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Sox Defensive Team Rankings


Marky Mark

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Where do you rank the current Sox players against one another in terms of defense for their primary position from best to worst? Consider his range, fielding, arm, and brain.

 

Here are my rankings

 

Best

Alex Rios (range, fielding, arm)

Jayson Nix (fielding, range)

Brent Lillibridge (fielding, range)

Dewayne Wise (range)

Mark Kotsay (fielding)

Paul Konerko (range, fielding)

AJ Pierzynski (fielding, brain)

Gordon Beckham (lacks range, everything else average)

Alexei Ramirez (arm, range, but not brain nor fielding ability)

Carlos Quentin (lacks range, everything else average)

Jermaine Dye (arm)

Scott Podsednik (ability to prance)

Worst

 

I have not seen enough of Castro to rank him. Thome and pitchers are not worth talking about.

 

Who would you guys think is worst and best?

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QUOTE (Markbilliards @ Aug 16, 2009 -> 10:09 PM)
Where do you rank the current Sox players against one another in terms of defense for their primary position from best to worst? Consider his range, fielding, arm, and brain.

 

Nix is a bad fielder. Getz is much better.

Rios, Wise and Kotsay are the only above average defensive players on the team.

 

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QUOTE (Markbilliards @ Aug 16, 2009 -> 09:09 PM)
Where do you rank the current Sox players against one another in terms of defense for their primary position from best to worst? Consider his range, fielding, arm, and brain.

 

Here are my rankings

 

Best

Alex Rios (range, fielding, arm)

Jayson Nix (fielding, range)

Brent Lillibridge (fielding, range)

Dewayne Wise (range)

Mark Kotsay (fielding)

Paul Konerko (range, fielding)

AJ Pierzynski (fielding, brain)

Gordon Beckham (lacks range, everything else average)

Alexei Ramirez (arm, range, but not brain nor fielding ability)

Carlos Quentin (lacks range, everything else average)

Jermaine Dye (arm)

Scott Podsednik (ability to prance)

Worst

 

I have not seen enough of Castro to rank him. Thome and pitchers are not worth talking about.

 

Who would you guys think is worst and best?

 

If that's the case, can you really rank Rios at the very top? I understand that Rios is great defensively according to all of the stats, but I really know nothing about it because I haven't seen much of him in the field.

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Alex Rios - Good all around

Mark Buehrle - Does what pitchers need to do and more, probably should have a gold glove.

Mark Kotsay - Ability to play first effectively as well as the outfield puts Kotsay up here.

Alexei Ramirez (when thinking) - Could be great defender if he used his brain.

Paul Konerko - I always trust Konerko's glove.

AJ Pierzynski - Best baseball IQ out there. Manages the staff (other than Jose) well, and I count that as defense.

DeWayne Wise - Dude can cover ground. See: Catch, The.

Chris Getz - Good range and can make the plays needed.

Jayson Nix - Like Getz, but not as good a fielder (to me)

Ramon Castro - Has a good arm and manages Jose well.

Carlos Quentin - When healthy, Quentin is a good enough OF. The injuries cut into his range though.

Gordon Beckham - Has done a great job adjusting to a new position. I could see him being Crede Lite soon.

Jermaine Dye - Age has caught up with him, but he can still get good reads on the ball.

Scott Podsednik - He can get places...that's about it.

Alexei Ramirez (when not thinking) - Oh god why doesn't he focus.

 

Dishonorable Mentions:

Josh Fields - I though Buehrle's game would be ruined on the 27th out because Fields can't do his name sake.

Wilson Betemit - Aahaahahahahahahhahahahahahaha

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QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Aug 16, 2009 -> 09:24 PM)
If that's the case, can you really rank Rios at the very top? I understand that Rios is great defensively according to all of the stats, but I really know nothing about it because I haven't seen much of him in the field.

 

 

I've seen a lot more games with Rios than Castro. I've always been impressed with Rios' defensive ability since he came up.

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QUOTE (SoxAce @ Aug 16, 2009 -> 07:35 PM)
:lolhitting :lolhitting :lolhitting

 

I hope you just meant Nix as a utility fielder (SS, 3B, LF etc.) Not second base.

Nix has just been bad lately. He was really solid earlier in the year at all 3 positions, but lately he's just been an error machine. 2b is not as bad as SS for him, but he's had some iffy ones at 2b lately too.

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QUOTE (picktoclick @ Aug 17, 2009 -> 03:38 AM)
Getz is better at second base. Nix is a decent utility player but not an above average fielder at any position.

Nix is much better at 2nd base, his UZR per 150 games there this season is +25 which is ridiculously good, and in limited time he's been worth around 8 runs more than Getz (or approx. 1 win) this year alone. It's not close between the two of them. Nix is also a lot more talent from an offensive standpoint with his superior walk rate and power. Basically all Getz does well is steal bases and play hard.

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QUOTE (Ozzie Ball @ Aug 16, 2009 -> 10:44 PM)
Nix is much better at 2nd base, his UZR per 150 games there this season is +25 which is ridiculously good, and in limited time he's been worth around 8 runs more than Getz (or approx. 1 win) this year alone. It's not close between the two of them. Nix is also a lot more talent from an offensive standpoint with his superior walk rate and power. Basically all Getz does well is steal bases and play hard.

 

Uzr per 150 is a joke, especially when Nix has only played a handful of games. Watch the games and you will see who the better fielder is. WAR, what is it good for? Absolutely nuthin! Sing it again...........

 

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QUOTE (Markbilliards @ Aug 17, 2009 -> 03:09 AM)
Best

Alex Rios (range, fielding, arm)

Jayson Nix (fielding, range)

Brent Lillibridge (fielding, range)

Dewayne Wise (range)

Mark Kotsay (fielding)

Paul Konerko (range, fielding)

AJ Pierzynski (fielding, brain)

Gordon Beckham (lacks range, everything else average)

Alexei Ramirez (arm, range, but not brain nor fielding ability)

Carlos Quentin (lacks range, everything else average)

Jermaine Dye (arm)

Scott Podsednik (ability to prance)

Worst

 

Interesting rankings. Does anyone else find it ironic that the Polish guy is the only one with brains listed as a strength?

Edited by hammerhead johnson
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QUOTE (picktoclick @ Aug 16, 2009 -> 09:51 PM)
Uzr per 150 is a joke, especially when Nix has only played a handful of games. Watch the games and you will see who the better fielder is. WAR, what is it good for? Absolutely nuthin! Sing it again...........

 

WAR is a good way to compare one player's overall value to another.

 

Nix does have small sample sizes, but it's the only sample size you can find.

 

Nix has trouble with the ball when he gets to it, his range is amazing. All of the errors he's made this year is either throwing or bobbling the ball. The guy has the tools to be a great defender because his range is mind blowing. But he has some trouble when he actually gets to the ball.

 

It's something that can be fixed. You can't teach great range.

 

My two cents on the order...

 

1. Alex Rios - good range and speed, tall lanky body. Also plays one of the most important defensive positions in CF. Also features a cannon. Highly versatile.

2. Jayson Nix - great range for a 2B, not so much as a SS. Very versatile.

3. Dewayne Wise - very good range, shows he can make the spectacular play as well as the routine ones.

4. Alexei Ramirez - great potential due to his good range, but sometimes brain dead. Very versatile.

5. Mark Kotsay - versatile, plays a very good 1B, no longer the same outfielder he used to be, but still okay in those positions

6. Paul Konerko - great at picking the ball, very good range to balls on his right.

7. Chris Getz - decent range, could have some better hands. His speed should give him more range.

8. A.J. Pierzynski - great at picking balls in the dirt and taking charge on pop-ups, mediocre arm and accuracy though.

9. Carlos Quentin - very mediocre range due to his recent foot problems. Very good arm with erratic accuracy. Has had success in RF before.

10. Scott Podsednik - has the speed to get to almost any ball, but takes bad routes and gets bad reads. Also very scared of the wall. Very weak arm.

11. Ramon Castro - supposed strong arm hasn't shown up yet. Really bad accuracy. Very average at blocking balls in the dirt.

12. Jermaine Dye - old, bad, and slow. He takes good routes to some balls, which makes up a bit for his non-existent speed, but his range is extremely poor. Will make a spectacular play once in a while because of his lack of range on balls that should be easily caught. Also has trouble with pop-ups down the line. Still has a good arm, but is rarely useful.

Edited by chw42
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Is WAR an actual acronym?

 

Also, I wanted to comment on Dye's complete lack of speed. Anyone notice that play earlier when (I believe) Konerko popped out to short RF and the guy bobbled it? After Dye noticed it had been dropped and began advancing to 2B, he looked like a normal person starting to run up a hill from a complete standstill.

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QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Aug 16, 2009 -> 10:14 PM)
Is WAR an actual acronym?

 

Also, I wanted to comment on Dye's complete lack of speed. Anyone notice that play earlier when (I believe) Konerko popped out to short RF and the guy bobbled it? After Dye noticed it had been dropped and began advancing to 2B, he looked like a normal person starting to run up a hill from a complete standstill.

 

 

Yeah Dye does run like he's going uphill. Thome kinda looks like he runs like he pooped his pants too.

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QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Aug 17, 2009 -> 04:14 AM)
Is WAR an actual acronym?

 

Also, I wanted to comment on Dye's complete lack of speed. Anyone notice that play earlier when (I believe) Konerko popped out to short RF and the guy bobbled it? After Dye noticed it had been dropped and began advancing to 2B, he looked like a normal person starting to run up a hill from a complete standstill.

Yes. Wins Above Replacement.

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Chris Getz confuses me. He’s got great instance to his right, but some balls just befuddle him. I imagine his range must be above average, but statistics seem to paint a slightly different picture. Jayson Nix is also interesting to behold. He’s get a bad rap here, because he’s made some glaring mistakes in the field. He fails to get the credit he deserves however, because he makes the majority of tough plays look so easy, that people rarely notice the inherent difficulty he had in getting to some of those balls. I’d put him as the second best defender on the team, behind Rios. Rios has fantastic flight path recognition for balls hit in the outfield.

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Buehrle and Danks are pretty decent defenders, especially Mark.

 

Agreed that Rios and Nix (if he's playing 2B full-time and not all over the diamond) are the two best.

 

Konerko is a tick above average, but his level of play has fallen off in recent weeks, offensively as well as defensively.

 

Theoretically, both Ramirez and Quentin might be considered above-average or better by some for SS and LF.

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QUOTE (Markbilliards @ Aug 16, 2009 -> 10:09 PM)
Carlos Quentin (lacks range, everything else average)

I'll have to go ahead and say Carlos has an above average arm. I remember one of his first games for the team in '08 when he made the catch in left and rocketed the ball to Paulie at first to double the guy off. That throw alone ranks him with an above average arm, other than that, your list was pretty solid.

 

Loved the shot at Pods, lol.

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QUOTE (Markbilliards @ Aug 17, 2009 -> 06:46 AM)
You think some people would consider Quentin above average in LF? I guess he doesn't fail to make a lot of routine plays, but at the same time I've never felt impressed by him in anyway.

With the way he's running right now, absolutely not. Last year was probably better than this, but he wasn't exactly lighting it up out there. Wasn't getting good jumps on the ball or covering a lot of ground, although he had a couple OF assists on impressive throws IIRC. A number of folks have speculated he'd be better in RF.

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