May 27, 201511 yr Yeah, the higher minors have good fields by and large. I went hyperbole and a half with that post. But errors are still mostly useless stats even in MLB, much less MiLB.Yes and no. They are very useless in some cases (especially MI when guys with awesome range get punished for getting to tough balls that 90% of players wouldn't even get to and then making bad throws or having it go off a glove etc) I think errors for C, CF, SS, 2B and even LF/RF can be discarded pretty easily. Sano doesn't have great range at 3rd base, so its not hard to figure out where at least some of those "errors" are coming from. I would be curious to find out how many are throwing vs fielding though, if the majority are of the throwing variety, that could be fixed with a major leaguer at first base digging those out.
May 27, 201511 yr Get on a winning streak and lots of players begin to look like All Stars. We do not have a starting pitcher that should be considered a first or second level starter. When Santana gets back we will have one more. If Berrios has a few more quality starts he should be considered for call up. He won't be, of course, because mgmt doesn't to drop one of those $50 million or $30 million stupid contracts they gave away. Hu is also moving to AA very shortly (I pray) and may have better basics than Berrios.As far as Sano, I don't know what they do, but he's such a huge (no pun intended, should have said major) potential talent that neither Plouffe or Mauer can be allowed to stand in his way. We're talking 35-40 HR talent and this just doesn't come around often.Mauer and Plouffe aren't standing in his way. It can't be repeated enough: Nunez and Escobar have been the primary DH over the last week. When that is the case it really goes without saying that NO ONE is blocking Sano currently.
May 27, 201511 yr Yes and no. They are very useless in some cases (especially MI when guys with awesome range get punished for getting to tough balls that 90% of players wouldn't even get to and then making bad throws or having it go off a glove etc) I think errors for C, CF, SS, 2B and even LF/RF can be discarded...I think the idea that greater range leads to more charged errors is a myth, particularly for infielders. It's gotten pretty hard to be charged with an error these days. Nobody is getting charged with an E at the edge of their range. If anything, it's just the opposite...an infielder takes two steps right or left, boots a rather easy play, and 'hit' flashes on the scoreboard. "Not a routine play" says the official scorer. An infielder who ranges far for a ball and doesn't come up with it, or cant make the throw, won't be charged with an E. On the other hand, if he gets to a ball and makes a wild throw, well, he deserves an error, his throw cost his team a base. Errors are a pretty decent way to make one determination about a player's defense. Not the only way, but a good one. Heck, people freak out because they perceive Hunter to have not gotten to a ball or two that they Think someone else might have. Marcus Semien has booted 17 balls at SS for Oakland this year. Which has damaged his team's defense more?
May 27, 201511 yr I think the idea that greater range leads to more charged errors is a myth, particularly for infielders.It's gotten pretty hard to be charged with an error these days. Nobody is getting charged with an E at the edge of their range. If anything, it's just the opposite...an infielder takes two steps right or left, boots a rather easy play, and 'hit' flashes on the scoreboard. "Not a routine play" says the official scorer.An infielder who ranges far for a ball and doesn't come up with it, or cant make the throw, won't be charged with an E. On the other hand, if he gets to a ball and makes a wild throw, well, he deserves an error, his throw cost his team a base.Errors are a pretty decent way to make one determination about a player's defense. Not the only way, but a good one. Heck, people freak out because they perceive Hunter to have not gotten to a ball or two that they Think someone else might have. Marcus Semien has booted 17 balls at SS for Oakland this year. Which has damaged his team's defense more? Manny Machado is also a great example of this.
May 28, 201511 yr Mauer and Plouffe aren't standing in his way. It can't be repeated enough: Nunez and Escobar have been the primary DH over the last week. When that is the case it really goes without saying that NO ONE is blocking Sano currently. On the roster no but the team will have to decide what to do with Vargas. If Mauer isn't standing in the way right know it's looking more and more like he will soon enough.
May 28, 201511 yr If Panda can play third base, I refuse to worry about Sano. Things will sort themselves out; depends on if the team remains in contention. I vote they do, which means Plouffe stays and Sano waits until September.
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