Comments on: Color me surprised, Tigers like Cabrera’s glove

By: billfer

billfer — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:21:09 +0000

Third base isn’t as important as up the middle positions. But if you are looking at some one who is 2 wins below average fielding, they’re still 2 wins below average fielding. Does his hitting make up for it? Of course it does but that won’t help the ERA’s of Willis and Rogers.

As for whether or not he’ll be adequate, time will tell. He’s been young for several years and he’s been bad at several positions, even before he put on the weight he’s now losing.

Now in addition to the weight loss he may have done other conditioning to help and improve his defense, I don’t really know. But until he actual shows he’s an average defender, I’ll be skeptical.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 05:44:21 +0000

rings, we only live 25 minutes apart. Jeter was considered a “god” back in the day and he was a true star coming out of high school. Remember when he brought Mariah Carey home to meet mom and dad? He could be on my team every day of the week.

By: rings

rings — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 04:14:46 +0000

Thanks for the reply, Bilfer. No implication intended that the “defense” of the others hasn’t been mentioned, but as your thread indicates, they’re mentioned as part of the “team” overall, not the focus of multiple threads, long discussions or ongoing saber-analysis.

The focus on Miggy’s defense as an “issue” is largely because of Inge, which was my point above. As mentioned earlier, Cabrera’s young and has a good chance of improving with the leather as he may be motivated for the first time to work at it (he’s heard the criticism). But even if he doesn’t, he’s still an upgrade overall at third base.

Why? I’ve maintained that third base is just plain not as important defensively, regardless of our staff (and I respect and hear Lee’s point), as other positions - particularly “up the middle.” While its not to be ignored, “third base defense” gets way more attention than it deserves from Tiger fans because of BI.

As for Jeter, I concur with the majority. If he played for the Padres, you’d have trouble recalling his name (unless - like me - you lived in Kzoo when he was tearing things up in high school).

A question however, only slighly off-topic, but MUCH more important: what the heck ARE the Tiger options if Wilson is not ready to go March 31st? (I’d rate the odds about 50-50 that he’s ready.) There’s been NO coverage of this issue! Obviously, BI is a reluctant option and Raburn is talking about giving it a try, but hardly reliable.
Thoughts????

By: Adam in Milwaukee

Adam in Milwaukee — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 00:45:25 +0000

I’m not holding my breath.

Baseball players are like puppies. You need to give them constant positive reinforcement to keep them working hard. Leyland knows this so never says anything negative about a player.

By: Ken in Cincinnati

Ken in Cincinnati — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 20:59:36 +0000

I take everything I hear in spring training with a grain of salt. There is always unbridled optimism with absolutely zero criticism. Same goes for the Lions. You would think they were on their way to a championship every off season. “Lions defense promises renewed vigor”. “Talentless defense proving themselves a force to reckon with in practice.” I almost can’t take it. I much rather know what I should be worrying about.

By: Lee Panas

Lee Panas — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 18:07:50 +0000

I’m concerned about Cabrera’s defense because they have a heavily left-handed staff with some ground ball tendencies. I’d be concerned regardless of who the predecessor was. This story about his defense is somewhat encouraging but it also could be just spring training optimism. We’ll see. He makes up for lack of defense with his bat but that doesn’t doesn’t mean I’m going to ignore his glove.

The thing about Jeter is that he ranks at the bottom of EVERY study. These new defensive measures are nor perfect and sometimes they will disagree on certain players but when every single merasure says Jeter is at or near the bottom, then I have to believe he is a poor fielder.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:25:43 +0000

Fritz, that link totally made my morning (okay, early afternoon). It’s the exact same thing everyone else sarcastically says about Jeter, only it’s Yankees fans, and not at all sarcastic. Hi-larious. I sincerely hope that they all get their wish, and somehow A-Rod leaves while Jeter stays. As a matter of fact, I think Jeter is gritty enough to play the entire infield at once. Maybe worth a try. He could probably work a couple concession stands at the same time.

And on topic, if Cabrera can somehow exercise/be coached into a league average third baseman… wow. I don’t see why not, Troy Glaus doesn’t exactly have an athletic build either, and he’s surprisingly high on that list. If Cabrera can get there through repetition and focus, this is gonna be one of the best everyday lineups in recent memory.

By: fritz

fritz — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:09:37 +0000

Fielding is about more than range and ability. He’s got intangibles! He’s Mr. Yankee. Wait, we’re still talking about Jeter, right?

http://www.nypost.com/seven/02....._97934.htm

By: Ken in Cincinnati

Ken in Cincinnati — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 15:06:45 +0000

I hope that Grady Sizemore tears an ACL.

By: billfer

billfer — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 13:15:03 +0000

That ACL quote was on Jamie Samuelson’s show on WDFN (not from Jamie but a caller). It was asinine.