Getting Defensive
Every year, Tom Tango collects defensive scouting reports from the fans of a particular team. The idea is to get the impressions of people who have watched the same team 40, 50, or 162 times a year. The results often correlate with statistical measures, but there are always a few outliers. It's a huge help to the internet baseball world to have these "Wisdom of Crowds"-style metrics as another data point by which to evaluate defenders.
So go here to read the instructions, and then fill in your ballot here.
Do it before you read the rest of the post, as I'm going to taint your opinions with my sparkling prose. The rest of the post comes in the comments section.

Even though you're not supposed to take position into account, the easiest way for me to group the players is by position.
C - It's hard to measure catchers with the same categories by which you measure outfielders, but remember that you're not supposed to take a player's position into account with these rankings. So while I'm tempted to put that Bengie Molina has "great" velocity/sprint speed because that makes me giggle, I'll defer to the pure intentions of this study. I gave Molina very high marks in all of the throwing categories. Is it just me, or has his arm gotten better since he's been a Giant?
1B - It was tough sledding for John Bowker for most of this year. Rich Aurilia gets average marks.
2B - Low marks for Durham, obviously, but I didn't see enough of Velez this year to mark him down as well. Burriss does well in all of the categories.
SS - Vizquel is still a magical little feller, though his arm isn't what it used to be. Still, high marks all around.
3B - We haven't had a third baseman all year. How did that happen? Weird. It's almost as if we did have one, but I'm pushing the memory of that person into the dark recesses of my cerebellum. I find it hard to believe the Giants just didn't have one all year. Since we're not supposed to take position into account, Aurilia's average marks apply here as well.
OF - It's hard to judge Lewis's overall range, as his first step is distinctly Benardian, but his speed seems to make for a lot. Rowand is way more average to the naked eye than I expected, and his arm is almost useless because of its inaccuracy. Randy Winn seems to have fantastic range, but so does every right fielder in Mays Field. Ellis Burks, Reggie Sanders, and Jose Cruz, Jr. all seemed to play right as if they were on skates. I'm wondering if the funky dimensions give off some sort of Mystery Spot vibe.
If you are really bored, you can see my exact rankings here.
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20 comments
Comments
BMP FTL.
Billy Hayes: His job is better than yours.
by delorean on
Aug 29, 2008 11:21 AM PDT
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The weirdest thing…my MS Paint on this one old computer at work wouldn’t let me save the screenshot as a jpeg. It gave me a .gif option, but it looked like crap.
So suck it, MacHeads.
by Grant on
Aug 29, 2008 11:29 AM PDT
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On Rowand
The guy is an interesting case study. Writers love his defense, baseball people praise it, and even in most metrics he’s regarded as very good.
I have seen Rowand make some great plays, and he does cover nice ground in CF, but I also feel like I’ve seen him make a lot of bad breaks and make poor decisions to dive for balls he should play conservatively.
All in all, I’m not that impressed with Rowand. To my naked eye, he seems like a guy who would be above average, but certainly not elite in CF. Maybe in the top top 10 in the mlb, but not the top 5 (like he is considered). Then again, I can clearly be wrong since everythign else seems to go against my feelings
by NeifiChicken on
Aug 29, 2008 11:25 AM PDT
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The way Rowand plays defense reminds me of some career advice my father-in-law dispenses. He said that if you do your job competently, you don’t typically get noticed. What gets you noticed is when you fix a problem. So, says he, sometimes you might need to make it look like there’s a problem that you’re solving, and you can get noticed and given credit for your “great work.”
Rowand is generally competent out in CF (problems with his throws to home aside). To me it seems that he’ll sometimes make something look so much harder than it really is, so that when he makes the play it looks great (flopping on a dive, running into the wall, general Gamer! stuff). He makes it look like there’s a real problem, which he takes care of.
I’m sure it’s not a calculated move on his part, but his approach sometimes gives the impression of great defense, when really it’s just regular defense, sometimes done to look really good.
It's my blarg! Quick Pitch
by can of corn on
Aug 29, 2008 11:36 AM PDT
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So...
the complete opposite of Shinjo?
by AndOnTheDrums... on
Aug 29, 2008 11:42 AM PDT
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sounds like a mild case of Jim Edmonds syndrome
by NeifiChicken on
Aug 29, 2008 12:00 PM PDT
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my thoughts exactly
STEVE HOLM! refuses to be the odd man out.
by UnleashTheGore on
Aug 29, 2008 12:08 PM PDT
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gamer average defense > average average defense
by chilibean_3 on
Aug 29, 2008 12:06 PM PDT
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Yeah, but the defensive stats love him too. My guess that he just isn’t as good as he used to be, which isn’t all that surprising considering that he’s 30 and has a fair amount of wear & tear.
by Evan on
Aug 29, 2008 12:40 PM PDT
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rowand has not impressed me. he’s seemed very average to me. i want rajai davis back on the team hitting .170 with no power!
Bengie Molina: stretching doubles into singles since 1998.
by jasomack on
Aug 29, 2008 12:51 PM PDT
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OR
i want all the money that the Giants committed to Rowand back and would like Fred Lewis in CF, thus saving a little less than the $60 million that Rowand’s getting over the next 5 (or I guess now 4+) years.
Adopted Giant: Aaron King
Wearing the crown by 2011. Or at least the LOOGY hat
by baetown415 on
Aug 29, 2008 12:58 PM PDT
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OR
Let’s let Fred figure out LF first before we hand him CF, but before THAT, lets let him figure out how to hit in the middle of the order.
Rowand is above average but not great. His hitting is concerning me more than anything as he seems to scuffle a great deal, and he has only had one real hot streak.
by toofruss on
Aug 29, 2008 1:56 PM PDT
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Let’s keep my sparkling taint out of this and keep the conversation about baseball.
Zooperstars, they quack me up!
by Goofus on
Aug 29, 2008 12:42 PM PDT
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I was so hoping for a taint joke. Thanks!
It's my blarg! Quick Pitch
by can of corn on
Aug 29, 2008 12:52 PM PDT
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By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask, but how do you get it to sparkle like that? I really need some advice on this issue.
My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.
by howtheyscored on
Aug 29, 2008 8:32 PM PDT
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I’m no expert by any means, but I’m guessing lots of buffing.
It's my blarg! Quick Pitch
by can of corn on
Aug 29, 2008 11:38 PM PDT
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Thanks very much for the support guys. Much appreciated!
by tangotiger on
Aug 29, 2008 1:16 PM PDT
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happy to help
And keep up the excellent work. :-)
Billy Hayes: His job is better than yours.
by delorean on
Aug 29, 2008 1:17 PM PDT
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You probably shouldn't care what I think, but
Ray Durham, throwing strength: 3.
Omar Vizquel, throwing strength: 2.
Randy Winn, throwing srength: 1.
This seems really weird to me. Randy might have a weak throw for a RF, but I don’t think it’s poor compared to the average player. And I really don’t think Vizquel has a stronger arm.
..so allow me to present Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain as two sweet, sweet bottles of warming hooch.
by Cookyman on
Aug 29, 2008 1:51 PM PDT
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You’re probably right, but I have a thing with Winn’s noodle arm. He throws like a European toddler. The speed of the thrown ball might be average, but I haven’t noticed because I’m too busy wrinking my nose at his delivery.
by Grant on
Aug 29, 2008 5:19 PM PDT
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