The Merc’s Dan Brown came off the bench this weekend to pinch-hit for Andy Baggarly, and he lined a double into the gap with a blog post about the Giants’ fielding.
Brown interviewed John Dewan of The Fielding Bible. Part Deux is now available, and it shows that Edgar Renteria’s defense is about where scouts pegged it last year: well above average, and getting better by the…
Sorry. I had my keyboard upside down. Hold on. OK. Now try this: In decline, especially when he moves to his right toward third base. According to TFB, last year he let through seven more balls than the average shortstop, and he’ll likely be in the low single digits again this year.
That’s not disastrous. It could be far worse — TFB says Derek Jeter in the last three seasons let through 68 balls more than the average. Renteria’s not even on the Worst of 2006–2008 list! Hooray! Small victory! Yankees suck except for all those championships!
To get near their money’s worth from the guy they call Rent-a-Wreck in Boston, the Giants have to hope his hitting makes up for his fielding, or that, more miraculously, he reverses his defensive slide of the recent past. At the age of 33 and one year removed from a .332 / .390 / .470 year, a better bat is a better bet. If he he matches those 2006 numbers, I’ll eat my hat, regurgitate it and eat it again. Happily. Joyfully. OK, not really. If he’s slightly off, say, .331 / .390 / .471, the deal is off.
The Fielding Bible pegged Aaron Rowand as basically average, as he saved one play with his glove in 2008. We can only hope a healthier Rowand, who has been taking fielding tips from Willie Mays, can improve upon that this year. I hope one of Mays’s tips was a handful of greenies left over from those 1960s locker rooms, because we need Rowand to put back a little pep in his step.
It’s not all doom and gloom. Bengie Molina remains above average, though showing signs of slowing down. Fred Lewis and Randy Winn are above average at the corners, and the right side of the infield should be at best very good and at least a huge improvement over Ray Durham, one of the worst, and Aurilia/Bowker.
Here’s the most optimistic projection: Pablo Sandoval works hard and becomes a proficient fielder. What he lacks in range he makes up for by fielding cleanly what he reaches and making few throwing errors. Renteria and Rowand prove the skeptics wrong, Renteria by playing average D and Rowand staying healthy and adjusting to the big spaces of his home park. Lewis continues to improve and take better routes, which helps cut off balls in the deep left-center gap. There you have it: great pitching, above-average fielding, and, uh, hey, look at that pitching!
Speaking of D, I like the idea of Venezuelan Winter League MVP Jesus Guzman slugging his way on to the roster, but by all accounts his glove needs work. (My favorite quote today is in the above-linked story, from A’s assistant GM David Forst: “We couldn't justify bringing Jesus in." Oh, sinner, you will pay.) I guess Guzman could crack the roster as a 3B/1B utility guy, but whoever backs up third will need at least some proficiency at the position. I say give Guzman everyday innings in Fresno, send JT Snow and Brooks Robinson and Graig Nettles down there to work with him, and hope by mid-year he’ll be so hot the Giants will have no choice but to accept Jesus.
