Round-table: Part Five
I’ve asked a few friends of mine to weigh in on five questions that I think are on the minds of Oakland fans this season. I’ve also asked them to respond to one question about the current state of the game as we know it.
Their responses were nothing short of fascinating, and I can’t thank them enough for agreeing to participate.
I’ll be posting the questions and responses in a six-part series. Here’s part five.
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Today’s panel consists of:
Jeff Sackmann, the creator of Minor League Splits, the master of Brew Crew Ball, the captain of Beyond the Boxscore, and a contributer to The Hardball Times and Heater Magazine.
SwizStick, of Condition Oakland, one of the top few Oakland sites out there. It’s also one of the longest-running ones, dating back to 2004.
HollywoodOz, who runs Notes from the Nat, a simply outstanding blog about the Vancouver Canadiens, the short-season class A club affiliated with Oakland.
baseballgirl, from Athletics Nation. I have to confess, I consistently enjoy reading her front page stories more than any other author of AN. Sorry, Blez, Nico and louismg…
Becca the Bullpen Baker, who runs the light-hearted and delicious Bullpen Baker MLBlog. It’s one of the only baseball websites that actually makes my mouth water.
Sal Baxamusa, a well-tenured member of Athletics Nation and an author of The Hardball Times. He also happens to be a chemical engineering graduate student at MIT.
Marc Normandin, the founder of Beyond the Boxscore, a contributer to Heater Magazine, and a regular author of Baseball Prospectus.
Ken Arneson, who writes Catfish Stew for the Baseball Toaster family of blogs. I’ve admired Ken’s writing for a while, and his photography is nothing to sneeze at, either.
Tyler “Blez” Bleszinski, the founder of Athletics Nation, and the guy behind all of those wonderful SBnation blogs.
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Is Oakland’s defense as good as most people assume, or is it overrated?
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Jeff Sackmann: Strange as it may sound, I think it’s better. Despite all the advances in fielding metrics in the last few years, we’ve still got a long way to go. I have to think that Billy’s crew is ahead of the general public.
That may not mean that everybody on the field is a gold glover, but it does suggest that the A’s defense excels in ways we aren’t effectively measuring. Or it could be that I’ve drunk far too much of the kool-aid.
SwizStick: I think Oakland’s defense is as good as most people assume. Mark Ellis is, and has been, one of the best defensive 2B in the game. Bobby Crosby, when healthy, is a plus defensive player, as is Marco Scutaro (despite his limited range).
Last year the A’s had what I considered one of the best defensive OF in the game. Jason Kendall improved behind the plate and Eric Chavez is just plain solid at 3B.
HollywoodOz: It’s shit hot. Whether it will stay shit hot with Wash gone, is up for debate. I’m sorry, which of Billy’s cousins will be the infield instructor this season?
Bullpen Baker: Have you ever tried to sneak anything by the Coliseum’s security guards? Those guys are tough. The secret to melting their defense is a good offense, though, and I’ve learned to bring extra baked goods as a bribe.
But really, the A’s defense is strong: you’ve got Chavvy, Mark Kotsay, Mark Ellis (when healthy), and Jason Kendall. While for the most part they aren’t “big name” players, they’re all high quality defensive players, and that’s what counts.
Sal Baxamusa: Better than most people think, but worse than A’s fans generally think. Kotsay’s lost a step in center, but the infield could be very good if Ellis, Crosby, and Chavez are three of the starting four.
Marc Normandin: Oakland’s defense is really good, although with some of the players aging it will need an upgrade here and there.
Mark Kotsay doesn’t quite have the same hop he used to it seems, and he certainly doesn’t have the bat for a corner outfielder. Jay Payton makes plenty of weird decisions on the playing field, enough to keep him off of many team’s wish lists, but he’s a solid defender and he’s missing now. Bobby Kielty will be replacing him, and David Pinto’s Probabilistic Model of Range seems to think that’s going to be a serious problem.
Between Crosby, Ellis, Swisher, Kendall, Chavez and Bradley, there’s still some serious defensive ability on the team.
Eric Chavez’s glove is about all he has left going for him, as his much-heralded bat from the early part of the decade has silenced itself somewhat. I know he was dealing with injury problems, but playing them through doesn’t make you more effective in the future.
baseballgirl: Oakland has incredible defense, especially from Chavez and Ellis; two of the best defenders I’ve ever seen play. Their defense is not overrated one bit; and I’d go so far to say that on defense alone, the A’s won the AL West from the Angels last year. If their defenses had been reversed, so would have the standings.
However, I think the lack of A’s offense is not talked about enough. The A’s are banking on every player having solid years to be able to compete, and that’s where things will get very interesting…or get very frustrating.
Ken Arneson: On the infield, when Chavez-Crosby-Ellis are in the lineup, it is very good. Marco Scutaro doesn’t make many errors at shortstop, but his range is terrible. He’s much better at second base.
The outfield is probably overrated: Kotsay has started to lose a step, although I still wouldn’t try to take any extra bases on him. That arm is still deadly accurate.
Blez: This is one place where the experts have it right. The A’s defense is one of the best in baseball as nearly every position, especially if Ellis and Crosby are healthy. One place where Crosby is completely underrated is his defense. He’s got amazing range that no one on the team can touch.
Also, Kotsay is still a very good centerfielder despite all the back issues and Bradley could be one of the best right fielders in the game. I’d prefer having Swisher at first because he’s great defensively there, but it appears like he’ll be in left field.