posted on Thursday, October 16, 2008 2:25 AM
by
Jim
Small glove, big expectations
When it comes to defense, Josh Fields has a bullseye on his back, and I don't completely understand it.
Take Joe Cowley's pre-vacation parting thoughts:
That leaves Josh Fields, who is in dire need of a commitment to defense this winter.
And
Scott Merkin:
That flexibility should contribute to improved defense at third base, a
weaker area of Fields' game targeted by manager Ozzie Guillen during
the 2008 season.
Maybe "lost cause" is too strong a phrase for Fields' glove, but it should be the least of anybody's concerns. Two reasons:
No. 1: Players generally don't improve drastically on defense at a position they've played all their lives.When you hear about an infielder who has made strides with his defense at the big-league level, it almost always has to do with their throwing -- slowing the game down enough to repeat solid mechanics. Once in a while, you might hear about somebody whose hands have improved.
But I can't think of one player who made massive improvements on his first step, which is the biggest difference between Fields and Joe Crede based on what I've seen. There's nothing wrong with his arm, and they're limited on how much they can improve his hands if his problem is getting to the ball late. Even practicing with Joey Cora and the world's tiniest glove won't change much.
No. 2: Any reasonable improvement isn't going to stop the Sox from stinking in the field.
It takes a village to raise a team's defense, and when Brian Anderson isn't starting, the Sox don't have one guy on the field you could confidently describe as "average." Wring your hands over the individual shortcomings all you want, but if Fields makes a big step to improve to "decent," Sox pitchers are still going to have to hold their breath when a hitter puts a ball in play.
This is the biggest reason for the Sox to pursue
Mark Ellis. As rough and unlucky a season as he had with the bat last year (.233/.321/.373), he was by far the premier defensive second baseman in the league, whether you go by plus-minus (+26) or
zone rating (.868). The other possible solutions -- Chris Getz, Mark Grudzielanek, Chone Figgins -- don't compare.
I'm not driving the Ellis bandwagon yet, but if the Sox signed somebody like him, then Fields' defense becomes a bigger issue. The Sox would be only one or two more gloves away from being a solid support group for Sox pitching. Even then, there's no reason to put the spotlight on Fields in particular. It's not like he was ever considered a sterling defender.
Fields was drafted because he had a big bat and some promising secondary skills (strike zone judgment, speed). It sounds like the knee surgery (the focus of Merkin's article) will take care of that last skill, which wasn't mentioned much despite it clearly affecting his baserunning.
The other two need big-time work, so I think he'd be better served by figuring out how to hit a belt-high fastball of 92 m.p.h. down the middle of the plate then converting a few more balls into outs on the field. If he doesn't hit, he won't see enough time on the field to make the miniscule mitt time worth it, anyway.
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Arizona Fall League roundup:- Peoria 3, Phoenix 2
- Lucas Harrell pitched a solid three innings, allowing a run on three hits and a walk while striking out two.
- Aaron Poreda struck out the side during his inning, in which he allowed a hit and a walk.
- Gordon Beckham went 0-for-3 with a strikeout.