Chasing The Storm 2043-5 How Did the Defense Get So Bad

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Chasing The Storm 2043-5 How Did the Defense Get So Bad

Post by njherdfan » Mon Aug 17, 2020 10:40 am

In a previous post, we examined some of the problems that helped to sink Seattle's season, and it was pretty clear that one of the biggest issues was Seattle's horrible defense. While it's certainly true that Seattle's defense was horrible, it might be helpful (and painful!) to take a deeper look at how, exactly, Seattle's defense was so terrible. As discussed earlier, Seattle's outfield defense was fine, so we're only going to look at the infield, and attempt to determine what went wrong, and if it's fixable.

FIRST BASE: Vincent Vanderhugen, -17.7 ZR. At this point, it seems like asking Vanderhugen to play first base is untenable. In the past, he was only bad, instead of awful, but it appears those days are done. Now, if he's going to be in the lineup, it will need to be at DH, we think.

SECOND BASE: Edward Leialoha, -14 ZR. Last year in 33 ML games, Leialoha haad a .6 ZR. This year, his ZR was -14. Obviously, that's terrible. But is there any reason for optimism? Scouts have long noted Leialoha's limited range, but have expressed appreciate for his other defensive traits. At this point, it's fair to ask if those scouts were wrong. While he might get another chance, it's clear that he can't play any other infield position, and if he can't field competently, he probably won't stay in the lineup.

SHORTSTOP: Eric Jones - 11.5 ZR, and Alejandro Cordova, -5.2 ZR. Last year, in a full season, Jones had a -9.6 ZR. That certainly isn't good, but Seattle fans hoped that with another year to master the position, Jones could improve and become passable at the position. That didn't happen, as he was worse in only half a season. In response, Seattle called up its top prospect, Cordova, who was better at shortstop, if still subpar. It's not clear who Seattle expects to play shortstop next season, but it's safe to say that it isn't Jones.

THIRD BASE: Eric Jones -7.4 ZR. It's important to note that Jones had never played third base before, until the Storm had him try the position for the first time. Bearing that in mind, there are perhaps reasons for optimism, as Jones might be able to improve, but even so, this was simply more evidence of bad defensive play?

WHAT'S NEXT? Good question! As stated earlier, it seems that Vanderhugen might need to move off of first base, and Jones definitely can't play shortstop. Scouts have long speculated that Cordova might actually be best suited to play third base, and that Jones has the skills, if not the experience, to play second. It will be interesting to see if Seattle goes that route. If they do, of course, there will be a gaping hole at shortstop and it's unclear how Seattle will attempt to address that. This offseason will be a very interesting time for Seattle as they attempt to remedy some of the defensive problems that caused them so much pain this past season.
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Re: Chasing The Storm 2043-5 How Did the Defense Get So Bad

Post by RonCo » Mon Aug 17, 2020 1:22 pm

I don't think I've seen anyone do that kind of a defensive look. Interesting.

Here's the Seattle PLAYS ABOVE AVERAGE data for each defensive zone around the infield, which shows the impact of those guys vs what an average team would have made:

PLAYS3L33444M6M65655L
SHALLOW0.00-3.07-15.35-4.03-5.05-4.23-4.32-11.51-5.470.00
MID2.75-2.84-5.39-4.111.78-0.58-1.33-6.930.33-1.79
DEEP0.00-1.24-5.30-2.16-5.67-5.92-5.87-10.05-0.580.00

Bottom line: even in the "base" zones (3, 4, 6, 5) the Storm were pretty miserable.
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Re: Chasing The Storm 2043-5 How Did the Defense Get So Bad

Post by RonCo » Mon Aug 17, 2020 1:24 pm

Fly balls weren't horrible, though LF could have been better:

PLAYS9L9898R8L7877L
SHALLOW0.671.50-2.96-0.42-0.072.933.23-1.72
MID0.770.27-0.340.300.340.81-0.63-0.32
DEEP-0.15-1.341.450.86-0.03-1.66-6.640.00
EXTRA-DEEP0.000.001.32-3.98-0.422.220.000.00
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Re: Chasing The Storm 2043-5 How Did the Defense Get So Bad

Post by RonCo » Mon Aug 17, 2020 1:26 pm

Line Drives to the OF, also not horrible...

PLAYS9L9898R8L7877L
SHALLOW-0.043.91-0.28-0.06-0.12-0.411.56-0.04
MID-0.210.532.450.17-0.28-0.280.381.69
DEEP0.00-1.81-0.15-0.661.34-0.04-2.140.00
EXTRA-DEEP0.000.000.00-0.30-0.440.910.000.00
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Re: Chasing The Storm 2043-5 How Did the Defense Get So Bad

Post by Lane » Mon Aug 17, 2020 1:31 pm

Defense is frustrating to me. It seems that a rating of 9 or even 10 is a minimum to be an "average" defender.
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Re: Chasing The Storm 2043-5 How Did the Defense Get So Bad

Post by RonCo » Mon Aug 17, 2020 1:32 pm

I don't really look at overall defensive ratings at all.
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Re: Chasing The Storm 2043-5 How Did the Defense Get So Bad

Post by Lane » Mon Aug 17, 2020 1:34 pm

Maybe that's my problem ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Re: Chasing The Storm 2043-5 How Did the Defense Get So Bad

Post by njherdfan » Mon Aug 17, 2020 3:23 pm

If I didn't look at ratings, I couldn't have done much worse. And thank you for that data!
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