Red Sox Defensive Gifs
- Thread starter Sprowl
- Start date
A team can't willingly hit what is essentially a pitcher 3+ times every game in the AL. His glove is amazing, but if he doesn't improve as a hitter then a lesser fielder who can hit is of more value.bosockboy said:
JBJ either needs to improve his hitting or his role is going to be 4th OF or worse.
Excellent article by Sam Miller on Baseball Prospectus today about JBJ's defense, in the context of the Best Defensive Game of the Month as determined by Inside-Edge (http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=24635).
The game was the 19 inning loss to the Angels on Aug 9, when JBJ came in for defense in the bottom of the 8th and played 12 innings, going 0-4 and making two spectacular catches along the way. Those two plays (which include the play in the gif just above this post) were determined by Inside-Edge to be "Unlikely" with a 10-40% chance of being made.
Miller writes: "So what have we seen here? We know that, per Inside Edge's categorization, Bradley made about one and a half more plays than an average outfielder would have. You might say he turned his 0-for-4 into a something like a 1.5-for-4, with most of a double. We know they came in very high-leverage situations, and that Bradley's win expectancy for the game goes from -.229 (as a hitter, exclusively) to something like .099 (as a hitter and fielder)."
Miller then shares quotes about JBJ's defense from four writers.
Good stuff, lots of gifs.
The game was the 19 inning loss to the Angels on Aug 9, when JBJ came in for defense in the bottom of the 8th and played 12 innings, going 0-4 and making two spectacular catches along the way. Those two plays (which include the play in the gif just above this post) were determined by Inside-Edge to be "Unlikely" with a 10-40% chance of being made.
Miller writes: "So what have we seen here? We know that, per Inside Edge's categorization, Bradley made about one and a half more plays than an average outfielder would have. You might say he turned his 0-for-4 into a something like a 1.5-for-4, with most of a double. We know they came in very high-leverage situations, and that Bradley's win expectancy for the game goes from -.229 (as a hitter, exclusively) to something like .099 (as a hitter and fielder)."
Miller then shares quotes about JBJ's defense from four writers.
Good stuff, lots of gifs.
Heating up in the bullpen said:
Not often a player comes into a game in the 8th and ends up contributing >0.3 WPA with his glove alone.
Dollar said:
Mookie's catch in CF to lead off the game was pretty great, too (no idea how to make a .gif, sorry).
Didn't notice the first one was Spring Training. Nevermind.
Well this diving catch against the Yankees probably deserves to be here too.Manramsclan said:
edit: fixed. Thanks for the tip.
Your browser does not support iframes.
Just so everyone knows, there are addition options for using the "embed code" on things like this and Vines and stuff under "More Reply Options"--specifically, check "Enable HTML" and you can drop in the code.DGreenwood said:
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M
MentalDisabldLst
Guest
One of the subtle things I love about great defensive plays is that when you watch them several times over, even after you know the outcome, your mind still reels to, "he is not getting to that baseball, it is physically impossible." It makes GIFS such a perfect delivery system for them even if I sort of miss constantly rewinding last week's TWIB VHS.
The thing that strikes me about the Holt play is how quick the release is. Is there someone with more knowledge of defense that can compare it to, say, Xander? Is Holt's quick release exceptional or am I just impressed because it's on a loop in front of me right now?
Brockholt! also had an awesome play on a ball hit over 2nd in the early innings (3rd maybe?). Had a great view of it out in center. Got a wow from me and the one guy next to me paying attention to the game. I have to say, it was a little dissapointing how few Sox fans came out for this one. Only had the home town fans outnumbered by a factor of 2:1. Of course, attendance was under 10K, so we're really not talking about a lot of people in the larger scheme of things.
jschip1 said:
It seems like the key thing is how he manages to get to his feet so that his body is lined up to uncork a strong throw the minute he's up. He doesn't have to get up and then set himself; the getting up and the setting himself are one action. He does this so nimbly that it looks easier than it probably is. (I assume it doesn't hurt to be a small guy.)
Cf. this Bogaerts play on a ball hit to more or less the same spot--Xander gets the result, but it takes him longer to get up, he has to take an extra step to get set, it looks like he ends up rushing the throw a bit to compensate, and compared to the Holt play the whole thing looks a little awkward.
(Disclaimer: I don't know anything about defensive technique other than what I've picked up from watching and listening as a fan. I may be misreading what I'm seeing, and welcome correction.)
There is one announcer color man, Mike Krukow for the Giants, that measures pitcher releases to the plate in steal situations. I remember numbers from 1.1 seconds (fast) to 1.5 (Tim Lincecum, when he was so good he didn't worry about it much). I don't know when in the pitcher's motion he started his stopwatch and when he stopped it. Something similar could be done for shortstops and other infielders, although I've never heard any announcer try to do it. Jose Iglesias must be really fast, one would imagine. Xander is tall for a SS and probably takes longer just because of that, like tall pitchers are generally slower to the plate. Maybe the new SOSH baseball intelligence group could look into this.jschip1 said:
Holt's release, and I assume you a re defining that as the time from when the ball hits his glove until he gets rid of it, is exceptionally quick because he hops up so damn fast. In the second clip that Rev posted, he reminds me a lot of Pedroia in terms of how he pops up off the ground and flings it to first.
Panda's double play in the 9th was another great example of somebody catching the ball and setting himself up to throw all in one motion.
I think Panda's dive is very good support that he should lose 50 pounds if he wants to stay healthy. He looks like an actual Panda doing a belly flop in a pool that has been emptied.
M
MentalDisabldLst
Guest
I'm not sure he appreciated the spin action on the ball; it tailed significantly towards right while in the air. He got a great jump, took an OK route, but his read of it was what made a spectacular play necessary to get the out.
I would think so. He will have more experience reading the spin of the ball off the bat. Looks like he almost overran that one, perhaps not accounting for the fade.
Edit: Or what MentalDisabldLst said...
Edit: Or what MentalDisabldLst said...
Thankfully, he didn't wrench his back (I hope) on the last second twist and catch.
Orsillo made a weak call on Vic's catch but then got excited on Napoli's part in converting the DP. Also, weak call by Orsillo on Vic's HR.
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2015_05_14_bosmlb_seamlb_1&mode=video&content_id=115894283&tcid=vpp_copy_115894283
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2015_05_14_bosmlb_seamlb_1&mode=video&content_id=115825883&tcid=vpp_copy_115825883
Orsillo made a weak call on Vic's catch but then got excited on Napoli's part in converting the DP. Also, weak call by Orsillo on Vic's HR.
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2015_05_14_bosmlb_seamlb_1&mode=video&content_id=115894283&tcid=vpp_copy_115894283
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2015_05_14_bosmlb_seamlb_1&mode=video&content_id=115825883&tcid=vpp_copy_115825883
