That's What Cheesehead: 37.04 - Wolves Claim Two Diamond Gloves

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By some measurements, the Wolves defense in 2036 was pretty good. By some, it was pretty bad. It all depends on how you break it down. Only three other teams committed fewer errors in the Frick League than Madison and the Wolves were just one of 6 teams to commit fewer than 100 errors on the season. Of course that doesn't mean much for success as half of those six failed to make the post-season. Seven teams in the Frick had a zone rating worse than Madison's as well. But again, that doesn't mean much either as Yellow Springs had the worst ZR rating in the Heartland and they won the division. So what does it all mean? I really don't know. But that was just a fluff introduction designed to make this team news a little longer and preview the fact that the Wolves had two guys win defensive awards at their position.

Rookie catcher David Katzenbogen (4/5/5/6/4 Ratings) won the Diamond Glove honors for his work behind the plate in 2036. The young back stop was the focus of many GMs around the league this season as everyone wanted to see how the guy with the awesome defensive ability but the inability to hit would fair this season. It probably went about how many expected it would in the end. David hit just .201/.285/.301 on the season while striking out over once a game at the plate. We can't say he exactly made up for it with his defensive work. He did lead the league in caught stealing percentage with a 33.8 clip, way down from where he was at the midway point. He was also second in the entire BBA in Zone Rating. Oddly enough he trailed only Luis Barrera, the guy we trade for Katzenbogen in that stat and Luis was second in CS% as well. Barrera hit "slightly" better this season than David. When you add up Katz's ability to field with his inability to hit, it added up to a perfect 0.0 WAR on the season.

Also claiming a Glove Award was Centerfielder Jose Carlos Moreno (6/8/7/5/6 Ratings). Moreno became the second consecutive Wolves CF to win the award, joining Niccollo Machiavelli who won the award with his effort last season. Moreno split some time last season in LF as well, playing 95 in CF and 22 in LF. It is believed that Moreno could win the award in either position if he committed full-time to either spot. With Machiavelli missing a good portion of last season with injury, Moreno stepped in and played CF mostly last season.

For Moreno, it is his second Diamond Glove Award in centerfield, having claimed the award back in 2033. For Katzenbogen, it was his first.