Comments on: Give Chase His Due

By: DavidCEisen

DavidCEisen — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:03:51 +0000

Something that has gone slightly unnoticed this year is that Chase has been very successful at stealing bases–including stealing home last night. So far this year he has stolen 21 bases and not been caught. For his career Utley has stolen 81 bases and only been caught 11 times, which is pretty impressive.

By: B

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 02:56:36 +0000

It’s not just the national media who’s sleeps on Utley yearly, it’s also the local media. It’s kinda sad that a guy as good as he is gets zero attention for being this good.

He’s one of the few baseball players who can legitimately say makes an impact every single game whether it’s his power, defense, base running, OBP skills, etc.

By: don

don — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 02:13:50 +0000

The 1B is involved in a ton of plays but the very large majority of them are simple. The 1B is involved in more plays than the SS too… would you argue with that adjustment as well? Fewer balls are hit towards first than any other infield position, which is why you hide Adam Dunn there. The 1B almost never has to make a long throw, and only rarely has to throw on the run. The 2B frequently throws on the run. The 2B occasionally has to throw over a guy trying to break up the DP. The 2B covers more popups (though this is usually more of a speed issue than anything).

Anyway being an above average fielding 2B is clearly more difficult than being an above average fielding 1B because 2B doesn’t have all the big immobile guys like Dunn and Giambi bringing down the curve, so to speak. Unless you think Ryan Howard would still have above average range in the middle infield.

By: Steve P.

Steve P. — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 21:50:54 +0000

….and?

The foul line determines how far “right” a 1B plays, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have to go left.

A 1B charges the bunt on a wheel play, jogging to first is a harder job?

More throwing chances? From….a few feet away. So.

covering the hole when a runner is held on? Really? Chances are he’s actually cheating toward 2B for a double play. This is a fabricated scenario.

Covering 2B? As opposed to scooping up over 100 bounced throws/year?

Still not convinced the given positional adjustments are justified or that UZR or any other statistic adequately quantify the varied responsibilities of a guy at 1B….a position, by the way that MUST be much more difficult than 3B, where a guy fields 2-3 balls/game.

By: PhillyPhantastico

PhillyPhantastico — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:11:08 +0000

Wheel plays, covering 2nd, no foul line as a defender, larger area to field (preference is that first baseman cover first on GBs), double play responsibilities, covering the “hole” when runner held on 1B, more throwing chances,

By: Kevin Herman

Kevin Herman — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:41:52 +0000

The media is really asleep on this guy. The funny thing is fans know how great this guy is. He is always one of the top vote getters in the all-star game. He should be top five in the MVP every year.

By: CitizenSnips

CitizenSnips — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:52:26 +0000

You can’t really blame Lannan. Utley doesn’t move at all when a pitch comes at him, which is part of what makes him awesome and a HBP machine.

He made a nice move on the bases last night as well running into the infield and hoping to get beaned by Dunn. It’s pretty sad Rollins got that Dick’s commercial where he was taking beanballs instead of Utley

By: mike

mike — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:45:30 +0000

there isnt a day that goes by in the baseball season (and many in the off season) that I don’t remember and regret that the cards took another 2B one slot higher than Utley. I still have a hard time getting past what might have been with chase and albert in the same lineup.

By: M.A.

M.A. — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:29:00 +0000

I think Utley was well-positioned to win the MVP in 07 but damned John Lannan broke his hand.

By: Steve P.

Steve P. — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:09:08 +0000

I love Utley, best player on the Phillies, one one the best in MLB.

But…..isn’t it possible that everyone is over-valuing 2B as a position and how difficult it is to play? Skip Schumaker was a lifetime OF and according to UZR (flaws and all), he’s been an above average defender at 2B since the end of April.

I know that traditionally, big lumbering guys have been put at 1B, but does that necessarily mean that it is easier to play well? First basemen have to hold on runners, dig throws out of the dirt, have cutoff man and backup responsibilities, have less time to react to a ground ball (and often must make quick adjustments as they are coming off the bag from holding the runner on). Yeah, a 2B man has to turn double plays. He also handles fewer balls/game.

Assumptions aside, what makes playing 2B so much more difficult than 1B?