Our outfield defense

[Blizzau]

I'm sitting here in sunny Mesa, AZ, reflecting on the last three days and games I have attended. Through the excitement and optimism of a team that is actually fun to watch and seems to be working on fundamentals, one concern comes to mind: our outfield defense.

 

Soriano is a butcher in CF based on what I have observed. He awkwardly dives at the wrong time, and misjudges (and then misses) the ball, which allows runners to advance. Floyd doesn't appear to have a clue, either. In today's game, he had a bizarre angle on a relatively routine drive to RF, which popped off the heal of his glove. On another play, he called off Izturis and Soriano, narrowly avoiding a collision with Izturis, and then flipped the ball to Izturis, who was only a few feet away and NOT expecting (and rightly so) a throw from Floyd. This play happened with less than two outs and a runner in scoring position. You can probably guess what happened to that runner...

 

Jones in RF doesn't encourage me much more with his bizarre sense of where relay throws need to go. He has looked better than the previous two, though, and Murton has looked crisp since I got here. Really, Murton is the only OF I'm excited (and not fearful) to watch.

 

I'm afraid that we're going to grimmace throughout the summer whenever a ball ends up in the outfield...

 

Thoughts on the significance of having lackluster defense in the OF? Can we still compete if other areas are strong (and lucky)?

[rocket]

our outfield defense will not be at the top of the league, for sure. but as time goes on i'm sure it will be acceptable, though not great. that's assuming that murton plays lf, not floyd.

[Omar]

I think it's pretty acceptable given the offense they will provide. I would rather have a offensively strong OF than defensively. Remember the great offense we got out of Hollandsworth, Patterson, and Burnitz (Left to right) ?

[RichHillIsABeast]

Soriano will improve. Will he improve fast enough to keep Pie from pushing him to LF? I doubt it.

 

My biggest concern is what happens to Murton in that scenario, as Soriano can't handle RF in Wrigley if he can't play CF passably well. Murton doesn't have the arm for RF. :(

[Blizzau]

I think it's pretty acceptable given the offense they will provide. I would rather have a offensively strong OF than defensively. Remember the great offense we got out of Hollandsworth, Patterson, and Burnitz (Left to right) ?

 

I would also rather have stronger offensive than defensive production from our outfield, but my concern is that it doesn't even seem like our outfielders are showing up to play defense. That could be a huge liability - and certainly not promising if we end up making the playoffs... Watching Soriano in CF makes me miss Corey Patterson (the defensive version of him, that is).

[seanimal]

Watching Soriano in CF makes me miss Corey Patterson (the defensive version of him, that is).

 

Are you referring to the Corey Patterson that would get spooked by the wall that was 10 feet away and make no attempt to catch the ball?

 

Man that guy was a headcase.

 

But I understand what you mean. I just think that there's a learning curve, and Soriano is such a gifted athlete that there is no way he doesn't figure it out in the outfield. As if this statement makes any sense, I'd rather have the Fonz playing catcher than have Patterson in CF.

 

As for Jones, I think his catching prowess somewhat makes up for his cluelessness on hitting the cut-off man, and Murton is just a bit of an oaf. Hopefully in one of these trades we will be making we can pick up an outfield defensive specialist for the late innings.

[sethuel1]

Watching Soriano in CF makes me miss Corey Patterson (the defensive version of him, that is).

 

Are you referring to the Corey Patterson that would get spooked by the wall that was 10 feet away and make no attempt to catch the ball?

 

Man that guy was a headcase.

 

I'm glad someone pointed out that this happened. The man made zero attempts to catch balls at the wall.

[10man]

our outfield defense will not be at the top of the league, for sure. but as time goes on i'm sure it will be acceptable, though not great. that's assuming that murton plays lf, not floyd.

Yeah I think ST has shown that Floyd is not physically capable of playing a credible OF.

[soapy]

Watching Soriano in CF makes me miss Corey Patterson (the defensive version of him, that is).

 

Are you referring to the Corey Patterson that would get spooked by the wall that was 10 feet away and make no attempt to catch the ball?

 

Man that guy was a headcase.

 

I'm glad someone pointed out that this happened. The man made zero attempts to catch balls at the wall.

 

errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.........

 

 

:deep breath:

[Backtobanks]

Soriano will improve. Will he improve fast enough to keep Pie from pushing him to LF? I doubt it.

 

My biggest concern is what happens to Murton in that scenario, as Soriano can't handle RF in Wrigley if he can't play CF passably well. Murton doesn't have the arm for RF. :(

 

You could put Pie in RF and leave Soriano and Murton where they are.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Watching Soriano in CF makes me miss Corey Patterson (the defensive version of him, that is).

 

Are you referring to the Corey Patterson that would get spooked by the wall that was 10 feet away and make no attempt to catch the ball?

 

Man that guy was a headcase.

 

I'm glad someone pointed out that this happened. The man made zero attempts to catch balls at the wall.

 

Remember that one time when a pop fly made him drift back and he just curled up in a ball and started crying?

[louisvillecub]

 

Remember that one time when a pop fly made him drift back and he just curled up in a ball and started crying?

 

Corey would have never cried about that....remember, he didn't care about anything... :wink:

[KingCubsFan]

Everyone says playing outfield in Arizona is extremely difficult. At Wrigley, CF is probably the easiest position to play, with RF the hardest which is why Soriano is in CF in the first place. We're going to have some problems on the road, but hopefully Piniella will make the right replacements in the late innings

[10man]

The way the 25 man roster is set up, the Cubs back up CF is Jacque Jones. No one else is capable of manning a decent center. The Cubs have no defensive replacement for the outfield. They are both in Iowa (Pagan, Pie).

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

While I'm not too concerned with the outfield right now, I'm fearful of Soriano having to cover that CF at MMP when the Cubs go to Houston.

[sherwood921]

While I'm not too concerned with the outfield right now, I'm fearful of Soriano having to cover that CF at MMP when the Cubs go to Houston.

 

I was just thinking the same thing. I still can't believe they have a freakin' hill out there.

[Amazing_Grace]

While I'm not too concerned with the outfield right now, I'm fearful of Soriano having to cover that CF at MMP when the Cubs go to Houston.

 

I was just thinking the same thing. I still can't believe they have a freakin' hill out there.

 

I never understood that hill. What's the point of it? It looks stupid and has a huge potential to cause injuries. Is there a legitimate need for a hill there to support the stadium or for drainage or something, or is it some field designer's idea of "you know what would be really cool"?

[rocket]

http://viewfromthebleachers.com/images/corey_wall.jpg

 

LOOK AT THE FEAR IN HIS EYES

[abuck1220]

corey didn't like to approach the wall because he didn't want to get close to fans who were going to pester him for an autograph.

[rawaction]

What the heck is with the Corey being afraid of the wall stuff? When's the last time any OF in the history of baseball has run hard after a ball toward the brick wall in Wrigley?

 

Hell, the catch he made against Griffey (may be Rocket's pic) was one of the best I've ever seen.

[98navigator]

Lou made a very credible point in the paper today; the defense will improve when the team starts using scouting reports to help position the outfielders. During Spring Training, the team isn't using spray chart info therefore, the OF isn't always setup correctly. It certain should help with some of the problems.

 

Suntimes

[tubbfan]

Lou made a very credible point in the paper today; the defense will improve when the team starts using scouting reports to help position the outfielders. During Spring Training, the team isn't using spray chart info therefore, the OF isn't always setup correctly. It certain should help with some of the problems.

 

Suntimes

 

When I read that, I thought what a "spinmeister" this guy is. . .

[Omar]

Lou made a very credible point in the paper today; the defense will improve when the team starts using scouting reports to help position the outfielders. During Spring Training, the team isn't using spray chart info therefore, the OF isn't always setup correctly. It certain should help with some of the problems.

 

Suntimes

 

When I read that, I thought what a "spinmeister" this guy is. . .

 

I read that, and try to believe he's right.. but they do face major leaguers with scouting reports in ST, right?

[98navigator]

No, they don't use any scouting reports in ST. The guys in the OF are standing in random areas.

[Ivy Walls]

soriano-LF

Pie-CF

murton-RF and then Derosa