How worried are you about Moncada?

[TomBradley72]

Originally Posted by Mohoney

Yeah, I’m starting to think that this current defensive look is not going to hold up over the long haul. Fortunately, I think one solution to this problem was drafted in June. If Madrigal can upgrade the SS position, Anderson can move to 2B, and Moncada can move to 3B. After that, it’s just a matter of getting better defensively at 1B.

I like moving Moncada to 3rd- I think they should keep Madrigal and his GG potential at 2nd, vs. putting him where he'll be pretty average (shortstop).

Anderson has only 5 errors since June 1 (a pace of about 13 over a full season of ~145 starts)- I think he's showing enough to stick with him there.

[DonnieDarko]

Originally Posted by TomBradley72

I like moving Moncada to 3rd- I think they should keep Madrigal and his GG potential at 2nd, vs. putting him where he'll be pretty average (shortstop).

Anderson has only 5 errors since June 1 (a pace of about 13 over a full season of ~145 starts)- I think he's showing enough to stick with him there.

Yeah, Madrigal's arm is a noodle compared to Anderson's. No way he takes over the SS position. Only way Madrigal comes up is as a 2B, or maybe a 3B (where Moncada is better suited).

[Grzegorz]

Originally Posted by DonnieDarko

Yeah, Madrigal's arm is a noodle compared to Anderson's. No way he takes over the SS position. Only way Madrigal comes up is as a 2B, or maybe a 3B (where Moncada is better suited).

If Madrigal's arm is not suited for SS how is it suited for 3B?

[Hitmen77]

Interestingly, the poll results are very evenly split among the first 4 choices.....though 3 of the 4 are varying degrees of being worried. Churros is lagging behind the pack.

[WhiteSox5187]

The Athletic had a great story yesterday about the Red Sox new manager Alex Cora who talked about how passive Red Sox hitters were on the first pitch ahead of the ALCS when the Red Sox interviewed him. Cora said the Astros pitching coach essentially told pitchers "You can throw it right down the middle for the first pitch, they won't swing."

I was thinking of that when I have watched Moncada hit of late. It seems like the first pitch is often very hittable, but pitchers know he will likely take it.

Margulus also talked about this in a SoxMachine podcast, right now pitchers aren't afraid of Moncada right now and can challenge him to get ahead in the count.

I wonder if this is something the Red Sox taught their prospects in the minor league system and something Moncada will kind of have to unlearn here?

[mzh]

Originally Posted by WhiteSox5187

The Athletic had a great story yesterday about the Red Sox new manager Alex Cora who talked about how passive Red Sox hitters were on the first pitch ahead of the ALCS when the Red Sox interviewed him. Cora said the Astros pitching coach essentially told pitchers "You can throw it right down the middle for the first pitch, they won't swing."

I was thinking of that when I have watched Moncada hit of late. It seems like the first pitch is often very hittable, but pitchers know he will likely take it.

Margulus also talked about this in a SoxMachine podcast, right now pitchers aren't afraid of Moncada right now and can challenge him to get ahead in the count.

I wonder if this is something the Red Sox taught their prospects in the minor league system and something Moncada will kind of have to unlearn here?

That’s very interesting. Off the cuff I’d imagine that it’s more of a personal approach thing just because at this point he’s been in the White Sox organization almost as long as Boston’s, but it could be.

At least it’s fixable. I remember seeing something about how Trout more or less had the same issue once he got established–he was swinging at the first pitch maybe 20-30% of the time, so pitchers started attacking much more aggressively early in the count, and after a while he was swinging at first pitch strikes something like 70-80% of the time and because he’s Trout, ended up hitting like .400 on those pitches and that hole in his game went completely out the window.

[hoosiersoxfan]

Nice to see Yoan crush one off a very good pitcher

[Grzegorz]

Originally Posted by WhiteSox5187

The Athletic had a great story yesterday about the Red Sox new manager Alex Cora who talked about how passive Red Sox hitters were on the first pitch ahead of the ALCS when the Red Sox interviewed him. Cora said the Astros pitching coach essentially told pitchers "You can throw it right down the middle for the first pitch, they won't swing."

I was thinking of that when I have watched Moncada hit of late. It seems like the first pitch is often very hittable, but pitchers know he will likely take it.

This approach didn't seem to hurt Ted Williams.

[Railsplitter]

Originally Posted by Grzegorz

This approach didn't seem to hurt Ted Williams.

Wade Boggs laid off first pitches as well.

Those awful Sox of the late 70's had players who seemed to be always going after the first pitch... and always seemed to hit it right to somebody.

[voodoochile]

You know it’s possible to both be picky and swing at first pitches. The trick is not to become set in a pattern of always swinging or not at any given time in the count

[Grzegorz]

The trick is also to be good at making contact.

[DonnieDarko]

Originally Posted by Grzegorz

If Madrigal's arm is not suited for SS how is it suited for 3B?

You misunderstand me. I said his arm was a noodle in comparison to Anderson--suitable for the SS position, but Anderson's arm is leagues better than Madrigal's will ever be. Correct me if I'm wrong, but an average SS arm is playable at 3B too, no?

[mzh]

Originally Posted by DonnieDarko

You misunderstand me. I said his arm was a noodle in comparison to Anderson--suitable for the SS position, but Anderson's arm is leagues better than Madrigal's will ever be. Correct me if I'm wrong, but an average SS arm is playable at 3B too, no?

Yes, definitely. Unless the difference in hands and instincts is really clear and obvious, arm strength is always the key factor in deciding who can or can't start at shortstop in the big leagues. Generally speaking, balls hit to third basemen are usually harder and faster than what the shortstop gets, so the third baseman can usually get away with having just an okay arm because they have more time to get the ball across the diamond. A shortstop needs to be able to throw darts across the infield even when the ball is taking their momentum away from first, which is rarely the case for third basemen. So at the end of the day, if someone is good enough to even play a marginal short in the majors, they can almost definitely play a good enough third base.

Anderson's great play at the beginning of the game against Kansas City last week comes to mind. There are plenty of infielders that could have fielded the ball in the outfield grass towards the left field line, but there aren't that many who can make the transfer and throw the ball 140 feet to first in time to get the runner.

That's why I don't really understand a lot of the angst around Anderson's offensive performance. In spite of a few frustrating errors here and there than can probably be attributed to mental focus, he's shown that he can play a pretty damn good shortstop. Even though he's not an All-Star or a world beater with the bat, we could do a whole lot worse at the 6 than having a 20/20 hitter who's really at his worst an average Major League caliber fielder. I mean, nobody who actually watched the 2005 team is ever going to claim that Juan Uribe was a particularly outstanding shortstop (the second out of the ninth inning of game 4 was a ****ing incredible play of course, but nobody can honestly say that was the standard for the whole season), but he did enough with the bat to justify his perfectly fine, average defense. I think Anderson should be thought of the same way.

[Grzegorz]

Originally Posted by mzh

Generally speaking, balls hit to third basemen are usually harder and faster than what the shortstop gets, so the third baseman can usually get away with having just an okay arm because they have more time to get the ball across the diamond.

Really? My coaches always said that to play third base a player needed a strong and accurate arm. Not an ok arm, a strong and accurate arm.

[kittle42]

Here are some articles about teaching defense technique and the need for certain abilities.