Grady's Glove (Split out)

dbn

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teddywingman said:
I think it's a big stretch to call Sizemore more-than-competent in CF.
 
Is that true? I'm asking seriously because I haven't seen any poor play in the field from him. I have missed a couple of games, and during others I'm not paying attention to every AB, so it seems I might be missing something.
 

alwyn96

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dbn said:
 
Is that true? I'm asking seriously because I haven't seen any poor play in the field from him. I have missed a couple of games, and during others I'm not paying attention to every AB, so it seems I might be missing something.
 
Sizemore misjudged a popup last night that led to several runs. I'm guessing that's part of why he's not in there tonight. 
 

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alwyn96 said:
 
Sizemore misjudged a popup last night that led to several runs. I'm guessing that's part of why he's not in there tonight.
JF may indeed be concerned with Sizemore's play in the field but Farrell has been clear that he's going to rest Sizemore and did not start him Sunday during the day after the Saturday night game.  Sizemore could have played the OF perfectly last night and still been on the bench today given the faster than normal turnaround caused by the 4:05 PM start. 
 

dbn

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Thanks alwyn96, MakMan44 and teddywingman. I indeed missed most of those plays (my internet starting crapping out at about the same time as Doubront last night).
 
That's disappointing for sure, but having two other OFs who can play CF (when Vic gets healthy) - and at least one of them is fantastic with the glove - mitigates that problem quite a bit. Hopefully it is rust, as MakMan44 suggests as a possibility. I did not miss the recent plays where Bradley got great jumps on balls hard hit to the RF corner that he gracefully ran under to make a very difficult play look routine.
 
Link
 

alwyn96

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teddywingman said:
As I posted in the other thread--before this was split out:
Grady looks like he's lost a step or two and maybe doesn't have CF speed anymore.
 
On a team that doesn't have an excellent defensive CF in Bradley on the roster I think you give Sizemore a little more time to work the rust out. If his bat is for real then he's still a net positive out there, even as a mediocre or slightly below average defensive CF. But with Bradley on the team, it's tough not to play that glove. I imagine (and hope) Sizemore will be taking a lot of practice reps shagging popups and at-em fly balls for the next few days. 
 

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dbn said:
Thanks alwyn96, MakMan44 and teddywingman. I indeed missed most of those plays (my internet starting crapping out at about the same time as Doubront last night).
 
That's disappointing for sure, but having two other OFs who can play CF (when Vic gets healthy) - and at least one of them is fantastic with the glove - mitigates that problem quite a bit. Hopefully it is rust, as MakMan44 suggests as a possibility. I did not miss the recent plays where Bradley got great jumps on balls hard hit to the RF corner that he gracefully ran under to make a very difficult play look routine.
 
Link
 
It eventually becomes an issue if it is revealed that Sizemore is a below average defensive CF. If he is limited to LF, coupled with the injury/durability questions, the calculus changes somewhat in terms of his value and usefulness to this club. There's a good chance it's just rust and a small sample size, but it is something to observe closely between now and Victorino's return.
 

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It's not just that he may have lost a step in foot speed, but that he seems to be getting really, really late jumps on the ball. He seems to be having trouble tracking it off the bat and the other night, even broke the wrong way after giving it a long look. I'm wondering where SouthernSoxFan is--this late jump thing has been driving him nuts.
 
Is reading the ball something he can redevelop after his long leave of absence from baseball? I have no idea, and has been noted elsewhere, there aren't a lot of comps.
 

Eck'sSneakyCheese

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Reverend said:
It's not just that he may have lost a step in foot speed, but that he seems to be getting really, really late jumps on the ball. He seems to be having trouble tracking it off the bat and the other night, even broke the wrong way after giving it a long look. I'm wondering where SouthernSoxFan is--this late jump thing has been driving him nuts.
 
Is reading the ball something he can redevelop after his long leave of absence from baseball? I have no idea, and has been noted elsewhere, there aren't a lot of comps.
 
I mentioned the same thing in the game thread, that he just looks rusty out there and may need some more time. He's stealing bases and looks quick. Obviously not Ells quick, but decent speed so I'm not sure if he's lost that much speed wise.
 
I have no idea if he can redevelop this skill, I'm hoping he just needs some time.
 

alwyn96

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Reverend said:
It's not just that he may have lost a step in foot speed, but that he seems to be getting really, really late jumps on the ball. He seems to be having trouble tracking it off the bat and the other night, even broke the wrong way after giving it a long look. I'm wondering where SouthernSoxFan is--this late jump thing has been driving him nuts.
 
Is reading the ball something he can redevelop after his long leave of absence from baseball? I have no idea, and has been noted elsewhere, there aren't a lot of comps.
 
It seems like getting a read off the bat wouldn't be something that would break down as you age. I think that's more instinct than anything else. The problem would be if Sizemore has never gotten great reads, but before he had the speed to make up for it and now he doesn't. I'm hopeful that he can redevelop his instincts, but it's hard to say how long that might take or when to say enough's enough. It doesn't help Sizemore to compare him to Bradley, who has very good CF instincts and gets fantastic reads. 
 

absintheofmalaise

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alwyn96 said:
 
It seems like getting a read off the bat wouldn't be something that would break down as you age. I think that's more instinct than anything else. The problem would be if Sizemore has never gotten great reads, but before he had the speed to make up for it and now he doesn't. I'm hopeful that he can redevelop his instincts, but it's hard to say how long that might take or when to say enough's enough. It doesn't help Sizemore to compare him to Bradley, who has very good CF instincts and gets fantastic reads. 
No, but reading the ball off the bat is something that you would need to relearn after being out of baseball for 2 years. I'm voting for rust more than anything else. He probably has lost a step, but I do think he will get better at reading the ball off the bat.