Ryan Braun was an absolute butcher when he came up.

If he hits like Nas says the fielding will work itself out

His defense will get better. Frank Thomas wasn't great with the glove. He just has to be close to average. He will get there next season.

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How about just waiting and seeing how a guy does? Most guys aren't going to be Hall of Famers and most aren't going to be worthless turds. Castro was never a Hall of Famer three years ago and he isn't a piece of junk bum now.

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I've never seen a guy improve with his glove. Schwarber will be fine in left field though.

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What?

Who is the bad fielder you've seen get good?

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Average is what we are looking for.

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He's probably average in left right now. Where do you play Bryant though? Right?

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His defense will get better. Frank Thomas wasn't great with the glove. He just has to be close to average. He will get there next season.[/quote]


I've never seen a guy improve with his glove. Schwarber will be fine in left field though.[/quote]
What?[/quote]
Hey! JORR says so! It has to be true!

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Host of the weekly "We Fish ASA" podcast
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I'm telling you what I've seen, so obviously it's true. Who is the bad fielder you've seen improve?

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you may never have seen that (although that's doubtful) but at his age it is more than conceivable he will get better with a glove. Braun moved from left to right because he got better at fielding, for starters.

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I haven't seen a ton of Cubs baseball but from what I have seen he looks like he has a way to go to be average.

He'll have to hit really well to justify his fielding. I still say that Theo would be smart to trade him to an AL team in the offseason.

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His arm got stronger? More accurate? What are you saying?

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Not actually the case, they wanted to get Khris Davis in the lineup and he is an awful outfielder so they had to play him in left. Braun was forced to move to right, and they only thing he is decent at is throwing, he is a not a good outfielder that takes the worst routes possible.

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I've seen Aramis Ramirez, Kris Bryant and Alfonso Soriano improve as fielders.

I'll say again, I can't think of any guy who came up a butcher in the field who I can remember improving.

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Alfonso Soriano unarguably improved as a defensive outfielder in his last few seasons with the Cubs.

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That's not what you said but Soriano got much better in the outfield over time.

Shawon Dunston improved. Lots of guys who move to 1b improve.

Id say Gordon Beckham improved in his time at 2b with Sox

Derek Jeter.

Bryant is a third baseman. He is playing third base very well at the major league level. Why would you even ask that question?

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Yea, guys improve. They dont go from terrible to great usually


Ill tell you what is a myth...the hitter who learns patience at the major league level. (exception for steroid era)

I don't believe any of those things is true and no measurement or metric supports them. Let's not be selectively SABRmetric.

Moving to first isn't improving. It's doing an easier job.

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Routes are one thing. Literally not knowing where the ball is half the time is another. Braun at least tracks the ball now. Lucas Duda is a passable defender now. And Mark Reynolds has CERTAINLY improved.

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Yes, he tracks it, as it goes over his head because he is not good at going to the baseball. Routes are a very important part of being an outfielder, any buffoon can catch a fly straight at him.

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[/quote]
You wont see me using or touting defensive sabr stats too often (In fact you'll often find me explaining how WAR is ruined by dWAR being out of whack), so you can save the selective sabr thing.

And Ive never been one to go all in on Sabr stats and ignore the eye test. You're applying something some other person said to me.

With that said, Soriano's UZR went way up from his first year in LF with the Nats to the next year with the Cubs. Beckham's UZR also rose in his time with Sox.

Dunston's errors lessened over the years, many attribute that to Mark Grace but somebody told me that was bullshit.

And im not talking about moving to first. Joe Mauer was better at 1B after playing there for a year than he was on day 1

that's actually untrue. It's difficult to play the corners because of the balls hit straight at you. It's hard to ascertain the depth on such baseballs.

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Some examples of guys improving their defense. I also included some .gifs, so you can never say you have not seen a guy improve with his glove.

Lucas Duda

+1.37 (standard deviations)
Season UZR DRS Positional
2013 -11 -12 -5.2 20 774
2014 0 5 -10.8 37 1228



Anthony Rendon

+1.40 (standard deviations)
Season UZR DRS Positional FSR Innings
2013 0 -11 2 55 840
2014 7 16 2 72 1364



You must have one hell of an eye to catch how a player is doing defensively year after year. I however, will go with what the numbers tell me.


DRIP DRIP DRIP!

Is Schwarber officially done as a catcher?

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Defense doesn't matter

Zone rating? And thanks for the GIFs. They represent a comprehensive sample!

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