B.,
Thanks for the Minor League ballpark tips. That sounds like a nice trip through Virginia and North Carolina. Something I could do by bus just like the ballplayers. Cool.
Onley today
So he was asked what were his opening day impressions. Yanks win, Schilling..their NO 1 starter got bombed by the worst team in the AL…so you’d think he would talk about that? No mention of that. He starts picking apart the Yankee defense…becaue errors on day one are automatically a sign of a terrible defense. He basically said the Yanks are in BIG TROUBLE because Jeter, Arod, Matsui and Phelps are all HACKS! Apparently he doesn’t think Schilling getting bombed by the Royals is a big deal. RSN ESPN is at full strength boys.
Anybody here about today’s game being rained out?
why would it be rained out at 9:40 in the morning? Is there a hurricane I haven’t heard about?
Olney also said:
“K-Rod and Rivera are (in 2007) relative equals”
Moron. Scouts are saying Mo’ looks as good as ever. K-Rod is no Mo’ no matter how good he is.
talkin-baseball,
The Star Ledger story yesterday was also about how HORRENDOUS the Yankees’ defense is, and that they are on shaky ground because of it. Again, citing how the Golden Gloves Jeter has are popularity prizes.
I have a couple of thoughts here. First, the Yankees winning is not news; the Yankees losing is. Therefore, I think the slant that most NY writers will mostly take this year is going to be negative. Sheesh, you’d think it would be a good thing that a local team consistently wins. Not in this neighborhood.
Second, I’m getting sick and tired of how writers will on the one hand praise anyone who is NOT on the Yankees team who has earned Gold Gloves, and how the Yankees should go after those players, and then on the other hand say that Jeter’s Gold Gloves mean nothing. (I myself feel that the first Gold Glove a player earns is the most valid, and then after that you basically have to dis-earn it or someone has to be really fabulous to take it away from you.)
Third, one game does not a season make. The Yanks played shoddy defense in the beginning of game one. The Yankees do not have the best defense in the world, but they usually do a much better job. Do I wish the Yankees had a better defensive team? Certainly. Do I think they’re horrible? No. But most of the time they do they job.
“they do THE job.” Oops.
Most of the time they do the job well.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Melky back in left though. Unfortunately, we already have a full-time DH, no where to put Matsui.
Chris NY—I think so. Otherwise, how did CMW get all those double plays last season?
Star Ledger guy also said Jeter has no range and it’s obvious to anyone who sees Jeter play “in person” every day. A question: If a guy positions himself well in the first place, wouldn’t he not have to move so far out of position to get to a ball? And, two, aren’t there times, when even when you position yourself, the hitter doesn’t hit it where you think he was going to?
Yeah, Melky definitely has the better arm in left. But, what are ya gonna do?
Is it me or does it seem that the Yankees scouts missed the boat on first base. They took 5 years to realize that Giambi is not a first baseman and is nothing but a liability in the field. They disrespected Tino not once but twice by bringing in this useless player. they had enough sense to get him back but then decided that Philips was so good they didn’t need him. From day one you could see he wasn’t anywhere near as much of a talent as Tino. Now he didn’t even make the team. It is time to realize that Giambi was a bigger mistake than Rodriguez. You now have to use two roster spots in addition to Giambi. Wake up Yankees!
Big_Tonys—
Unfortunately, there’s not much they can do to address this until Giambi’s contract is up. It’s clear to me the Yankees are biding their time until then.
But offensively, Giambi is a force and a very, very valuable member of this team. If he doesn’t hurt his wrist last season, an argument could be made that he may have challenged for the league MVP.
And I think the Yankees believed they would get more offense out of Phillips than Tino. At one point last season it looked like they might have been right, but then it turned sour.
Another thing to consider:
The whenever the Yankees replace an offensively strong player with a defensively strong player, you hear very, very loud complaints about how you can’t sacrifice offense for defense (as in Doug Mientkiewicz, anyone?). It seems no matter what they do, the Yankees are open to all kinds of criticism.
I’m not concerned about Jeter’s defense. Jeter used to be dramatically overrated defensively, but he improved just as dramatically and has been a good fielding shortstop for the last two years. (That’s a funny thing about Jeter, he often seems to get better each year in one way or another.)
I haven’t read the Star Ledger article, but I wonder how it supports the argument that Jeter can’t field aside from generalities like “if you watch him you can see he lacks range.” Those arguments are worthless in supporting his GG candidacy, and they’re just as bad to argue that he’s a lousy shortstop. The numbers certainly don’t say that (11 FRAA in 2005, 7 FRAA in 2006).
I am concerned about ARod’s defense. Whereas Jeter’s getting better at short, ARod is getting worse at third, to the point where his defense last year was a significant liability. His “moron” play didn’t boost my confidence in him.
I think some writers are giving Phelps a hard time just because he’s a no-name who made an error. There’s no reason to think he’s anything more or less than an average first baseman.
The fact is, the Yankees have had bad infield defense for years, but it’s never really been the focus of much attention until an opening day where there were 3 infield errors. The Yankees are not a great defensive team, or maybe even a good one, but they are a good pitching team and a best-in-baseball hitting team, and those strengths are far more important than their defensive weaknesses.
And Gold Gloves, by the way, are totally meaningless. Rafael Palmeiro proved that conclusively.
Doreen,
Mientkiewicz is not a defensively strong player.
giambi looks like a better hitter than he has if a few years.
Come on – it’s been ONE game. And they WON. Let’s at least see what happens the rest of the week before we start trashing these guys.
Jeremy, the article gave no statistical support for its claim about Jeter, just anecdotal.
I agree that A-Rod is more problematic, because it seems like the more he thinks about NOT making errors, the more apt he is to do so. He overthinks everything. (I understand that particular affliction, I’m guilty of it a lot, too – it’s paralyzing at times.) But I’m optimistic we won’t be seeing a replay of last year’s meltdown defensively.
As an aside, it doesn’t help the Yankees in the sportspages when the Mets are making 7 double plays in 2 games!
From Buster Olney Espn Today Blog
http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=olney_buster
[quote]
On a daily basis, no team will field better athletes than the Devil Rays, who will win their share of games simply because they will challenge—and often beat—defenses. On Opening Day, Tampa Bay kept putting pressure on the Yankees’ outfielders, and in particular, exposed the fact that Hideki Matsui’s arm has become a serious liability. Part of the reason there is virtually zero chance the Yankees will bring back Bernie Williams (only a direct order from George Steinbrenner would make this happen) is because the team can’t afford to carry any more subpar defensive outfielders.
Most catchers seem to hit a wall at about age 33, but even at 35, Jorge Posada looks like he’ll be around a while longer.[/quote]
Doreen,
Re: the Ledger, how silly – I bet the Ledger also ran articles saying that Jeter should have been the MVP last season!
Yes, because he brings so many “intangibles” to the game!
Jeremy – Mientkiewicz may or may not actually BE a strong defensive 1B, but the Yankees brought him in, supposedly, because he was strongER defensively than Giambi. He was not brought on for offense.
Lori – I don’t think anyone’s being trashed here. Just a discussion on a weakness the Yankees have. I do think the general media, however, is taking this one game as an opportunity to “expose” how “bad” the Yankees are.
Breaking News – Today’s game – Yankees vs. D-Rays rained out
FROM NEWSDAY.com
Today’s Yankees-Devil Rays game at Yankee Stadium, scheduled for a 1 p.m. start, has been postponed due to rain. No makeup date has been announced [/QUOTE]
Yeah, I just went to the weather channel website to see what the hourly forecast is. Awful. Rain and thunderstorms all afternoon. I guess it’s better if they don’t start at all rather than start and stop and risk injuries.
Well, it’s 11am and they just announced today’s game has been postponed. Guess I have to stay at the office now.
So much for Mike Mussina’s schedule
Doreen
April 4th, 2007 at 9:51 am
Chris NY—I think so. Otherwise, how did CMW get all those double plays last season?
I agree, I just added “well” to your statement saying they usually get the job done.
To all: I have heard the arguments about Jeter’s lack of range before, and I guess I can’t disagree even though I don’t see it with my ignorant eye… but I wonder this – how can someone with his speed and athleticism have bad range? Is this not something that he can (and maybe has already?) improve on? Is it bad positioning? Slow reaction…? and if his range is so bad, how is he so often in center field or in the seats on both sides of the field making plays? I’ve heard it’s just his range to the left that’s the issue, is this only on ground balls?
Chris NY—I was agreeing with you—I should have added “too” to my statement.
“and if his range is so bad, how is he so often in center field or in the seats on both sides of the field making plays? I’ve heard it’s just his range to the left that’s the issue, is this only on ground balls?”
the haters are probably only refering to hard hit ground balls. i’m sure he’s made some sick throws from shallow left that make up for the supposed range that he’s missing…
exactly. the only thing I could see is if it’s a reflex thing. he’s taller than the avg ss (I assume, but probably a pretty safe assumption….), he’s got good speed and quickness (shown in his hitting abilities and base running abilities), he’s a great athlete (shown by many, many plays, jump throws, etc…), so how does any of that translate to a guy with no range to his left? and I can’t see it being a positioning thing, he’s too smart a player to be out of position all the time. he actually seems to be in the right place at the right time more often than not.
and I’d add shallow center and right to those sick throws too. remember the catch over his shoulder and over cano? Looked like a Jerry Rice diving in the end zone.
That was god damn terrible. Rick Ankiel comes to mind…