Kin
Active member
Andy007 said:
Well, I suppose that wouldn't make sense(and when Busta said something similar I also had problems with it) but the problem is that it isn't definitively true. The more I look at his defensive metrics I think there's a very easy explanation for how he grades at all three positions. Basically it involves us believing three fairly reasonable ideas:
1. Players need to adjust to new positions
2. It's easier to play the corner outfield than center
3. Players can improve defensively over time.
First of all, Saunders doesn't rate as "bad" defensively in left(with the caveat that defensive metrics aren't a hard science and there are a ton of them out there). For his 1300+ inning career in left he's a +11 in Total Zone Runs above average and +6 in DRS(defensive runs saved) above average which is...very slightly above average. However, around 900+ of those innings in left came in his first two seasons.
So that makes sense, right? Saunders was primarily a CF/RF in the minors but when he came to the majors the Mariners had Franklin Gutierrez in center(who was incredible defensively) and Ichiro in right so they played him primarily in left and he was ok to pretty good which makes sense as he was learning to play the corner.
Then Gutierrez forgot how to hit and they moved Saunders to center where he grades as not good(-20 in TZR, -25 in DRS). But that also makes sense. Center is harder to play than the corners and if you just look at the total number of plays Saunders was making by means of range factor compared to the league average it's easy to see why he failed there. He doesn't have the range for center field.
So then after two years of the failed experiment of him in center they move him back into the corner in right(of his 758 career innings in RF all but 31 are from the last two years) and he grades as quite good(+14 TZR, +9 DRS).
Nothing there "doesn't make a lick of sense" and all of this is just a reflection of those three pretty simple and agreeable ideas.
1. Players need to adjust to new positions - Saunders struggled to learn LF when he was fresh to the majors
2. Center field is harder to play than the corners - Saunders doesn't have the range for CF
3. Players can improve defensively over time - Saunders is now an experienced corner outfielder
Lemon squeeze-y, the defensive career of Michael Saunders.
Andy007 said:
Well, I won't argue about the depth but I actually see the potential for a pretty good outfield if Saunders is healthy and Pompey has a good rookie year. Bautista's a good player, Saunders can be a 3-4 win player and Pompey is admittedly the wild card. I'd rather have Willie Mays, Frank Robinson and Hank Aaron in their primes but what are you gonna do?
