So, JBJ Didn't Win The GG This Year.

[soxhop411]

“@brianmacp: Even with his offensive struggles and late-season demotion, Jackie Bradley Jr. is a Gold Glove finalist. So too are Pedroia, Cespedes.”

https://twitter.com/brianmacp/status/525337448549982209

https://twitter.com/brianmacp/status/525337448549982209

link to tweet

 

[HomeRunBaker]

If Cespedes wins a Gold Glove you simply cannot overlook Jeter for SS.

Holy bejesus.

 

[TomRicardo]

If Cespedes wins a Gold Glove you simply cannot overlook Jeter for SS.

Holy bejesus.

 
 
Cepesdes has above average range for LF and an amazing arm.  Jeter has almost no range and a crappy arm.  So ... FAIL?

 

[bellowthecat]

Cespedes graded positively in LF by UZR this year, good for a 10.1 UZR (14 UZR/150).  How does a man like Cespedes earn such a grade?  Through his arm.  His 3 UZR components:
 
ARM = 12.4
RngR = -1.0
ErrR = -1.3
 
He is actually 3rd in LF innings by UZR too, just behind Yelich and way behind Gordon.
 
His Inside Edge fielding numbers show that he seldom makes errors on routine balls, but doesn't get to much outside of what they deem the 60-100% likelihood.
 
Anyway, regardless of how he actually performed in the outfield this year, since when are the GG awards actually about defensive performance?  And why do we keep getting annoyed every year when the same thing happens again?  Sure they've gotten somewhat better over the years, but it's still a bunch of coaches voting on players they hardly ever see play.

 

[ToeKneeArmAss]

Do the nominators not watch baseball? Didn't they see Cespedes running around the outfield chasing all those balls he let get by him? You could make a highlight reel of those and use "Yakity Sax" as the musical score.

Range and a cannon don't mean as much when you can't put your glove on the ball.

 

[Rovin Romine]

Do the nominators not watch baseball? Didn't they see Cespedes running around the outfield chasing all those balls he let get by him? You could make a highlight reel of those and use "Yakity Sax" as the musical score.

Range and a cannon don't mean as much when you can't put your glove on the ball.

 
Give up a double one day, gun down a man at second the next - it's a wash.

 

[Harry Hooper]

Do the nominators not watch baseball? Didn't they see Cespedes running around the outfield chasing all those balls he let get by him? You could make a highlight reel of those and use "Yakity Sax" as the musical score.

Range and a cannon don't mean as much when you can't put your glove on the ball.

 
 
They watch the highlights on ESPN and MLB Network. Cespedes looks great there as his misplays seldom get shown. Reggie Jackson could be a Gold Glove contender these days.

 

[HriniakPosterChild]

They watch the highlights on ESPN and MLB Network. Cespedes looks great there as his misplays seldom get shown. Reggie Jackson could be a Gold Glove contender these days.

 
These days? Have we forgotten Palmeiro's 1999 gold glove season, during which he made 128 starts as DH?

 

[Savin Hillbilly]

 
 
These days? Have we forgotten Palmeiro's 1999 gold glove season, during which he made 128 starts as DH?
 

 
Yeah, as bad as it still is, it has definitely gotten better.

 

[judyb]

If each voter votes for one player at each position, and they're not allowed to vote for their own players, wouldn't it at least be possible that some of the finalists only got a few votes?

 

[HomeRunBaker]

[QUOTE="Hriniak]
 
These days? Have we forgotten Palmeiro's 1999 gold glove season, during which he made 128 starts as DH?
[/QUOTE]
Yeah but you shoulda seen him in those other 34!

I recall the Roberto Petagine binkys who pointed to his offensive peripherals while stressing his "defense" based on 3 Gold Gloves in Japan. Come to find out he struggled catching baseballs and fielding grounders. It was like expecting Enrico Palazzo and getting Frank Drebin.

 

[Harry Hooper]

 
 
These days? Have we forgotten Palmeiro's 1999 gold glove season, during which he made 128 starts as DH?
 

 
Did he make any errors in those 128 starts? C'mon.
 
Yes, the voting overall is probably better these days, but my comment was directed toward the outsized impact of selective video editing in highlights packaging.

 

[soxhop411]

“@iamjoonlee: In case you were wondering, Bradley had 14 defensive runs saved and a 15.9 UZR. Jones? 2 DRS and 8.3 UZR. Pretty clear who should’ve won…”

If JBJ could hit worth a lick he would have (and IMO he still should have) won the GG

 

[soxhop411]

“@KyleBrasseur: For those arguing JBJ didn't play enough games to win GG, Nolan Arenado of Rockies won NL 3B GG with 111 games played. JBJ played in 127”

 

[Toe Nash]

I mean, it's not just games played. Have there been any MLB award winners who were sent down to the minors in the season they won in? Seems like a decent enough reason to overlook JBJ.
 
Lorenzo Cain had a better UZR anyway, if we're just going by that.

 

[Plympton91]

Jackie had a 126 / 162 / 153 line in the 2nd half.

This can't be posted often enough.

 

[strek1]

Maybe it's time to "Spin off" this thread?    Months ago it was "Bradley Down to AAA, Betts up",   but now it has turned into something pretty unrelated.

 

[mt8thsw9th]

If you give it a minute, it'll turn into an Ellsbury thread, too.

 

[Savin Hillbilly]

As good as his glove was, it's probably tough to win any kind of award when you have one of the worst offensive seasons for an OF in decades. I mean, Jackie had a 126 / 162 / 153 line in the 2nd half.

 
And yet still managed to be no worse than a replacement level player (-0.4 fWAR, +0.6 rWAR). In a perverse way, that slash line is the best Gold Glove recommendation you could ask for. Nobody gets PT with offense that horrendous unless their glove is something truly extraordinary.

 

[foulkehampshire]

I used to think Denard Span (with less speed) was a good, if floorish type offensive projection for JBJ.
 
Man, what a difference a year can make. 

 

[nvalvo]

I used to think Denard Span (with less speed) was a good, if floorish type offensive projection for JBJ.
 
Man, what a difference a year can make. 

 
I still think he'll get there. The Bradley who put up the .320ish OPS in the second half just wasn't the same guy who kicked ass in the minors and the NCAA.
 
He needs to put his swing back together. He can be a productive major leaguer as a high-K, high-BB, decent power OF with sure hands and superlative range and arm, if perhaps not the occasional All Star we'd hoped we had. 

 

[The Boomer]

 
I still think he'll get there. The Bradley who put up the .320ish OPS in the second half just wasn't the same guy who kicked ass in the minors and the NClastAA.
 
He needs to put his swing back together. He can be a productive major leaguer as a high-K, high-BB, decent power OF with sure hands and superlative range and arm, if perhaps not the occasional All Star we'd hoped we had. 

 
With his ML gold glove ready at the beginning of 2013, JBJ was prematurely installed in CF because of his ml production and hot spring training.  It was obviously too much too soon.  Nevertheless, with patience, JBJ might still hit enough to claim CF in 2015 flanked by Betts and Castillo with Victorino backing them all up.  This would be one of the fastest and best defensive outfields for the Sox ever.  Speed and OF defense were essential parts of the only two historical championship runs by the Sox in those far flung 1912-1918 and 2004-2013 windows.  If (and it's a huge question mark) JBJ can replicate his offense coming up through the minors, this will be the ideal scenario unless, in at least as unlikely a scenario, one of these outfielders is part of a blockbuster trade package to get Giancarlo Stanton.  With OF defense this good and enough offensive development by the young blue chip farm system graduates, the young on the cusp pitching with little left to prove in AAA won't be nearly as bad as it's been.  While it isn't much more than a hunch, JBJ's rediscovery of his offense could trigger a domino effect that could transform every struggling marginal young Sox minor league graduate into solid major league regulars.