Spring Training 2015

So Heyward won his off reputation? Maddux won 18 because he had Maddux on his jersey?

No. But you're naive if you think everyone that wins a gold glove deserves it. Bad fielders win them all the time. They just aren't a good measure of who is actually good.
 
One player I think the Braves should be looking at for LF is David Lough. He is out of options and fighting for a roster spot with Baltimore, the cost would not be prohibitive. His projected slash line is about the same as KJ, but he gives you excellent outfield defense and good baserunning. Defends well enough to play CF. 1+ year of service time, so makes the minimum next two years. KJ will make $1.5m if he makes the roster.
 
No doubt it's a flawed system. Like David Wright won it that year over Chipper after having twice as many errors as Chipper had...but they most certainly get it right the majority of the time. IE: Simmons

Nah, using errors as the sole judge of a player's ability on defense is not wise. Wright was better than Chipper that year according to DRS, RngR, etc. Chipper was good but Wright had one of his best seasons defensively in 2007. Further, if you were to go by not making errors you could give Markakis a gold glove pretty much every year. But that would ignore his issue which is that he is slow and lacks range to get to many balls in RF that better defenders can make plays on. Thankfully he is sure-handed and has a mostly accurate and good throwing arm. Which also explains why he is rarely given an error.

That said, I do agree that they were right on Simmons but that was an easy one. They missed on Bourn his last year here when Bourn had an amazing season on defense in CF. They miss plenty of times and sometimes so badly it makes them look silly.
 
No. But you're naive if you think everyone that wins a gold glove deserves it. Bad fielders win them all the time. They just aren't a good measure of who is actually good.

Am I naive to think that the majority who win a gold glove usually deserve it?
 
Am I naive to think that the majority who win a gold glove usually deserve it?

Most years that is the case. But they always make at least one boneheaded choice and usually quite a few. Nick is not what you would call a good fielder even though he has won gold gloves. And I think that is going to be clear to anyone that watches most of the Braves games this year.
 
Most years that is the case. But they always make at least one boneheaded choice and usually quite a few. Nick is not what you would call a good fielder even though he has won gold gloves. And I think that is going to be clear to anyone that watches most of the Braves games this year.

Nick is a gold glove defender at his position compared to say Chris Johnson at his position, Johnson is even more of a statue and unlike Markakis he is not sure-handed nor does he have a strong arm either. Speaking of third base, Fangraph's put out their power rankings for third base today and guess which team ranked dead last? I'll give ya a hint, someone with the initials CJ is their projected starter at third.
 
So Heyward won his off reputation? Maddux won 18 because he had Maddux on his jersey?

Straw man. No one said every winner is because of reputation, or that every winner didn't actually deserve it. I'm sure Maddux won some when some pitcher was a better fielder, though, based off his reputation of being a great fielder.

Sometimes it's clear as day, as in the case of Heyward. No one would argue that he isn't the best out there.

Markakis was at some point probably a good fielder. He isn't really anymore. Was he ever the best? I doubt it, and gold gloves won't sway that. Perhaps Fielding Bible awards would, if he's ever won one of them (doubt that also).
 
If I am pitcher starting against the Braves this year I don't give Freeman anything to hit. He has no protection so it would be dumb to do otherwise.
 
Nick is a gold glove defender at his position compared to say Chris Johnson at his position, Johnson is even more of a statue and unlike Markakis he is not sure-handed nor does he have a strong arm either. Speaking of third base, Fangraph's put out their power rankings for third base today and guess which team ranked dead last? I'll give ya a hint, someone with the initials CJ is their projected starter at third.

CJ is one of the worst fielders in baseball. So anyone being compared to him will look good. Still doesn't make Nick a good fielder compared to other right fielders.
 
CJ is one of the worst fielders in baseball. So anyone being compared to him will look good. Still doesn't make Nick a good fielder compared to other right fielders.

True. He's not even close to as good in right field as great defensive players like Heyward, Reddick, etc. But that won't stop Chip Carey and Joe Simpson from telling us all season that he's a gold glove defender like Jason Heyward. :)
 
True. He's not even close to as good in right field as great defensive players like Heyward, Reddick, etc. But that won't stop Chip Carey and Joe Simpson from telling us all season that he's a gold glove defender like Jason Heyward. :)

Oh I know. Good thing I keep the TV muted
 
On a completely unrelated topic, except maybe the statue debate, or the who's going to protect Freddie question, or which tomato can is going to play second now that we once again cannot get a Cuban to take our Confederate money:

Don't look now, but Dan Uggla has struck out 4 times in 37 plate appearances, and is hitting .310/.459/.590 with a couple dingers.

I cannot believe this ****. And whoever our team ophthalmologist has been the last 5-7 years needs to be cut quicker than a 28 year old single A pitcher who is wilder than a truckload of starving kangaroos. How do we not figure this crap out? And why didn't Grissom say something sooner? Oculomoter dysfunction. Jesus Christ.
 
CJ is one of the worst fielders in baseball. So anyone being compared to him will look good. Still doesn't make Nick a good fielder compared to other right fielders.

This is overstated by the metrics. He catches what he gets to. I agree that he doesn't get to much. But he's fine.

It's amazing how much better his defense looks when he's hitting .315.
 
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